Ric Jurgens was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa. He is a graduate of Des Moines North High School and Iowa State University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree. He has spent his entire business career with Hy-Vee, Inc. serving as a store manager, district manager, regional manager, President of Perishable Distributors of Iowa, Ltd. (PDI), Sr. Vice President, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, President, and his current capacity as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Hy-Vee, Inc.
Ric presently serves on the board of Hy-Vee, Inc. and on the boards of its subsidiaries: Perishable Distributors of Iowa, Lomar, Florist Distributing, and Hy-Vee/Weitz. He also serves as Trustee of the Hy-Vee Employees Profit Sharing Trust. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Topco Associates, LLC as well as the Chairman of the Food Marketing Institute. He is a member of the Iowa State University Foundation Board of Governors, the Iowa State Business College Dean’s Advisory Council and the Iowa State University Order of the Knoll. Ric is also a member of the Iowa Business Council and serves on the Greater Des Moines Committee. Ric has received the Governor’s Volunteerism Award, and the Citation of Achievement Award and John D. DeVries Service Award from Iowa State University’s College of Business, as well as the Heart Award, which is Variety the Children’s Charity’s highest honor.
In the past, Ric has served on the boards of the Food Bank of Iowa, the Variety Club of Iowa, Iowa Prison Industries, the Ankeny Industrial Development Corporation, Food Distributors International, the Iowa Games, the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines and the YMCA of Greater Des Moines.
Ric’s hobbies include golf, skiing, bicycling, swimming, reading, and playing guitar. He and his wife, Carol, have two children: son, Mic, and daughter, Katie, who are both married. They also have three grandsons, Ben, Sam and Luca.