Dennis O’Brien
Account Executive Carolinas
Dennis and his lovely family cheesing it up!
Dennis went to work for A&P when he was 16 as a butcher in the meat department (that would not happen today as OSHA would forbid it). After 7 years and with all fingers still intact he was promoted to Grocery Manager supervising all stockers. His now wife says he smelled significantly better after leaving the butcher room. After 6 months of supervising the stock team Dennis began an intensive manager training program while simultaneously welcoming a new baby boy to the family. The man excels under stress! Dennis worked in all departments though the management program learning the individual problems, solutions, and ins and outs that each subset of the store requited. It turns out you don’t manage butchers and cashiers the same way- Who knew?
Dennis showing off his catch!
Dennis was rewarded for his hard work when he was named a store manager at only 23 years old. He steadily increased store sales and profits over the next 11 years while developing many great relationships with folks in the industry. Tiring of the 60+ hour weeks, endless reporting, and with a family at home he left A&P after an 18 year run to work for what is now Spartan-Nash Company. He started as an account sales manager over several independent stores and was quickly promoted (yet again- Notice a pattern?) to key account manager where he was responsible for the majority of Nash Finch Lumberton’s customers. Eventually he was promoted to Account Sales manager with total grocery, layout and planogram responsibility for all stores except the Pig. After 38 years at Nash, he went to work for Koch & Associates in March of 2019. With Dennis’s knowledge and friendships with every store in the market, he has exponentially grown our distribution and total dollar sales.
Dennis has been married to his wife Judy for 53 years and they have 1 very successful son. Dennis spends a lot of time with his Grandson and a Granddaughter whom he regularly spoils rotten. His hobbies are fishing and watching Duke football & basketball and also closely follows the Atlanta Braves. Dennis is one of the nicest people you will ever meet and he is an absolute pleasure to manage. His ability to get things done inside the Spartan-Nash system is phenomenal and pays big results for our principals, this brokerage, and the Nash Finch retailers.