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Michael Medline

Michael Medline is a Canadian retail executive serving as president and chief executive officer of Empire Company Limited and its subsidiary Sobeys Inc., the country's second-largest food retailer by market share.^[1]^[2] Appointed in January 2017 following his tenure as CEO of Canadian Tire Corporation from 2014 to 2016, Medline has led Empire through a multi-year operational overhaul known as Project Horizon, which addressed post-acquisition integration challenges from the 2013 purchase of Safeway Canada and restored profitability amid competitive pressures.^[3]^[4] Under his leadership, the company expanded its store network, enhanced supply chain efficiencies, and strengthened private-label offerings, culminating in a declared completion of the turnaround in 2023 after six and a half years.^[5] He has been recognized for these efforts, including being named The Globe and Mail's CEO of the Year in 2018 and receiving the Principled Leadership Award from the College of William & Mary in 2025.^[2]^[6] Medline, who holds a Bachelor of Arts from Huron University, a law degree from the University of Toronto, and an MBA from William & Mary, announced his intention to retire in May 2026.^[7]^[8] Throughout his career, he has advocated for industry reforms such as a voluntary grocery code of conduct to improve supplier relations without raising consumer prices, while defending grocers against claims of excessive profiteering during inflationary periods by emphasizing rising input costs and operational investments.^[9]^[10]

Personal background

Early life

Michael Bennett Medline was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on July 4, 1963.^[11] Limited details are publicly available concerning his family background or specific formative influences prior to formal education. In recollections of his youth, Medline described enjoying participation in sports.^[12]

Education

Michael Medline obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Huron University College at Western University.^[7] He subsequently earned a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, graduating and being called to the Ontario bar in 1989.^[13] Medline completed his formal business education with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at the College of William & Mary in 1991.^[6] ^[1] This combination of degrees provided Medline with foundational knowledge in historical analysis, legal frameworks for contracts and corporate governance, and business strategy, directly supporting his later expertise in retail operations, supply chain logistics, and consumer market dynamics.^[14] His MBA coursework at William & Mary, known for its emphasis on practical case studies and quantitative analysis over abstract theory, equipped him with tools for evaluating operational efficiencies and market behaviors from fundamental economic principles.^[6] Medline maintains ties to his alma maters, serving as a board member of Huron University College, where he contributes to governance and supports programs fostering analytical rigor in liberal arts education.^[1] In recognition of his principled application of business acumen, William & Mary awarded him the 2025 Principled Leadership Award, highlighting the enduring impact of his MBA training on ethical decision-making in corporate leadership.^[6]

Professional career

Early roles in retail

Michael Medline entered the retail industry in 2001 by joining Canadian Tire Corporation as executive vice president of new business development.^[15] In this position, he focused on merchandising strategy and operational initiatives, acquiring foundational knowledge in supply chain logistics and market-driven merchandising practices essential to retail efficiency.^[16] His contributions to business development underscored a performance-based trajectory, emphasizing data-informed decisions over relational factors in advancing through retail hierarchies. Prior professional experience in consumer goods distribution at PepsiCo Canada provided ancillary exposure to retail channel dynamics, though direct retail operations began at Canadian Tire.^[1]

