2024 Star Women in Convenience winner: Sarah Moncada

Marketing manager, Central Canada        

Alimentation Couche-Tard | Circle K

How did you get into this business? 

I’ve been passionate about marketing for as long as I can remember. I remember watching Carrie Underwood on American Idol and appreciating the way the commercials made me feel about specific brands and how that later influenced my purchasing decisions. After graduating university with a marketing degree, I was eager to find a job in my field. I’m so grateful Circle K took a chance on me four years ago.  

What are you most proud of from the last 12-18 months? 

Marketing is about more than numbers, impressions, take rates, clicks, incremental units or sales dollars. It’s also about the deep-rooted feelings and brand love that turns into brand loyalty, which is why community engagement and grassroots marketing is so important. Sometimes the small things mean the most. It’s been a mission of mine to act more locally, connect with the folks in our communities, show up and support them. We have supported a number of local events within the last year and that’s something I’m most proud of.  I truly believe actions speak louder than words and it’s a goal of mine to communicate our mission and values to Ontarians through our actions, big and small.

What do you like most about your job?

Our people and our culture play a huge role in the love I have for my job. I work with people who genuinely want what’s best for me, who want to see me succeed and who have my back, and vise versa. It is only when you feel trusted, respected, and valued by your colleagues that you can be your authentic self at work and take personal risks to advance the company. I consider myself a 360-degree marketer. I love being able to work on all moving parts and areas within my domain. I love being able to strategize and work on digital, media, in-store POP, communication, merchandising, campaigns, activations, as well as working with cross functional teams, different departments, suppliers, vendors and agencies to get projects across the finish line. I am the type of person who finds pleasure in discomfort, in chaos and in change because I know this is where growth stems from. My job absolutely keeps me on my toes, pushes me to be agile, to think outside of the box, and challenge the status quo.

What's the best advice you ever received? 

Throughout my career at Circle K, I’ve been lucky enough to work alongside some exceptional leaders and mentors who have not only inspired and shaped me but have also influenced how I view growth, personal development, and leadership, in and out of the company. I’d like to share two pieces of advice that meant the most to me. First, ‘fail fast’: We shouldn’t fear failure because we’re not perfect, we make mistakes and so failure is inevitable. Instead, we should look at failure as an opportunity to learn and grow. As a creative person who likes to try new things, and push against the walls of my comfort zone, this advice resonates with me.  And ‘find your why’: Your why fuels your passion, fuels your purpose, you gain a sense of clear direction and your words and actions become more intentional, you feel more fulfilled and you eventually reach self-actualization. You can influence and generate engagement with the why, both very important within my field, within our industry and within our personal lives as well. 

What excites you most about the future of this channel? 

The unknown. As the world changes and evolves, so does the way we shop. I welcome change, I embrace change and I’m excited to be a part of change.  

How do you define yourself as a leader?

My goal is to help develop others, so they realize their full potential and reach their goals. I like to lead by example, with the WHY, with vision, purpose, empathy, kindness and passion. I like to give people my trust from the beginning, so it is theirs to lose instead of theirs to earn.