Greg Sparks joined the Food City leadership team in September of 2016, as Chief Operations Officer & Senior Vice President. Prior to joining the Food City family, Greg had spent over 30 years working in the retail industry for several major retailers and served in the capacity of Division President and Executive Vice President of Store Operations. Throughout his career, business has taken him to various parts of the country, including an acquisition of stores in Alaska, and into international markets such as Egypt.


Originally from Enid, Oklahoma, Greg and his wife of 30 years, Adele have three children Whitney, a nurse in Nashville, Elle, a senior at Texas Christian University, and Jackson, a high school senior in Nashville. 

What interested you about K-VA-T Food Stores?  K-VA-T Food Stores and Steve Smith are well known in the industry and highly respected.  The company is known to have great stores and great people.  What especially interested me is the culture within the company.  The guiding principles are do what is right for our associates, customers and communities and the rest of the business takes care of itself.  My values closely align with that culture so I knew this company would be a good fit.


What has been the secret to your success?  Simply stated, “Surround yourself with good, talented people and do your best at everything you do”.  I also believe in using your head, heart and back to be successful.  Use your head (to work smart), your heart (to work well with people) and your back (to work hard).

What is your biggest goal/challenge? The challenge/opportunity I take most seriously is trying to make this company better than the previous day – every single day.  Steve and I are aligned in that we frequently discuss we have 16,000 families (16,000 associates) depending on this company’s success.  That responsibility keeps us appropriately focused.

What is your leadership philosophy?  I believe the best leaders don’t necessarily lead from the front or behind, but side by side within their team.  I think it fosters a more collaborative approach and a more “WE are all in this together spirit”.  Heavy emphasis on the term WE.  As much as possible I try to avoid the term ”I”.

Who is your hero/most inspirational person?  I really gain inspiration from just about everyone I meet.  As I matured in life I learned that everyone has a story and value and can teach me something.  I am especially inspired by selfless people.  To name one would be Pat Tillman.  He was the professional football player in Arizona who gave up his successful NFL career and millions of dollars to join the Army and defend our country’s freedom.  He was killed in Afghanistan.

What is your favorite TV show?  Survivor and This Is Us.

If a movie was made about your life what celebrity would play you?  My family would say Chevy Chase.  They like to refer to me as Clark from the Vacation movies.  They think I am funny in a bumbling, goofy sort of way.

What is your favorite sport?  Martial arts training with my son.

If you could travel through time where/when would you go? I love military history so I would go back to the Civil War/Old West days.  It was obviously a very hard time to live, but fascinating.

What was your nickname growing up? Sparky

What did you want to be when you were a kid? At an early age I wanted to be a garbage collector so I could drive by my parent’s home every day and say Hi to my Mother.  Once I started working in the grocery industry I became passionate about this business, reprioritized my goals and have been doing it ever since.

What was your first car? I saved my earnings from working in the local grocery store and bought a new, blue 1976 Pontiac Firebird when I was 16.

What was your high school/college mascot? I graduated from Phillips University (P.U.) so naturally our mascot was a skunk.

What brings you the biggest joy?  Doing anything or just doing nothing with my wife and kids.  Lately we have been hooked on the board game, Catan.

What makes you laugh?  Story telling is an art.  I come from a family of great story tellers, namely my grandfather and father.  My son Jackson is already a great story teller.  He makes me laugh more than anyone.

What is the craziest thing you have ever eaten? I accidentally ate monkey brains when I lived in Cairo, Egypt.

What is your worst habit/trait? My worst trait is probably also one of my best.  I have high standards and am never quite satisfied.  I push myself and others to continually improve.  It is difficult to find that happy medium, but I keep trying.

What is your favorite book?  Public Enemies, a book about the FBI and gangsters.

What is your favorite quote/Bible verse?  This is the day that the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24

What advice would you give to Food City associates?  Remember everyday what a great company we have.  If a person is a selfless, team player who works hard every day you can have a long, prosperous career with K-VA-T Food City.