Susan Morris was still in high school when she began her career at Albertsons, one of the largest food and drug retailers in the U.S. Her first position was a customer service clerk in Denver, Colorado. But since then, she has not only worked her way up into the company's C-suite, she’s also become widely admired for her readiness to accept challenges and bring teams together.

In fact, since January 2018, Morris has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for the popular grocery store chain, which is a $76.7 billion company employing over 290,000 employees. In this role, she leads the company’s retail operations, such as supply chain and manufacturing, and thus oversees more than 2,200 stores across 34 states.

Overall, she has more than three decades' worth of experience in the grocery industry. She has held roles ranging from Store Director to Corporate Grocery Sales Director, VP of Bakery and Operations, and VP of Customer Satisfaction. In 2013, after three years in the company’s Southwest division, Morris became Intermountain Division President. Two years later, she was appointed to lead the Denver division. Morris was then named Executive VP of East Operations in April 2016; and transitioned to lead West region operations in April 2017.

But, Morris didn’t spend her entire professional career with Albertsons. In October 2006, after spending time as VP of Operations for Albertons, she moved over to SuperValu, serving first as VP of Customer Satisfaction and then as Senior VP of Sales and Merchandising. Then in February 2010 she rejoined Albertsons.

Morris, who received a Bachelor of Science is social science/political science from Colorado State University, has been recognized numerous times for her leadership in the grocery industry. This includes being honored as a Progressive Grocer Top Woman in Grocery twice: in 2009 and 2016. She's also been given a Trailblazer Award from Progressive Grocer.

Besides her COO role, Morris is also the Executive Sponsor for the Albertsons Companies Pride Alliance. Additionally, she serves as Board Chair for the Albertsons Companies Foundation; and serves on the board of the Food Marketing Institute and the San Francisco District 12 Federal Reserve Bank board.