Get to know Canadian Grocer's 2026 Impact Champions

LINA BHARDWAJ 

Retail Team Lead – Walmart, Costco, Metro and Other Channels 
FLORA FOOD GROUP 

Lina Bhardwaj has made giving back a cornerstone in both her professional and personal life, creating lasting impact on colleagues, charities and the communities she serves. At Flora Food Group, Bhardwaj has inspired employees to roll up their sleeves for important causes that address food insecurity and reduce food waste. For instance, she has organized multiple corporate foodsorting events with food rescue charity Second Harvest, mobilizing her team to sort thousands of pounds of produce to ensure it reaches families and community agencies, rather than landfills. She extended similar efforts to partner with Feed the Need in Durham. Bhardwaj’s impact extends beyond fighting food insecurity. She has championed initiatives through WomenAide, an organization that provides critical items to women’s shelters across the Greater Toronto Area. Another cause that is deeply personal to Bhardwaj is her work with Cystic Fibrosis Canada. She became a passionate advocate for the organization after her youngest daughter was diagnosed with the disease—participating in fundraising efforts and raising awareness for the organization that funds research, clinical care and advocacy for people living with cystic fibrosis. According to her colleagues at Flora Food Group, Bhardwaj’s compassion has created “a ripple effect of positive change,” that extends beyond her organization. 

NICOLE MCGARRELL 

Senior Product Analyst
LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. 

For the past six years, Nicole McGarrell has helped shape a more inclusive culture at Loblaw by championing initiatives that amplify underrepresented voices both inside the company and in the communities it serves. As co-lead of Loblaw’s partnership with the Black Business and Professional Association (BBPA), she has supported programs including the Rise Up Pitch Competition for Black women entrepreneurs and Black Men in Business, while connecting emerging entrepreneurs with category leaders to grow their businesses and bring new products to store shelves. McGarrell has also led Black History Month programming, moderated educational panels and helped strengthen partnerships that celebrate Black excellence. “Winning this award means a great deal to me because I’ve always wanted to be the change I hoped to see—both within our organization and in the community,” she says. McGarrell believes inclusion must be viewed through a broader lens, noting that while progress has been made, there is still work to do to improve equity not only for racialized populations but for women, especially in technology and analytics fields. Looking ahead, McGarrell plans to deepen relationships with community organizations, expand support for diverse entrepreneurs and continue bringing products from underrepresented communities to a broader market. “Everything works better when we collaborate and support one another.”

IRENE MAROK 

Technical Services Excellence Manager 
NESTLÉ CANADA 

Sustainability has always been important to Irene Marok, who grew up in a household where nothing was wasted and much of the family’s food was grown at home. “I entered the packaging profession because I wanted to influence the packaging consumers see on shelves every day,” says Marok, who joined Nestlé Canada in 2002. Over the last five years, her teams have worked to reduce virgin plastic use and improve packaging recyclability. In 2025, 91% of Nestlé Canada’s plastic packaging was designed for recycling, and the company reduced 32% of virgin plastic from its packaging compared to its 2018 baseline. To help ensure sustainability remains integrated into everyday business decisions, Marok helped establish annual opportunity reviews, regular stakeholder engagement and standardized processes to strengthen accountability and reporting. In her latest role, Marok’s scope has expanded to include sustainability in product development along with packaging. “By designing packaging with only the materials needed and ensuring the right barrier properties to protect food quality and safety, we can reduce waste, lower environmental impact and create business value at the same time,” Marok says. “At a company like Nestlé, these improvements can be scaled across products, enabling meaningful and lasting change.” 

LORI NIKKEL 

CEO 
SECOND HARVEST 

For more than 25 years, Lori Nikkel has been a leading force in advancing food waste reduction. Since joining Second Harvest in 2014 and becoming CEO in 2018, she has helped make the organization a national and global leader in food loss and waste research, advocacy, standards development, training and education. Through her leadership, Second Harvest has influenced public policy, advanced industry collaboration and driven greater awareness of the impacts of food waste across the supply chain, all while using innovation to expand food rescue efforts that redirect millions of dollars of surplus food to people who need it most. Canada’s largest food rescue organization, Second Harvest works with more than 15,000 donors and a network of 10,800 charitable food programs across the country. “I was a single parent of three sons and understood from the inside the pressure and impossible choices families facing food insecurity have to make,” says Nikkel. “That gap between surplus and food access doesn’t sit well with me, and what motivates me is knowing that these are solvable problems. We have an opportunity to build a better food system for everyone, and it starts by having a standardized understanding of food waste, how much is being lost and what we can do to reduce it.” 

EMILY O’BRIEN 

CEO 
COMEBACK SNACKS 

“A comeback requires two things: someone willing to change, and someone willing to see the change. This award tells me more people are choosing to see it,” says Emily O’Brien, who started Comeback Snacks as part of her “comeback” from a period of incarceration. While in prison, she remade her life and came up with the idea to start a popcorn snack company. Comeback Snacks, available at Farm Boy, Sobeys and Longo’s, has since been addressing a critical gap in the workforce: the lack of fair employment opportunities for individuals who have criminal records. “One bad decision can be a chapter in your story, but for people with criminal records, society often treats it like the entire book. I lived that,” says O’Brien. “I know what it’s like to have doors close before you get the chance to show who you are today. We all want to be judged by our intentions, our growth and who we are now.” Since 2020, Comeback Snacks has employed two dozen individuals with criminal records. O’Brien is also a public speaker, helping employers see the value in fair-chance hiring. She also launched Comeback Catalyst, a national incubator that has supported more than 135 formerly incarcerated individuals across Canada, with 20% launching businesses, 26% gaining customers and 19% securing employment or advancing their careers. 

