Pattison Food Group president Darrell Jones announces retirement; chief operating officer Jamie Nelson named incoming president
(October 1, 2024 – Langley, B.C.) After more than 48 years, Pattison Food Group president Darrell Jones has announced his plans to retire effective February 28, 2025.
Darrell Jones
Darrell Jones devoted his entire career to the grocery industry after starting with the company as a bag boy at the Overwaitea Foods store in Cranbrook, B.C. in 1976. He moved throughout the province, living and working in more than 23 communities, in a series of progressively senior leadership roles in Save-On-Foods and associated banners.
Darrell joined the executive team in 2002 where his decades of experience on the retail side of the business served him well as he led the development of industry-leading initiatives such as PriceSmart Foods and the company’s unique “East-meets-West” concept, catering to the emerging opportunities of Western Canada’s increasingly multi-cultural population.
In 2012, Darrell was promoted to president of Save-On-Foods and the Overwaitea Food Group, marking a new era of growth and evolution, and leading nearly 18,000 people at the time in B.C. and Alberta to deliver the best customer service in the West.
Under Darrell’s leadership, through collaborative innovation and a focus on the company’s mission of Always Customer First service, Save-On-Foods and the Pattison Food Group:
- expanded into the Yukon, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as well as internationally into the Pacific Northwest United States,
- doubled the company’s store count,
- received recognition as one of B.C.’s Most Loved and trusted brands,
- launched the Save-On-Foods eCommerce platform, and
- expanded the corporate portfolio to include manufacturing facilities, warehouses, transportation companies and pharmaceutical distribution.
In 2017, Darrell received the Golden Pencil Award – the highest distinction in the grocery industry – from the Food Industry Association of Canada for his immense contributions to the grocery industry. And just this year, he was recognized as the 2024 Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Canadian Business Leader of the Year for his vision and commitment.
Darrell channeled his passions for the grocery industry and giving back into active participation on numerous boards, including The Grocery Foundation, GS1 Canada, Retail Council of Canada, and BC Children’s Hospital Foundation. In his capacity as a member of these organizations, Darrell has been a key advocate for Western Canada’s grocery industry on every level from hyper-local supplier communities to national and international stages.
Darrell has set the bar high when it comes to ensuring his team of almost 30,000 embodies the company’s 109-year-old culture of always giving their customers a little extra, just like he’s done for more than four decades. As a result of Darrell’s focus on the customer, as well as his leadership, determination, and ambition, the Pattison Food Group is positioned for continued success well into the future.
With Darrell’s upcoming retirement, Jamie Nelson, current chief operating officer, will take over as president effective March 1, 2025.
Jamie Nelson
Jamie’s impressive career in the grocery industry began 44 years ago as a retail clerk in the Mission, B.C. Overwaitea Foods store. He steadily rose through various positions across B.C. and Alberta before becoming a store manager in 1995 in Red Deer, Alta. Just two years later he was recognized as the Store Leader of the Year, one of company’s two most distinguished awards. He was later recognized with the company’s other most distinguished award, Business Leader of the Year, for 2009, becoming the first leader in the company’s history to win both top awards.
By 2012 Jamie had accumulated a wealth of experience in senior retail and office management roles, particularly within the merchandising department, and was ready to face the new challenges that would come his way with a promotion to vice president of Save-On-Foods operations. Since then, Jamie has held increasingly senior executive roles overseeing virtually every area of the business.
Jamie is a widely respected leader known for high standards of operational excellence, the ability to successfully facilitate team member engagement, and an unwavering dedication to building relationships with his teams and in the retail grocery industry. Jamie’s passion and expertise in the grocery industry has parlayed into active participation on numerous industry boards, including that of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, for which he is currently chair. Jamie is also past chairperson of the United Grocers Inc.
Jamie has played a significant role in setting vision and direction as well as leading the major integration projects aimed at optimizing and realizing scale, technology and efficiency benefits across the company.
In 2022, Jamie was officially inaugurated into the Grocery Business Hall of Fame by Grocery Business magazine and just one year later, in 2023, Jamie was the recipient of the prestigious Golden Pencil Award.
“Jamie fully embraces the company’s entrepreneurial spirit, is always willing to accept new challenges, and I know he will do a fantastic job leading this company. I have so much faith in Jamie and am confident there is nobody more ready or skilled to lead this incredible team,” said outgoing president Darrell Jones.
Jamie has made countless contributions to the grocery industry and his leadership is sure to continue to shape the successful future of the Pattison Food Group.
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About Pattison Food Group
Established in 2021, the Pattison Food Group is a Jim Pattison business and Western Canada’s leading provider of food and drugs. The Pattison Food Group includes Save-On-Foods, Buy-Low Foods, Quality Foods, Everything Wine, Pure Integrative Pharmacy, Imperial Distributors Canada Inc., and other Jim Pattison Group specialty and wholesale operations. Its businesses employ more than 30,000 team members in its nearly 300 food and drug retail locations and share a passion for giving back to the communities where they do business. Pattison Food Group businesses are leaders in customer service and innovation and are committed to achieving long-term growth.
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Media Relations
(778) 366-3000
Source: westerngrocer.com