My Backstory

Like many others in the business, I didn’t start in retail with a plan.

I got into the industry in 2006 because it was time to get a part-time job. My cousin worked at Walmart, and got me in as a cashier. At the time, I was a shy 16 year old kid just figuring things out.

But something clicked quickly.

I found myself drawn to the pace, the complexity, and the constant movement of retail operations—the people, the pressure, and the way everything had to come together in real time. Walmart gave me my first real opportunity to grow, and from there, I kept moving forward through the industry, learning the business from the ground up.

Over the next 20 years, I built my career across some of the most demanding retail environments in Canada.

Moving through different organizations, formats, and operating environments gave me a much wider view of retail than any single role ever could. I started to see how much leadership, structure, and expectations shape the way operations actually function—and those differences still define how I think about retail today.

I’ve led high-volume flagship stores in downtown urban centres, where execution, speed, and leadership clarity are everything. I’ve also managed remote northern operations, where staffing, and supply chain constraints are constant, and where the store is often the only source of essential goods for an entire community.

These different retail environments shaped me in different ways.

Some of the most defining experiences came while leading a Shoppers Drug Mart flagship store in downtown Ottawa. The store operated in a high-density urban environment dealing with complex daily realities including theft, safety incidents, and frontline risk situations. It was here that leadership became about more than performance—it became about stability, safety, and consistency under pressure.

At the same time, my work in Northern Canada gave me a completely different perspective. In those small communities, the store isn’t just a business—it’s infrastructure. You learn quickly that leadership means adapting to local needs, building trust, and making decisions that directly impact people’s daily lives. 

Across all of these experiences, one pattern became clear:

The difference between strong and struggling operations is not strategy, but leadership execution.

Great leaders create clarity, reduce noise, and focus their teams on what actually matters. I’ve learned this firsthand from mentors who led with a calm, servant leadership approach—asking questions like “What do you need from me?” or "How should we approach this?" instead of managing through fear or control. That mindset changed how I lead.

Over time, I developed a belief that strong operations are built through people, not processes alone. When teams are supported, clear on expectations, and trusted with accountability-not just tasks—performance follows.

The most meaningful part of my career has been building and turning around teams. Whether it was leading a busy high-volume store or remote operation under difficult conditions, the most rewarding outcomes always came from developing people and seeing them step into stronger leadership roles.

I also bring a broad operational understanding from working across head office environments during my time with Giant Tiger Stores Limited, where I got the opportunity to support supply chain, merchandising, marketing, category management, and store operations. That experience gave me a full view of how retail comes together—not just at store level, but across an entire enterprise.

Today, through OpsOnDemand, I focus on helping retail operators strengthen execution, improve leadership capability, and build more consistent performance across their organizations.

Because at the core of every strong operation I’ve seen, the same truth applies:

Great leadership is about helping people see what they’re capable of becoming, and creating the conditions where they can actually succeed.