Grocery retail
10 Whole Foods Market merchandising leaders
These ten current and former Whole Foods Market merchandising leaders have held senior vice president, vice president, director of merchandising, global category manager and head of buying roles at Whole Foods Market. A reader can learn how merchandising leaders work at Whole Foods Market from people who have held the role.
Professionals to explore
01—10Alyssa Vescio
LinkedInExperience: Senior Vice President Merchandising - Center Store, Sourcing & Product Development · Whole Foods Market
Former Senior Vice President Merchandising - Center Store, Sourcing & Product Development at Whole Foods Market (2024–2025). Their profile describes that role as working to deliver the highest quality products across the company's 550 stores worldwide. They have been Chief Merchandising Officer at The Fresh Market since November 2025.
AnaMaria Friede, MBA
LinkedInExperience: Executive Leader/Director – Grocery · Whole Foods Market
Executive Leader/Director – Grocery at Whole Foods Market since April 2017, a role their profile headline describes as director of merchandising, leading organizational change across merchandising operations. At Whole Foods Market they were also Associate Coordinator/Regional Director of Purchasing - Grocery, Frozen, Dairy, Bulk (2015–2017) and a Category Manager (2004–2015).
Ashley Patek, MBA
LinkedInExperience: Senior Director, Prepared Foods Merchandising · Whole Foods Market
Senior Director, Prepared Foods Merchandising at Whole Foods Market since February 2026, where their profile says they set the strategic vision for the growth of the Whole Foods Market prepared foods portfolio. At Whole Foods Market they were also Senior Director, Center Store Inventory Planning (2024–2026) and Senior Director, Retail & E-Commerce Marketing (2021–2024).
Dan Epley
LinkedInExperience: Vice President - Grocery (Dairy Frozen Baking Meals Beverages Snacks Breakfast Bulk Candy) · Whole Foods Market
Former Vice President - Grocery (Dairy Frozen Baking Meals Beverages Snacks Breakfast Bulk Candy) at Whole Foods Market (2016–2025), and Senior Vice President at Whole Foods Market/Amazon since November 2025, a role their profile says leads grocery, wellness and beauty, adult beverage, local and emerging, and supplier partnerships. They were Director Food and Beverage at Target (2014–2015).
Jen Coccaro
LinkedInExperience: Vice President of Merchandising- Health, Wellness and Beauty · Whole Foods Market
Former Vice President of Merchandising- Health, Wellness and Beauty at Whole Foods Market (2021–2024). At Whole Foods Market they were also Vice President-Whole Body, Local & Emerging Brands, Canada (Center Store) and Strategic Partnerships (2024) and Vice President- Meat and Seafood (2025–2026). They are now Director, Worldwide Grocery Stores Private Brands, US at Amazon.
Lee Robinson
LinkedInExperience: VP, Merchandising - Grocery, Refrigerated and Frozen, Inventory Planning, Local & Emerging · Whole Foods Market
Former VP, Merchandising - Grocery, Refrigerated and Frozen, Inventory Planning, Local & Emerging at Whole Foods Market (2022–2024) and VP, Merchandising Operations - Assortment, Space, and Demand Planning there (2024–2025), where their profile says they were accountable for enterprise merchandising technology strategy. They are now Director, Worldwide Grocery Merchandising - Special Projects at Amazon.
Mandy Marino
LinkedInExperience: Global Category Manager · Whole Foods Market
Global Category Manager at Whole Foods Market since April 2017, based in Austin, Texas. They were a Perishables Category Manager at 365 by Whole Foods Market (2016–2017) and Global Coordinator Prepared Foods & Nutrition Team at Whole Foods Market (2014–2016). Their profile describes 12 years in senior category management.
Shahe Manoukian
LinkedInExperience: Global Senior Director of Merchandising - Specialty · Whole Foods Market
Global Senior Director of Merchandising - Specialty at Whole Foods Market since June 2017, a director level position their profile says leads centralized category management. At Whole Foods Market they were also Global Director of Data Mining & Category Analytics (2010–2015) and Global Category Analytics Team Leader (2006–2010).
Stephanie Russell Truscott
LinkedInExperience: Executive Leader - Director of Merchandising · Whole Foods Market
Former Executive Leader - Director of Merchandising at Whole Foods Market (2018–2026), and Vice President, Grocery & Canada there since November 2025. They were also a Category Manager at Whole Foods Market (2017–2018). Before Whole Foods Market they were a Director at Natural Specialty Sales (2014–2017).
Suzanne Webb
LinkedInExperience: Head of Buying - Produce & Floral · Whole Foods Market
Head of Buying / Buying Director for fresh food (produce, floral, meat and seafood) at Whole Foods Market since August 2021, based in the London area, a role their profile says carries full P&L accountability for the fresh food business. They were Head of Buying - Produce & Floral at Whole Foods Market (2019–2021) and a Trading Manager at Marks and Spencer (2017–2019).
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's category to your question, since leaders of different categories know different parts of the business best. Check whether their role is current or past and how senior it was, because a single-category view and a whole-division view answer different questions.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How is merchandising at a natural and organic grocery chain split between global category teams and regions?
- 02What does a global category manager at a company like Whole Foods Market spend most of their time on?
- 03How do grocery merchandising leaders work with sourcing, private label and store teams on a category?
Reaching Whole Foods Market merchandising leaders
How can I contact one of these Whole Foods Market merchandising leaders?
Pick one of the 10 people on this page and choose "Book a paid call", or describe your project to find others. You offer a fee for a 15-minute call or a written answer, Instant Expert finds the person's work email and sends the invitation, and they decide whether to accept. The list covers 1 company: Whole Foods Market, based on profile data retrieved on October 10, 2026. Being listed here doesn't mean someone has agreed to take calls.
How much does it cost to reach Whole Foods Market merchandising leaders?
You choose the offer, starting at $5 per person. It includes Instant Expert's 20% fee, so an offer that pays the person $100 costs you $125. You're charged only when the person books the call or sends the answer.
What if they don't reply?
You pay nothing. Instant Expert sends follow-up reminders, and if the person hasn't booked or answered within 7 days, the request expires and any hold on your card is released. You can invite several of the 10 people on this list at once and cap your total spend, so you pay only for the ones who accept.
Can an AI agent ask one of these Whole Foods Market merchandising leaders a question?
Yes. An agent with a USDC wallet on Base can ask one question without an Instant Expert account. It names the person, for example by the LinkedIn URL on this page, and pays per ask over x402 (HTTP 402). The person answers in writing or by voice note, and if nobody answers within 7 days, the payment goes back to the wallet automatically. x402 docs
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot and may describe past or present roles. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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