Four Questions with Adam Whitney, SVP of Merchandising & Marketing

Adam Whitney , our SVP of Merchandising and Marketing, joined the Festival Foods team in December 2023. Adam leads our Business Analytics, Space Planning, Center Store Buying and Merchandising, and Marketing teams.

Whitney brought to Festival 25 years of retail experience for Fortune 100 organizations, and leadership experience spanning the grocery, general merchandise, convenience and online channels.

We asked Adam to share more about his story, why he chose Festival Foods, and his leadership style.

Q: Tell us a little bit about what brought you to Festival Foods?

A: I’ve always admired Festival Foods from afar as a competitor in the industry. Specifically, Festival has built such a differentiated culture around servant leadership and guest focus. The Boomerang principles and focus on our team and our guests is something that is clearly special, and something I wanted to be a part of (and contribute to).

Q: Tell us more about your leadership style.

A: I’d say my style is collaborative and fast paced. A mix of player/coach, supportive and consultative. My goal is to empower my leaders to lead, holding them accountable and enabling their success with direct feedback and a focus on how I can support them.  

Q: What's always in your Festival cart?

A: Sparkling water and eggs. Our family is trying to improve our choices around food as a fuel and a medicine. I have a terrible sweet tooth so there may be an occasional Kringle in the cart if I am doing the shopping 😊.

Q: Let’s look back a little further, to life before Festival Foods.  What was your first job?

A: My first job was as a “trapper” at the Minnesota Horse & Hunt Club . I helped with landscaping tasks, and pulled skeet and sporting clays during the summers. I worked several jobs to help pay for school including as a room service waiter, a licensed debt collector, and a loader for UPS .