Eric Watson joined Food Lion as Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion in October 2003. He is responsible for the development and implementation of Food Lion’s diversity and inclusion business strategy. He is also responsible for leadership and associate development, and measuring progress in the areas of culture and environment, diverse supplier development, minority recruitment and retention, education and training, and assisting in growing and sustaining a diverse market presence.

In 2007, Watson accepted additional responsibilities for Talent Acquisition for Food Lion, LLC, which includes, strategic sourcing, recruitment, managing strategy, measuring processes and resources. Also, in June 2007, Watson was selected to become a member of Food Lion, LLC’s Executive Committee.

Watson brings 28 years of experience in operations management, with more than 15 of those years in the field of diversity. Watson has developed strategies to impact business success by creating a vision to manage diversity, designing leadership mentoring programs to promote diversity and establishing an accountability system for business diversity.

Immediately prior to joining Food Lion, Watson was the Executive Director of Diversity and Workforce Capability at the Williams Companies Inc. From 1994 to 2000, he served as Vice President of Global Diversity for the St. Paul Companies Inc.

Watson is a member of the PFLAG National Board, member of the MCDC Board (MultiCultural Development Center), Chair for The Conference Board Workforce Diversity Council and a member of the ELC (Executive Leadership Council) Human Resources Committee. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the University of North Carolina-Center for International Understanding and The ARC/Rowan. Watson is a member of the Board of Visitors for Johnson C. Smith University, a member of the Leadership Team of the Community Building Initiative (CBI) in Charlotte, and is on the North Carolina NAACP Youth & College Division Advisory Board.

Watson has served on the Board of Directors of the Urban League of Central Carolinas in Charlotte since 2005. The Urban League of Central Carolinas is a multi-service, non-profit Agency, established in Charlotte in 1978. The mission of the Urban League is to empower all members of the community in areas such as workforce & economic development, entrepreneurship, health, training & the achievement of our youth.

Watson also chairs the Urban Youth Empowerment Program (UYEP) at the Urban League of Central Carolinas. The Urban Youth Empowerment Program (UYEP) targets 18-21 year old adjudicated and/or at risk youth. The ultimate goal of the program is to help young adults make the transition to economic self-sufficiency by engaging in a curriculum that prepares them to take the GED, improves math & reading skills, provides paid Internship opportunities with local employers, and enhances the life skills necessary for students to become productive members of our community.

He attends University Park Baptist Church and is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Watson holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Livingstone College in Salisbury, N.C.