T&T and Farm Boy at Thought Leadership CEO Conference

The leaders of two of Canada’s most innovative supermarket chains will be on stage at Canadian Grocer’s annual Thought Leadership CEO Conference, Nov 23.

Tina Lee, CEO of T&T Supermarket, and Jeff York, from Farm Boy Stores, will be featured in one-on-one interviews at the conference. Canadian Grocer’s editor, Rob Gerlsbeck, will chat with Lee, while Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers’ president Tom Barlow will sit down with York.

Lee (pictured) took over as CEO of T&T a year ago. The chain, founded by her mother Cindy Lee is considered the pre-eminent ethnic grocery chain in Canada.

Before becoming CEO, Lee held leadership positions in corporate strategy, regional operations, and human resources at T&T. Before joining T&T, she was a strategy and operations consultant with Deloitte Consulting in Los Angeles.

York, meanwhile, has led a significant expansion at Farm Boy since he became CEO of the Ottawa-based chain in 2009. He’s doubled the number of Farm Boy stores and taken it from its Ottawa roots to new markets across Ontario.

Before he joined Farm Boy, York spent two decades at Giant Tiger Stores, starting off as warehouse controller and eventually becoming president.

“We’re thrilled to have Tina and Jeff at our conference. They’re leading some of the most dynamic food retailers in the country,” Rob Gerlsbeck, editor of Canadian Grocer, said.

In addition to Lee and York, the Thought Leadership CEO Conference will feature Carman Allison, vice-president of consumer insights at Nielsen, who will present new research on the centre store.

Also not to be missed is Mitch Joel, president of global digital marketing agency Mirum, which operates in close to 20 countries with over 2,000 employees.

When Google wants someone to explain the latest developments in marketing to the top brands in the world, they bring Joel. In his speech at Canadian Grocer’s conference, Joel will discuss doing business in a culture of change.

The Thought Leadership CEO Conference is held the same day (Nov. 23) and at the same venue (The Royal York Hotel in Toronto) as the annual Golden Pencil Awards. So it’s easy to attend both of these prestigious events.

This year’s Golden Pencil winners are Jean Gattuso of Lassonde, Gus Longo of Longo Brothers and Arthur Smith of GS1.

To sign up for the Thought Leadership Conference, the Golden Pencil Awards (or both at once), click here.