Darrell Jones embarked on his career in the grocery industry in 1976 in Cranbrook, British Columbia as a retail grocery clerk at the local Overwaitea store. From there, his career advanced through a series of progressively senior operating roles in 23 stores and communities with Save-On-Foods. In 2012, Darrell was promoted to president of Save-On-Foods, and in 2021, was named president of the newly-formed Pattison Food Group.

Darrell channels his passions for the grocery industry and giving back into active participation on numerous industry boards, including those of The Grocery Foundation, GS1 Canada, the Food Industry Association (FMI), and Retail Council of Canada GMC. Under Darrell’s leadership the company won the prestigious Jim Pattison Group Company of the Year Award in 2015. In 2017, Darrell received the Golden Pencil Award from the Food Industry Association of Canada for his immense contributions to the grocery industry, as well as an Honorary Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) from Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Darrell was also named Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021.

With decades of grocery retail experience, Jamie Nelson is a key member of the executive leadership team of the Pattison Food Group. Jamie began his career in the grocery business as a retail clerk in Mission, B.C., in 1980, and steadily rose through various levels of management at Save-On-Foods before joining the company’s leadership team in 2012. Today, as Chief Operating Officer of the Pattison Food Group, Jamie holds overall management accountability and strategic direction for the operations of all Pattison Food Group banners – including Save-On-Foods, the group’s largest company.

A widely respected leader throughout the grocery industry, Jamie was named the recipient of the 2023 Golden Pencil Award – the highest distinction in Canada’s grocery industry – for his lifetime contributions to the industry he considers himself fortunate to be part of. Jamie’s passion and expertise in the grocery industry has parlayed into active participation on industry boards, including that of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, for which he is chair.

Paul Hazra has been part of the Jim Pattison Group since 2008 and joined the Pattison Food Group in 2014. Paul grew up and was educated in Scotland, earning a Bachelor of Accountancy joint honours degree with first class distinction from the University of Glasgow, before articling and becoming a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Paul gained an overseas secondment with PwC UK, transferring to Vancouver in 1997 and progressively moving into more senior roles at PwC and Deloitte in their respective Canadian advisory practices. Paul was admitted as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia in 2001 and holds the CPA, CA designation.

A member of the PFG executive committee, Paul supports a number of key areas within the organization including accounting, finance, tax, treasury, acquisitions, enterprise planning, data & analytics, information technology, legal, corporate security and product integrity.

Since 1989, Paul Cope has been immersed in the grocery retail industry. He is a highly respected leader who is widely known for his passion, and for fostering the Save-On-Foods company culture of Always Customer First Service. After many years in various retail positions, Paul became a regional director with Save-On-Foods in 2014. He later became general manager, centre of store merchandising and general manager, B.C. operations before joining the VP team in 2019 as vice president of B.C. operations. In 2020 he took on his current title of senior vice president, retail operations.

Paul has been formally recognized with a Save-On-Foods Leadership Excellence Award in 2011 and a Store Leader of the Year Award in 2012 during his time at the PriceSmart Foods store in Richmond, B.C., and is a graduate of Thompson Rivers University’s Executive Management and Leadership Certificate Program. A driven and highly engaged leader, Paul possesses a broad understanding of the grocery retail business with a focus on delivering what is right for customers. He is also a dedicated member of the Sources Foundation board of directors.

An experienced retail operator, Ben Harrack has been committed to the grocery industry since 1992. His customer-first approach to decision making and collaborative leadership style led to his rise through Save-On-Foods and later the Pattison Food Group, where today he is senior vice president of PFG retail banners. In this role, Ben oversees operations of a variety of Pattison Food Group retail banners, including Quality Foods, Choices Markets, Buy-Low Foods, Nature’s Fare, Nesters Markets, Meinhardt Fine Foods, and the company’s American banners: Roth’s Fresh Markets in Oregon and Chuck’s Produce and Street Markets in Washington.

Known for his adaptability, progressive and results-focused leadership, Ben has earned a plethora of awards from Save-On-Foods throughout his career, including two Leadership Excellence Awards for his time as a store manager in two of the company’s Northern B.C. stores (Fort Nelson, 2010 and Fort St. John, 2013); a 2016 Special Achievement Award for his leadership during the company’s expansion into Manitoba and Saskatchewan; and Save-On-Foods’ highest accolade, the Business Leader of the Year Award, in 2018 for his work as general manager of Save-On-Foods’ prairies division.

