Women Leading the Grocery Sector in 2025: Persistently Proficient
The Progressive Grocer's Top Women in Grocery (TWIG) for 2025 have been announced, honouring inspiring leaders who have made significant impacts on the grocery industry through strategic innovation, operational excellence, and leadership.
Among the key honorees, Laura Arnett stands out for her visionary leadership in developing and executing strategic retail partnerships that drive results. Haley Boyle is recognised for her commitment to reimagining the digital shelf, ensuring brands appear where it matters most. Ranjana Choudhry, as SVP of Media and Data Platforms, is honoured for her bold, future-facing media strategy and platform innovation.
Furthermore, Food City nominees such as Hannah Smith and Shannon Finch are acknowledged for their leadership roles. Hannah, director of front-end operations, excels in overseeing operations and fostering collaboration and inclusion, while Shannon demonstrated extraordinary leadership securing essential products and managing crisis response following Hurricane Helene.
These women exemplify the bold innovation and leadership shaping the grocery industry's future. The TWIG honorees will be celebrated at the Top Women in Grocery Gala on November 7, 2025, in Orlando, Florida, coinciding with Progressive Grocer’s Grocery Impact conference. This event offers recognition and networking opportunities with peers and industry leaders, highlighting their accomplishments and contributions.
The TWIG nominees have made extraordinary efforts to further their companies and the wider industry while advancing themselves. Many in the Store Manager category have shown inventiveness, tenacity, and hands-on brilliance. Notably, some TWIG nominees have coached a girls' softball team, while others have co-founded and run a nonprofit.
In addition to their professional achievements, the TWIG honorees are tuned into the needs of their communities in ways that many of their larger competitors can only envy. Despite hectic schedules and family obligations, they have found time to give back to their communities in various ways.
Whole Foods Market and Lipton Teas are Retail and CPG Trailblazers in their respective industries, setting trends and pushing boundaries in the grocery and consumer packaged goods sectors. The TWIG honorees have excelled in their fields, including marketing, public relations, human resources, IT, finance, and warehouse logistics.
The inspiring stories of these women involve leadership in strategy, operations, digital innovation, and crisis response, with celebration centered at a high-profile gala in Orlando as part of a major industry conference. The TWIG honorees have bloomed even in less-than-ideal conditions, often with the support of understanding colleagues and wise mentors. Their achievements serve as a testament to their resilience, growth, and triumph over adversity.
Science plays a significant role in Ranjana Choudhry's media strategy, as she innovates future-facing platforms to drive growth in health-and-wellness and fitness-and-exercise sectors. Meanwhile, women like Hannah Smith and Shannon Finch, recognized by The Progressive Grocer's Top Women in Grocery (TWIG), strive to improve womens-health through their strategic leadership roles in the grocery industry.
