Mark Meijer is president and a member of the Board of Directors of the Meijer super center chain headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His older brother Hank Meijer is the Co-Chairman and Co-Ceo, and his brother Doug Meijer is the Co-Ceo of Meijer , Incorporated.
Mark Meijer was the third and youngest son of Frederik Meijer [1919-2011], and the grandson of Hendrik Meijer, Sr. [1883-1964]. The senior Hendrik Meijer was the founder of the super center retailing chain bearing his name. Hendrik Meijer began his retailing business as a grocery retailer in 1934, with the help of his wife and two children, Frederik Meijer and Johanna Meijer.
Hendrik Meijer, Sr. passed away in the early 1960’s, and following his death most of the growth in the Meijer retailing business occurred under the leadership of Frederik Meijer, the only son of Hendrik Meijer.
Frederik Meijer, Mark’s father, built up the retailing business from its first super center store to a chain of over 200 super center stores today. When Frederik Meijer turned 80 around the turn of the century, he transferred the senior management of the Meijer Corporation to his three sons, Hank, Doug and Mark Meijer.
In 2001, Hank Meijer became chief executive officer [CEO] of the Meijer firm. In 2003, Hank and his brother, Doug Meijer, were appointed to the positions of Co-Chairman of the Meijer firm. At that time Hank Meijer, who was the CEO of the firm, decided to get help in the CEO position, and became the Co-CEO, sharing that position with an appointed non-family executive.
Mark Meijer, following his high school and college education went to work in the family business, and worked in a variety of management positions. At some point in time he decided he wanted to be involved in his own business and founded an ambulance operation in the Grand Rapids area. He expanded the operation and modernized the operation so it satisfied all the requirements of emergency medical care and training of its personnel. It presently is the largest emergency medical and transportation operation in western Michigan with over 300 ambulances. The name of the firm is EMS.
Although the three Meijer brothers, earlier in their respective lives, had followed other professional careers outside of the Meijer firm, over time they gradually became involved in management positions within the Meijer firm. When the father, Frederik, retired in 2001, and in 2011 passed away, each one of them was able to take over the senior management responsibilities to which they were assigned in the Meijer firm.
REFERENCES
Hank Meijer, "Thrifty Years: The Life of Hendrik Meijer", Eerdmans, 1984
"Michigan Today", http://www.umich.edu/03/Sum03/meijer.ht
Larry Ten Harmsel and Bill Smith, "Fred Meijer: Stories of his Life", Eerdmans, 2009
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