Passion, integrity and authenticity are the driving forces behind Grocery Business’s
INFLUEN IAL
MOST
By Sally Praskey and Noelle Stapinsky
W MEN
CHERYL SMITH
Notable: Recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women.
It comes as no surprise that Women’s Executive Network Canada named Cheryl Smith to its Most Powerful Women Top 100 in the corporate executive category for 2012. “Cheryl’s leadership and commitment to Parmalat’s brands is unwavering, and we are proud of her Top 100 recognition,” says Nash Lakha, president and CEO of Parmalat Canada. 36
January | February 2013
Executive Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Cheese, Tablespreads and Cultured, Parmalat Canada Smith is a 22-year industry veteran who began her CPG career at Unilever. She was recruited based on her award-winning thesis – Defensive Marketing: Measuring the Profitability of Consumer Complaints Handling – for her Master of Applied Science degree in Management at the University of Waterloo. During her 13 years at Parmalat Canada, Smith has assumed positions of increas-
ing responsibility, and Parmalat has achieved the best-selling nationally ranked item status in cheese, yogourt, butter, premium milk, snack cheese and premium aged cheddar with brands such as Black Diamond, Astro, Lactantia, Cheestrings, Balderson and Beatrice. Smith now oversees sales and marketing for the company’s cheese, tablespreads and cultured businesses.