Nat was elected to the General Council as a member-at-large in 2018. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he obtained a BS in pharmacy. He was initiated into the Michigan Alpha Chapter of Phi Delta Theta. While an active member, Nat held three offices: steward, scholarship chair, and alumni relations chair. He also served as an officer in the pharmacy student government and was a member of the university’s student government. After graduation Nat became a member of Michigan Alpha’s house corporation, eventually becoming its president.
In the fall of 2000, he became the province president of Sigma North, which he held until his election to the General Council in 2018. Nat was the recipient of the Oliver Samuels Outstanding Province President Award in 2016. The Oliver Samuels award is awarded each biennium to show appreciation for all province presidents and recognizes an outstanding province president within the Fraternity. Nat serves as the General Council liaison to the Awards and Audit Committees, is the Canadian liaison, and sits on the boards for North Hall Properties, Palmer Foundation, Pallas Athena Holdings, Pallas Athena Property Management. Nat is Iron Phi #349.
Nat retired from Meijer at the end of January 2016, where he was vice president of drug store operations. Since retiring, Nat is the President of NJL Consulting Services and has worked as a strategic advisor for several clients. Additionally, he has provided industry and retailer side experience to CPG and Own Brand companies, manufacturer representatives, retailers, and financial advising firms. Nat worked at Meijer for thirty-eight years, with more than ten years as vice president of drug store, responsible for five Meijer businesses. These businesses include Pharmacy, OTC Health, Beauty Care, Cosmetics, and Card and Party.
Nat began his career at Meijer as a pharmacist and held various corporate positions at Meijer, including prescription drug buyer, merchandise manager prescriptions and OTC, merchandise manager of HBC, pricing, promotion team lead of SMART project, and director of category planning. As director of category planning Nat was responsible for the category management, floor planning, visual merchandising, promotion, pricing, and common area teams.
Nat and his team were responsible for introducing the first free medications (antibiotics), which eventually led to free prenatal vitamins, metformin, and atorvastatin being offered for free at Meijer. They also developed strategies leveraging Meijer’s customer data to drive sales and maximize investment. Additional success came through driving several category reinventions, including hair care, the pet center, HBC, and the creation of the baby solution center. In addition, he and his team have worked on various flagship store presentations and store formats. Finally, during his last year at Meijer, Nat and his team introduced their first hospital retail pharmacy and acquired a specialty pharmacy business.
In 2006, MMR Magazine recognized Nat as one of the five people that made a difference in the drug store industry. Nat has served on the NACDS Retail Advisory Board since 2005 until his retirement in 2016.
Nat is an avid skier and camper, has coached many sports, is an assistant scoutmaster, charter representative, and serves as vice president of development of the Gerald R. Ford division of the Michigan Crossroads Council of the Boy Scouts. Nat has recently taken up fly fishing.
Nat lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for most of the year. When not in Grand Rapids, you will find him living in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Nat also enjoys traveling the world with Marcia, his wife of over thirty years. Nat and Marcia have three sons and one daughter.
A piece of advice
“Push yourself, don’t rest on your laurels. Our Fraternity is built on being the greatest version of yourself. To be that, you need to keep evolving by gaining experiences and challenging yourself in new, uncomfortable, and tough areas. If you do this throughout your life, you will be surprised at the person you will become and what you can accomplish. Your brothers will be there to help you as you will be there to help them. Together you will accomplish much and be the greatest version of yourself.”
Nat Love