Lorne MacLean, senior vice president of retail operations for Sobeys Inc., plans to retire after a 42-year career in the grocery industry. He will stay with the company until May 2021 to help with transition plans.
He has spent his entire career with Empire Company and began bagging groceries in the Sobeys New Waterford store in Nova Scotia in 1979.
Throughout his career, he has held progressively senior roles within different departments in the company at locations across the country, from St. John’s, NL to Victoria, B.C. He has served in operations, merchandising and category management.
During his impressive career, he has led Empire’s discount banner in Atlantic Canada, the Thrifty Foods banner in B.C., Safeway operations in Western Canada and Empire’s store network in Atlantic Canada, Ontario and Western Canada. In his current role, he leads the company’s Ontario and Atlantic Canada full service and community banners and the franchise development, food safety and customer experience teams.
