Sandra Sanderson

Chief Marketing Officer, Empire

Sandra Sanderson is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Empire Company Ltd and a member of the Executive Team. Sandra leads marketing across a broad portfolio of banners, including Sobeys, Safeway, Thrifty Foods, Foodland, FreshCo, and Lawtons.  She is accountable for all aspects of marketing, including brand strategies, integrated marketing, Scene+ loyalty program, private label marketing, marketing technology, sports partnerships, community investments, consumer insights and an in-house creative team.  Sobeys was named a 2020 Brand of the Year by Strategy magazine under Sandra’s leadership.

Sandra has extensive marketing experience in leading successful brands across diverse industries. She was Chief Marketing and Quality Officer at Walmart Canada, as well as Senior Vice-President of Marketing at Shoppers Drug Mart.  She also held senior marketing roles at many leading organizations including Proctor & Gamble, Kraft, Coca-Cola, Canada Post, Universal Studios, and White House Black Market in the U.S.  Sandra currently serves on the Board of Directors for Special Olympics and Scene+ and was formerly a Director on the Board of Tiary.com.

Throughout her career, Sandra has invested in giving back to the Marketing community.  She was Vice-Chair of the Canadian Marketing Association Board.  She has chaired and judged numerous marketing awards including the CMA Awards, The Cassies, Media Agency of the Year, Shopper Innovation Awards, Canadian Young Lions and the Marketing Hall of Legends.  She has served on the Advisory Board of the Shopper Marketing Forum and Dx3; and is a frequent speaker at various marketing conferences.

Sandra was named Marketer of the Year in 2020 by the Canadian Marketing Association.  She was named Marketer of the Year by Strategy magazine in 2012 for her work at Shoppers Drug Mart and in 2021 for her work at Empire Company Limited. She was also a recipient of the Star Women in Grocery Award in 2015 while at Walmart.