Stephanie Dremonas
Executive Officer
Pete's Fresh Market
Chicago, IL USA
“Everybody has a story that you can learn from.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationStephanie Dremonas
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
My father started a produce stand in the 1970s in Chicago, Illinois—it eventually grew into Pete’s Fresh Market.
I initially had no interest in joining the family business, and went to Marquette University to study biomedical science in the hopes of working in sports medicine.
After my freshman year of college, I didn’t feel like biomedical science was the right fit for me anymore—my godfather encouraged me to reconsider going into the family business instead.
I decided to change my major and graduated with a double major in real estate and finance, plus a minor in psychology.
After graduating, I was still hesitant to join the family business, so I got a job with a real estate company instead.
A year later, my father convinced me to join the business—I started by working with his real estate portfolio and then gradually transitioned into managing operations as well.
Years of experience and hands-on learning has brought me to where I am today, helping to run my family’s stores as an executive officer.
Keep following my journey
Education
Career
Executive Officer
I'm a second-generation owner of my family's chain of supermarkets.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Business
Food
Working with Others
Day to Day
My hands are in all of the departments of our businesses. That includes human resources, operations, finance, IT, and all day-to-day activities. I make sure to be as involved as possible so that I can lead the company forward.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for everyone
Connect with people and find mentors to learn from. I attribute a lot of my success to learning from mentors. If you're nervous about finding a mentor, it really just starts with asking a question. Just one question about a person's job or experience opens the door for more connection. A lot of people think that they should only speak to people in their own industry or people at senior career levels. I don't agree. You can learn something from anybody.
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Myself:
"The family business is not for me. I'm not interested."