Canadian Tire Corporation

Michael Medline joined Canadian Tire Corporation in 2001 as executive vice president of new business development, where he quickly contributed to major expansions, including leading the acquisition of Mark's Work Wearhouse for $116 million in December 2001, which broadened the company's apparel and workwear offerings.^[17]^[18] Over the next decade, he advanced through senior roles, overseeing operations in key units such as petroleum, PartSource, and automotive businesses, while directing merchandising and supply chain strategies that supported consistent retail segment performance.^[4] In 2011, Medline played a pivotal role in the $1.1 billion acquisition of the Forzani Group, integrating sports retail brands like Sport Chek and adding over 500 stores to Canadian Tire's portfolio, which drove subsequent revenue diversification into athletic and leisure categories.^[18] Promoted to president in November 2013 and CEO effective December 2014, he spearheaded e-commerce enhancements and operational efficiencies, including investments in digital delivery systems to counter online competition.^[19] These efforts correlated with retail revenue growth, such as a 5.9% increase in the third quarter of 2015 excluding petroleum, attributed to higher dealer shipments and category expansions under his leadership.^[20] Medline's 2014 three-year growth strategy emphasized core business optimization, targeting 3% annualized sales growth in automotive and hardware, 5% in living and home essentials, and overall earnings-per-share expansion of 8-10% through targeted investments rather than aggressive store openings.^[21] This approach bolstered profitability amid economic pressures, with second-quarter 2014 retail income before taxes rising 22.7% to $149.6 million on 4.8% revenue growth to $3.2 billion, reflecting effective merchandising resets and inventory management that enhanced resilience against fluctuating commodity prices.^[19] His tenure until mid-2016 positioned Canadian Tire for sustained national retail dominance by prioritizing data-driven category performance over expansive real estate commitments.^[22]

Empire Company Limited

Michael Medline was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Empire Company Limited on January 12, 2017, effective immediately, succeeding interim leadership following prior executive transitions.^[23] In this capacity, he assumed responsibility for the company's core food retailing operations, primarily through its wholly owned subsidiary Sobeys Inc., which encompasses banners such as Sobeys, Safeway, FreshCo, and IGA, operating over 1,500 stores nationwide.^[2] This oversight occurred against a backdrop of competitive pressures in Canada's grocery sector, including price competition and consolidation from dominant players like Loblaw Companies Limited.^[24] Medline's executive duties extended to directing mergers and acquisitions to bolster the company's footprint, exemplified by the March 2021 agreement to acquire a 51% stake in the Ontario-based Longo's chain and its Grocery Gateway e-commerce platform, integrating these assets into Empire's network.^[25] He also managed the optimization of store networks, including renovations targeting 20% to 25% of locations between fiscal 2024 and 2026, alongside plans for annual new store openings—such as 26 in fiscal 2026—to address regional gaps and sustain presence in fragmented markets.^[26] These efforts responded to observable dynamics like consumer shifts toward discount formats and e-commerce, with Empire's strategies emphasizing physical expansions in underserved areas to counteract share dilution observed industry-wide.^[27] Additionally, Medline oversaw pharmacy integrations within retail banners, coordinating services across Sobeys' outlets to align with broader supply chain adaptations amid disruptions from events like the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent inflationary spikes.^[28] His role involved navigating empirical challenges such as food price volatility exceeding general CPI in parts of the supply chain, prompting operational adjustments like targeted sourcing and pricing discipline to preserve competitiveness against Loblaw's scale advantages, where Empire maintained a secondary but stable position with approximately 20-25% national grocery share depending on metrics.^[29]^[30]

Leadership achievements

Strategic initiatives and transformations

Upon assuming leadership at Empire Company Limited in January 2017, Michael Medline initiated Project Sunrise, a three-year transformation program launched on May 4, 2017, aimed at simplifying organizational structures, unlocking national scale, and achieving $500 million in annualized cost savings through operational efficiencies.^[31] This was followed by Project Horizon in July 2020, a subsequent three-year strategy focused on core business expansion, e-commerce acceleration, supply chain optimization, and process improvements to enhance productivity and market share.^[32] These initiatives collectively spanned over five years, emphasizing structural changes, logistics consolidation, and analytical tools for promotional optimization without reliance on unsubstantiated external mandates.^[33] Medline directed investments toward store network modernization, with plans to renovate 20-25% of Empire's banners—including Sobeys and FreshCo—between fiscal 2024 and 2026 to improve layout efficiency and customer experience based on performance data.^[34] In June 2025, the company announced an $850 million capital allocation for fiscal 2026, half dedicated to these renovations and expansions, prioritizing locations with demonstrated return on investment through traffic and sales analytics.^[35] Technological integrations under these programs targeted supply chain enhancements, including logistics network consolidation and advanced analytics for inventory and procurement, enabling data-driven decisions on distribution routes and stock levels to minimize waste and delays.^[32] This supported planned openings of 24 new stores in fiscal 2026, selected via geographic and demographic modeling to capture underserved markets while aligning with verifiable consumer demand patterns.^[36]

