Stew Leonard, Jr.

Stew Leonard, Jr.
Residence	Westport, Connecticut
Alma mater	Ithaca College (B.S., 1977) UCLA (MBA, 1982)
Occupation	President and CEO of Stew Leonard's

Stew Leonard, Jr. is an American businessman who is the current president and CEO of Stew Leonard's, a supermarket chain based in Connecticut and New York. Leonard took over as president and CEO of the company in 1991.

Stew Leonard, Jr. comes from a long line of family members in the dairy business. His grandfather, Charles Leo Leonard, founded Clover Farms Dairy in Norwalk, Connecticut in the 1920s. The elder Leonard and his sons would deliver milk door-to-door straight from the farm. When Charles Leonard died, the business passed to Stew Leonard, Sr. who wanted to move beyond being a milkman. Stew Leonard, Sr. would then open the original Stew Leonard's dairy store in Norwalk in 1969. Stew Leonard, Jr. often worked in that original dairy store as a child, washing out milk cans, loading egg shelves, and performing other basic tasks.

Leonard later attended Ithaca College, earning a Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 1977. He continued his education at UCLA's prestigious Anderson School of Management, where he earned a Master of Business Administration in 1982.

Stew Leonard, Jr. first took over the helm of Stew Leonard's in 1991, after his father Stew Leonard Sr. was charged with a $17 million tax fraud by the IRS. At the time, there was some major concern about his ability to continue the success that the chain experienced under Stew Leonard, Sr. The first few years were turbulent under Stew Leonard, Jr., but he quickly turned it around. The store in Norwalk was earning less than $100 million in 1991, but, by 2002, Leonard had helped increase sales to $300 million with 3 stores. Leonard attributes the success of the company to its emphasis on customer service and employee care.

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