COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Oct. 8, 2015 – The Global Market Development Center awarded its annual GMDC Lifetime Achievement Award to Joe Bivona, vice president of customer development at Time Inc. Retail, during the 2015 Health Beauty Wellness Conference in Phoenix.
The GMDC Lifetime Achievement Award honors visionary leaders who have made significant contributions to the industry’s general merchandise and health beauty wellness categories, to his or her company and to GMDC. The GMDC Executive Committee and a committee of past GMDC board chairs still active in the association choose annual recipients.
“Bivona typifies the meaning of the GMDC Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Patrick Spear, president and CEO of GMDC. “His dedication and knowledge of how to navigate the industry has helped him break barriers in general merchandise. Furthermore, his dynamic personality and charisma have allowed him to forge lasting personal and professional relationships.”
Bivona began his career at Mobil before working for Coca-Cola. He then joined Time Inc. Retail and worked closely with retailers across channels through his relationship with GMDC, where he currently serves on the GM Advisory Board. Bivona has served in his current role for 15 years. He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Mercy College in N.Y.
“I can’t imagine Time Inc. being as successful as we’ve been in the retail industry without a relationship like GMDC,” said Time Inc. Retail president and CEO Rich Jacobsen. “We never had a relationship in the drug industry, and we now do, and Joe’s helped us with that.”