GMDC presents Lifetime Achievement Award to Ahold USA executive

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. GMDC last week awarded its 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award to Wayne Bryant of Ahold USA at its Health Beauty Wellness Marketing Conference in Orlando, Fla.

GMDC annually bestows its Lifetime Achievement Award on a person who has contributed significantly to the general merchandise or health beauty wellness industries, as well as to GMDC through his or her leadership. Bryant has been a regular participant at GMDC marketing conferences since 1981 and has served on both the GMDC Conference Evaluation Task Force and GMDC Education Leadership Council during his nearly thirty years of involvement in the association, GMDC stated.

"[Bryant] has brought terrific leadership to GMDC and our industry that goes back to his early days in Maine with Progressive Distributors,” stated GMDC president David McConnell. “His thought leadership was extremely valuable to GMDC during the two terms he served on the Education Leadership Council.  [Bryant] developed a new process for evaluating whether to develop projects and studies that are still utilized to ensure GMDC’s education and insights work truly delivers actionable output to our membership."

Bryant's career has included more than 34 years in the nonfoods business. He began his career in 1975 when he joined the sales force at Progressive Distributors, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hannaford Brothers Company in Winthrop, Maine. In 1994, Bryant relocated to Buffalo, N.Y. and joined the newly created American Sales Company as OTC category manager.  He has received increased responsibilities within American Sales Company over the ensuing years and today serves as its director of HBC/GM Procurement.