Four Industry Leaders Join GS1 US Board of Governors

EWING, N.J. — The GS1 US Board of Governors elected four industry leaders to join the GS1 US Board: Pavan Heda, Ph.D., vice president, global trade controls and enterprise supply chain PMO, Johnson & Johnson (J&J); Todd James, chief data and technology officer, 84.51°, Kroger; Kraig Narr, senior vice president, global supply chain and logistics, Target; and Mike Stigers, president, Wakefern Food Corp.

These executives will help guide the GS1 US strategy to drive the adoption and use of GS1 Standards as a common foundation for retail commerce, consumer experiences and supply chain management. The cross-industry GS1 US Board of Governors represents companies in apparel, general merchandise, retail grocery, foodservice, healthcare and 20 other industries.

“These accomplished leaders’ experience in shaping successful supply chains for four of the most prominent companies in the world will be instrumental in helping us guide our members in their respective transformation efforts,” said Bob Carpenter, president and CEO, GS1 US. “As the world moves deeper into a digital economy, unique identification of products, entities, locations and more will remain critical to connecting physical and digital channels to create a seamless shopping experience for consumers and also to provide deeper levels of visibility for all stakeholders in supply chains.”

Heda has worked at J&J for 25 years. During his tenure, Heda gained diverse experiences across all segments of the company (Innovative Medicine, MedTech, and previously owned Consumer Health) in areas of strategy development, portfolio management, product development, research and development operations, supply chain, project management and integration of acquired assets.

Leading Kroger’s data and advanced analytics agenda, James has broad responsibility across both Kroger and its subsidiary, 84.51°. He leads technology, data science, research and development and the Consumer Research P&L at 84.51°. Additionally, at Kroger, he is responsible for digital analytics, business intelligence, research and development and enterprise data. In this role, James leads efforts to build on Kroger’s data, science and technology capabilities, drive digital transformation and pave the way for continued growth.

At Target, Narr is responsible for design engineering, activation and product teams that create solutions to enable a positive guest and team member experience. Narr has been a Target team member since 1998 and has held various roles across the Target technology teams, most recently as the vice president of stores and supply chain technology.

Stigers joined Wakefern Food Corp., the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the United States, in 2023 as its president. Stigers brings with him five decades of food industry knowledge and has a track record in both the retail and wholesale sides of the supermarket business, having held executive roles in both operations, merchandising, supply chain and fresh. 

The GS1 US Board of Governors comprises executives from leading organizations including Amazon; Beth Israel Lahey Health in Boston; The Coca-Cola Company; Dot Foods, Inc.; eBay, Inc.; Golden State Foods; Google; Johnson & Johnson; Kroger; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; PepsiCo; The Procter & Gamble Company; Publix, Inc.; PVH Corp.; Target; Topco Associates LLC; Wakefern Food Corp.; Walmart; and Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. The full list is available at www.gs1us.org/bog.