FMI instituted the newest award in honor of Robert B. Wegman, whose half-century leadership of Wegmans Food Markets was marked by a creative retail savvy that grew their family grocery business into one of the largest privately-held companies in the United States. Since joining the company in 1964 as a store manager, Danny Wegman helped mold the organization into one of the top-ranking companies to work for, recognized by FORTUNE magazine for the past 15 years and placed at #1 the first year Wegman became CEO in 2005. Under Wegman’s leadership, the nearly 100-year-old privately owned brand has become a $6.2 billion family-friendly franchise.

Danny Wegman was recently quoted in the press saying, “Leading with your heart can make a successful business. That’s how free enterprise works.” In that same spirit, the Robert B. Wegman Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence will annually celebrate the food retailer or wholesaler responsible for creating exceptional retail innovations.

“Danny is the humblest person I know,” said Wegmans’ senior vice president of store operations, Jack DePeters. “His drive for high standards, and leading with his heart, inspires our people to give incredible service to our customers and each other.”

DePeters continued, “Danny models our slogan of ‘Every day you get our best.’ He has the innate ability to see new things and relate them back to our business so that we can follow our customer from two steps ahead.”

In addition to FMI’s Robert B. Wegman Award, his recognitions include Supermarket News’ Top 50 Power Players – Fifty Most Powerful People in Food Retailing from 2003 through 2011, and Wegmans Food Markets is consistently on FORTUNE magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list. Danny Wegman’s achievements also include winning FMI’s Sidney R. Rabb Award in 2003, which his father, Robert B. Wegman won in 1981; they are the only father and son to be given this award.

To view the Robert B. Wegman Award announcement at Midwinter, visit here.