Pattison Food Group shuffles executive team

Pattison Food Group is shuffling its senior leadership team under the helm of newly appointed president Jamie Nelson.

The Western Canada food and pharmacy retailer announced several appointments Tuesday (May 27).

Effective June 1, Mike Olson will add merchandising to his portfolio as the senior vice president of supply chain and wholesale. 

Ben Harrack, senior vice president of merchandising, will report to Olson, continuing to hold accountability for the merchandising, procurement and private label businesses. 

Brenda Kirk will lead the company’s newly established health division as the senior vice president of health and wellness. 

The health division includes health banners Nature’s Fare Market and Choices Markets, as well as Save-On-Foods pharmacies, Pure Integrative Pharmacy and Imperial Distributors. 

READ: How Pattison Food Group is setting itself up for the future

Bob Mehr, senior vice president of pharmaceutical distribution and specialty pharmacies, will report to Kirk.  

Paul Cope will continue in his role of senior vice president of retail operations and will now oversee all seven of the Pattison Food Group’s grocery retail banners. 

The retail service and e-Commerce operations teams, led by newly promoted general manager Brenna Leonard, will now report to Heidi Ferriman. 

Pattison Food Group also announced changes at the vice president level.  

Gillian Yorke has been promoted to vice president of customer loyalty, overseeing marketing and the More Rewards loyalty program. She will continue to report to Ferriman. 

Dan Hansen, formerly vice president of fresh merchandising, has taken on the new role of vice president of modernization, leading a team tasked with evolving the company’s supply chain and merchandising functions.

Hansen will report to Harrack. 

Current vice president Mona Kragh will focus her area of responsibility on enterprise transformation initiatives as vice president of enterprise transformation. 

Steven Pang has been promoted to vice president of finance and will continue to report to Paul Hazra. 

“I am incredibly excited about the trajectory of the company,” Nelson said in a press release. “This is a solid, committed leadership team that's invested in evolving our business to meet the dynamic needs of our customers across Western Canada, and to ensuring continued, sustainable growth for our nearly 30,000 team members. This team is boldly leading us to new horizons in the grocery industry.”