Making Dollars and Sense out of Food Waste with Mylène Champagne, Metro & Sam Kashani, Too Good To Go Canada

The Voice of Retail

On this episode, Mylène Champagne, Director of Environmental and Technical Risks for Metro & Sam Kashani, Country Director for Too Good To Go Canada, continue the original discussion that we had at RCC's Retail Sustainability conference live on the stage with me about why collaboration is the only effective, measurable way to fight food waste at a mass scale and why profitability doesn't have to come at a price when it comes to food waste.

About Mylène

Mylène Champagne is the Director of Environment and Risks at METRO Inc. since March 2022. In her current role, she concentrates on reducing carbon emissions, addressing food waste, and enhancing material diversion rates. With 13 years of experience in sustainability and dual master's degrees in sustainable development and management, coupled with a law certificate, she has a broad background in environmental management across consulting, education, telecommunications, and retail sectors.

About Sam

Sam Kashani is the Country Director of Too Good To Go, the world’s number one app for fighting food waste, and is championing the movement into the Canadian market.

Sam moved to Toronto as a first generation immigrant more than 23 years ago. His first job in Canada was in the foodservice industry where he saw first hand that consumer demand for speed and selection had a devastating by-product of increasing food waste! Since then, his love for food has taken him to more than 20 countries around the world discovering many new cuisines, transforming his relationship with food from “love” to “respect”.Sam is a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University with a business degree and an MBA in Strategic Management and has held multiple leadership positions in both global and scale up organizations. He was also named Marketing Magazine’s “30 under 30”.He has always focused on balancing performance with purpose and is determined to kick off this movement in Canada and empower Canadians coast to coast to join the fight against food waste.

About Michael

Michael is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc. and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada and the Bank of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, Today's Shopping Choice and Pandora Jewellery.

Michael has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions with C-level executives and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. ReThink Retail has added Michael to their prestigious Top Global Retail Influencers list for 2023 for the third year in a row.

Michael is also the president of Maven Media, producing a network of leading trade podcasts, including Canada's top retail industry podcast_,_ The Voice of Retail. He produces and co-hosts Remarkable Retail with best-selling author Steve Dennis, now ranked one of the top retail podcasts in the world.

Based in San Francisco, Global eCommerce Leaders podcast explores global cross-border issues and opportunities for eCommerce brands and retailers.

Last but not least, Michael is the producer and host of the "Last Request Barbeque" channel on YouTube, where he cooks meals to die for - and collaborates with top brands as a food and product influencer across North America.

About Michael

Michael is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Secure conference with leaders from The Gap and Kroger talking about violence in retail stores, keynotes on the state & future of retail in Orlando and Halifax, and at the 2023 Canadian GroceryConnex conference, hosting the CEOs of Walmart Canada, Longo's and Save-On-Foods Canada. Michael brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.
Michael also produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in North America, Remarkable Retail,
Canada's top retail industry podcast; the Voice of Retail; Canada's top food industry and the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor, with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.
Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail influencers for the fourth year in a row, Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer, and you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.
Available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state of the retail industry in Canada and the U.S., and the future of retail.