Grocery guru appointed to OSU advisory board

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

A retail food industry expert is the newest member of the Oklahoma State University Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center advisory board.

Appointed by the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, Marc Jones, president and CEO for HAC Inc. in Oklahoma City, joins the 16-member Industry Advisory Committee to help oversee the center’s mission and vision.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to join the FAPC advisory board,” Jones said. “My fellow board members are an impressive group of Oklahoman food industry leaders that I look forward to working with.”

Born in Montreal, Canada, and raised in British Columbia, Canada, Jones is responsible for all business, marketing, strategies, planning and general well-being for corporate HAC Inc. Prior to becoming president and CEO in 2016, Jones served as chief operating officer for the employee-owned company. From 1996 to 2015, he worked at Daymon Worldwide in Stamford, Connecticut, and The Fresh Market Inc. in Greensboro, North Carolina.

HAC Inc. owns and operates more than 80 supermarkets in Oklahoma and surrounding states, including Homeland, Country Mart, Food World, United, Cash Saver and Piggly Wiggly. The company employs about 2,800 associates in its Oklahoma stores.

Jones recently visited the center and met with FAPC Director Roy Escoubas and center faculty and staff. The Dec. 11 visit also included a tour of the FAPC facility.

Prior to visiting the center, Jones attended his first Industry Advisory Committee meeting Dec. 3 via Zoom and will join the other advisory board members during their next biannual meeting June 3.

“After touring FAPC, I am even more excited about the incredible resource we have here in Oklahoma,” he said. “The people and facility are truly world class and offer Oklahoma agricultural and food industry companies a great resource to develop products and grow our industry and the economic benefits for our state.”

Escoubas said Jones’ experience in the retail grocery business and his leadership with HAC Inc. makes him an excellent resource to the committee.

“Mr. Jones is an experienced executive having led HAC Inc. these past years with excitement and extensive knowledge and experience in general business management, retail sales and marketing, brand management and grocery merchandising strategies,” he said. “HAC Inc. grocery stores are the most widely recognizable grocery stores across Oklahoma, and they significantly contribute to the economic well-being of rural and metropolitan Oklahoma.”

FAPC, a part of OSU’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, helps to discover, develop and deliver technical and business information that stimulates and supports the growth of value-added food and agricultural products and processing in Oklahoma.

MEDIA CONTACT: Mandy Gross | FAPC Communications Services | 405-744-0442 | mandy.gross@okstate.edu