By Karyn - January 1, 2015

Marty Oliver — Business Development Director of Customer Service

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Marty began his Publix career in 1976 in data processing and held many positions within the department. In 1982, he became the assistant director of store systems. In 1992, he was promoted to supervisor of skills training, which merged systems specialists, skills trainers, Presto! support and photo trainers into one support team. He was promoted to his current role in 2000. 

Where were you born? 
Cincinnati, Ohio

What did you want to be when you were little?
A helicopter pilot

What brought you to Publix?
I had recently graduated from school and moved to Florida. The Miami Division accounting manager went to my church, and he talked to me about what a great company Publix was. I put in my application, and the rest is history.

How has Publix influenced you?
We teach and mentor our associates on the best practices for understanding business opportunities. Publix has never made ethical compromises when making decisions on what is best for our company and our associates. This has carried over to my personal life.

What’s your favorite Publix product?
Our Moose Tracks frozen yogurt

What are your favorite movies?
Action movies, especially the Bourne series and Mission Impossible movies

What’s your favorite book?
The Jack Ryan series by Tom Clancy


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What do you enjoy most about your job?
Having the ability to make a difference in the lives of managers and associates

What do you enjoy most about working at Publix?
I like being part of a successful team. We are a high-performing group and always strive to do better.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
My interactions with my team and developing and implementing initiatives for our stores. I have a great technical team that supports our retail efforts and associates. I enjoy collecting associate feedback on how well changes are working and identifying areas we need to improve. It’s exciting to be a part of changes being made and see what’s coming for the future.

What’s your proudest moment?
Being a part of the initial start-up of our help desk, now known as I/S customer support. We didn’t have a central place for our stores to report problems, and our store systems were becoming more complicated. We wanted to have better insights into the problems we were having and ensure we provided premier service. It was exciting to be a part of its growth and development.

What has changed most about Publix since you started here?
Technology. I’ve seen and been a part of many changes, from scanning to our ATMs and Presto! network, new point of sale systems and moving from People Planner to Oasis.

What’s your favorite Publix memory?
When we opened #223, Miami, in 1981 — our first 56M store in the Miami Division. The store had a five-day grand opening and set a record for new store sales in its first week.

What’s your favorite TV show?
ESPN’s College GameDay

What are your favorite sports teams?
All the Florida college and professional football teams

What’s playing in your iPod right now?
A mix of country and rock and roll

What are your hobbies?
Reading and playing golf

What’s your work or life philosophy?
Always try to do the right thing.