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Whole Foods' next CEO wants to reconnect the chain with its higher purpose

July 11, 2022Written by Tom Ryan

Speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s Global Food Forum, Jason Buechel said one of his goals as the next CEO of Whole Foods Market is “to reconnect to many parts of our heritage as a company.” Mr. Buechel, who will replace Whole Foods’ co-founder John Mackey on Sept. 1, noted that there has been “just a lot of change within the company over the last five to six years” following Amazon.com’s 2017 acquisition. He particularly called out “distractions” over the last two years as the safety of associates and customers, as well as supply chain challenges, became a priority. “One of my top goals is to reignite the connection to our higher purpose, mission and core values with our team members,” said Mr. Buechel. “We've been through a lot.” Mr. Buechel, who has worked alongside Mr. Mackey as COO since 2019, said a major change under Amazon’s ownership has been investing aggressively in prices that he believes have attracted new customers and better positioned the chain for current inflationary pressures. “Our price perception is in a better place now,” said Mr. Buechel. “And as we look at the broader market, we're really proud of where we show up, especially on entry-level price points for high-quality products.” Amazon has also helped Whole Foods embrace a “long-term vision” to support investments in areas such as price and supply chain as well as the chain’s broader mission of elevating quality and ethical standards in the grocery space. As a public company, quarterly growth and profit targets were often prioritized, but Amazon ownership has helped Whole Foods explore what they are “going to do in 10 years that's going to change the world,” according to Mr. Buechel. “What are the things that we're going to be doing to reduce food waste,” he said. “What are we going to do to improve our social environmental impact? And so for me, that's something that's important. It's important for our team members. It's important for our stakeholders. It's one of our differentiations. We're more than just a grocery store.”

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