About LCBO
Corporate Governance
Overview
The LCBO is a provincial government enterprise reporting to the Minister of Finance.
The LCBO is accountable to its stakeholders in a number of ways, including:
- its Annual Report, required to be tabled in the Provincial Legislature and available for all Ontarians to review, either in print or online, by clicking here.
- annual audits of LCBO financial statements by the Office of the Provincial Auditor, as well as internal value-for-money audits of specific LCBO programs, including store planning.
- public access to records under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
- Board Members appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor, through Orders-in-Council, on the recommendation of the Premier and the Minister of Finance.
- various statutory reporting requirements under the Liquor Control Act to the Minister of Finance.
- compliance with Management Board's Agency Accountability Directives.
- compliance with the LCBO Code of Business Conduct. View PDF.
The LCBO corporate structure is comprised of:
- Office of the Chair
- Office of the President and Chief Executive Officer
- Chief Customer Office, including Retail Operations
- Marketing and Customer Intelligence, Merchandising, e-Commerce and Customer Experience
- Logistics, Grocery Operations and Quality Assurance
- Finance and Administration
- Information Technology
- Human Resources
- Strategy, Innovation and Enterprise Analytics
- Legal Services, including Resource Protection
- Communications and Corporate Affairs, including Communications, Corporate Social Responsibility, French Language Services, Policy and Corporate Affairs, Freedom of Information and Privacy
Board
The LCBO has a Board of up to 11 members. They are appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor, through Orders-in-Council, on the recommendation of the Premier and the Minister of Finance. Members are appointed for a term of up to five years and terms can be renewed. There are regular monthly Board meetings.
The mandate of the Board is to supervise the business affairs of the LCBO. Among its most important responsibilities are:
- ensuring that the LCBO provides high-quality service to the public;
- developing and approving the strategic plan and monitoring management's success in meeting its business plans;
- approving annual financial plans;
- ensuring that the organization remains financially sound;
- assessing the management of business risks;
- submitting an annual financial plan to the Minister of Finance;
- ensuring the organization has communications programs to inform stakeholders of significant business developments;
- ensuring that the LCBO performs its regulatory role in a fair and impartial manner.
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee assists the Board of Directors with oversight of the integrity of LCBO’s financial statements; the financial reporting process; the systems of internal control and risk management functions; and the performance of the Internal Audit Services Department’s functions.
Governance Committee
The Governance Committee is responsible for recommending the LCBO's corporate governance policies and practices and ensuring that the LCBO adheres to sound corporate governance principles.
Human Resources and Compensation Committee
The Human Resources and Compensation Committee assists the Board of Directors with oversight and makes recommendations concerning human resources and compensation matters, including workplace health and safety, employment equity and talent management strategies and programs to ensure LCBO has the employee capabilities to achieve its goals. Link to: Executive compensation framework.
Health and Safety Committee
The Board approves an annual Health and Safety policy and ensures it is kept informed of health and safety issues through regular reports at Board meetings.
Store Planning and Development Committee
This is a management committee that reviews real estate and leasing decisions and makes recommendations to the Board.
Listing Appeals Committee
This is a management committee that reviews LCBO decisions refusing the purchase of a beverage alcohol product and also decisions to discontinue carrying such a product.
Board Members
As of June 2019, are :
CARMINE NIGRO, CHAIR, LCBO BOARD
Carmine Nigro is an accomplished real estate development executive and entrepreneur known for his practical and solutions-focused approach to complex projects.
As the co-founder and president of CRAFT Development Corp., he has more than 35 years of real estate development experience, including acquisitions, construction management and urban planning with projects involving retail, office and residential space in southern Ontario and the U.S.
Carmine “gives back” through incorporating sustainability in all aspects of building, as well as through his community work. In addition to volunteering for children’s Make-A-Wish, he is a member of the Friends of the Orphans Canada organization, helping to design and build schools, hospitals and other facilities in Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and other countries.
Carmine was appointed Chair of the LCBO Board in April 2019 for a three-year term.
QUINTO ANNIBALE, VICE CHAIR, LCBO BOARD, AND CHAIR, GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE
Quinto Annibale is a lawyer at Loopstra Nixon LLP where he has practiced municipal, land-use planning and development law for more than 25 years.
With over 30 years’ experience as an advocate, Quinto has appeared before the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (formerly the Ontario Municipal Board) on hundreds of cases, providing advocacy and counsel for some of the most important and complex land-use planning law cases in Ontario.
An accomplished author and lecturer who speaks frequently at conferences across North America, Quinto is also an active community member. Of his volunteer activities, he is most proud to be the founder and president of the Carol Annibale Ovarian Cancer Foundation, a charity he oversees in the memory of his late wife, Carol.
He holds a bachelor of arts from McMaster University and a bachelor of laws from Queen’s University.
Quinto was appointed to the LCBO Board in April 2019 for a three-year term.
JAMES BRADBURY, MEMBER, LCBO BOARD, AND MEMBER, GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE
James Bradbury has more than 40 years of experience as an entrepreneur and business leader, and continues to share his knowledge and expertise through his consulting firm, which specializes in start-ups, business development and operations.