Financial performance and expansions

Under Michael Medline's leadership at Empire Company Limited since 2017, the company delivered consistent revenue expansion, culminating in fiscal 2025 sales of $31.36 billion CAD, reflecting a 1.82% year-over-year increase from $30.80 billion despite persistent inflationary challenges in the 2020s grocery sector.^[37] This performance underscored operational resilience, as Empire navigated supplier cost pressures through targeted negotiations that stabilized in-store food inflation rates.^[38] Profitability, while facing margin compression to $700 million in net earnings for fiscal 2025 (a 3.6% decline amid tighter controls), provided capital for reinvestment, fostering job stability across its retail footprint and amplifying local economic contributions via sustained employment in food distribution and sales.^[39] Fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results highlighted earnings momentum, with net earnings rising to $173 million ($0.74 per diluted share) from $149 million ($0.61 per share) the prior year, and adjusted net earnings climbing to $173 million from $154 million, driven by contributions from pharmacy services and equity investments.^[40] These gains, extending into fiscal 2026's first quarter with net earnings of $212 million ($0.91 per share) versus $208 million ($0.86 per share) and EBITDA growth to $671 million from $645 million, enabled dividend enhancements—marking the 30th consecutive annual increase at 10%, to $0.22 quarterly per share—while countering critiques of outsized grocer margins by tying returns to verifiable reinvestments rather than excess pricing.^[35]^[41] Over Medline's tenure, adjusted earnings per share compounded at an average annual rate of 15%, directly funding growth initiatives without reliance on external subsidies.^[42] Expansions emphasized food retail and pharmacy integration, with $2.5 billion allocated over eight years to store network development and distribution enhancements, including FreshCo's push into Western Canada for discount grocery formats.^[43] Fiscal 2026 plans project 24-26 new store openings and renovations covering 20-25% of the network, backed by an $850 million capital commitment to bolster square footage by 1.5% annually and pharmacy offerings within core banners like Sobeys and Safeway.^[36]^[26]^[27] Such investments, causally linked to prior profitability, prioritized high-density markets to drive volume over margin expansion, yielding measurable returns through increased basket sizes and loyalty program uptake in inflationary environments.^[35]

Awards and recognitions

In 2025, Michael Medline received the Principled Leadership Award from the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William & Mary, honoring his demonstration of integrity, ethical decision-making, and sustained business success as an MBA alumnus from 1991.^[6] The award criteria emphasize leadership grounded in principled conduct and measurable organizational impact, as evidenced by Medline's career trajectory in retail transformation.^[6] Medline was presented with the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix Trailblazer Award of Distinction by the Retail Council of Canada, recognizing his pioneering strategies in advancing retail innovation and operational efficiency within the Canadian market.^[44] This honor, awarded at the Council's New Product Awards Gala in May 2024, highlights trailblazing contributions validated by industry peers through empirical advancements in supply chain and consumer-facing practices.^[44] In June 2025, Medline was named a recipient of the Golden Pencil Award by the Food Industry Association of Canada, acknowledging his executive contributions to enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability of the national food sector through data-driven leadership.^[45] The award, shared with two other industry figures, focuses on verifiable impacts from strategic oversight in grocery operations.^[45] Earlier accolades include selection as the Globe and Mail's CEO of the Year in 2018, cited for transformational leadership yielding tangible retail performance gains.^[45] Medline's 2023 appointment to the Scotiabank Board of Directors, where he chairs the Corporate Governance Committee, reflects institutional validation of his governance acumen rooted in proven retail execution.^[1]^[46]

