This week, the council interviewed the three finalists for the General Manager (GM) position selected by a search committee of member-owners, staff, and a council member. We will meet next week to decide whom to invite to in-person sessions with the Member-Owners, employees, and the council.  

The most important task for the council and the Co-op this year is to hire a GM who will meet the Co-op’s current needs. With that in mind, I want to share some things I learned at the beginning of April from sibling co-ops, mostly in Vermont, when I interviewed eight people involved in GM hiring.

The process we are using is the most open and transparent process of any that was described to me. More than one co-op used a search/hiring committee composed solely of a subset of its board (that’s the generic term for what we call the council). In a couple of the co-ops, only part of the board was involved even in the final interview; the rest of the board relied on the committee report. None of the other co-ops involved member-owners in the process, and only one reported that candidates met with staff.  

Other co-ops have a deep level of respect and affection for Hunger Mountain Co-op as an institution, plus admiration for its excellent financial situation. Everyone I reached out to was eager to help our co-op, and some spoke about how much Hunger Mountain Co-op helped other co-ops, regionally and nationally. A person who serves as liaison for 65 food co-ops in the eastern corridor told me he thought the Hunger Mountain Co-op GM position is the most desirable one in the country now: we are financially stable, sales are good, and we’ve had a good year.  

Another person wrote to me to say, “I also think part of what makes Hunger Mountain a good opportunity [for an incoming GM] is operationally it’s exemplary. The Co-op has one of the best local product acquisition programs in the country, the replenishment systems are top of the line, there is really good talent on the management team, and the competition is quite limited. The infrastructure is in good condition, and the standards for product offerings and service are high.” 

As I reported in the previous e-newsletter, when the search committee sent the council the three finalists, it wrote that it “is unanimous in its belief that any of these three candidates could manage our co-op very well.” Given the respect that our co-op commands from its peers, it’s not a surprise that the GM position would attract highly qualified candidates. With our open and transparent hiring process, we look forward to the greater co-op community getting a chance to meet the finalists and give input to the council. 

—Carl Etnier, Council President