Willard Garfield Weston

Willard Garfield Weston, OC, food merchant, manufacturer (born 26 February 1898 in Toronto, ON; died 22 October 1978 in Toronto). The son of biscuit manufacturer George Weston, Willard Garfield Weston expanded the family business, George Weston Limited, which grew to operate and own a variety of brands and retail banners.

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Willard Garfield Weston
Willard Garfield Weston, businessman, 1 January 1945.
(Photo by Apic/Getty Images)

Life and Career

The son of biscuit manufacturer George Weston, Willard Garfield Weston developed the family business into one of the largest food conglomerates in Canada. He became a vice president of George Weston Limited in 1921, and was elected president and general manager upon his father's death in 1924. By 1928 he had started the international expansion of the firm, first to the United States in 1929, then in 1933 to the United Kingdom, where he soon became England's largest biscuit manufacturer. He moved to England in 1933 and was elected to the British House of Commons. He served as a member of parliament from 1939 to 1945, but never gave up his Canadian citizenship.

Legacy

The Weston conglomerate, which grew to control retail and food manufacturing companies in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Germany and Ireland, continued to be run by Willard Garfield Weston’s sons W. Galen Weston (1940-2021) and Garry Weston (1927-2002). W. Galen Weston, who managed Canadian operations, used his own funds to build up a chain of supermarkets in Ireland while still in his twenties and became involved in real estate and department stores. After his father's death in 1978, W. Galen Weston reorganized the conglomerate by restructuring the flagging Loblaw Companies Limited and pruning other operations. In 1986 Galen personally acquired Holt Renfrew & Company Ltd. Garry Weston was chairman and chief executive of Associated British Foods of the UK for over 30 years.