Controversies and public criticisms

Animal welfare supply chain issues

In 2017, Empire Company Limited, the parent company of Sobeys under CEO Michael Medline, publicly committed to sourcing 100% cage-free eggs by the end of 2025, aligning with broader industry pledges to phase out battery cages for laying hens.^[47] This timeline was reaffirmed in subsequent sustainability reports through 2020, emphasizing collaboration with suppliers to transition housing systems.^[47] However, by mid-2025, Sobeys had achieved only 17-18% cage-free egg sourcing, with approximately 82-83% of eggs still derived from caged hens, reflecting persistent supply chain bottlenecks.^[48]^[49] Animal welfare organizations, including Mercy for Animals and Animal Justice, criticized Empire for retracting the 2025 deadline without disclosing a revised timeline or detailed implementation plan, attributing the shortfall to insufficient prioritization amid corporate expansion.^[50] These groups launched high-profile campaigns in 2025, such as Mercy for Animals' "Empire of Greed" initiative demanding transparency and Animal Justice's nationwide protests in nine Canadian cities, including storefront demonstrations and mobile billboards highlighting alleged hen confinement.^[51]^[52] Protesters argued that the delays perpetuated welfare issues like restricted movement and feather pecking in battery cages, urging immediate roadmap publication despite activist sources' focus on confinement over multifaceted farming trade-offs.^[51] Empire's updates acknowledged industry-wide lessons since the pledges, noting that retailers and suppliers faced unforeseen hurdles in scaling cage-free production, including equipment shortages and phased transitions to mitigate disruptions.^[47] Economically, cage-free systems demand higher inputs—more feed, water, land, and labor—elevating production costs by up to 20-30% compared to conventional caged operations, which offer denser efficiency and lower resource footprints.^[53]^[54] These constraints, compounded by avian influenza outbreaks disproportionately affecting cage-free flocks due to greater exposure risks in barn or aviary setups, have slowed Canada's overall transition relative to the U.S. or EU, where supply chains matured faster.^[55]^[48] Full compliance could raise egg prices for consumers by 10-15%, impacting affordability amid inflation, while caged systems maintain biosecurity advantages in disease-prone environments, challenging narratives that prioritize space over holistic outcomes like mortality rates or feed conversion.^[56]^[57]

Labor and operational challenges

During Michael Medline's tenure as CEO of Empire Company Limited, which owns Sobeys, the company faced scrutiny over labor practices amid efforts to streamline operations and control costs. In 2017, shortly after Medline assumed leadership, Empire announced a $500 million cost-cutting initiative aimed at creating a "leaner organization," which included the elimination of approximately 800 office jobs as part of a broader reorganization of its grocery business.^[58]^[59] These measures were positioned as necessary to improve efficiency following the challenging Safeway acquisition, though critics argued they pressured administrative staff without proportional gains in frontline wages.^[58] In Alberta, labor tensions escalated in late 2024 when the Alberta Federation of Labour publicly urged Empire's CEO to abandon plans perceived as clawing back employee wages during a cost-of-living crisis, highlighting concerns over squeezed worker compensation in a high-inflation environment.^[60] This was followed by a lockout of over 250 warehouse and distribution workers at Sobeys' Balzac facility in September 2025, involving Teamsters Local 987 amid stalled contract negotiations, which disrupted supply chains and drew union calls for consumer boycotts.^[61] Despite such allegations of worker squeezes, Empire maintained competitive positioning in the grocery sector, where frontline wages aligned with industry norms; for instance, Sobeys' average hourly pay for retail roles hovered around levels offered by peers like Loblaw, supported by data from employee review aggregators indicating baseline competitiveness though limited advancement opportunities.^[62] Operational resilience was tested during the COVID-19 pandemic, where staffing shortages posed risks to supply continuity, yet Empire responded with temporary wage premiums to retain essential workers, including a 15% pay increase for store and distribution employees retroactive to March 8, 2020, and weekly bonuses of $50 for full-time staff.^[63]^[64] These incentives, reinstated during provincial lockdowns in 2021 with payments scaling from $10 to $100 weekly based on hours worked, directly correlated with sustained operations and profitability, as frontline retention enabled sales surges of up to 37% in early pandemic weeks, ultimately supporting consumer access to affordable essentials amid disruptions.^[65]^[66] Medline publicly defended such practices, arguing that profitable grocers like Empire hire more employees, generate higher tax revenues, and negotiate aggressively with suppliers to mitigate cost pass-throughs to consumers, countering regulatory pressures like proposed codes of conduct that he contended lacked evidence of lowering prices.^[10]^[67]

