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Galen Weston Jr. | |
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.jpg) Weston in 2011 | |
| Born | Willard Galen Garfield Weston (1972-12-19)December 19, 1972 (age 52) |
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| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse | Alexandra Schmidt |
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Willard Galen Garfield Weston (born December 19, 1972), known asGalen Weston Jr. orGalen G. Weston,[1] is an Irish-Canadian[2] businessman and a member of theWeston family. He is chairman andchief executive officer (CEO) ofGeorge Weston Limited,[3] and chairman and former president ofLoblaw Companies Limited.[4][5] He is the second child ofGalen Weston andHilary Weston.[6]
Weston was born on December 19, 1972,[7] inDublin, Ireland, where his fatherGalen Weston had relocated to in the 1960s. Weston's father originally moved to Dublin to start up a supermarket chain. He marriedHilary Frayne there in 1966 and had two children,Alannah and Galen.[8] The Westons relocated to Canada in 1974.[8]
Weston grew up inToronto,Ontario, where he attendedUpper Canada College.[9] He subsequently received his bachelor's fromHarvard University and hisMaster of Business Administration degree fromColumbia University.[10][11]
Weston succeeded his father to become theexecutive chairman of Loblaw Companies Limited in October 2006.[12] Previously, he had held positions in the company for eight years and was a member of itsboard of directors. At that point, the company was worth around $9.5 billion.[13] Since becoming chairman of Loblaw, Weston has featured in a number of television and radio commercials for Loblaw and its brands, similar toDave Nichol who had been the spokesman for Loblaw in the 1980s.[14][15]
In September 2016, Weston took over from his father as CEO of George Weston Limited.[12] In December 2020, Weston succeeded his father as thecontrolling shareholder ofWittington Investments, Limited, which controls George Weston Limited.[16] In March 2021, it was announced that Weston would assume the leadership role at Loblaw Companies Limited following the retirement of Sarah Davis as its president that year, changing his title from executive chairman to chairman and president.[4]
On December 19, 2017, Loblaw and its parent company George Weston Limited announced action the companies had taken to address their role in a price-fixing arrangement involving certain packaged bread products. In the statement, Weston is quoted as saying "this sort of behaviour is wrong and has no place in our business or Canada's grocery industry," and that "this should never have happened."[17] In response, Loblaw and George Weston said the companies had reported the price fixing to theCompetition Bureau, that the employees responsible for George Weston and Loblaw's role in this are no longer with the companies and the companies had significantly enhanced their compliance programs with measures that are industry-leading and go further than the Competition Bureau's requirements. Loblaw also announced it was offering customers a $25 Loblaw Card, which could be used to purchase items sold in Loblaw grocery stores across Canada.[17] Registration for the card opened on January 8, 2018. As of April 2019, many people have still not received the restitution.[18] Loblaws and George Weston Limited agreed to pay $500 million to settle the lawsuit in July 2024, with the class action lawsuit against several other retailers continuing.[19]
In June 2020, Weston confirmed the cancellation of an hourlyCA$2.00 wage premium to Loblaw workers, which received criticism from thenUnifor PresidentJerry Dias. The premium was paid to low-wage grocery store workers, who were deemed "essential" and required to attend work while much of Canada was shut down in response to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[20][15] The cancellation of the pandemic wage premium drew further criticism, as Weston's pay package from Loblaws in 2022 was worth $8.4 million (after receiving a $3 million pay rise from 2021) and including his remuneration as head of George Weston Ltd. his total compensation reached $11.7 million.[21] Weston, who had been the company spokesman of Loblaw advertising campaigns in addition to his executive role as Loblaw president, has since 2022 became the "very face of grocery store gouging" after he aggressively defended Loblaws' record profits and stated that Loblaws was not responsible for increased grocery prices during the2021–2023 inflation surge.[22]
On April 18, 2023, it was announced that Weston would step down as president of Loblaw, to be succeeded by Danish retail veteranPer Bank in 2024.[23]
In 2005, Weston married Alexandra Schmidt, granddaughter of businessmanThomas J. Bata and his wife,Sonja.[10]