Ron’s corporate career has spanned three blue-chip companies: Unilever [A & W], General Mills [Red Lobster] and Petro-Canada [Retail].
During his 11 years with A&W, Ron held senior franchising and marketing roles, and was a member of the five-person team of executives that developed the “turnaround” strategy to enable the phase out of an aging drive-in business, and the birth and subsequent growth of the food court, store front and free-standing restaurant business that exists today.
In the next six years of his career as Executive Vice President of Red Lobster Canada for General Mills, Ron was responsible for 70 corporate restaurants and over 4000 employees, and helped lead Red Lobster to unprecedented levels of profitability.
In early 90s, Ron became a key member of the senior team at Petro-Canada. Over his 17-year tenure, he was initially responsible for retail operations in Western Canada with full P&L responsibility for over 700 retail locations representing approximately $1.75B of business. Subsequently, as head of marketing, Ron reinvigorated the organization’s marketing function through the introduction/implementation of numerous successful innovations including ‘WinterGas’ and ‘Canada’s Gas Station’, and the co-creation of ‘Petro-Points’ – market breakthroughs that continue to endure as relevant points of difference for the company.
In additional to being a Group Leader and Mentor to CEOs and Senior Executives, Ron is also our Chief Strategy Officer and a founding faculty member of our Global Leadership Training Program (GLTP)—where he plays a key role in course design and curriculum development.
Ron and his wife reside in Toronto and his passions include family, travel, golf, and Rotary International.
CEOs who have the opportunity to work with Ron will benefit from the depth and breadth of business knowledge he has gained during his career and his commitment to helping others succeed.