Photos and highlights from the 2024 Star Women in Convenience Awards

“This is about finding inspiration,” Goodman continued. “Inspiration is boundless, and inspiration is genuinely ageless.” He then said that inspiration his niece continues to show, even as continues here studies at university, is seen in the work that Chantalle Butler, president of Molson Coors Canada is doing at one of Canada’s largest brewers and he and Molson Coors Canada are doing to bring more women into the corporate C-Suite and into the beverage alcohol industry, especially as Ontario opens its beverage alcohol market to the convenience industry.

“We celebrate an extraordinary group of women whose achievements have not only transformed their own lives, but also made a profound impact on their companies, communities and the entire industry,” Butler began. “Over the past few years, we’ve made significant stride in attracting more women to beer and to our company. We’ve worked to build a culture that resonates with women, with employees and with consumers alike. We are proud of the progress we’ve made but recognize that there is still lots of work to do. We strive to bring even more women into the beverage alcohol industry and to support our customer in doing the same.”

Butler went on to outline how significant an opportunity is the opening of the beverage alcohol market in Ontario, especially for the retail convenience industry in the province.

“Convenience stores are not just quick stops, they are integral parts of our communities,” she continued. “At Molson Coors Canda, we are talking a distinctive approach to empower our customers to thrive in this new space, especially those venturing into alcohol sales for the first time. According to Nielsen, the beer and Ready To Drink (RTD) beverage category present a remarkable opportunity valued at $4 billion in revenue for Ontario retailers. In Quebec, the beer and RTD segment has proven its strength, ranking as the second best-selling category after tobacco in recent sale trends.”

While the beverage alcohol market has only opened in Ontario a short while, it is already showing signs of success for those stores that are selling beer and RTD beverages, added Butler. Consumers are showing a marked preference for smaller drink formats, making them ideal for convenience stores who want to pop into a store and some drinks along with other items. 

So, Molson Coors Canada is making sure to have products that are attractive to buyers and easy for stores to showcase to attract them. “Our go-to-market strategy is designed with the convenience shopper in mind to ensure they can find the brands they are looking for . . . The convenience industry is on the cusp of extraordinary growth and Molson Coors Canada is eager to partner with you here to drive this momentum. Together, we can embrace the challenges ahead, capitalize on new opportunities and lead out industry into an exciting new era of innovation and expansion.”

READ:  VIDEO: 2024 Star Women in Convenience cover shoot

Caroline Evans, vice-president of sales at JTI-Macdonald Corp., thanked Butler afterwards for outlining how the beverage alcohol market is important to women and the work she was doing to bring more women into the beverage alcohol market and opening new roles for them. That was an important theme for Evans, who saw the winners and their stories as important for how they exemplified the importance of mentoring and leading by example is for women in the convenience industry in Canada.

“All of you are being recognized for outstanding achievements, for exceptional leadership, for driving change and innovation, for being bold, for being courageous and for being the kind of person that people want on their team,” Evans added.  “The kind of person that people want to work with and to work for. Each of their paths and stories are unique. But if there is one similarity that goes across them and that is mentorship. We are JTI work consciously to make sure that women have opportunities to succeed. We have coaching and mentoring and most recently a sponsorship program, and formal systems in place to make sure that women are ready for the opportunities that are there for them.

Anne-Laure Coussot, sales director C&G, wholesale and foodservice, Mondelēz International, said creating opportunities for women to succeed and take on more senior roles in companies is important as still many women today find themselves often taking a back seat to men still in Canada.

“Women still earn on average 87 cents for every dollar earned by men in similar roles,” Coussot said. “This example of the pay gap highlights the ongoing struggle for equality and recognition of women’s contributions across various sectors. Still, breakthroughs have been made in the last decade. Today, women hold 30% of senior management roles in Canada, a marked improvement from just 20% a decade ago.”

Shirley Mukerjea, senior director, global marketing, PepsiCo Beverages and co-executive sponsor of PepsiCo’s Women’s Inclusion Network in Canada, made a similar point to those assembled attendees, highlighting a finding in the most recent Women in the Workplace 2024 report by McKinsey & Company. 

