Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> November 9, 1998
TOM SMITH is Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Food Lion, Inc. heaquartered in Salisbury, North Carolina.
Food Lion is one of the largest supermarket chains in the nation with
more than 80,000 employees in more than 1,100 Food Lion and Kash n'
Karry stores in 11 states. Under Smith's leadership, Food Lion' s store
base has increased more than eight-fold and reports sales that are 14.5
times higher than 1981 levels ' all while maintaining the company's
commitment to delivering quality products and service at Extra Low
Prices. He first began work at Food Lion ' then known as Food Town ' as
a bagger while in high school. He stayed with the company throughout
his high school and college years, and worked as a store manager for one
year while attending classes at night. After graduating from Catawba
College in 1964 with a degree in Business Administration, he worked with
Del Monte Sales Company for six and on-half years before rejoining Food
Lion in 1970 as a Buyer in the company's corporate office. During the
next decade, he moved up through the ranks, being named President in
1981 and Chief Executive Officer in 1986. Mr. Smith has served on the
company's Board Directors since 1977 and as Chairman of the Board since
1990. Under his leadership, Food Lion has emerged as an industry leader
in many ways. The company is a leader in implementing a quality
assurance system based on monitoring critical points in the movement of
food from the farm to the family dinner table. Food Lion has also led
the way on environmental issues, recycling millions of pounds of plastic
and paper each year. Mr. Smith is very active in the community as well,
currently serving as Chairman of the Board of trustees of Catawba
College. He serves on the Board of Governors of the Children's Miracle
Network and served as Chairman of the Board of Governors in 1996. Mr.
Smith is a member of the President's Advisory Committee and the 1998
Hurricane Cabinet for the American Red Cross. He is an active member of
the North Carolina Business Council of Management and Development which
advises North Carolina's Governor on a variety of issues, including
economic development and education. Mr. Smith also serves as Chairman
of the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Catawba College in
Salisbury, North Carolina. He previously served on the Board of
Directors for the United Way. He has received a number of honors and
awards from the business and civic communities including: the Bronze and
Silver CEO of the Year Award from Financial World Magazine in 1987 and
1992, the Bronze CEO of the Year Award in 1996, the Martin Luther King
Humanitarian Award and the Civic Achievement Award from the National
Council on Aging and the Easter Seals Award for individual leadership.
Tom Smith and his wife, Martha, reside in Salisbury. He has two
daughters. Profile
Mr. Smith: We started our company back in 1957 here in Salisbury, North
Carolina. The company did not grow much until 1967
