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John Shields
Since his 1993 retirement as President and
Chief Executive Officer of First National Supermarkets,
Inc., John Shields has remained active in a variety of
retail and consumer-related businesses. Mr. Shields is
currently the Lead Director of Ganeden Biotech, a
manufacturer of pro-biotic products selling at retail under
the Digestive Advantage label and as an ingredient in
pro-biotic foods. He is also Vice Chairman of the Board of
Directors of EcoSmart Technologies, a manufacturer of
botanical herbicides and pesticides. From 1996-2007, Mr.
Shields served on the Board of Wild Oats Markets, Inc., and
was Chairman from 1996-2004. From 1997-2002, he was Chairman
of the Board of Homeland Stores, Inc., Oklahoma’s leading
supermarket chain. Mr. Shields also served on the Boards of
two urban development banks, Southshore Bank of Chicago, and
Shorebank of Cleveland, and as a special advisor to the CEO
of Arhaus, a privately owned, nationally operated, upscale
furniture store chain. From 1966-1983, Mr. Shields was
employed by Jewel Food Stores in Chicago, with officer
responsibilities as VP Sales and Advertising, VP Sales -
Chicagoland, VP Store Operations - Midwest Division, VP
Research and Development, VP Produce and Floral, and VP
General Merchandise. He has been an active private investor
in a variety of new retail concepts, including floral
superstores, natural herbal and dental products, Applestix,
retail software, specialty toy retailing, urban “fresh
stores,” retail real estate, organic dairy products, pasta
manufacturing, home improvement stores, veterinary
telemedicine and affordable housing. Mr. Shields has also
been very active in leadership and civic organizations,
earlier, as a member of the Boards of Cleveland Tomorrow,
Greater Cleveland Roundtable, Health Hill Hospital for
Children, Minority Economic Opportunity Center, Leadership
Cleveland, Cleveland Scholarship, Young Presidents
Organization, Committee for Public Art and the Dean’s
Advisory Committee of the Goizueta School of Business at
Emory University. He continues to serve on the Boards of
Cleveland’s Neighborhood Progress, Inc., and the Telluride
Historical Museum. Mr. Shields’ successful development of
inner-city supermarkets has been recognized in the Wall
Street Journal and the Harvard Business School Bulletin. He
was honored alongside Finast Supermarkets with the Business
Enterprise Trust’s Business Enterprise Award in 1993 and, in
1999, with the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award by the
Emory University Goizueta School of Business. Mr. Shields
received a B.B.A degree with Honors from Emory University in
1964, and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of
Business in 1966 where he was a J. Spencer Love Fellow.
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