“It continues to show that men consistently and significantly outnumber women in all levels of organizations,” she said. “What’s more, women continue to face barriers at the beginning of their careers, so just getting their foot in the door, let alone staying in an organization and getting promoted to that first rung at the managerial level. That’s why moments like this are so important, to inspire and to build a sense of advocacy in our industry. That is why at PepsiCo, we have invested in our She’s PepsiCo campaign, to invest in opportunities for development, talent retention and acquisition within our operations . . . suffice to say, our industry has made huge strides, but there’s still more strides to go.”

During a panel discussion moderated by Michelle Warren, editor and associate publisher, Convenience Store News Canada + OCTANE, several of the winners of this year’s Star Women in Convenience Awards spoke about the challenges they faced in their careers and the importance of mentorships and stepping up to open doors for professional growth.

Caroline Bibeau, territory manager with Petro-Canada, a Suncor business, spoke that while ambition is important, she discovered that it was just as important to have a supportive team to around her to help her grow in her career and to take on new roles. “I realized that people and teamwork were helping me and keeping me motivated, working with them day-after-day, working with a variety of stakeholders who provided me breaks and opportunities, and every year how the company entrusted me with more special projects. Those persons really were there to challenge me, to help me extend my strengths and skills.”

Maryline Vuillerod, director, dealer business with McDougall Energy, who worked with both small and large companies overseas before moving to Canada four years ago to take on her role at McDougall Energy, spoke of the need for women to step-up and take on new challenges and opportunities as they present themselves, even if one might feel reluctant to do so.

“It implies taking a leap of faith because you are dealing with uncertainty,” she said. “But you’ve got to make that decision to take it. But I could not have done so without having a support system. I’ve been lucky to work with leaders gave back selflessly to help me and look after me.”

She added that today, there are more women in leadership roles, women who can help other young women excel by being there for them and opening doors to them for growth. She continued that she is now working to help bring more women to the team and expanding the skill sets in management.

“We are looking much more now at ‘soft skills’ rather than ‘hard skills’ and focusing on having a customer-centric perspective amongst our team,” she said.

Isabelle Jacques, owner/operator of La Station Ville Marie – Shell Voisin, spoke about the need for women to believe in themselves and to take risks. In her business, that means being involved in the minutia of the business, keeping on good terms with suppliers and embracing new challenges. She gave the example of when Sobey’s began to move to having her start making fresh sandwiches and other items for the fast growing ‘Grab-and-Go’ foodservice segment. That was daunting at first as it meant more work and the logistics around preparing those items for customers.

Now it has become a core part of her business, and he said the only way to have made it work was to have good team on-hand, one that as an entrepreneur you nurture and respect. “You must be respectful to them and empathic with them. I have some of them here with me this morning because for me, my employees are like my second family.”

That is why she said it is important that as a manager you create a work environment where everyone can thrive. “I try to bring a good work-life balance to everyone. It is not always easy,” she added. “You try to balance relationships, friends, family and work and if you find out that they did something special on the weekend, I ask them what is was on Monday.”

Michele Lown, vice-president of administration with INS Market | Dakin News Systems Inc., added that having a solid team behind you is what can help one succeed in a time of changing market dynamics and customer expectations. She was especially excited about the new beverage alcohol market in Ontario and what it will mean for INS Market in the coming years, and she was excited to hear about all the support a company like Molson Coors Canada is going to provide for companies like INS Market.

“The beer and RTD market is really exciting for us and I was excited to be here to learn about all the different people in that part of the industry,” Lown continued. “I had no idea that Molson Coors had so many RTD brands and for a consumer that is going to be very exciting, and it is something fresh and new for me after 20 years in this industry. It is exciting for us. You see, I’m super competitive and the constant challenge of problem solving, learning and being an agent of change is all part of this industry. You must keep learning and keep driving yourself.”

The morning capped off with the awards presentation to the winners.