The Hanover Co-op stayed in-house to find its next general manager: Amanda Charland, the Co-op’s director of cooperative engagement, will be the first woman to lead the 87-year-old cooperative society.
She will succeed Paul Guidone, who announced his retirement in November.
Charland, who joined the Co-op as sustainability coordinator in 2012, has played a key role in designing the Co-op’s community outreach initiatives, such as has launching the charity funding program Pennies for Change, the food access program Double-Up-Food Bucks and the Co-op Car Connects program at the Service Centers, in addition to overseeing improvements at the Culinary Learning Center, Co-op board chair Nick Clark said in making the announcement on Monday.
“Her leadership style is people-centric, an attribute noted as important to both employees and member-owners in the feedback sessions conducted by the search committee and the board,” Clark said, noting that Charland won out for the job over a “variety of qualified candidates” identified by a national management search firm.
Charland officially assumes her duties on April 30, the Co-op said. She will oversee the societies stores in Hanover, Lebanon, Lyme and White River Junction, two automotive service centers and a commercial kitchen.
— John Lippman