La Salle University Honors Alumna Judy Spires, President of Acme, with Charter Award
for Outstanding Leadership

Judy Spires had a part-time job at Acme Markets while a student at La Salle University, and just as both played a role in her life then, Acme and La Salle still play a role in her life now: Spires is President of Acme Markets and a member of the University’s Board of Trustees. On Feb. 23, she received the La Salle’s Charter Award, given to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership. 

“Never in a million years did I ever think I’d be a trustee; it’s amazing, but so thrilling,” said Spires, who graduated in 1975. 

She is also a graduate of Cornell University’s Food Executive Program and hopes to complete her MBA at La Salle this year. She was not an undergraduate business major, but her La Salle experiences were, and still are, valuable to her in the corporate world.  

“A liberal arts education opens your mind to so much more than you ever thought possible,” she said. Spires said many professors made a great impression on her, but one in particular was Br. Joseph Burke, a psychology professor, who taught her in a class on abnormal psychology. “It was the most amazing course I took, and it changed my thought process,” she said. “It also gave me a better understanding of people.” 

Spires’ father was a truck driver for Acme, and he helped her obtain a job there to help pay for college. She started as a part-time cashier and “fell in love” with the business. After graduating from La Salle, she entered the company’s management training program, and eventually would oversee Acme supermarkets where she had worked while she was a student at La Salle. 

Spires has held various positions within companies such as American Stores, Albertsons, and Supervalu, including serving as president of both the Albertsons Dallas/Fort Worth Division and the Rocky Mountain Division.  Prior to her present role at Acme, Spires has also served as vice president of sales & advertising, vice president of administration, vice president of human resources, vice president of operations, vice president of integration, and senior vice president of marketing & merchandising.  On Valentine’s Day 2006, she became President of Acme Markets, the first woman to hold that position. As President, she oversees 16,000 employees in 130 stores in four states. 

Spires has received several gender-based awards, and she said she hears from young, accomplished women about her being president of a company.  “I often get a great deal of feedback from women who tell me that, with me [in my position], they see someone who has done it,” said Spires. “So I try to be approachable and make myself available in that regard.” 

In addition to serving on La Salle’s Board of Trustees, Spires is a board member for many local organizations, including Variety, The Children’s Charity; the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce; the National Multiple Sclerosis Society; the New Jersey Food Council, and the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association.   

She is a national vice president of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, a member of the Forum of Executive Women, the International Women’s Forum, serves on the Advisory Council of Esperanza, and is a founding member of the Greater Philadelphia Network of Executive Women.  Most recently, Spires was appointed to serve on the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Chronic Care Commission as a co-chair of the Consumer Engagement Committee and the board of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

Spires and her husband, Robert, met while at La Salle. They live in Philadelphia and have one son.