Rebecca Lupfer, Dave Lessard
The Giant Co. recently named Rebecca Lupfer chief financial officer and Dave Lessard senior vice president of operations, customer experience and perishable distribution.
Lupfer will lead the finance, format, real estate and strategy departments while Lessard will oversee retail operations, perishable distribution and transportation teams.
After beginning her career at Highmark Blue Cross, Lupfer joined Ahold Financial Services in 2005 as a business analyst and held various internal audit positions of increasing responsibility before joining Ahold USA in 2016 as a portfolio lead for seasonal merchandising. She joined Giant in 2018 as director of merchandising planning and was promoted to vice president of merchandising, center store, in 2019. Most recently, Lupfer served as divisional president of the company’s Mid-Atlantic division, overseeing retail operations at 100 Giant and Martin’s stores in Central and Western Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, a role she has held since February 2022.
Lupfer serves on the board of directors for the Academy of Food Marketing and The Food Marketing Educational Foundation at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. She also is a founding board member and vice president of the West Perry Mustang Foundation, which supports students in the West Perry School District. In addition, she serves as the executive sponsor of the LINC business resource group at Giant. Lupfer has been named a Top Woman in
Grocery by Progressive Grocer, a 40 Under 40 award winner by the Central Penn Business Journal, a Woman of Excellence by the YWCA of Greater Harrisburg and was honored by Mass Market Retailers as a Person Who Made a Difference. She earned an MBA from Lebanon Valley College and a bachelor’s degree in accounting at Pennsylvania State University.
Following a nearly 25-year career at The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co. (A&P) where he held a variety of positions in merchandising and operations, Lessard joined the Ahold Delhaize family of brands in 2002 as director of produce at Giant Landover, where he also served as vice president of produce. At Ahold USA, he held a variety of roles including director of produce and vice president of produce and floral, helping to lead the transformation of the company’s produce department in 2014. Lessard joined Giant
Co. in 2018 as vice president of fresh merchandising, overseeing the produce, meat and seafood, bakery, deli, prepared foods, and floral departments; in 2022, he added oversight of the company’s perishable distribution center to his responsibilities.
Lessard serves on the board of directors for the York County Food Bank and on the Food Marketing Institute Fresh Food Leadership Council. He also serves as executive sponsor of the Barrier Free business resource group at Giant. Lessard previously served on the board of directors of the Southeast Produce Council, where he is now an adviser. He has completed leadership programs at Harvard and Cornell University. Lessard has received Giant’s Presidents’ Award, the Produce for Better Health Foundation Award and was named a Legendary Champion of Change by the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association.