2025 Generation Next winner Matthew Robertson

The pandemic ended three years ago, but Matthew Robertson says its effects are still reverberating across supply chains.

“Many of our suppliers rely on co-packers, and those co-packers were the ones clearing the backlog,” he explains. “You can imagine the pileup they faced. We’re still working through parts of that recovery and improving how we collaborate with suppliers.”

In nearly 10 years with UNFI Canada—his first corporate role after earning an engineering degree from the University of Guelph—Robertson has confronted major disruptions and driven lasting, systemic improvements.

A key achievement: breaking down the silo between supply chain planning and distribution centre operations by building tools that give full visibility across the replenishment process. By unifying data, standardizing metrics and redesigning dashboards, he helped launch Power BI tools now embedded in daily decisions, saving thousands of hours in manual reporting and freeing up teams to focus on higher-value work.

Crediting mentorship for helping him advance through five roles at the company, he’s now committed to developing young team members himself. “Investing in them goes a long way and is what inspires me,” he says.

See the full list of Generation Next 2025 winner profiles.

Profiles were published in the December 2025/January 2026 issue of Canadian Grocer.