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Thirty-three years ago, Jose Manuel Cordero began his career at Vallarta Supermarkets as a “chicharronero” and courtesy clerk. Currently, he is the vice president of operations for the West Coast grocery chain. Over the years, Cordero has worked his way through every role at Vallarta: meat dispatcher, meat cutter, produce clerk, grocery clerk, cashier, scan coordinator, assistant store director, store director, and district manager. If there is a job at Vallarta, Cordero has done it, but it was not part of any master plan to become VP.
“I needed a job, and I found a job,” Cordero remembers. “I did not know anything about leadership, about being yourself, or setting an example. I just knew I needed to help my family.”
When Cordero was sixteen, he crossed the border into the US with his mother, three sisters, and younger brother. The family had to beg for gas after the coyote who smuggled them across the border realized he had forgotten his wallet. Cordero’s parents worked in the fields of Central Valley, California, picking vegetables and fruits. Cordero’s father eventually moved into construction. But after his father sustained an injury from a fall that kept him out of work for a year, Cordero, as the eldest, had to find a way to help support his family.
Cordero is convinced that part of the reason he got his first job at Vallarta #4 in Palmdale, California, all those years ago is because his parents regularly cashed their paychecks there and knew the owner. But it is more likely he got the job because, after being rejected the first time, he saw fit to return constantly, asking about any potential openings. Eventually, the owner relented.
“So much of this world feels like there has to be a right place and a right time,” Cordero says. “Well, I joined Vallarta when there were nine stores. Now we have sixty. And I just keep learning new things every day about this industry, about leading people, and about making a difference in the communities that we operate in.”
This leader appears to be perpetually filled with gratitude. He is grateful to the Gonzalez family, who has provided Cordero with the opportunity to rise in its family-owned organization. He values the mentor/mentee relationships that have accompanied his rise within his organization, the team members at dozens of stores for whom he feels responsible for providing growth opportunities, and the wife and children who have stuck by a man who admittedly works too much.
“I needed a job, and I found a job. I did not know anything about leadership, about being yourself, or setting an example. I just knew I needed to help my family.”
Jose Manuel Cordero
That work continues to expand in both scope and scale. Cordero says that Vallarta earned its place in the market through sheer sweat equity, new ideas, and innovation. But most importantly by serving, “the community” the company is being propelled forward. The VP says his workforce management team, a subset of the broader continuous improvement organization, continues to build out new capabilities and products through its digital store. The digital Vallarta store in Van Nuys, California, is continually testing new ideas to determine if it can enhance the physical store locations and provide a more enjoyable shopping experience for customers.
“We’re focusing a lot on evolution right now,” Cordero explains. “There is some leadership here, like myself, who might be a little old school, stuck in my own ways. That approach has helped us get to where we are today, but now we are working to evolve it to make more data-driven decisions. We are exploring new methods for soliciting feedback and utilizing that data to make more informed decisions. Hard work is what got us here, but that work can be done smarter and more efficiently.”
Doing more with less is quite familiar to those in operations, and Cordero says it is a priority he tackles with a multipronged approach. The operations VP’s highest priority continues to be investing in Vallarta’s team members. The VP says he wants to take team member educational options to the next level, including new tools and development opportunities. Along with focusing on creating and sustaining a positive cultural environment, the team also relies on the enduring support of its headquarters-based human resource, engagement, and training teams.
“I enjoy seeing the people that I work for happy, respected, and motivated,” Cordero says. “How much money you make can be very important for your life, but it is not everything. After that, what really keeps a team member happy? It is feeling appreciated, empowered, and recognized. It’s creating an environment where they feel safe to offer their feedback and feel heard.”
Cordero says he truly believes that the sky’s the limit for the growth of both motivated individuals within Vallarta and the grocery chain’s ability to expand. Many current executives, like himself, began their careers as clerks or shelf stockers. All around him, he sees people who have continued to invest in themselves and then in others. It is a culture where the VP is working to both embolden and evolve. And it is working.
It is also worth noting the number of times the VP references the family who has kept him grounded. “I cannot thank my family enough for their support,” Cordero says. “Their trust and willingness to give me the space to succeed—I know it is not always easy. My wife continues to be incredible, and our two children, well, I could not ask for a better family.”