A key member of the Pattison Food Group executive team, Heidi Ferriman began her career in the grocery industry in 2000 and worked her way up through a series of progressively senior roles with Save-On-Foods before joining the executive team in 2018. In 2021, with the formation of the Pattison Food Group, Heidi’s responsibilities expanded to cover human resources and corporate affairs for all Pattison Food Group banners, and all 30,000 team members employed with the company across Western Canada and into the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

A humble, dynamic, energetic and passionate leader, Heidi was named a 2019 Star Woman in Grocery by Canadian Grocer Magazine for her exemplary leadership in the development of Share It Forward, an annual Western Family campaign that raises money for food banks across Western Canada. She is a Certified Professional in Human Resources and holds a bachelor of commerce degree as well as a Master degree in human resources and communications from Northeastern University. Heidi puts people first and has been instrumental in forging strong people, philanthropic and strategic partnerships for the Pattison Food Group.

Brenda Kirk began her career as a cashier at Overwaitea Foods in Nanaimo, B.C. in 1980. She quickly advanced through a variety of progressively senior leadership positions in retail operations, including regional manager of Save-On-Foods, director of front-end operations and general manager of centre of store merchandising, before joining the company’s senior leadership team as vice president of centre of store merchandising in 2015. As part of Save-On-Foods’ team of vice presidents, Brenda held a number of titles, including vice president of innovation and strategic initiatives in 2018; senior vice president of health, wellness and private brands in 2019; and in 2020 took on her current title of senior vice president of merchandising, where she is an instrumental part of the executive leadership team of Save-On-Foods and the Pattison Food Group.

Brenda was named Save-On-Foods’ Business Leader of the Year in 2014, and she is also the recipient of a 2015 Star Women in Grocery Award from Canadian Grocer Magazine and Jim Pattison Group Special Achievement Award in 2021. A past member of the merchandising committee for United Grocers Inc., Brenda is on the board of directors for both GS1 Canada and the Canadian Health Food Association. She is also board chair of Imperial Distributors and an active member of the Food Executives Club of Vancouver. As a founding member and now executive sponsor of the Pattison Food Group’s TogetHER Network, which is aimed at driving change around diversity and inclusion, Brenda is a strong advocate for making a positive and measurable difference in the workplace.

As chief marketing officer, Dan Howe is responsible for the marketing strategies and tactics across the Pattison Food Group’s retail brands and private label portfolio. Dan joined the team in 2012 and he has held various executive roles leading marketing, loyalty, private label, strategic planning, digital strategies, call centres and communications teams to success through strong consumer-based strategies. In his current role he draws from the experience he’s gained over two decades in marketing and in the food industry. Under Dan’s strategic guidance, Save-On-Foods has implemented customer marketing programs including Darrell’s Deals, More Rewards My Offers, Western Family Share It Forward and numerous 360˚ brand campaigns to great success.

Dan’s business savvy, creative thinking and focus on developing people has helped drive sales growth, market share gains and build brand equity including Save-On-Foods being named BC’s Most Loved Brand by BC Business Magazine, many times over the years. Dan is actively involved in the community both at work and in his personal life with United Way, children’s hospitals and foods banks.

Mike Olson brings more than three decades of grocery industry experience to the Pattison Food Group. Mike began his career at retail in the deli at the Pinetree Save-On-Foods store and advanced his career through a series of progressively senior roles, including director of corporate brands, general manager of non-foods, and general manager of Save-On-Foods Alberta. He joined the Save-On-Foods executive leadership team in 2007 as vice president of Save-On-Foods operations, which was followed by a move to vice president of fresh merchandising, then later to a promotion to senior vice president of merchandising and buying.

Today, as senior vice president of supply chain and manufacturing for the Pattison Food Group, Mike has successfully lead the organization through several challenging years dealing with the effects of a pandemic, floods, fires, ice storms, high fuel costs and labour shortages. A constant innovator, Mike thinks outside the box and is focused on continuous improvement. He challenges himself and inspires others to run with creative ideas and implement progressive solutions. Mike’s unique background in operations and expertise in merchandising made him a good fit as a board member with GS1 Canada’s grocery sector for several years. He currently sits on the board of directors for Food Banks BC, representing the Pattison Food Group and giving back to the communities that support the company’s many grocery banners.

Dan Bregg joined the Buy-Low Foods team in 1986 where he spent time in a variety of roles with increasing responsibility including director of finance in 1994, and vice president of finance in 2001. Dan became president of Buy-Low Foods in 2008. In 2021, with the formation of the Pattison Food Group, he took on the position of president, wholesale operations at PFG.

Since 2008, Dan and Buy-Low Foods have been awarded with four Jim Pattison Group Outstanding Management Awards, the Jim Pattison Group Award of Excellence and the Jim Pattison Group President of the Year for 2016. Under his leadership, Buy-Low Foods has been recognized as an Employer of the Year by the Developmental Disabilities Association and has received multiple recognitions from the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers. Dan now brings his long-time expertise in the grocery industry to the wholesale division of the Pattison Food Group where to date he has managed the acquisition of more than 30 different businesses and integration of those businesses into the Buy-Low Foods and Pattison Food Group of companies.