Galen G. Weston will be stepping down from his position as the President of Loblaw (TSX: L) at the end of the year. The company made the announcement of Weston’s departure on Tuesday morning.
Weston became president in 2021 after Sarah Davis left the role. Following his resignation, Weston will still remain as chair of the board and will continue to run Loblaw’s parent company, George Weston Limited (TSX: WN). Recently, Weston has played a key role in defending Loblaw’s profits in front of members of Parliament and appearing in commercials for the company. The move follows a search launched in August in anticipation of Robert Sawyer’s retirement as chief operating officer of Loblaw.
Our very SmallCapSteve summarized the story earlier this year.
Per Bank, the CEO of Salling Group A/S, the largest retailer in Denmark, will take over Weston’s role as president and CEO of Loblaw in 2024. The appointment was announced by Loblaw Co. Ltd. after a search was launched in August in anticipation of Robert Sawyer’s retirement as chief operating officer of Loblaw. Weston and other grocery executives have come under fire recently for their growing corporate profits amidst rampant food inflation.
In response to questions from NDP leader Jagmeet Singh at a parliamentary committee last month, Weston defended Loblaw’s business as “reasonable profitability,” saying the company only makes $1 of profit per $25 spent on groceries at its stores.
In late 2022, Loblaw announced a temporary price freeze on its in-house No Name brand products, which it said was aimed at helping Canadians cope with high inflation. Although inflation at the grocery store has cooled slightly as of late, clocking in at 9.7 per cent in March, it remains more than double the headline rate of inflation for the month. Despite Weston’s departure as president, he will still continue to play a role in Loblaw’s parent company, George Weston Limited.
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