Lisa MacNeil joined Tree of Life Canada as President on Monday October 12th, 2020.

Lisa graduated with an honours degree in Business from Wilfrid Laurier University and has spent the last 32 years progressing her career across multiple functions.

Lisa’s career has spanned across three major corporate acquisitions (Canada Packers, Maple Leaf Food Service and Gordon Food Service). Her diversified professional experience has taken her through many positions including Customer Service, Sales, Key Account Manager, Director of Human Resources, Vice President Independent Food Service Sales, Director of Marketing and Procurement, Director of Multi-Unit Sales for Gordon Food Service in Ontario and General Manager for United Restaurant Supplies, a smallware and equipment company that GFS acquired in 2012.

In 2015, Lisa was promoted to the role of President for Gordon Food Service Ontario.

Lisa has been married for 28 years to her husband Brendan and has two daughters Megan and Margaret. Lisa and her husband enjoy spending time at their cottage in Sauble Beach with family and friends and describes her family as being foodies. She loves to travel and try new things.

In 2019, Lisa was voted one of the top 100 Most Influential Women in Supply Chain. Lisa has also served on the Executive Committee of Women’s Food Service Forum (WFF) and is currently a member of the CEO Global Network. Some of you may recognize Lisa from the CEO Global, Women’s Leadership Summit in February 2020 where Lisa was a keynote speaker.

Lisa is a high profile, results oriented leader who builds relationships and develops the talent around her. Her people speak of her in glowing terms, remarking on her transparency, her communication skills and her caring, compassionate manner. These are all traits that make her the right person to take over at Tree of Life and we are thrilled that we were able to attract her to our business and have her join our family.

Patrick has more than 20 years of experience in senior executive roles. His background includes the grocery industry with A&P, the drug industry with Lawton Drugs/Sobeys Pharmacy/Rexall and foodservice with Cara. He also held the position of VP of Supply Chain and Supplier Relations at UNFI Canada from 2016 to 2020 and most recently held the role of Managing Partner with REMBrands.

Patrick has also served on the board of Canadian Organic Trade Association (COTA), GS1 Canada and several advisory boards within the package goods industry.

In his spare time Patrick enjoys spending his time cooking and baking and travelling with his family (wife and two kids).

Tom joined Tree of Life in January 2017 as Senior Director Food Service. Since that time, Tom has played an instrumental role in successfully restructuring and growing Tree of Life’s food service business to what it is today.  Tom’s 32 years of food service management experience with tier one companies like Unilever-Best Foods, Starbucks, E.D. Smith, Sara Lee and Tyson Foods has served him well in managing the Tree of Life National Foodservice group with our Broker Partners.

Fun Fact:
Tom has an obsession for fast cars, especially ones from Germany, and hopes to one day drive on the Autobahn.

Sonya joined the Tree of Life in February 2020. With an extensive background in Human Resources, Sonya’s current role encompasses all aspects of Talent Management, Total Rewards, Payroll, Health & Safety and Wellness. Her previous experience includes HR roles within the Healthcare Sector and retail. A graduate of the University of McMaster, Sonya holds a Bachelor of Human Resources degree. Sonya enjoys travelling, watching the Raptors and spending time with family and friends

Fun Fact:
Sonya plans to retire in Portugal one day!

Ricky joined Tree of Life Canada in 2023, bringing over 14 years of finance experience with him.

Ricky started his career at Deloitte, working in their assurance and advisory practice. He served some of Canada’s largest organizations, working on financial statement audits and evaluating internal controls, systems, and processes.

More recently, Ricky has worked as a Senior Director of Finance at Lactalis, one of Canada’s largest CPG organizations. He led a team of 70 finance professionals, spanning 8 departments. Ricky was responsible for the finance integration of two large acquisitions in recent years.

Ricky graduated from the University of Toronto and holds a CPA designation.

Ricky and his wife Ruby have three children, two boys and a girl.

Fun Fact:

Ricky enjoys CrossFit, high intensity strength and conditioning training.

Christopher Parker joined Tree of Life Canada in August of 2021 as the Vice President of Digital and Information Technology.

Prior to joining Tree of Life Canada, Christopher has worked for various industries and multinational organizations. He is skilled in IT strategy, mergers & acquisitions, core system transformation and e-commerce.

Christopher is a performance driven leader with a proven track record for delivering innovative IT solutions. Recognized in providing vision, leadership and expertise resulting in organic sales growth and cost efficiencies.

Christopher enjoys travelling the Caribbean in the winter; and spends leisurely time with his family at the cottage in the summer.

Fun Fact:

Christopher’s favorite food is spaghetti and meatballs.