-By Jane Olszeski Tortola

Recently heralded as one of Pennsylvania's 50 top businesswomen, Shelly Sponholz has had an exceptional career in the supermarket industry. Today her good work benefits Giant Eagle, the Pittsburgh-based privately held grocer where Sponholz is s.v.p. of real estate and asset management.

But her experience in the food business goes well beyond grocery retailing. Earlier on, she was recruited and hired by McDonald's, where she climbed the corporate ladder, ultimately reaching the post of regional real estate manager.

"It seems like just yesterday that I was working with McDonald's Corp. alongside two fantastic regional v.p.'s: Bill Hockett and Jan Fields," recounts Sponholz. "Bill originally hired me, and I found him always to be a great advocate of diversity at McDonald's. Under his leadership, I was selected as a McDonald's President's Award recipient, one of the highest honors presented to corporate employees.

"I also had the pleasure of working with Jan, who is currently the North American president of McDonald's Corp. She was then, and is today, a constant source of inspiration not only for me, but for all women in business. Jan worked her way up from working in the restaurants to her current position as one of the most powerful executives in the organization."

For Sponholz, it was her own inspiring performance at McDonald's, as well as her ambition to expand into new disciplines such as lease administration and asset management, that led to her joining the Giant Eagle organization in 1995, initially as v.p. of real estate. She was hired by John Lucot, now president of the Giant Eagle Supermarkets division. "He’s an incredibly smart and dynamic leader," says Sponholz of Lucot. "John challenges me to always achieve the best possible results in everything we do."

She also acknowledges c.e.o. David Shapira as "the visionary who sets the bar on continuous improvement and professionalism throughout the organization."

Relying on 'confidence and support'

Leading a staff of 50 deployed across a variety of real estate disciplines no doubt requires Sponholz to be on top of her game 24/7. The work encompasses real estate development and market research, site selection, and lease/purchase negotiations, as well as lease administration and accounting, asset management, facilities management for all Giant Eagle properties, store maintenance, corporate office facilities management, and space-planning management for the grocer's office spaces in Pittsburgh; Cleveland, Ohio; and Youngstown, Ohio.

"It requires confidence and support," admits Sponholz, who adds that both qualities were instilled in her at a young age. "When I was growing up, my father reminded me always that there was nothing I couldn't achieve if I wanted it badly enough. In fact, it was at his urging that I became the first high school athlete in our school district to play on a men's varsity team. Needless to say, it caused quite a stir with the parents of the male athletes, but my dad stood by me the entire time."

Last, but definitely not least, Sponholz credits much of her success to her husband, Mark, a retired teacher turned philanthropist, with whom she has two sons, Chad and Evan.

"During my years at McDonald's, when I was out of town up to four nights a week, he took on the lion's share of responsibility for keeping things running smoothly at home," she recalls. "He's always been a fantastic sounding board and a constant source of stability and grounding for me both personally and professionally."

Womanly words to the wise

As a food business exec who has broken new ground at two major food businesses, Sponholz can offer sage advice to young women who are considering a career within the industry.

Here's just one of her observations for aspiring execs to consider: "This is a great time to consider a career in the food industry. Historically this arena has been male-dominated, and I believe that there's a newfound appreciation for [women's contributions], and recognition that women need to be a critical part of helping to create current and future strategy. It's an extremely multifaceted business that can offer opportunities in a myriad of disciplines."


On location

As s.v.p. of real estate and asset management at Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle, and with years of real estate management experience at McDonald's before that, Shelly Sponholz is a font of strategic intelligence regarding site selection, leasing, and store development. To independent grocers, she suggests:

1) Don't ever lose sight of the fact that site selection is still "location, location, location." "While there are some major national retailers that can build on the fringe of the market (the 'build it and they will come" theory of site selection), for most retailers, and especially supermarkets, customers are still looking for convenience, easy access, and good parking."

2) If you're negotiating a new deal with a landlord or developer, make sure you're well represented by a strong real estate transactional attorney. "A new lease is a huge financial undertaking that you're most likely going to live with for 20 years or more," notes Sponholz. "I’ve seen many leases signed by independent retailers that contain provisions that could have a negative impact on the business in a variety of different ways.

"Having a supermarket exclusive is very important, as is making certain that you protect your common- area parking rights by requiring the landlord to obtain your consent for changes to the common area."