Career Journey & Professional Summary

From the early days of Rick’s career to his final role as Vice President of Hamilton Beach Brands Canada, he has remained committed to a simple vision: build strong teams, grow businesses, and create environments where people feel respected, valued, and empowered to succeed.

With a background in Economics from York University, and continued executive development at the Schulich School of Business, Rick built a career focused on strategic leadership, operational excellence, and entrepreneurial thinking.

Across roles, including Vice President positions at Hamilton Beach, Conair/Cuisinart, and Groupe SEB, as well as leadership roles at Nike Golf and Master Lock, Rick had the opportunity to define business strategies, lead organizational change, manage national accounts, and drive sustainable, profitable growth.

Throughout his career, he worked to build cultures that encourage innovation, accountability, and collaboration. Rick remains grateful to the many mentors, team members, and partners who helped him grow and shape the leader he became. nted.

Highlights From His Time at Hamilton Beach

“Rick’s nine years at Hamilton Beach Brands Canada have been among the most rewarding of his career. Together, they:

– Secured the company’s first Costco in Warehouse win
– Expanded Walmart partnership peaked at over 12% market share
– Doubled Best Buy sales
– Launched global-first innovations including Brita water machines and early entry into the air fryer category
– Integrated the Weston acquisition into the Canadian market and secured new growth
– Introduced and scaled major brands such as Wolf Gourmet, Bartesian, and Chi across Amazon, The Bay, Walmart, Best Buy, and Canadian Tire
– Re-engineered sales and marketing operations, realigned talent, and modernized processes
– Established a leadership team and strengthened company vision to support accelerated growth
– Rebuilt culture through training, coaching, and alignment with organizational values

“These achievements were only possible because of a talented, committed, and resilient team — people who take pride in the work, support each other, and embody what it means to compete with purpose,” Rick commented.

Looking Ahead

“While I am retiring from corporate life, I am not retiring from purpose. I plan to establish a new practice offering leadership training, mentoring and coaching to executives and help support the next generation of leaders. Stay tuned. To my colleagues, teammates, mentors, partners, and friends — thank you,” Rick said.

Best Wishes From CFCP

On behalf of the Center for Consumer Products, we would like to thank Rick for his many years of support and participation at CHHMA/CHPTA events and for his valuable input and feedback within Association peer groups which was very much appreciated by staff and fellow members. We wish Rick all the best in retirement and with his future
endeavours.