During his career, James founded four apparel companies, operating them as president and eventually merging them with Unisync Group to form the largest direct-sale uniform and career apparel company in Canada. From 1998 until his retirement, he served Unisync in various roles, including vice president, chief operating officer, partner and board member.
In addition, James has also supported several Ontario communities as a Rotary Club member and board member. He is also proud of his association with the Boulevard Club, where he continues as a member and as a past member of the board of directors, was instrumental in planning, arranging and funding a $30 million renovation of this historic Toronto landmark.
James was appointed to the LCBO Board in March 2019 for a three-year term.
NOBLE CHUMMAR, MEMBER, LCBO BOARD, AND MEMBER, GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE
Noble Chummar is a partner with Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, a leading Canadian law firm with offices in Toronto and Vancouver and is a member of the firm’s Business Law and Government Relations groups. He advises clients on public policy matters from a wide range of industry sectors, including energy, government, education, pharmaceutical, hospitals, insurance, mining, transportation, banking, retail and real estate development.
Noble serves on a number of private and public sector boards, and has served two terms at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the regulatory body that governs doctors in the Province of Ontario. He is also a strategic advisor to the Chairman of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games, and a past president of the Empire Club of Canada.
Noble has been decorated with the government of Canada’s 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada medal and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal.
He graduated from law school at the London School of Economics and also received his Masters of Law from Osgoode Hall Law School. Noble is a graduate of the corporate directors' program at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors. His passions include film, SCUBA diving and travel.
Noble was appointed to the LCBO Board in July 2014 and was renewed in July 2016 for an additional three-year term.
DAVID COLFER, MEMBER, LCBO BOARD, AND MEMBER, AUDIT COMMITTEE
David Colfer has more than 25 years of experience in the Canadian retail industry specializing in brand and product development. He is recognized for his entrepreneurial mindset and his passion for simplifying business and creating a flexible, agile work environment in today's rapidly-changing retail landscape.
Currently the General Manager of Lagostina (Canada), one of the most iconic names in cookware, David started his career in sales at Coranco Corp., previously Lagostina’s Canadian distributor, and rose to progressively senior roles until being named President in 2008. After the company was sold in 2013, David remained to manage Lagostina as a unit of parent Groupe SEB Canada.
David holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance from Bishop's University in Quebec, and has attended the IMD Leadership and Management Program in Switzerland and China. He actively gives back to the community through his involvement in several charities focused on education and family support..
David was appointed to the LCBO Board in February 2019 for a three-year term.
Cheryl Hooper, Member, LCBO Board, and Chair, Audit Committee
Ms Hooper has acquired extensive financial and managerial background across diverse industries in multiple capacities, including C-suite, board and international experience. She has an MBA from York University, is a CPA, CA and is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Additional board member involvement includes as chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Corporate Governance and Human Resource Committee of Velan Inc. "(TSX:VLN) from July 2013 to July 2019, as well as involvement with not-for-profit organizations in Toronto, Quebec and France.
From 2005 to 2012, Ms Hooper was employed at the Canadian Public Accountability Board (CPAB), Canada’s regulator of public company auditors. Prior to joining CPAB, she was president of a Montreal-based company providing strategic consulting, financial monitoring and management services to a high net worth family with forestry and real estate holdings in Canada and internationally. From 1983 to 2004, Ms Hooper worked for Olympia & York Developments and then its property management successor, O & Y Properties Inc., where she became its first Chief Operating Officer in 1993.
Earlier in her career, Ms Hooper worked at Ernst & Young (then Clarkson Gordon), Bishop’s University where she was an assistant professor and Shaw Festival where she was their first controller.
Cheryl was first appointed to the LCBO Board in February 2014 and was most recently renewed in February 2018 for a three-year term.
WM. JOHN MOWAT, MEMBER, LCBO BOARD, AND MEMBER, AUDIT COMMITTEE
John Mowat is President and CEO of The Logistics Alliance Inc., a 4PL Supply Chain Management company whose customers include more than 1,000 consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and major national retail clients.
A business owner and corporate executive, John founded The Logistics Alliance Inc. in 1999, and has more than 50 years of experience in transportation, distribution, logistics, and supply chain. John has worked from the shop floor as a warehouse handler and truck driver, to the boardroom as both a CEO and board member. He has experience working with both family businesses and some of Canada’s largest companies.
With a focus on maximizing efficiency for clients, John has developed a proven reputation for building and strengthening businesses and effecting positive change.
John has a BA in Economics from York University. He has been involved with numerous industry associations and activities and is also a leader and fundraiser for the Look Good Feel Better and Facing Cancer Together programs for women surviving cancer, as well as other philanthropic activities.
John was appointed to the LCBO Board in August 2016.
SUSAN ROBINSON, MEMBER, LCBO BOARD, AND CHAIR, HUMAN RESOURCES AND COMPENSATION COMMITTEE
Susan Robinson is an executive with more than 25 years of experience leading human resource, marketing, strategy and communication teams in North America, Europe and Asia. She has extensive experience in human resource operations, labour relations, leadership development and change management.
