About Hockfield

Company History

After gaining successful experience in sales and sales management within the mass retail environment, Ed Hockfield had a vision in 1978 for his newly formed company Hockfield & Associates. With his “always optimistic” approach to the business – plus lots of energy and hard work – Ed and his Team were always looking for that next “golden nugget”: vendors and products that needed to be mined and then polished before a major retailer would consider adding them to their assortment.

He invested his time with these new companies, knowing that you must be fully prepared to make that “first impression.” The focus has always been in the defined categories of Health & Wellness, Personal Care, Beauty Care and OTC. He was also one of the first salespeople to recognize the opportunity with private label, now known as “Own Brand.” Several of the new and biggest Own Brand categories flourished with the help of Hockfield back in the 80s

At the same time, Ed always believed that having an equal share of your business in both Brands and Own Brand allowed you to have better exposure to the retailer and enabled you to better fulfill the needs of any potential vendor. This is still true today, as the Company represents clients in both of these key segments.

The 90s brought with it a huge surge in technology, and Hockfield continued to expand with the right people to stay ahead of this new requirement. Vendors and retailers both needed this expertise and appreciated the time savings these extra services offered to them. Sales challenges are obvious, but over the next decade what was once a simple business became much more complex. Layers of decisions makers, data analysis, exclusivity, category management and profitability pressure on both sides have changed the way we do business. Vast experience is essential to help navigate through the obstacles in order to grow and prosper. But one thing does remain constant: hard work and a positive attitude still win, even in today’s retail environment.

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Company Staff

George Riedl

Senior Strategic Advisor

George Riedl is an innovative Senior Retail Healthcare Executive with 35 years of experience leading pharmacy, managed care, merchandising and marketing teams. His operational strategies have helped companies enhance customer service, reduce costs, improve efficiencies and grow revenue across the healthcare, retail and pharmaceutical industries.

George is a leader who optimizes talent by training, mentoring and inspiring teams to exceed goals and achieve superior results. His leadership style fosters a culture of honesty, respect, trust, open communication, collaboration and fairness.

Most recently, George was President of Pharmacy, Health & Wellness for Walmart US, the world’s largest retailer boasting 2.2 million associates worldwide, 260 million customers served weekly, and $500 billion in annual revenue. As the leader of Walmart’s Health & Wellness operation, George had full P&L responsibility of over 4,600 retail pharmacies, centralized specialty pharmacy, pharmacy mail service operations, 2,700 retail vision centers, and Walmart’s retail health clinic operations. George also oversaw procurement of over $16 billion of brand, generic and specialty pharmaceuticals, managed care sales & contracting, clinical services & quality and healthcare strategy & transformation.

Previously, George spent 27 years at Walgreens, the leading retail pharmacy chain with more than 9,000+ stores and 250,000 employees. Throughout his tenure, George has served in a variety of leadership roles including Vice President of Purchasing, Executive Vice President of Merchandising & Marketing and Senior Vice President of Pharmacy Innovation & Purchasing.

Currently George is President of Riedl Retail Health Solutions, an innovative retail health advisory firm providing strategic, value added services and solutions to the retail, healthcare, pharmacy, PBM, pharmaceutical and consumer product goods industries.

George holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Illinois and completed the Management Program at Northwestern University. He is a licensed pharmacist in the State of Illinois and serves as a Board Member for DisposeRx, an Advisory Board member for Vertus Benefits and as an Executive Advisory Board Member for Gryphon Investors. He most recently served as a member of the Board of Directors of ClarusONE, an international generic pharmaceutical sourcing JV between Walmart and McKesson Corp. He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and served on the NACDS Retail Advisory Board as well. George was a member of both Marketing 50 and the National Council of Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP). In addition, George formerly served as the President and Vice President of the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy Alumni Association.

George was honored with the 50 Most Influential People in Mass Market Retailing Award and the 7 Who Made a Difference Award. In 2016, George had the distinct privilege to give the commencement address to his alma mater, the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy.

Steve Anderson

President, Sales & Business Development

Steve has serviced and sold to Drug, Food and Mass customers for over 30 years. Steve started as a distributor of seasonal products and then grew as a manufacturers’ representative, forming Steve Anderson & Associates in 1980. After 11 successful years, the company was purchased by one of the nation’s largest food brokers; Steve became their VP of Sales for their Health & Beauty Care division in Chicago.

In 1995, he joined Hockfield, a Chicago-based manufacturers’ rep agency, and immediately helped grow their business, primarily with new and emerging companies. Bringing new, profitable opportunities to their customers has been one of Steve’s greatest accomplishments. Expansion occurred in numerous categories, including Oral Care, First Aid, Bath, Foot Care, Personal Care, Antacid/Laxatives, Cough/Cold and Health Care.

Steve purchased the company from Ed Hockfield upon his retirement in 2006. Additional staff was added to insure a successful transition and provide value added services to their customers and manufacturers. Significant investments have been made in technology, keeping the company ahead of its competitors by providing internal tracking systems and POS data used for forecasting and sales analysis.

Brent Anderson

EVP Sales & Business Development

“Listen, do what’s right and execute your word.”

Passionate about sales and eager to be involved with real world products, Brent joined Hockfield in 2011 after seven years in financial product sales and distribution with Morgan Stanley. Since then, he’s been working side-by-side with Steve on sales while helping build various foundational systems needed in an ever-changing CPG distribution landscape. These systems have allowed Hockfield to work smarter, not harder, while expanding our growing team.

