2021 Generation Next winners announced!

Eighteen rising stars of the grocery trade were recognized Monday afternoon with Canadian Grocer’s Generation Next Award.

The award, now in its 11th year, goes to suppliers and retailers under 40 who demonstrate leadership, a commitment to working in grocery and involvement in the industry or their community.

The 2021 winners are:

Sarah Au, Director of Marketing, Muskoka Brewery

Eli Browne, Director of Corporate Sustainability, Sobeys

Laura Dobson, OMNI & New Revenue Streams Team Lead, Unilever Canada

Melissa Edighoffer, Marketing Planning Manager, Calgary Co-op

Kyle Findlay, District Manager, Food Basics / Metro

James Inglis, President, Blind Bay Village Grocer

Rehan Iqbal, Store Owner, Rehan's Your Independent Grocer

Lee Jeyes, Senior Director, Store Process & Innovation, Walmart Canada

Claudia Joanis, Vice-President, Ice Cream Category, Agropur Cooperative

Marcin Krzyzanowski, Director, Supply Chain Ontario, Bimbo Canada

Matthew Maiss, Store Manager, Longo's

Erin McKeever, Marketing Manager, eCommerce & Digital, Kruger Products

Brianne Miller, CEO and Co-Founder, Nada Grocery

Ryan Nesbitt, Store Manager, Save-On-Foods

Doug Palmer, Senior Finance Director, Canada & International, The J.M. Smucker Company

Natacha Roy, Director, National Procurement, Grocery, Metro

Mandy Siu, Customer Business Development Manager, Maple Leaf Foods

Natasha Vandenhurk, Chief Executive Officer, Three Farmers Foods

The winners were awarded during Canadian Grocer's GroceryConnex–a virtual event that includes Generation Next, Thought Leadership and the Golden Pencil Awards in one experience.

You can read more about the winners in the December/January issue of Canadian Grocer!