Retail Council of Canada to honour Stephen O’Keefe with Lifetime Achievement Award at Loss Prevention Conference

TORONTO, ON, September 26, 2016: Retail Council of Canada (RCC) will award Loss Prevention industry veteran Stephen O’Keefe with the prestigious Loss Prevention Lifetime Achievement Award.

Stephen has worked for over 30+ years with some of the greatest international retail brands as a leading authority on loss prevention, security, risk management, health and safety and process improvement. Before establishing his own consultancy firm, Stephen held a variety of loss prevention management positions with Sears Canada, Zellers, The Hudson’s Bay Company and Walmart Canada.

While with Walmart, Stephen joined its “Virtual Resource Team” and his assignments took him to South Africa, Brazil, Russia, Japan, and Puerto Rico, assisting the Mergers and Acquisition group in conducting market studies, due diligence work related to prospective acquisitions, and integration of new brands into the Walmart group of companies.
Stephen continues to serve the retail industry through his work with Retail Council of Canada as a senior advisor in loss prevention, risk management and regulatory affairs. He is a sought after expert in a wide range of areas such as refund fraud, organized crime, restorative justice and business continuity.

“Thanks to his deep understanding of retail loss prevention, Stephen was instrumental in helping enact legislation that assisted retailers in sharing relevant information relating to criminal activities. While doing so, Stephen involved all stakeholders to ensure the outcomes would benefit the communities we serve”, said Diane J. Brisebois, President & CEO of Retail Council of Canada. Ms. Brisebois added that Stephen personified the spirit of the Lifetime Achievement Award as he has never stopped volunteering and helping others in the field.

“Throughout his career, Stephen has been a passionate advocate for retailers and a visionary leader, dedicated to fighting fraud in the retail industry. I can think of no one more deserving of this special honour.” said Rita Estwick, Director of security Strategy at Canada Post and recipient of the inaugural Loss Prevention Lifetime Achievement Award.

This special presentation will take place at Retail Council of Canada’s 2016 Loss Prevention Conference, on September 29th at the International Centre in Mississauga. Media are invited to attend the conference. For full agenda information, visit RCCLPconference.ca #RCCLP16

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Retail is Canada’s largest employer with 2.2 million Canadians working in our industry. The sector annually generates payroll of $60 billion and approximately $350 billion in sales (excluding vehicles and gasoline). Retail Council of Canada (RCC) members’ represent more than two thirds of retail sales in the country. RCC is a not-for-profit industry-funded association and represents small, medium and large retail business in every community across the country. As the Voice of Canadian retailers we proudly represent more than 45,000 storefronts in all retail formats, including department, grocery, specialty, discount, independent retailers and online merchants.