The Fresh Market creates two C-suite roles after Cencosud deal

By Nathan Brooks

The Fresh Market has created two C-suite roles, appointing Alyssa Vescio as chief commercial officer and Marcio Ribeiro as chief digital officer. The grocer confirmed the appointments to Grocery Dive, and both positions are newly created.

Vescio previously served as The Fresh Market’s chief merchandising officer. Her new role brings marketing, merchandising and commercial planning under one leader. That concentration links what the chain offers, how it brings those products to market and how it communicates them.

A company spokesperson wrote in emailed comments: “Together, the three teams shape what The Fresh Market offers, how it brings those offerings to market and how it tells its story.”

The spokesperson added: “Having them work side by side helps the company create the best experience for its guests and deliver on its mission to inspire them to make everyday eating extraordinary.”

Ribeiro’s chief digital officer role covers a broad operating stack:

• Direct e-commerce
• Loyalty
• The digital experience
• Information technology

The assignment puts customer-facing commerce and the supporting technology under the same executive. It also places loyalty alongside e-commerce and digital experience rather than treating them as separate programs. Quite a remit.

The Fresh Market says one of its main goals is to better align and integrate with parent company Cencosud, a retailer with operations across North and South America. Against that objective, the grocer now has named leaders for commercial and digital execution. Integration is the stated aim. The reporting map is less finished.

The retailer has not named new leaders for Vescio’s or Ribeiro’s former roles. Vescio’s old title was chief merchandising officer; Ribeiro’s previous title was not disclosed. A little unfinished housekeeping.

What does this change for The Fresh Market?

It changes who owns the grocer’s commercial engine and digital stack. Marketing, merchandising and commercial planning now sit with Vescio. Direct e-commerce, loyalty, digital experience and IT sit with Ribeiro.

For suppliers and marketing partners, the practical change is clearer ownership: commercial work runs through Vescio, while loyalty, app and digital-commerce work runs through Ribeiro. One map does not guarantee one culture, but it does make responsibility easier to locate.

The appointments also follow a two-year sequence of corporate and customer-facing changes. The Fresh Market has undergone a number of changes in the past two years, according to its announcement to Grocery Dive. Key milestones include:

• Brian Johnson became president and CEO in February 2025.
• Cencosud acquired The Fresh Market in August 2025.
• Earlier this year, the grocer revamped its loyalty program and launched its first native app.

The loyalty revamp lands directly within Ribeiro’s remit. The first native app also falls under digital experience, giving him responsibility for a new app alongside e-commerce and the updated loyalty program.

Vescio and Ribeiro now join a grocer with Brian Johnson as president and CEO and Cencosud as owner. The company has tied its next phase to Cencosud integration, while its own structure remains in motion.

The two hires show where The Fresh Market is concentrating accountability: commercial choices, customer-facing digital tools and the technology beneath them. For the grocer’s teams and partners, that is the practical change. Cencosud now has a more consolidated operating bench to work with.