Gary co-founded Encore Consumer Capital in 2005. He currently serves as a director of Brownie Brittle, Fantasy Cookie and Pint Size Hawaii, and previously was a director of former Encore portfolio companies Aidells Sausage Company, Caterina Foods, FreshKO, Mesa Foods and PhillySwirl.
Prior to Encore, Mr. Smith formed Encore Associates in 2001 following a successful 40 year career at Safeway. While at Safeway, he served as Senior Vice President of Marketing where he was credited with the development and implementation of many of Safeway’s industry-leading merchandising and marketing programs during his watch. These include Safeway’s category management process, Safeway’s customer loyalty card and the company’s premium private label program. In 1998 Mr. Smith accepted The Private Label Manufacturers Associations “Retailer of the Year” for his role in the development of the Safeway SELECT brand and private label merchandising strategy.