Laura Shapira Karet often finds herself setting unrealistic goals for her company. At Giant Eagle Inc., Karet is one of the driving forces in the company’s constant innovation and evolution.
Karet encourages all employees to think beyond what is just achievable. The culture she sets as the senior executive vice president and chief strategy officer of Giant Eagle stresses the idea of continuous reinvention by examining what could be possible and then figuring out how to achieve it. With this mindset, she has inspired and led the 33,000 employees of the Giant Eagle family to realize tremendous results.
Karet serves as a visible ambassador of the company’s business model, which focuses on achieving operational excellence, using innovation for growth and always showing respect for people. She lives the tenets of the Giant Eagle culture every day in order to lead from the top down and spread these ideals throughout the organization, maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit and culture of camaraderie that helped grow the company to become one of the biggest players in its industry.
One of the greatest leadership challenges Karet has faced is selecting which growth opportunities Giant Eagle will invest in and when, especially when dealing with limited resources. However, her foresight and ability to identify the most advantageous risks for Giant Eagle is one of the key reasons the company has driven incredible customer loyalty and differentiated itself as a multiformat retailer. In the past decade, she’s been vital in spearheading Giant Eagle’s long-term strategic plan and helping the company achieve significant expansion by taking strategic risks to reinvent its offerings. With ideas such as the Fuelperks and Foodperks discount redemption programs, gift card rewards and others, her continuing vision for what could be keeps the 80-year-old company evolving and growing.
How to reach: Giant Eagle Inc., (412) 963-6200 or www.gianteagle.com
