Jennifer Crandall, Global Sourcing
About me
On a personal level, I have been married for 14 years and together with my husband about 20 years. We have chosen to not have kids and instead are working towards early retirement. I have a Food Science degree from Purdue University and have about 8 years manufacturing plant experience including Quality Assurance, Product Development and Supervision. I joined the Kroger team about 10 years ago in their Corporate Food Technology Department and worked in Quality Assurance of 3rd party vendors and the Regulatory team monitoring certifications of those 3rd party vendors. I took on a new career twist within The Kroger Company about 2 years ago by going into Global Sourcing and have been helping the company develop our programs.
About my company
The Kroger Company is the largest grocery retailer in the United States and currently the 4th largest grocery retailer in the World. We operate solely in the United States and reported $108.5 Billion in sales for 2014. The company has strong values and a good reputation. We employ nearly 400,000 people across the United States in over corporate and regional offices, 2640 stores, 700+ convenient stores, 37 manufacturing facilities and 37 distribution centers. For more information, please visit our website at: www.kroger.com.
I chose this career path because
I joined the Global Sourcing team because I was looking for a new challenge with the opportunity of global travel. I was chosen for the position because I have a strong food science background that can help assist the team and I have a good understanding of the various steps that a product goes through from growing in the field to being put on the shelf.
I prepared for this career by
I have a Bachelor's Degree in Food Science from Purdue University, extensive background in dairy and juice manufacturing, corporate quality assurance and regulatory.
The biggest challenge I've overcome
The biggest challenge that I continue to strive for is the balance between career and home.
My greatest strength(s)
I am a fast learner and have a high level perspective, which helps to identify opportunities quickly. I feel my greatest strength is my ability to identify goals immediately and the tasks required in order to achieve those goals.
My greatest accomplishment to date
I am really proud of my career and where it has led me so far. I have organized trips for the company to Italy and Spain and now to China and Vietnam and it thrills me.
My personal/professional goals
My professional goals is to find my niche for happiness and finding the balance of a simple life with it. I would love to experience early retirement, living a simple life, creating more balance and finding pure simplicity in life.
What/Who has inspired me the most
There are so many people that have inspired me in my lifetime that it is hard to pinpoint any specific person. Right now, my inspiration is coming from a friend that has been bold enough to leave her high paying technical job to follow her dream of being a drug/alcohol counselor. She could not be happier and that inspires me that there is greener grass on the other side of the fence.
I most want to be known/remembered for
I want most to be remembered as a person who was real and honest with everyone I have ever met. I have a pretty snarky blog that I have started and I shared in my website. It can be lude at times, but the goal is to share who I am and the crazy thoughts in my head. Feel free to check it out below.
I participate in the following organizations/memberships
Swing This Council (Advisory Board for Swing This Kettlebell Strength & Studio).
I support the missions of these charities/volunteer my time
Swing This is a functional fitness studio and we support many causes together at that location. Also, anything cancer related, I have been spending more and more time supporting runs and causes as it has affected so many people in my life.
I enjoy the following hobbies/interests
I enjoy spending time with my husband, fishing in Florida with him, visiting my friends and working out at my local kettlebell gym.