Sandra Sanderson is Chief Marketing Officer of Empire Company Limited and Sobeys Inc., where she leads marketing across multiple banners, including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Thrifty Foods, Foodland, FreshCo, Lawtons, and Needs. Sandra is accountable for brand strategy, integrated marketing, Scene+ loyalty program, private label marketing, sponsorships, community investments, marketing technology, retail media, consumer insights and an in-house creative studio. Sandra currently serves on the Board of Special Olympics and Scene+.
Sandra has led marketing for iconic brands across many diverse industries. She started her career in consumer-packaged goods with P&G, Kraft and Coca-Cola. She worked as General Manager Brand Marketing at Canada Post and SVP Marketing at Universal Studios. Sandra’s career journey eventually led her to retail, where she was SVP Marketing at Shoppers Drug Mart, and Chief Marketing & Quality Officer at Walmart Canada. Sandra also worked in the U.S. as SVP Marketing at White House Black Market.
Sandra was inducted into the Marketing Hall of Legends in 2023 and won CMA’s Marketer of the Year award in 2020. She was named Marketer of the Year in 2012 by Strategy for her work at Shoppers Drug Mart and in 2021 for her work at Empire. She was also recipient of the 2015 Star Women in Grocery Award while at Walmart.
Throughout her career, Sandra has invested in giving back to the marketing community. She served on the Canadian Marketing Association’s Board of Directors, including as Vice-Chair. She was Chair of Retail Council of Canada’s Senior Retail Marketing Committee and was on the Advisory Board of the Shopper Marketing Forum and Dx3. Sandra has chaired and judged numerous marketing awards and is a frequent speaker at marketing conferences.
