Progressive Grocer has elevated veteran journalist and current Executive Editor Gina Acosta to the role of Editor-in-Chief, effective immediately. The announcement comes as PG celebrates its 100th anniversary and follows the recent departure of Editorial Director Mike Troy, who made a personal decision to pursue an opportunity with a retail technology company after a lengthy career in B2B publishing.

"Gina is the right person at the right time to build on the momentum PG has established in recent years," said John Schrei, brand director, Progressive Grocer. "Gina has helped elevate our editorial products and provided strong leadership and growth of our Top Women in Grocery program. The entire EnsembleIQ leadership team and I have great confidence Gina will elevate the PG brand to new levels and we wish Mike well with his new opportunity."

PG will be observing its 100th anniversary in 2022 with a full slate of themed content exploring the grocery industry's rich history, a broad slate of special reports on hot topics, and the introduction of a suite of cutting-edge digital products that connect retailers, suppliers and solution providers in new ways.

"It is a huge honor to be entrusted to carry on the rich history of the Progressive Grocer brand," Acosta said. "We've got a lot of good things planned for 2022 and I look forward to working with my colleagues Bridget Goldschmidt, Lynn Petrak and Marian Zboraj to serve our market and deliver results for our customers."

Acosta has been a writer and editor for Retailing Today, Drug Store News and Store Brands. She was an editor at the Tampa Bay Times, and served on the editorial board of the Washington Post and as an assistant editor there for more than 13 years. She has also worked for the Hartford Courant, Tallahassee Democrat and Miami Herald.

In 2006, Acosta was awarded the Nieman Fellowship for Journalism at Harvard University, where she spent more than a year studying retail, agribusiness and teaching journalism. She has received the Hispanic Media 100 Award, Women in Communications Leadership Award, Tallahassee Democrat Award for Newsroom Excellence, Dow Jones Newspaper Fund Intern Award and Hearst Journalism Award. She has also been selected as a fellow by Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Poynter Institute, the Maynard Media Academy and American Society of Newspaper Editors.

Acosta is a journalism graduate of Florida A&M University and holds a master’s from the University of Tampa.

About Progressive Grocer

Progressive Grocer has served the needs of the food and consumables industry for 100 years guided by a philosophy of, “ahead of what’s next.” Progressive Grocer educates, inspires and connects the industry through an award-winning monthly magazine and website, e-newsletters, custom media, exclusive research and virtual and live events. Progressive Grocer is part of the EnsembleIQ family of brands.