OUR ALUMNI.
Jessica Curtis
Category Manager (Online Grocery-Urban), Walmart
Queen’s Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Arts (Economics) 2015
Jessica started working for Walmart as a Financial Analyst after graduating from Queen’s in 2015. She has since worked in various areas of the company, but in her current role as a category manager she is responsible for designing and executing the online grocery strategy. This involves curating items from stores to add to the online portfolio in urban areas, finding opportunities to sell extended products of brands online only and partnering with cross functional teams in site merchandising and marketing to ensure a seamless online customer experience.
Jacqueline Olson
Senior Manager, Community Enablement at Askuity at Home Depot
Queen's Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Political Science 2016
Following the acquisition by The Home Depot, my role at Askuity has pivoted into a Strategic Manager, designing a comprehensive and scalable program to inform suppliers of The Home Depot how to best create actionable business cases to present to their merchants. We are all about increasing the collaboration between vendors and merchants through data-driven insights.
Monty Bassin
Senior Account Executive (Walmart Team) at Procter & Gamble Queen's Bachelor of Commerce 2012
After graduating from Queen’s Commerce in 2012, Monty began his career as an Assistant Buyer at Canadian Tire. He has since moved over to P&G and currently manages the Baby Care (Pampers) Account for Walmart Canada- one of the largest Canadian P&G desks. His duties involve selling to the senior buyer at WM, developing merchandising plans, forecasting volume and trade funds, as well as sell-in new initiatives or strategies.
Miranda Wang
Associate Planner at TJX Canada
Queen's Bachelor of Commerce 2016
QRF Alumni: Events Coordinator/IT & Publications Manager (2014)
After graduating, Miranda started working at TJX as an allocation analyst. Her current role at TJX is an associate planner in Homesense Dinnerware, Glass & Crystal, and Outdoor Entertaining. In this role, she is responsible for identifying business opportunities through performance analysis, sales trends, and market opportunities. She must work closely with the buyers and create in-season/pre-season plans to support the strategic vision and drive profitable sales. She is also in charge of supporting shipping strategies and developing analysts through training and coaching.
Rachel Li
Partner Account Specialist at Flipp
Queen’s Bachelor of Commerce 2015
After interning at Nordstrom and learning the ropes in B2B sales, Rachel is now managing mid-market retail accounts at Flipp through their consultative selling approach. Aside from all things retail, she can usually be found trying out new hole-in-the-wall bars around the city or practising her downward dog at yoga class.
Colin Frenke
Director of Sales and Retail Operations at Mars Food Canada
Queen's Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Arts, Economics 2008
I started my retail career over a decade ago at Procter & Gamble after Graduating from Queen’s with a dual degree in Commerce and Economics. I received an amazing education in Retail at P&G, working across product lines/customers as a retail rep, Account Manager, Category Development Manager, Sales Strategy Manager, and Sales Director. In 2017, I moved to Mars Canada to continue my professional and leadership development. I find the private nature, culture, and purpose of Mars unique in the industry, and an inspiring place to work. Currently, I am responsible for leading a team of over 35 Sales Associates in the Mars Food organization, representing Uncle Ben’s and Seeds of Change across all Canadian retail channels. The dynamic nature of the industry continues to provide plenty of varied career paths and opportunities; I strongly encourage students to consider a career in Retail!
Kristy Soomer
CEO at Encricled
Queen’s MBA 2009
Kristi is the founder of Encircled, a line of ethically made apparel that helps women do more with less. Previously, Kristi worked for 10+ years in management consulting, retail and consumer packaged goods focusing on building brands, and igniting growth in large retailers.