Leslee Wills

Leslee Wills is Vice President, People and Corporate Affairs at Bimbo Canada, a division of Grupo Bimbo, the world’s largest baking company. In her current role, held since the spring of 2021, Les leads the company’s vision of driving growth through the talent of its people. Les is passionate about Bimbo’s beliefs, particularly how the organization “values the person,” focusing on safety, personal and professional growth, and championing respect, fairness, trustworthiness, and care among associates.

A highly effective and energetic change agent and advocate of a “people first” culture, Les puts her more than 25 years of experience to work in bringing pragmatic and sustainable people solutions in the most demanding and dynamic environments. An HR generalist with a deep understanding of the business, she partners with the organization’s leaders in developing the right strategies. Les brings proven expertise to the role in safety and wellness culture change, corporate restructuring and transformation, employee and labour relations, leadership and organization development, corporate affairs, talent management, pension and benefits, training and development and mergers and acquisitions.

Prior to joining Bimbo Canada in 2008, Les worked in various leadership roles in human resources and labour relations at Lyreco Canada, William Osler Health Centre, and Coca-Cola.

Les is a highly sought-after speaker, regularly providing insights and inspiration at HR and LR conferences and she has published many articles as a subject matter expert. She was recognized in 2023 as one of Canadian Grocer’s Star Women in Grocery for the critical role that she plays in leading the company’s vision of driving growth through the talent of its people and transforming the baking industry by giving life to our organizational purpose of Nourishing A Better World. Les sits on the Advisory Board of SuccessionHR – the first HR software focused on Succession Planning for mid to large organizations; she is the Vice President of the Durham Investment Club and Vice President and a Board Member of Magic Tree Resort in Kissimmee, Florida. She holds a Master of Laws (LLM) from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University, a Bachelor of Physical and Health Education (BPHE) Cum Laude from the University of Ottawa and has her Professional Director (Pro.Dir) certification.

Les is an avid sports fan, traveller and boater who enjoys relaxing at her cottage as well as taking on home improvement projects in her spare time.