Hari Avula has joined the board of directors at specialty grocer Sprouts Farmers Market.
Phoenix-based Sprouts said late yesterday that Avula brings extensive financial and strategic expertise from top consumer packaged goods (CPG) and retail brands to the company’s board. Currently, he serves as chief financial and strategic officer at Clif Bar & Co., a role he has held since May 2021.
“I am thrilled and humbled to join the Sprouts board,” Avula (pictured left) said in a statement. “I have long admired Sprouts for supporting wellness in its communities, and I look forward to working with the board and management team as Sprouts continues to fulfill its mission of broadening access to healthy living options.”
As chief financial and strategic officer at Clif Bar, Avula leads the financial management and enterprise strategy functions for the nutritious and organic food company. He came to Clif Bar from Walgreens Boots Alliance, where he served as CFO of global business transformation and digital/IT from 2020 to 2021 and, prior to that, as CFO of the Retail Pharmacy USA business from 2017 to 2020.
Before joining Walgreens, Avula spent more than 22 years at PepsiCo in a range of financial and strategic roles. Most recently, he served as CFO of Frito Lay North America from 2015 to 2017. He also held a variety of senior vice president posts with PepsiCo and Frito-Lay in finance, sales and marketing, and strategy, along with international roles in Thailand and Australia.
“I’m excited to welcome Hari to our board,” Sprouts CEO and board director Jack Sinclair stated. “Hari’s financial acumen and strategic experience at companies of scale will be highly valuable as we continue to grow.”
With the addition of Avula, the Sprouts board has eight members, led by Chairman Joseph Fortunato, who has served in that role since February 2017 and on the retailer’s board since May 2013.
Overall, Sprouts operates about 380 fresh, natural and organic grocery stores in 23 states nationwide.