Midas touch: Meet the 2024 Golden Pencil winners

Karl Vokey

SVP, National Sourcing and Own Brands, Sobeys (retired)

“Love at first sight” is how Karl Vokey describes his early days as a trainee at Sobeys’ Wholesale Division in St. John’s, N.L. He landed the role straight out of university and says, “I got into an industry that I loved so, so much; hence, I became a lifer at Sobeys.”

Over his 35-year tenure at Sobeys—he retired from his role as senior vice-president national sourcing and own brands at the end of last year—Vokey worked in many parts of the business, something, he says, that allowed him to witness and participate in the company’s incredible growth. But when asked what he’s most proud of in his career, Vokey says it’s how he was able to support and protect the grocery industry in Atlantic Canada. 

“I get a little bit emotional when I think about it,” he says. “Given all the growth of Sobeys across the country, I was very proud to maintain and help support Atlantic Canada and, in particular, the [company’s] hometown of Stellarton, N.S.,” he says, where he’s worked to support the employees and the functional areas of the business while making sure “the rest of the company didn’t forget about the home base, the culture, the values of the company.” 

When asked what piece of wisdom has served him well over his decades-long career and what advice he would give to up-and-coming leaders in the business, Vokey says he’s a firm believer in focusing on the long game. “Don’t always focus on the battle, focus on the war,” he says. “I’m a big believer in focusing on the long-term strategy; if you’re shortsighted, sometimes you’ll make decisions that you’ll regret in the long run.”

Vokey credits his mother and father for his strong work ethic. “They worked very, very hard,” he says, adding that his parents also shaped his values. “The values and priorities they instilled in me, like ‘pay off your bills,’ ‘never owe anyone anything,’ ‘pay off your mortgage,’ ‘look after your family’—was pretty salt-of-the-earth stuff.” And he attributes his success to “honest and open conversations” with mentors and leaders over the years who pointed him in the right direction and helped him see things differently. “Sometimes they were tough conversations and tough for me to take at the time,” he recalls. “But, rather than being defensive, I was open enough to see that what they were saying was for the betterment of my career and I thank them even today for pointing those things out to me.”

Eileen Mac Donald

Chief Executive Officer and President, GS1 Canada

Described by colleagues as a visionary leader, Eileen Mac Donald has been lauded for her tireless work to promote supply chain standards during her more than 20-year career at GS1 Canada. 

Mac Donald stepped up to the top job at GS1 Canada in the midst of a global pandemic. She has stated that embarking on a CEO transition (while managing through COVID) was not only the biggest challenge of her career, but also “truly a tremendous achievement.” 

Since taking the reins at GS1 Canada, Mac Donald has been credited with driving the company’s double-digit growth through her strategic foresight, innovative thinking and commitment to collaboration, all of which have helped make her organization a trusted partner across industries such as grocery and foodservice. 

Mac Donald has also earned a reputation as an authentic, people-first leader.

In 2022, Mac Donald was the recipient of another industry award—Star Women in Grocery. At the time, Canadian Grocer asked Mac Donald how she would describe her leadership style, she said: “I am a people-first leader and I learned that the most important asset to any business is the team. It doesn’t matter what your strategy is, what your budget is, who’s on your board, etc. You are not a leader if you don’t have fellowship. To be privileged to work with incredibly bright, committed, focused and aligned team members is the best part of my job. My focus on people is reflected in the core of who I am as a person.”

During her time at GS1 Canada—a not-for-profit association that develops and maintains global standards for efficient business communication— Mac Donald has served as senior vice-president of marketing and operations and was also its chief operations officer. Prior to joining GS1 Canada, Mac Donald gained experience working for Home Depot, the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry (a division of The Centre of Addiction and Mental Health) and was also a small business owner.

John Pigott

CEO, Club Coffee and Morrison Lamothe Inc.

If there was ever concern John Pigott would reap the benefits of nepotism, it was quickly squashed in 1979 when his mother and aunt fired him from Morrison Lamothe Inc. (MLI), the family-owned and operated bakery-turned-frozen food manufacturer founded by his grandfather, Cecil Morrison, in the early 1930s. 

“I made a mistake and I gave a discount that I was not authorized to give,” Pigott recalls. “My mother was the [company] chair and my aunt was the president and I was asked to leave and to go make mistakes on someone else’s payroll.”

So, Pigott left and joined Xerox (“the best sales training place at the time”) for six-and-a-half years, gaining experience, confidence and sales disciplines he follows to this day. 

“I learned you never go into a meeting without a plan. You learn how to close for an order. And, if you talk more than half the time, you’re not going to win the deal,” he says.

Pigott eventually rejoined the family business in 1986 as vice-president and was appointed president and CEO three years later. “I came back with the confidence that I could make it on my own and not be just the boss’s kid,” he says.

And he did just that. Under Pigott’s leadership, MLI expanded through acquisitions including Northern Fine Foods in 1990 and Club Coffee, one of the largest coffee roasters in North America, in 2005. And, in 2022, Olam food ingredients (ofi) acquired Club Coffee at an enterprise value of $150 million, according to a press release announcing the deal. 

“I did what my mother suggested I do … Go make mistakes someplace else, but come back [to MLI] and add value,” he says. Now semi-retired, Pigott is looking to add value to the industry in a different way: through mentorship. Instead of “heading to Florida and playing golf,” Pigott says he is spending most of his time mentoring the next generation of leaders. And in recent weeks, Food, Health and Consumer Products of Canada announced Pigott as its new board chair. “The industry was good to me. It’s pay it forward time.”