Michael Sansolo, the long time senior vice president of the Food Marketing Institute and past editor-in-chief of Progressive Grocer, offers a diverse and unique view of the changing nature of today’s shoppers and their impact on the food retail industry. Through countless studies and work with some of the world’s most innovative retailers and manufacturers, Sansolo has an excellent perspective on the changing nature of shopping, cooking, eating and competition.

In his 13 years as senior vice president at FMI, the biggest food retail association in the United States, Sansolo had oversight over all education, supply chain and research activities. Prior to joining FMI, Sansolo was editor-in-chief of Progressive Grocer magazine and was a reporter for Gannett Newspapers. In his career he received a number of awards for excellence in writing and reporting. He authored the magazine’s Annual Report of the Grocery Industry along with many other major research based studies.
Sansolo is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and company meetings in United States and around the globe addressing crowds from 20 to 4,000; from college students to CEOs of Fortune 100 organizations.

He is a current member of the Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council and is a past member of the American Greetings Research Council. He currently serves on the board of The Food Institute and Aisle 7, the makers of Health Notes. He is a long time member of the industry advisory board at Western Michigan University and has worked with students at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, George Mason University in Virginia and Portland (OR) State University. Sansolo is contributing editor and a weekly columnist for Morningnewsbeat.com.

Sansolo is a graduate of the State University of New York College at Cortland with a degree in political science, economics and journalism. Sansolo and his wife, Janice, have two children and are active in many school and community events.