Canada was next destination for family behind COBS Bread
The next generation took on leadership of the Vancouver-based company, which the founders began in Australia
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There is no one path for rising generations in enterprising families. In this series we talk to members of next generations, whether they choose to take on a role in the family business, or its wealth stewardship, or to carve their own path.
Talking about the stress of taking on leadership in the family business can be hard, says the second-generation member of an Australian family business that expanded to Canada.
Aaron Gillespie became president of Vancouver-based bakery franchise COBS Bread in 2014, after working his way up the ranks since COBS opened in 2003.
His parents, Roger and Lesley Gillespie, established the Bakers Delight franchise in Australia in 1980, which grew to about 700 bakeries there and in North America. Aaron’s sister, Elise Gillespie, and her husband, Dave Christie, are now joint-CEOs of Bakers Delight.
“We both had to work our way through the business before we were appointed key leaders,” Aaron says.
The Gillespies operate a family council that oversees the family’s other investments and their philanthropic interests in both Australia and Canada.
COBS Bread, which the owners like to say they picked because it stands nicely for “Celebration of Breads” or “Canada’s Own Bread Store,” has been in Canada for 20 years. It has followed the Bakers Delight practice of donating end-of-day leftover bread to charities, such as food banks and after-school programs. The company is offering other businesses their guide to a food donation plan.
What was the origins of Cobs Bread?
“After starting Bakers Delight in Australia in 1980, then franchising it in 1989 and seeing rapid growth throughout the 90s and building it to a business with over 500 locations, new bakery growth was slowing due to strong market penetration.
We grew an interest to look at international growth opportunities. After evaluating a number of other markets, such as the U.S. and the U.K., Canada came up No. 1, as there were so many parallels to Australia.
The countries are similar socially, have a similar government structure, and availability of wheat and ingredients was comparable, to name a just few.
Most importantly, though, there was a very healthy market for bread consumption, but no direct competition to what Bakers Delight was doing – baking fresh on-site every day and donating leftover products to charities.”
How did you and your sister arrive at your roles in the family business?
“Once my sister, Elise, and I joined the business, it was important that we earned each role promotion and proved ourselves through achieving results and developing the necessary leadership skills to lead and take on more responsibility.
We both had to work our way through the business before we were appointed key leaders. This allowed us to have confidence in our abilities and the respect and buy-in from our teams.”
What was it like growing up in a family business environment?
“There was always the business discussion at the dinner table, and still to this day most social conversations have an element of business.
However, I think Elise and I do a good job of keeping business discussion to business hours and family fun times to talk about life.”
How did your parents support you in your career aspirations?
“The most important and helpful point they made in the early years was that they did not want to apply any pressure to join the family business; it had to be our decision to join.
They were very supportive in our aspirations and for most of our early years we reported in to other leaders in the business, creating a bit of separation and objectivity in our development.”
What role, if any, did education play in your career development?
“Education played a role but what was more significant was the focus on learning the business and learning how to lead people. More recently the focus has been on learning how other businesses achieve success, whether it be in food, franchising or any other segment that is relatable.”
What external supports have your family turned to?
“Having external board members has been extremely valuable, especially in the areas of strategy development, organizational effectiveness, risk management and wider perspectives. Peer learning groups have also been very helpful.
External advisors are always required.
At the ownership level, tax and corporate structure planning has been most critical. Having a family office advisor for almost 20 years has also been extremely valuable, especially helping us through succession from first generation to second generation.
We have recently appointed a chief investment officer, now that the scale of investments has allowed for this.
At the business level, we have plenty of consultants for IT, finance, marketing, etc.”
What pressures come from being part of a successful family business background, and how do you cope?
“Talking with my wife about challenges that I am facing is always important, although I need to do more of this.
Trying to discuss stress and challenges at family meetings – we aren’t great at this but improving.
Personally, I try to get as much exercise as time permits and ideally amongst nature.”
What philanthropic initiatives are you particularly proud of?
“On the family philanthropic side, we are most pleased to have played an important role in the founding of the World Mosquito Program, which is a World Health Organisation (WHO) approved program to eliminate daytime mosquito diseases like Dengue, Yellow Fever and Zika, which are very negatively impactful to most countries in the tropics.
At the business level, I am continually impressed by our franchisees ability to both donate their end-of-day product to charities, like food banks, who help those in need, and to raise money each year for local charities in their community.
Earlier this year, we raised just under $500,000 and last year saw us donate over $50 million in end-of-day product.”
Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
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