2024 Star Women in Grocery Award Winner Andrea Parete (Q&A)
Andrea Parete
Director, Sales
UNFI Canada
How did you get your start in the CPG business?
While I was completing my undergraduate at Toronto Metropolitan University, I had my first taste of working in the grocery industry at Summer Fresh Salads. I started as a receptionist where I quickly got a taste of sales through helping support the team from time to time and calling on customers to take orders. From here, I was given my first opportunity as an inside sales representative, which was the start of my sales career and my overall love of the food industry.
What do you like best about your current role?
I really enjoy building relationships—internally and externally. This seems like a relatively simple concept but doing so allows me to build trust and collaboration to create opportunities and long-term partnerships making an impact not only to my professional growth, but to the growth of my organization and my customers.
What is your proudest career moment?
My proudest career moment was being recognized for my exceptional performance and contributions as a key account manager and winning UNFI’s Circle of Excellence Award in 2019. It was an amazing experience being acknowledged and celebrated with a memorable reward trip to Miami! Being selected as one of the 2024 Star Women in Grocery winners has quickly climbed to the top of this list!
What keeps you motivated at work?
For me, it’s the culture. Not just the culture of collaboration and support where teamwork is encouraged and there is a genuine interest in employee growth and development. It’s the family-like culture where I’ve developed a special connection with colleagues who are now more like close friends and family, which makes every day at work more enjoyable and fulfilling.
How do you spend your time outside of work?
I love spending quality time with my daughter, friends and family. I also love staying active, whether it’s through daily workouts, yoga, Pilates or hiking through the different trails close to my home for a change of scenery.
What is your superpower?
I’ve recently learned that my superpower is resilience. I pride myself in my ability to bounce back from setbacks, adapt to change and keep going even in the face of adversity. In this fast-paced industry, being resilient has also helped continue to build my leadership capabilities through adaptability, perseverance and emotional intelligence.
Click here for the full list of 2024 Star Women in Grocery award winners.