Todd Jones was recently honored at a leadership breakfast in Sarasota.
He started as a store clerk. Now, Todd Jones is in charge of an empire that includes about 1,200 stores, more than 190,000 employees and annual revenue of $34.6 billion.
That entity is Publix, where Todd Jones was named president and CEO in 2016 after Ed Crenshaw retired.
Jones’ career at the company has been marked by a steady ascent to the top. He started at Publix in 1980 as a front-service clerk in New Smyrna Beach. Since then, he’s been a store manager, district manager, regional director, vice president of the Jacksonville division and senior vice president of product business development. He was named president in 2008.
During that time, Publix has grown into a grocery powerhouse in the southeastern United States. The company, at a late September news conference, announced plans for even more growth, with a $28 million expansion of its corporate headquarters in Lakeland that will add 700 jobs.
Publix Super Markets, Inc., commonly known as Publix, is an employee-owned, American supermarket chain headquartered in Lakeland, Florida.[1] Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, Publix is a private corporation that is wholly owned by present and past employees and members of the Jenkins family. [5] Publix operates throughout the Southeastern United States, with locations in Florida (799), Georgia (186), Alabama (71), South Carolina (59), Tennessee (45), North Carolina (42), and Virginia (13).[1]
Publix stands as one of the largest U.S. regional grocery chains. Locations are found as far north as Spotsylvania, Virginia, as far south as Key West, Florida, while the westernmost location is in Mobile, Alabama. Today, the state of Florida still has the largest number of stores, with 799, about two-thirds of the outlets.[1] As of January 2019, Publix employs about 193,000 people[6] at its 1,215 retail locations, cooking schools, corporate offices, 9 grocery distribution centers, and 11 manufacturing facilities. The manufacturing facilities produce its dairy, deli, bakery, and other food products.[1]
Publix was ranked No. 12 on Fortune magazine's list of 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2019, up from No. 47 in 2018,[7] was ranked No. 7 on Forbes' 2017 list of America's Largest Private Companies, and is the largest in Florida.[8] Fortune ranked Publix #1 on their 2018 list of World's Most Admired Companies in the Food & Drug Stores sector.[9] The company's 2017 sales totaled US$34.6 billion, with profits of $2.3 billion, ranking No. 88 on Fortune magazine's Fortune 500 list of U.S. companies by revenue for 2017.[10]According to the National Retail Federation, based on 2017 revenue, Publix is the fifteenth-largest U.S. retailer.[6][better source needed]Publix stock is only available for purchase by eligible active employees and non-employee members of its Board of Directors.
