What You Don't Know About Whole Foods' Lee Matecko

Whole Foods Market global VP Lee Matecko will be the keynote speaker at Bisnow’s Austin Retail & Mixed-Use event on Jan. 27 at the Omni Austin Hotel Downtown. Here are a few things you may not know about Lee.

2016 Goal for Whole Foods: Continue to sell the highest-quality food; enrich the in-store and digital customer experience; open about 30 new stores, including our first three 365 by Whole Foods Market stores.

What do you think is the single biggest strength of Austin? A diverse, educated, health and wellness-focused, open-minded community

What's coming down the road after 2016, maybe late 2017: Cedar Park will be home to a future 365 by Whole Foods Market store.

How is Whole Foods part of the community? Our Whole Planet Foundation previously committed $1M to Grameen America to launch microcredit lending operations in Austin. To date, over 1,000 families have been assisted with small business loans, with a 99.5% repayment rate; $800k has been distributed, we are planning to distribute the final $200k in 2016. 

Favorite Food: Anything from the salad bar at Whole Foods Market— healthy and excellent!

Last Vacation: South Carolina

Family: Wife, Sandee; three daughters

Alma Mater: University of Texas

Career Highlights: Lots of them—anything that allows me to learn, grow, contribute

First Job: Grocery store stocking

Secret Talent: Learned Born to Run on the piano, though not a piano player. I love the song and its complexity, so I had to go for it!

Pictured with wife, Sandee.