Al Michaud

Dynamic and motivated professional with a proven record of generating and building relationships, managing projects from concept to completion, and coaching individuals to success. Passionate about energy, targeting emotion, resulting in delivering amazing experiences for both my team and customers. Uplifting in building cross-functional teams, demonstrating exceptional communication skills, and making critical decisions during challenges.

Adaptable and Compulsive leader with an ability to work independently, creating effective presentations, and developing opportunities that further establish organizational goals.

Territory Manager at Olympic Wholesale (2023-01 – Present)

Territory Manager for a well-known distributor of baking ingredients and supplies. Proudly serve small to generous sized industrial bakeries, food service providers, and retailers throughout Southwestern Ontario, Windsor – KW area.

General Manager (Co-Owner) – The Root Cellar Restaurant & Craft Brewery Co-Op at Forest City Co-Operative (2019-01 – 2021-12)

Forest City Co-operative consists of three companies: A local organic craft brewery, an extremely popular eatery The Root Cellar, an organic restaurant in London Ontario's historic Old East Village serving local farm-to-fork fare, and On the Move Organics which delivers local, organically grown produce, recipe and ready to eat meals to families in Southwestern Ontario all year round. Manage, oversee, and optimize the procurement, storage, distribution, and sale of goods. Develop and implement strategy, marketing & customer experience.

Special Projects, Customer Care and Recruitment at Ontario Cannabis Stores (OCS) (2017-01 – 2019-12)

• Successfully conducted recruitment with the goal of staffing seven hundred employees for forty stores across Ontario
• Team Lead in Quality Assurance, overseeing the implementation and communication standards for OCS's third-party call center
• E-Commerce Projects include Merchandising set-up and Order Optimization
• Completed cannabis training and OCS objectives including meeting our social responsibility mandate and providing a global gold standard of customer experience

Area Manager, Division Trainer, and Start-Up Lead at Farm Boy Inc. (2013-01 – 2017-12)

Direct and control overall store operations, which included managing a high-volume fresh retailer specializing in fresh produce and food products, emphasizing farm-to-table wholesaling. Optimized day to day store operation activities such as recruitment, onboarding, training, job evaluation, inventory and cash management, store security and departures.

• Lead role in the opening of five farm boy locations in Southwestern Ontario, with a focus on recruitment, development, store set-up and store opening
• Mentored an effective training program for new and existing staff members to improve their performance skills. Provided training for all management staff, consisting of five locations and over seventy managers

Project Manager - Store Set-up & Private Label at Goodness Me (2012-01 – 2013-12)

Developed and implemented merchandising strategies for two new store builds and retrofitting two existing locations to achieve branding goals. Upheld outstanding store condition and visual merchandising standards. Efficiently maintained communication channels with existing and new vendors for the execution of the Private Label strategy. Improved profitability through effective management of inventory.

• Lead retail manager of new store setups, accountable for merchandising and setups of stores, exceeding set times for completion

Store Manager (Multi-Unit) at SUNRIPE FARMS (2007-01 – 2012-12)

Actively supported management of two upscale restaurant/food markets with over one hundred staff and annual revenues of more than $20,000,000. Oversee all aspects of operations, including human resource issues, budgets, inventory control, operational expenses, financial statements, and sales targets. Efficiently procured and maintained category management responsibilities including extensive Private Label strategy for Deli, Cheese, and Home Meal Replacement Departments.

• Facilitated a senior management team named "Best Specialty Grocery Store in Canada" by the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (over 8,000 grocers nationwide), in both 2009 and 2010

Store Manager at Angelo's Bakery (2004-01 – 2007-12)

Regional Sales Manager at EASYHOME, RTO Enterprises Inc. (2000-01 – 2003-12)

Store Sales Manager at EASYHOME, RTO Enterprises Inc. (1998-01 – 2000-12)