There is a change of leadership at grocery chain Calgary Co-op.
“Calgary Co-op is entering an exciting new phase as we transition leadership following a period of growth, acquiring CarePharmacies, Community Natural Foods and Willow Park Wines & Spirits. The Board of Directors thanks departing CEO Ken Keelor for his dedication and commitment. Ken successfully led the organization the past 10 years through these major acquisitions, while also negotiating new supplier partners for both grocery and fuel,” wrote the company’s Board Chair Brad Krizan, in a letter to members.
He announced that effective immediately, Lisa Swartzman has been appointed interim CEO while the board begins the search for a permanent CEO.
“Lisa is a seasoned senior executive with significant finance experience and a background in consumer products, retail, industrial products, healthcare and manufacturing,” wrote Krizan.
“Lisa has the skills required to maintain stability and continuity across the organization in our core operations until a new CEO is in place, which we expect will occur within the next year. Changes in leadership are a natural part of any organization’s growth and evolution, and Calgary Co-op’s dedication to our community, members, and employees remains unwavering. This transition is about ensuring the future success of Calgary Co-op as we continue to serve our members with the best products, services, and value.
“The goal moving forward is to optimize the successes of recent years while continuing Calgary Co-op’s long-term sustainability and commitment to our members. We are confident that this leadership transition will allow us to fully leverage our past success and ensure that Calgary Co-op remains a cornerstone of the community. We remain committed to our members and to continuing to deliver exceptional customer experiences now and into the future.”
Keelor was with the company for 10 years. No information was given for his departure.
In a previous Retail Insider article, he talked about how people often ask him how he got to where he is today.
“I will say, I always put my hand up for the tough jobs. And in fact, I always put my hand up for any jobs, leave alone the toughest jobs. If you look back at my career at Sobeys and even at Calgary Co-op and Save-On, I always took on the toughest jobs that other people didn’t necessarily want to take on. If something would have been in a mess, they would say well put Keelor in, he’ll fix it, he’ll fix it fast. Because I got a lot of things done, a lot faster than others might have done it,” he said.
“There’s people that do a lot of talking and people who aim for perfection, I’ve been someone who has always aimed to get the job done so the company can move forward. And of course, raising my game each year was very crucial. So every year I would challenge myself to do even more, do even better. And I would challenge my team. Every year the bar goes up. A lot of hard work.”
Owned by members, Calgary Co-op is one of the largest retail co-operatives in North America. Locations in Calgary, Airdrie, Cochrane, High River, Okotoks, and Strathmore include food centres, pharmacies, gas stations, car washes, Home Health Care centres, Wine, Spirits, and Beer locations and cannabis. In addition, Calgary Co-op owns and operates Community Natural Foods, Beacon Pharmacies, and Willow Park Wines & Spirits and is the beneficial owner of Care Pharmacies. It has over 400,000 members, 3,850 employees, assets of $700 million and annual sales of $1.3 billion.
Total sales for the year ending on October 28, 2023, amounted to $1.303 billion, compared to $1.284 billion in 2022.
Net earnings in 2023 were $16.7 million compared to $38.7 million in 2022, “mainly due to inflationary pressures, both on operating costs and in reduced sales & margins in our Liquor and Food lines of business as households respond to the inflationary environment,” it said in its annual report.
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