Industry impact and retirement

Contributions to Canadian grocery sector

Michael Medline has emphasized the necessity of profitability in the Canadian grocery sector to foster resilience amid global supply chain disruptions, arguing that financially robust operators can invest in infrastructure and inventory buffers to mitigate shocks from events like the 2022-2023 inflation surge and geopolitical tensions. In December 2022, he defended large grocers against accusations of exploiting inflation, stating that strong margins enable sustained operations and prevent widespread store closures during crises, contrasting this with interventionist policies that could erode incentives for such investments.^[10] His advocacy highlighted how market-driven profitability, rather than regulatory caps, supported sector stability, as evidenced by grocers maintaining operations without the mass bankruptcies seen in less capitalized industries during the same period.^[68] Medline's influence extended to promoting competitive dynamics as a driver of innovation and consumer access, asserting in December 2023 that Canada's grocery market ranks among the world's most competitive, with multiple national and regional players preventing monopolistic pricing and spurring advancements in fresh produce sourcing and digital ordering systems. Under his leadership at Empire Company Limited, which operates Sobeys, this competition has translated into expanded private-label offerings and supply chain efficiencies that lowered costs for consumers, countering myths of oligopolistic control by demonstrating empirical price responsiveness to input inflation—such as food-at-home inflation tracking below overall CPI in fiscal 2025 quarters.^[69]^[70]^[29] As an early proponent of the Grocery Code of Conduct since at least 2021, Medline advocated for voluntary, principle-based supplier relations to enhance transparency without mandating price hikes, positioning it as a market adaptation that strengthens upstream partnerships and downstream affordability over top-down mandates. This stance, reiterated in April 2024, underscored his push for causal realism in policy debates, where empirical data on stable sector margins—despite 2022-2025 disruptions—refuted gouging claims and highlighted how competitive profitability sustains innovation in areas like sustainable packaging and localized sourcing.^[3]^[71]^[72]

Retirement announcement and succession

On April 24, 2025, Empire Company Limited announced that Michael Medline, its president and chief executive officer since January 2017, intends to retire in May 2026.^[33]^[73] The announcement highlighted Medline's leadership achievements, including average annual adjusted earnings per share growth of 15%, a tripling of the company's share price since 2017, approximately $2.5 billion in investments in its store network and distribution infrastructure, acquisitions of Farm Boy in 2018 and Longo's in 2021, and the launch of the Voilà e-commerce platform and Scene+ loyalty program in 2022.^[33]^[42] Medline stated, "I am so incredibly proud of the many accomplishments Empire has achieved," emphasizing the company's transformation under his tenure.^[33] In response, Empire's board of directors, led by chair Jim Dickson, formed a special committee to conduct a comprehensive search for a successor, considering both internal and external candidates.^[33]^[74] Dickson praised Medline as "the true embodiment of a resilient, adaptable and courageous business leader," noting the board's commitment to a smooth transition.^[33] As of October 2025, no successor has been named, with Medline set to continue leading the company through the transition period.^[33]^[75]

