Michael Medline

President and CEO, Sobeys

of my IF YOU HAD TOLD ME YEARS AGO THAT THE DEFINING MOMENT career would involve plexiglass, I would have laughed. But it’s true: Early one morning in March 2020, I was on an call with grocers from around the world, including Asia and Europe. Many of them were already in the thick of the pandemic — weeks ahead of Canada — so I was soaking up everything they had learned up to that point. My brain was racing when, suddenly, it occurred to me: plexiglass shields would be an amazing way to protect our people and customers. My instincts told me that, even if it ended up costing us millions (it did), it would be worth it if we saved even one life. I muted the call and texted my colleague: ‘Let’s put the order in right away.’ There was no time for consultation or due diligence; it was a pure gut decision.

Our move on plexiglass led the way for customer-facing businesses across Canada, and I will be eternally grateful to every teammate at Empire who made it happen. No amount of crisis training prepares you for moments like that. But when your organization has a strong set of values, it helps put you on the right course. The pandemic laid bare the reality that our decisions as corporate leaders — the majority of them — need to be focused on human beings. When the chips were down for us and we feared a lack of PPE and cleaning supplies could shut down some of our stores, it was other corporations — not the government — that came to our rescue. Our teams worked closely with Scotiabank, RBC, Riocan, OMERS, Maple Leaf Foods, Cineplex and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. They selflessly lent us their contacts and suppliers — despite facing some of the darkest days of their own. In my view, COVID-19 didn’t expose the evils of capitalism; it exposed its best side. Now we need a concerted effort to maintain and build on these principles.