Legend

Inaugural Inductee

W. Galen Weston

W. Galen Weston was the Canada-based heir to the food and retail group founded by his grandfather. Weston passed away in April 2021 at the age of 80 after a storied career that spanned over 50 years. After his successrunning grocery stores in Ireland, his father handed him the reins to Canada’s struggling Loblaws supermarket chain in 1972. He turned the company around, closing underperforming stores and redesigning the balance. He served as chairman of George Weston Ltd., the family controlled holding company, until retiring in 2016. When Weston joined the family business in 1961, it controlled bakeries in Canada, the U.S., Britain and Australia as well asfood shops—including Fortnum & Mason, grocer to Queen Elizabeth—and British, Canadian and American supermarkets and food wholesalers. Dairies, chocolate makers and a Canadian paper mill were also in the mix. In 1990, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2005, he was awarded the Order of Ontario.