CHRISTIEN PARROTT 

Director of Sustainability 
MOTHER PARKERS TEA & COFFEE 

Christien Parrott has spent the past decade at Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee, applying her experience across the coffee supply chain to advance sustainability from farm to finished product. In her current role, she leads programs focused on climate action, responsible sourcing, supply chain transparency and resilience. Among her most meaningful accomplishments is Water Wise, a five-year project completed in 2025 in partnership with CARE International in Honduras. Along with improving water conservation and stewardship, the initiative incorporated producer training, humanitarian considerations and greater participation by women and Indigenous people in coffee-growing communities. “Seeing that supply chain in action—how each little bean of coffee is harvested and somehow makes its way to our shelves—really drove my passion for sustainability,” says Parrott, who joined Mother Parkers on the commodities team, sourcing coffee and travelling to coffee-producing regions, gaining a deeper understanding of the global supply chain. Parrott also serves on the board of the Global Coffee Platform and contributes to sustainability committees with the Coffee Association of Canada and the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada, helping advance responsible sourcing across the industry.

MARINA PETRUŠIĆ 

Senior Director, Sustainability and HSE 
MONDELĒZ INTERNATIONAL 

“We have to be the change we hope to see,” says Marina Petrušić, senior director, sustainability and health, safety, environment, at Mondelēz International. “That’s what motivates me every morning—to leave people, communities and the planet a little better off because we were here.” With two decades of experience in the Canadian grocery and CPG industries, Petrušić has built her career around making health, safety and sustainability core business priorities. In her current leadership role at Mondelēz, she has helped embed sustainability, workplace safety and employee well-being into the organization’s day-to-day operations—she’s advanced initiatives ranging from regenerative agriculture and circular packaging to energy optimization, carbon reduction and employee wellness, all while fostering collaboration across operations, engineering, HR and supply chain teams. The result has been an organizational shift, with sustainability and well-being becoming an integrated part of the business rather than a standalone initiative. For Petrušić, that broader perspective is what drives lasting progress. “The most meaningful progress happens when thousands of everyday decisions, made by thousands of people, come together with one shared purpose,” she says. “That’s when real transformation happens.” 

RIMA RABBA 

(formerly) Head of Marketing 
RABBA FINE FOODS 

Growing up in her family’s neighbourhood store, Rima Rabba learned early on that grocery retail is about more than selling food—it’s about building relationships and supporting communities. That philosophy guided her work as head of marketing at Rabba Fine Foods, where she created the Rabba Roots Community Giving Program, which has grown into a network of partnerships connecting employees, suppliers, charitable organizations and local communities. Under her leadership, Rabba Roots expanded longstanding partnerships with organizations, including Good Shepherd Ministries and Food Banks Mississauga, while supporting initiatives such as Make Happy Tummies and seasonal food donation campaigns. “What I’m most proud of isn’t any one campaign, it’s the relationships that were built along the way,” says Rabba. “The most meaningful community initiatives are never the result of one individual or one organization.” For Rabba, true lasting impact comes from bringing community organizations, supplier partners and employees together around a shared purpose. As she puts it: “When people feel connected to a shared purpose, the results become much greater.” 

ROB SOPOV 

Chief Customer Officer 
KENVUE CANADA 

As a four-year sponsor and leader of the Kenvue Diverse Abilities team, Rob Sopov has played a critical role in embedding accessibility and inclusion into both the company’s culture as well as its practices. Key goals of this widereaching program are advancing women leadership in sales, Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) mentoring at Toronto’s Ted Rogers School of Business and driving awareness to mental health at Kenvue and at Johnson & Johnson. At the Ted Rogers School of Business, Sopov led the establishment of the J&J/ Kenvue BIPOC Scholarship and spearheads the BIPOC student mentorship program, directly contributing to a more diverse and futureready talent pipeline. As lead of the Kenvue Francophone integration team, Rob also has strengthened inclusion and engagement of Frenchspeaking employees. “I believe organizations thrive when every individual feels valued, included and supported,” says Sopov. “I am particularly proud to play a role in advancing inclusion, elevating mental health awareness and support and helping to develop the next generation of industry leaders through BIPOC scholarships and mentorship programs,” he adds. “I am inspired by helping people reach their full potential and become the best version of themselves.” 

LI WANG 

Plant Manager, Mississauga Plant 
BURNBRAE FARMS 

Since 2021, Li Wang has been leading park cleanups as part of Mississauga, Ont.’s Adopt-a-Park program. The program allows employees to give back in a hands-on, visible way by volunteering to conduct regular maintenance and cleanups in public parks. It also supports Burnbrae Farms’ environmental values by protecting green spaces, promoting environmental stewardship and ensuring families can enjoy safe, clean parks close to home. “By organizing and participating in park cleanup activities, I have helped remove litter, improve public green spaces and raise awareness about the importance of protecting our environment,” Wang says. Wang’s success in organizing volunteers has solidified the initiative as an ongoing commitment and the Mississauga team plans to continue to participate in park cleanups for years to come. “By volunteering, helping those in need and contributing to community initiatives such as park cleanups, we can all play a part in creating a more inclusive, supportive and positive environment,” Wang says. “Making a difference also allows me to give back and inspire others to get involved.” 

Winners of the 2026 Impact Awards are featured in Canadian Grocer’s August issue.