The co-president of the Northgate Gonzalez Market supermarket chain has been named Executive-in-Residence for the USC Marshall School of Business Food Industry Executive Program for 2021/22, it was announced Tuesday.
Oscar Gonzalez is a graduate of the Pepperdine University Executive MBA program and serves on the boards of the Food Marketing Institute, the Western Association of Food Chains and Homeboy Industries.
He has also served on the board of Unified Grocers and on the Coca Cola Retailing Council and is active in the Young Presidents Organization. In 2020, Gonzalez was named Executive of the Year for the USC Food Industry Management Program.
“Each year we consider executives who are passionate about education and work as partners with the team at USC and the WAFC to find a way for every employee to have a chance at getting an education,” said Cynthia McCloud, Food Industry Programs director at USC.
“Oscar Gonzalez and his family have supported many education programs for their associates and have been instrumental in giving their future leaders the opportunity to attend programs at USC,” she said. “Oscar is passionate about life-long learning and helping others grow both their knowledge and their experience to give back to the food industry. We look forward to having him share his career story and share his leadership principles with our class in both the Fall and the Spring sessions.”
Gonzalez said he has “seen first-hand the transformational impact that the USC FIEP program has had on our many associates who have graduated from the program. Not only has the program produced a well-rounded growth in their overall business knowledge, but also it has helped them develop a heightened level of self-confidence and thirst for learning, which has positively shaped all aspects of their lives.”
Northgate Gonzalez Market is a family-owned supermarket chain that has grown from one store in 1980 to 41 locations with more than 6,000 employees. The chain also includes four Mercado stores.
A maximum of 35 students from a wide range of companies in the food industry are selected for the FIEP program, which was established in 1958. Each year, students attend either a four-day executive program or a semester-long leadership program.
Each student accepted into the program receives a full-tuition scholarship from the Western Association of Food Chains. Individuals selected must have proven records of management accomplishments, with significant potential for future advancement.
The fall session of the Food Industry Executive Program will be held Sept. 20-23 in Los Angeles, with the spring session scheduled for March 14-17 next year. Visit marshall.usc.edu/FIEP for more detailed information and course schedule.