Western Grocer Serving the industry since 1916
PRESS RELEASE
May 31st, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELESE
United Grocers Inc. Board Nomination
Toronto, Ontario
It is great please that we confirm the election of the following UGI Board Members as part of the Exectuive Committee for the next 3 years.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation, United Grocers Inc. (UGI)
Serge Boulanger
Senior Vice-President, National Procurement and Corporate Brands, Metro Inc.
Mr. Boulanger joined the marketing team of Metro in 1996. In 2002, he was appointed Vice-President Marketing for the Quebec division where he implemented the new Metro Plus Banner as well as the reusable grocery bags, now a standard in the industry. In 2008, he was appointed Vice-President, Marketing, Metro Inc. where he piloted the rebranding of the five conventional banners of the Ontario division to the Metro brand.
In 2009, Mr. Boulanger moved to become Vice-President and General Manager of McMahon Pharmaceutical Distribution, a division of Metro Inc., where he implemented the new Brunet Plus and Brunet Clinique pharmacies concept in Quebec. He also launched the “Ma Santé” Program; enabling patients to access their medical prescription history file on-line and renew their prescriptions, a first in the Canadian market.
Since May 2012, Mr. Boulanger acts as Senior Vice-President, National Procurement and Corporate Brands and manages Metro’s partnership with Vantage Food, Première Moisson and Adonis.
Prior to Metro, Mr. Boulanger started his career in the accounting field, and then made a career change to marketing in the early 90’s, both in ad agencies and in retail as well.
Mr. Boulanger holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Université de Sherbrooke, with a concentration in accounting, as well as the C.P.A. title, both of which he earned in 1989. He acts as member of the board of United Grocers Inc. (UGI) since 2012. He also acts as governor of the Faculty of Administration at Université de Sherbrooke since 2003.
Metro Inc. is a leader in the food and pharmaceutical distribution in Québec and Ontario, where it operates a network of more than 600 food stores under several banners including Metro, Metro Plus, Super C, Food Basics, Adonis and Première Moisson, as well as over 250 drug stores under the Brunet, Metro Pharmacy and Drug Basics banners.
Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation, United Grocers Inc. (UGI)
Edward S. Kennedy
President and Chief Executive Officer, The North West Company
Edward Kennedy joined The North West Company in 1989. He served in senior management positions including Chief Operating Officer of North West and Chief Executive Officer of the Alaska Commercial Company, the Company’s U.S. subsidiary located in Anchorage. Edward returned to Winnipeg from Alaska in January 1997 and assumed his current role. He is also Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The North West Company (International) Inc.
Edward was born and raised in The Pas, a northern Manitoba community, and attended high school as a boarding student at St. John’s-Ravenscourt in Winnipeg. He holds an Honours Degree in Business from the Ivey School at Western University and a Bachelor of Laws Degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. Prior to joining North West, Edward practised law briefly in Toronto and then worked in investment banking.
Edward is a board member of The North West Company, United Grocers Inc., Canada West Foundation and Canada’s History Society. He is a member of the World Presidents’ Organization, the Associates of the Asper School of Business as well as a member and past officer of the Business Council of Manitoba. He was the Chair of the 2011 Winnipeg United Way Campaign and is a past board member of several for-profit and non-profit organizations. He currently participates on advisory committees for the United Way and the Build Winnipeg Partnership Taskforce.
Edward has received several national industry and community recognitions over his career. Edward is a competitive athlete and his other pursuits include public policy with a focus on socio-economic development. Edward and his wife Stella make their home in Winnipeg and have four children: Grace, 26; Teresa, 25; Simone, 23; and Daniel, 20.
Secretary of the Corporation, United Grocers Inc. (UGI)
Darrell Jones
President, Overwaitea Food Group
Darrell Jones embarked on his 40-year career in the food business in Cranbrook, British Columbia as a retail grocery clerk. From there, Darrell joined teams in 23 different stores and communities as he moved progressively through a series of senior operating roles with the Overwaitea Food Group. For the past 14 years, Darrell has been a key member of the Overwaitea Food Group Senior Management Team, and company President since 2012. Active in the grocery industry, Darrell is on the boards of United Grocers, Inc (UGI); GS1 Canada, and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI). He enthusiastically leads an increasingly diverse company known for innovation and industry leadership with over 16,000 team members in 80 Western Canadian communities.
The Overwaitea Food Group (OFG) got its name nearly a century ago from customers who were happy to get “Over-Weight-Tea” (18 ounces for the price of 16) every time they bought a pound. Today, OFG is Canada’s largest Western-based food store chain, feeding families in over 100 communities across British Columbia and Alberta. Its first store originally located in New Westminster, BC, OFG currently operates nearly 148 stores under the Save-On-Foods, Overwaitea Foods, Cooper’s Foods, Urban Fare, PriceSmart Foods and Bulkley Valley Wholesale banners. With the support of more than 16,000 team members, OFG proudly provides customers with great local value in unique and innovative ways.
All these nominations are effective as of May 4th, 2016.
About UGI:
United Grocers Inc. is a procurement organization who is working for its members as a group. United Grocers Inc. has over 33 billion in retail sales and 30% market share for food retail sales in Canada.
For any additional information, please contact United Grocers Inc. office at 416-626-6554.
