Primary Job Title President & Chief Executive Officer Primary Organization 
RONA
Gender Male
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Drawing on more than 40 years of retail experience, Mr. Robert Sawyer was appointed President and CEO of RONA in March 2013 and took up his new functions on April 8, 2013.
He began his career in the food sector in 1971 as Director of Steinberg's distribution centre. In 1979, he joined Metro Inc. as Director of its produce distribution
centre.
During his 34 years at Metro he held several key positions in Quebec and in Ontario. From 1979 to 1984, he successfully oversaw the completion of large projects, including the building of a mechanized, 500,000-square-foot distribution centre in 1984. He was then appointed General Manager of the Jardin Mérite division and three years later was named Vice President of the Metro-Richelieu produce division. In 1997, he was named Senior Vice President of Retail for the Metro and Marché Richelieu banners becoming responsible for marketing, market expansion and banner development.
In 2005, he was promoted to Senior Vice President of Metro's Quebec Division and in May 2007 was also put in charge of Operations, Food Services division. At the end of 2007, he became Senior Vice President of the Ontario division, in charge of returning profitability to the region, a task he accomplished within two years. In 2009, he was named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, a position he held until his departure in 2013.