His experience and knowledge acquired working closely with Steve have transformed this original passion into a purpose to help businesses find solutions and better formulate a sales strategy. Brent enjoys the constant change and challenging environment, as it opens up opportunities to find better solutions for manufacturers/vendors and customers alike.

In his free time, he enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with friends and family. Brent lives in Arlington Heights with his wife Laura and dog Stella. He holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Iowa. Go Hawkeyes!

Jamie Burnett

VP Sales & Brand Development

Jamie joined Hockfield in September 2023 and comes with a well-rounded background. Her career started in buying at Kmart, then moved over to the broker side of business at Advantage Sales and Marketing, followed by sales/trade marketing roles at various Health & Beauty manufacturers. Jamie has earned a reputation as a collaborative business partner with an established track record of surpassing sales objectives.

Jamie is married with two sons and two dogs. She loves warm weather and being outdoors, you can either find Jamie at work or at one of her son’s sporting events.

Jamie is a graduate from Western Illinois University with a degree in Fashion Merchandising and minor in Marketing.

Dave Del Cotto

VP, Analytics | Sales & Supply Chain

In the increasingly data-driven world of Consumer Goods, analytics are essential for businesses to remain competitive and unlock new opportunities. As our resident analytics expert, Dave leverages sales and supply chain data to interpret business results, identify risks and opportunities and support business development efforts. From weekly point of sale (POS) analysis to category analysis and everything in between, Dave adds a valuable dynamic to our account management team.

Dave brings over 15 years of multi-industry financial operations experience, primarily within the Marketing & Communications and Consumer Goods industries. Throughout his career with prominent firms, including PepsiCo, Edelman and Omnicom Media Group, Dave has earned a reputation as a collaborative business partner and versatile problem solver.

Dave is an MBA graduate of DePaul University's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business and holds a BBA in Accounting from Robert Morris University.

Laura Anderson

Operations Manager

Laura joined Hockfield in 2014 as Project Manager. She specializes in organization of internal operations and customer service and assists manufacturers through the process of setting up new items from start to finish. She brings her experience in project management to help the manufacturer navigate through the customers’ requirements to make the process as seamless as possible.

Before becoming a Project Manager, Laura worked at Aurora Investment Management in Client Service, where she was the primary liaison between business development, current/prospective clients and consultants. She has over ten years of operations experience, primarily in the finance industry.

Laura has a degree in Public Relations with a minor in English from Illinois State University. She believes “for every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned!”

Laura lives in Arlington Heights, where you’ll find her walking her dog Stella, checking out Chicago’s newest restaurants and traveling as much as possible!

Kate Colletti

Project Manager

Kate’s focus is “working together to find solutions, not excuses”. She joined Hockfield in early 2019 and is directly involved in Project Management but is always open to helping where needed to get the job done. Prior to Hockfield, she worked in the Construction Industry for over 20 years as the Project Manager for small residential projects to large commercial build outs. She feels it is best to be involved in a projects lifecycle from start to finish in order to produce the best results.

In her spare time, she LOVES entertaining family and friends. She also enjoys reading, spending time at the lake and anything good natured. Kate holds a B.S. in Business Administration from DeVry University.

Halina Kowalski

Sales Support

Halina’s professional life in the last 20 + years involved Sales Administration and Customer Service Management in the Consumer Market. She brings vast experience and understanding of the industry and its varied dynamics. She is highly dedicated to executing and tracking sales programs and bringing positive results to our vendors. She has also been recognized for her diligent follow-up and problem-solving skills.

Halina loves history and is an avid reader. In her down time, you will find her reading or watching the History Channel, always looking to learn new things. She also enjoys traveling to unique natural monuments and is well on her way to having visited all the National Parks.

Becky Peschke

Client Service Associate

Becky transitioned to Hockfield in late 2019 after the acquisition of Christenson & Niwinski, Inc. where she was an Executive Assistant for 21 years. Becky managed the entire office from order processing and tracking to supporting sales. She happily accepted a permanent position with Hockfield as a Client Service Associate in April 2020. As she brings her knowledge from working for another Sales Rep, she is amazed by all the additional things she has learned at Hockfield and is eager to keep learning!

Becky lives in Volo with her husband, two kids and her dog. She loves spending time with her family and spectating at her kid’s sporting events. She also enjoys reading, listening to music, taking long walks with the dog and watching the Chicago Bears any chance she can get!

Barbara Anderson

Office Manager

Barbara has been managing sales offices for over 30 years. Her background prior to entering the manufacturers’ representative business was in the areas of science, computer science and business. These disciplines have assisted her in bringing new and creative technology to the office, always making sure that the sales team has the most efficient and current programs for collection and analysis of information.

Early years in the business were spent working with Steve to build Steve Anderson & Associates. Following that, Barbara moved on to work with a large Chicago food broker in the areas of Accounting and EDI.

In 1992, Barbara was asked to join Hockfield to manage the office and to help integrate customer-imposed technology changes into the organization. She has continued throughout the years to focus on the role that technology has and will continue to play in the growth of this business. Her adage has always been, “The only thing consistent is change.” Additional responsibilities include customer service, operations management and accounting.

Barbara has a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Minnesota State University. When not working, she is most often enjoying one of her “nature passions” that include riding her bike, hiking the trails or traveling to remote locations.

Stella

Security and Support

Stella Anderson is a Security Specialist, who is in charge of greeting visitors, monitoring incoming and outgoing mail and package retrieval.

She is enthusiastic, spirited and eager to please with excellent customer service skills.

Stella lives in Arlington Heights and loves long walks, chasing squirrels and spending time with her family and dog friends. In the summer you can find her doing “Doga” and in the winter playing in the fresh snow!