2023 Star Women in Grocery Award Winner Randa Hassanie (Q&A)
Randa Hassanie
Team Lead, Pattison Food Group (PFG) Account & E-commerce
Tree of Life Canada
How did your upbringing in Brazil shape you?
My parents have a clothing store in Brazil and so I learned everything I know in that store. You could say I was born and raised in sales. When I first started pursuing my economics degree, I thought I wanted to work in a bank. However, my personality did not match what they were looking for and I ended up applying for an internship at Nestlé. It turned out to be perfect for me. Their products were in my life growing up and to be a part of food that gets put on the table was close to my heart. I then accepted a scholarship to a master’s degree at the American University of Beirut. How I ended coming to Canada is a part of that story. While studying in Lebanon, one of my best friends got engaged to a Brazilian guy living in Calgary. He had a friend and they introduced us to each other—we were married two years later.
What do you love about your work?
Tree of Life always gives me the opportunity to grow and explore new things. Today, I am lead of the team working with Pattison Food Group. I am also working at developing our e-commerce channel; it is exciting to see how far grocery e-commerce has come and I want to keep Tree of Life on top of new opportunities.
What is the best advice you’ve received?
“Give your best to anything you decide to do and things will happen.” I got that advice from my mom’s doctor when I was eight years old. She said, “Even if you are cleaning floors for a living, make them the shiniest floors people have ever seen, and you will be noticed.” That advice has paid off for me.
Tell us about your work with the Calgary Food & Drug Executives board.
It is a very active group that works hard to get the Calgary industry together. We promote several events like curling, golf and our famous “Santa Cause” to bring retailers, wholesalers and manufactures together, while at the same time give back to our community with charity donations.
What is a fun fact about you?
Don’t be fooled by this sweet smile, I like a good fight. I have a lot of energy, and so I box/kickbox five times a week. My husband will never forget my first hockey game and my reaction when a couple of players dropped their gloves. I was excited to find out they can fight and that is still the only part I like about hockey!
Anything else you’d like to share?
I’ve met some extraordinary people throughout my career. They have helped shape the person I am today. As I always say, “We are what we surround ourselves with,” and I’ve been lucky to be surrounded by strong powerful women and great amazing men.
Click here for the full list of 2023 Star Women in Grocery award winners.