Prior to her retirement from full-time work in 2009, some of her roles included: Vice President, Learning, Xerox Corporation; Vice President, Human Resources and Total Quality Management, Telus; Vice President, Human Resources Canada and then Europe, for Baxter Healthcare; Global Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Communications, Manulife Financial.
Susan is known in the human resources and business community for her ability to lead large scale change initiatives. She has successfully led significant change in unionized and non-unionized environments. Since her retirement Susan has been consulting, on a part time basis, in the fields of HR strategy, succession planning and leadership development.
A lifelong volunteer, Susan was a founding Director of The Learning Partnership, the sponsor of “Take Your Kid to Work Day”, Chair of the Human Resource Professional Association’s annual award committee, Community Advisor committee member at Joseph Brant Hospital, and a Board Member of The Royal Botanical Gardens (Hamilton, Ontario).
Susan was appointed to the LCBO Board in August 2016.
LORI SPADORCIA, MEMBER, LCBO BOARD, AND MEMBER, HUMAN RESOURCES AND COMPENSATION COMMITTEE
Lori Spadorcia is Vice President, Communications and Partnerships, at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Her portfolio includes Community Engagement, Public Affairs, Public Policy, Strategic Planning, Health Equity and the Provincial Systems Support Program. A policy and communications expert, she supports the alignment of mission critical activities designed to be responsive to CAMH’s many stakeholders and is engaging partners and resources to better position the hospital to make a sustainable system contribution to mental health.
As a senior advisor to Cabinet Ministers at the Federal and Provincial level, Lori played a key role in finding solutions that yield advancements in public policy. At the Federal level, she led the negotiations with the provinces to spearhead the first Early Learning and Child Care Multilateral Framework, as well as Canada’s Innovation Strategy, which brought the private and non-profit sectors together with governments to implement a skills and learning action plan. In Ontario, Lori served as a senior advisor to the Minister of Finance, where she advised on the creation and execution of the provincial budget.
In addition to her role at CAMH, she serves on the board of Research Canada, advocating for Canada’s leadership in health research. A strong believer in investing in girls and women in Canada and internationally, she is also a founding board member of the global initiative G(irls)20.
She was appointed to the LCBO Board in February 2017 for a three-year term.
Senior Team
Senior Team members, responsible for day-to-day operations and strategic planning, are:
Dr. George Soleas, President & Chief Executive Officer
George Soleas is responsible for corporate leadership and providing a forum for consultation and dialogue with the trade on matters affecting the beverage alcohol industry.
He joined the LCBO in 1997 as Director of Quality Assurance, overseeing the laboratory and quality services processes that ensure LCBO products are safe to drink and of a high quality. The LCBO became the first liquor jurisdiction in the world to be doubly accredited by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from some 130 countries, based in Geneva, Switzerland.
In March 2008, George’s areas of responsibility were expanded to encompass Logistics, which involves procuring and distributing LCBO products. He oversees Customs and Excise clearances, transportation, warehousing and specialty services operations. He also supports supply chain projects to improve the flow of products through the logistics system.
In February 2013, he was named Executive Vice President and his portfolio grew further to include Information Technology, Store Development & Real Estate and Resource Protection.
George received his B.Sc. from McMaster University and M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. His areas of interest have been the biochemical aspects of beverage alcohol constituents and their effect on humans. He trained in oenology at U.C. Davis and spent 11 years with the Canadian wine industry as a Director of Research and Quality Assurance for a major winery and chaired the Technical and Scientific Committee of the Canadian Wine Institute for nine years.
George chaired the National Quality Assurance Committee of the Canadian Association of Liquor Jurisdictions for 16 years. He represented the LCBO on many prestigious committees, including the “Expert Committee” of the World Wine Trade Group (WWTG), the American Society for Enology and Viticulture technical committee and the Cool Climate Oenology & Viticulture Institute (Brock University) where he is also a professional affiliate. He was appointed to the Special Graduate Faculty of the University of Guelph in support of the Department of Food Science. George has a masters certificate in Supply Chain & Logistics Management from the Schulich Executive Education Centre – York University where he is also a member of the Advisory Council and is an affiliate of the McMaster Institute for Transportation & Logistics and member of the Supply Chain and Logistics Management Institute.
In February 2009, George received the Ontario Imported Wine-Spirits-Beer Association’s Industry Partnership Award. In March 2016, he received the Greek Wine Industry Award in Athens for his more than quarter-century involvement in helping Greek wine producers improve the quality and marketing of their products.
His oenological and biochemical research has led to eight book chapters, 51 peer reviewed publications and several national and international industry and scientific presentations devoted to beverage alcohol.
Alix Box, Chief Customer Officer
Michael A. Eubanks, Senior Vice President, Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
Kent Harris, Senior Vice President, Finance & Administration, and Chief Financial Officer
Julie Lane, Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Laura Manes, Vice President, Strategy & Innovation
Nick Nanos, Senior Vice President, Supply Chain & Wholesale
Jenny O'Donnell, Senior Vice President, Human Resources
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