Joy Nicholas

 

Principal of JN Retail Connections, Joy has been engaged in the food retail industry for more than 35 years.  Her extensive network of grocery retail and consumer packaged goods industry leaders gives her a 360° perspective of retail technology solutions.  She was named a senior level executive Top Woman in Grocery in 2017 from Progressive Grocer magazine as a result of her knowledge, experience, leadership, mentoring and many significant contributions to the supermarket retail industry.

 

Joy was SVP/VP of business development for retail technology providers and VP research & technology for the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), the leading US supermarket trade association, representing more than 26,000 grocery stores.  She was directly responsible for industry research, retail technology, electronic payments (representing grocers on swipe fee initiatives), industry standards and supporting CIO, CFO, retail payments and board-level committees.

 

As a co-founder, former board member, scholarship committee chair, and active advocate for the Network of Executive Women (NEW), Joy has formed long-term relationships and earned respect among many of its 10,000+ members.

 

Joy’s additional retail experience includes management positions in I/T project management, accounting, cash management, pricing and marketing while at Ralphs Grocery Company (a division of The Kroger Company), Denny’s Restaurants and Taco Bell.

 

She earned an MBA from Pepperdine University and a BBA from Western Michigan University.  She is currently an Associate Adjunct Professor of Business Management and Instructional Associate at Austin Community College.