Whole Foods CMMO Shares Her Top 3 Leadership Strategies

Since joining Whole Foods nearly a decade ago, Sonya Gafsi Oblisk has risen through the leadership ranks. She started as global vice president of marketing in 2016 and grew to executive vice president of marketing and communications and chief marketing officer. In January 2023, she was named chief merchandising and marketing officer.

And Whole Foods isn’t the only big-name company on Oblisk’s résumé, which spans over two decades of leadership in the food, retail, and consumer goods industries. She’s served as an executive at Walmart, The Coca-Cola Company, and Kraft Foods, where she started her management journey.

The Whole Foods CMMO shared her top 3 leadership tactics with BI.

1. Leveraging a “we can do anything (but not everything)” mindset

Earlier in her career, Oblisk equated success with saying yes to everything. Over time, though, she realized that real progress comes from being clear about what drives desired outcomes, not just busywork and activity.

“I love setting bold goals, but I’ve learned that ambition without focus often leads to burnout and diluted impact,” Oblisk said.

Now, she encourages her team to regularly ask: Is this generating results or just more motion?

Oblisk’s anything-but-not-everything mindset came to life during a recent collaboration with her tech and product teams. They had a shortlist of e-commerce enhancements, but limited time and resources to achieve all the points they wanted.

Her teams’ top priority was relaunching the company’s online catering portal ahead of the holidays, which required tight coordination, engineering, store training, and operational execution, all under a tight timeline. With “laser focus” and a results-oriented approach, Oblisk said her teams delivered just in time for Thanksgiving.

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“By prioritizing a specific goal and deprioritizing other projects — and not trying to do everything — you gain the commitment and focus to land the initiative flawlessly,” she explained.

Going through her company’s annual goals process helps her teams build this level of focus from the start and revisit it throughout the year to make smart trade-offs.

“As leaders, modeling the importance of saying ‘no’ empowers teams to do the same,” she said. “In a world overloaded with information and demands, mental clarity has become a leadership superpower. This mindset helps protect not just our priorities, but our people and purpose.”

2. Maintaining an active feedback loop

Oblisk feels that one of the most rewarding parts of her role is spending time in stores talking with team members.

“I always leave inspired by their passion and product knowledge — and armed with insights that help make our programs stronger,” she said.

In 2023, Oblisk’s executive team committed to visiting all of the company’s 500+ stores and facilities. During these visits, she likes to gather feedback, whether in aisles, back of house, or at Whole Foods’ distribution centers.

“It was a big undertaking, but the value was undeniable, and we’ve repeated it every year since,” she said. “Often, the biggest pain points for team members mirror those our customers feel — my goal is to solve for both.”

A moment that stands out to her happened at the company’s South Lake Tahoe store, when what started as a casual chat turned into a 40-person discussion about the company’s oil standards, covering canola oil, cooking methods, and nutrition.

“That energy sparked a re-evaluation of how we talk about oils in our prepared food programs,” Oblisk said. “It was a reminder that our frontline team members aren’t just executing; they’re shaping our future.”

Feedback loops can’t be transactional, Oblisk said. Instead, they should be relational and grounded in trust and openness.

“In an era of screen-heavy communication, creating space for real, human connection matters more than ever,” she said. “When you’re truly listening, feedback doesn’t just solve problems — it unlocks ideas you didn’t even know you needed.”

3. Working from a stakeholder model

“I don’t believe in zero-sum thinking,” she said. “Great outcomes come from alignment, not compromise.”

With this in mind, Oblisk said she leads with a stakeholder mindset, evaluating decisions through the lens of all they impact — from customers and team members to suppliers, communities, and the environment.

The CMMO said she saw this firsthand during a 2024 trip to West Africa with her company’s partners, Dr. Bronner’s and Pacha Soap Co.

“Palm oil, a common ingredient in body care, has long been associated with deforestation and labor abuses,” Oblisk said. “But through conversations on the ground, I witnessed what’s possible when sourcing is treated as a shared responsibility benefiting farmers, workers, communities, the planet, and our customers.”

“For me, that’s the essence of a ‘win-win’ — doing what’s right for business while uplifting the people and places behind every product,” she said.

Are you a leader and have tips or insights to share? Contact this editor, Jane Zhang, at janezhang@businessinsider.com.