Vivek Sankaran was ten months into his tenure as CEO of Albertsons Companies when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. His roughly 300,000 employees immediately became front-line workers, and the company had to scramble to figure out how to keep everyone safe. But ultimately, Sankaran said, the pandemic made Albertsons a better company by accelerating innovation around digital orders and much more.

Another big change for Sankaran over the past year is how he thinks about social issues and community impact.

"I shouldn't be episodic about this," he explained. "I need to make this commitment, I need to problem solve it like I'm problem-solving other aspects of the business."