References

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Michael B. Medline - Scotiabank Global Site
Michael Medline has served as President & Chief Executive Officer of Empire Company Limited and Sobeys Inc. since January 2017.
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PRESS RELEASE: AFL president warns Sobeys/Safeway CEO to ...
Dec 19, 2024 · The Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), has sent a scathing letter to the CEO of the company that owns Sobeys and Safeway, urging him to back away from his “ ...Missing: complaints | Show results with:complaints
[61]
Support Teamsters Local 987 by avoiding Sobeys, Safeway ...
Sep 23, 2025 · Last week, over 250 warehouse and distribution workers at the Sobeys distribution centre in Balzac, Alberta, were locked out by their employer.
[62]
Compare working at Real Canadian Superstore vs Sobeys - Indeed
Flexible hours, easy work, friendly coworkers, supportive managers, but low pay and limited growth make it best for short-term experience and gaining basic ...
[63]
4 major Canadian grocers give front-line workers a raise during ...
Mar 24, 2020 · The company is temporarily increasing pay for store and distribution centre employees by 15 per cent, retroactive to March 8. Although the novel ...
[64]
Sobeys brings back hero pay for grocery workers in lockdown areas
Nov 27, 2020 · Grocery chain Sobeys has reinstated a program that will see workers in areas locked down because of COVID-19 get a pay bump.Missing: operational staffing<|control11|><|separator|>
[65]
Sobeys reinstates lockdown bonuses for workers, but labour expert ...
Apr 30, 2021 · Sobeys said in its email that the more an employee works during the lockdown the more they can earn, ranging from $10 to $100 per week.Missing: staffing | Show results with:staffing
[66]
Sobeys sees sales surge amid coronavirus outbreak
Citing coronavirus-driven demand, Sobeys parent Empire Company Ltd. reported sales growth as high as 37% in the weeks leading up to Easter.Missing: challenges staffing
[67]
Grocery code of conduct won't drive food prices higher, Empire chief ...
Apr 2, 2024 · Empire chief executive Michael Medline says he wouldn't support a grocery code of conduct for his industry if he thought it would make ...Missing: statements regulations
[68]
Are big grocery chains profiting from inflation? CEOs say no - CBC
Mar 11, 2023 · "We are not profiting from inflation," said Michael Medline, the head of Halifax-based Empire Company, which owns Sobey's, Safeway and other ...Missing: resilience | Show results with:resilience
[69]
Canada's grocery retail sector one of the most competitive on Earth
Dec 4, 2023 · Medline is the CEO of Empire Company Ltd., which owns Sobeys and other grocery store chains. His appearance came after the committee requested ...
[70]
Canada Among Most Competitive Grocery Markets: Sobey's Head
Apr 15, 2024 · Canada's grocery markets are among the most competitive in the world, Empire Company Limited President and CEO Michael Medline told ...<|separator|>
[71]
Grocery code of conduct won't drive food prices higher, Empire CEO ...
Apr 2, 2024 · Michael Medline, the chief executive of Sobey's parent company Empire, reiterated Tuesday that there's no evidence that a proposed grocery ...Missing: 2022-2025 | Show results with:2022-2025
[72]
Sobeys boss fires back at critics of grocery profits amid inflation
Sep 15, 2022 · Empire CEO Michael Medline fired back at critics who suggest Canada's big grocers are exploiting their market power to profit from inflation.
[73]
Empire CEO Michael Medline to retire in May 2026
Apr 24, 2025 · Empire says its board of directors has created a special committee to oversee the identification and selection of the company's next CEO.
[74]
Empire Company head Michael Medline to retire in 2026
Apr 24, 2025 · Michael Medline, president and CEO of Empire Company Limited, has announced he plans to retire in May 2026. Empire's COO Pierre St-Laurent ...Missing: born July 4 1963
[75]
Michael Medline to retire as Empire / Sobey's CEO - RENX
Apr 24, 2025 · Michael Medline has announced he will retire as president and CEO of Empire Company Ltd., (EMP-AT) and its wholly-owned subsidiary Sobeys Inc., in May of 2026.