Loblaw revamps senior produce management team
Loblaw revamps senior produce management team
Loblaw Cos. Ltd., Canada's largest retailer with 1,690 supermarkets nationwide, has restructured its senior produce management team.
Mike Venton, who is now in his 29th year at Loblaw, recently became the chain's senior vice president of produce in its produce business unit. Mr. Venton started his career at the age of 16 at a Zehrs store -- one of Loblaw's banners with 55 stores in southern Ontario - in Waterloo and moved into produce part time while he was still in school. He worked his way up to managing the produce department full time and then into store management, advancing all the way to vice president of merchandising and marketing at Zehrs.
He moved to Loblaw's corporate division about four years ago, and his most recent position at the firm was manager of strategy for its Great Foods format, one of four formats the firm has for its stores. The other formats are Hard Discount, Super Stores and Club Stores.
Mr. Venton succeeds Glenn Acton, who moved to Loblaw's Quebec division, where he is now senior vice president for merchandising for the province. "We've made some structural changes in our business here," Mr. Venton told The Produce News. "We've learned from the new national structure we've put in place and [realized] we weren't representing the four regions (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario and West) properly, and we felt we should add expertise from a merchandising and operations point of view into the regions. Glenn will lead a team and will feed information to us on how to better manage the programs, merchandising and execution for Quebec."
In addition, Mr. Venton persuaded Larry Kieswetter, the firm's former senior director of produce, to come out of retirement and to return to the produce business unit to work as a consultant on major projects on a modified work schedule.
"The thing about Larry, there's nobody in this industry that I'm aware of that's respected like he is," Mr. Venton said. "So I want him on this team."
Mr. Venton also said that a vice president's position was recently created in the business unit for Frank Pagliaro, who has 31 years of experience in this business. The majority of Mr. Pagliaro's experience is from Fortino's, the banner at Loblaw that is best known for fresh products. All category- management teams will report to him.
Mr. Venton said that the produce business unit will also be moving in January from its current location in Cambridge, ON, to its head office in Brampton, ON, to "create synergy so that all of our merchandising groups are in the same building."
Mike Venton, who is now in his 29th year at Loblaw, recently became the chain's senior vice president of produce in its produce business unit. Mr. Venton started his career at the age of 16 at a Zehrs store -- one of Loblaw's banners with 55 stores in southern Ontario - in Waterloo and moved into produce part time while he was still in school. He worked his way up to managing the produce department full time and then into store management, advancing all the way to vice president of merchandising and marketing at Zehrs.
He moved to Loblaw's corporate division about four years ago, and his most recent position at the firm was manager of strategy for its Great Foods format, one of four formats the firm has for its stores. The other formats are Hard Discount, Super Stores and Club Stores.
Mr. Venton succeeds Glenn Acton, who moved to Loblaw's Quebec division, where he is now senior vice president for merchandising for the province. "We've made some structural changes in our business here," Mr. Venton told The Produce News. "We've learned from the new national structure we've put in place and [realized] we weren't representing the four regions (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario and West) properly, and we felt we should add expertise from a merchandising and operations point of view into the regions. Glenn will lead a team and will feed information to us on how to better manage the programs, merchandising and execution for Quebec."
In addition, Mr. Venton persuaded Larry Kieswetter, the firm's former senior director of produce, to come out of retirement and to return to the produce business unit to work as a consultant on major projects on a modified work schedule.
"The thing about Larry, there's nobody in this industry that I'm aware of that's respected like he is," Mr. Venton said. "So I want him on this team."
Mr. Venton also said that a vice president's position was recently created in the business unit for Frank Pagliaro, who has 31 years of experience in this business. The majority of Mr. Pagliaro's experience is from Fortino's, the banner at Loblaw that is best known for fresh products. All category- management teams will report to him.
Mr. Venton said that the produce business unit will also be moving in January from its current location in Cambridge, ON, to its head office in Brampton, ON, to "create synergy so that all of our merchandising groups are in the same building."
