Stephanie Naito retired in March 2024 as the Vice President of Talent Management for Meijer, Inc., the Grand Rapids-based retailer that operates more than 500 locations in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. A privately-owned and family-operated company since 1934, Meijer pioneered the “one-stop shopping” concept and has evolved through the years to include expanded fresh produce and meat departments, as well as pharmacies, comprehensive apparel departments, pet departments, garden centers, toys and electronics.                     

In her role, Stephanie oversaw talent management, leadership development, learning and instructional design, organizational development, recognition and engagement and the Meijer Heritage Center. She also served as the Human Resource business partner for the Global Sourcing Offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangladesh. Under Stephanie’s leadership, the company introduced several new initiatives and programs designed to establish a high-performance culture and enhance organizational capability and effectiveness, such as establishing a competency performance model, conducting a company-wide survey of team members about total rewards programs, and truly human leadership training programs. These initiatives will ensure the organization has exceptional capability and organizational bench strength to deliver industry leading business results across all levels of the organization into the future.

Prior to Meijer, Stephanie was the Vice President of Talent Management at Nash Finch Company based in Minneapolis, MN, where she oversaw talent management, talent acquisition, diversity, training and development, and performance management. She also led Sales Management Development, an initiative designed to develop a sales-driven culture and workforce planning strategy. 

Stephanie previously served as Group Vice President of Talent Development at Rite Aid Corporation, where she led diversity, talent acquisition, training, organizational development, associate engagement, customer satisfaction and call center operations. Additionally, she was the Vice President of Strategic Recruitment and Organizational Development at Fred Meyer Stores, a division of Kroger based in Portland, OR and held leadership roles at Ross Stores where she began her career in both retail management and human resource.

Stephanie earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose State University. She serves on Michigan Women Froward board of trustees, Grand Rapids Art Museum board of trustees and Cherry Health Foundation board of trustees. Stephanie proudly resides in Grand Rapids.