Profile: Anurag Tandon, ALDI, MBA '08

Prior to working in the grocery industry I had the opportunity to work in the energy industry at DTE Energy in various Finance and Treasury roles. I always had a passion for finance and data and decided to pursue a career in Investment Management, post Ross MBA. But the timing could not be worse as I attempted to enter the industry during the great recession. 

While looking for opportunities I was also assisting my wife in her entrepreneurial idea in food manufacturing. Through six degrees of separation this led me to the CPG industry and my current career path in the grocery industry. (Let me know if you ever want to hear the story, sounds like something out of a movie.) 

At ConAgra foods I was able to learn about the CPG industry by providing finance support to some well-known brands and assisting with the development of a newly created revenue management team. Along the way I also had the opportunity to build out the pricing team at Meijer and assist with the development of the sales analytics team at Perrigo. Even though I only spent a short amount of time at a company, did not have the most prestigious title in an industry, or was seeking the next opportunity - I felt that there was always something I had learned from my experiences that helped me in my next role. 

Currently I am the Director of Market Research and Analytics at ALDI. ALDI had historically fell under the radar in the US as it is an extremely private company with little market share. But all of that is in the midst of a historical change right now as ALDI is on a journey to become a larger player in the US grocery industry and to modernize its capabilities. I am proud to be a part of that journey as I am building out a team that provides support to the organization through strategic, analytic and market research support. Basically this means assisting the buying team to drive sales in various categories, assisting the marketing team to more efficiently target messaging and utilize media, and providing decision support to the Senior Leadership team as they embark on this aggressive growth and modernization plan. This has been a dream opportunity because I am able to leverage my background, experiences and interests to influence strategic decisions for a growing organization. If you know someone who enjoys transforming big data into actionable insights and has an interest in the food industry, send them my way. 

From a personal perspective we enjoy living in Naperville, IL. Naperville has some of the best schools in the country and is a great place to raise a family. During my time away from work, I enjoy coaching soccer and basketball and exploring the Chicagoland area with my twin girls. We like living out here because we can also get back to Ann Arbor and Michigan within a few hours. ALDI has also built a ‘flagship’ location which is walking distance from our house. If you happen to be in Naperville, check out Naper Settlement, you might recognize the family in the Asian Heritage exhibit. Learn about Anurag's background.