Leadership Team
Due North’s leadership team is focused on maximizing our customers’ success through continued advancements in retail, refrigerated merchandising.
Troy Shannan
Chief Executive Officer
A global leader in supply chain and manufacturing
As the CEO for Due North, Troy is responsible for developing and manufacturing world-class retail refrigeration merchandising solutions that support the business needs of customers. From a leadership standpoint, he’s accountable for driving the growth of Due North and steering all company acquisitions to ensure more resources are available to the market segments served. He is devoted to customer service excellence and looks to find ways to improve business outcomes, which include bringing new products to market and delivering transformational end-to-end innovation . Troy’s main goal is to bring shareholder value by driving the company’s growth through increasing share, leveraging new technology, strategic acquisitions, synergies, and team accountability. His vision includes having a true partnership with company customers and helping them reach their business goals.
Troy, who has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University, developed a deep understanding for global supply chain and efficient manufacturing processes in his career at the Kraft Heinz Company where he held various roles including Senior Vice President, North American Supply Chain. He was also the EVP and Chief Supply Chain Officer for Nonni’s Foods, and he’s currently a board member for Heartisan Foods. Troy leverages the DMAIC improvement cycle and Lean Six Sigma to optimize supply chain, manufacturing performance and operational excellence, and he is committed to an inclusive and engaged workforce that drives productivity as a united front.
Julian Attree
Chief Strategy Officer & Chief Commercial Officer
A pioneer at the heart of Due North
Julian Attree is the Founder and former CEO of Minus Forty Technologies, and currently holds dual executive roles as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Commercial Officer for Due North. Julian led the evolution of Minus Forty as a sought-after brand in refrigeration display merchandising, providing, and delivering on a promise of a smarter investment and better sales to customers. He aims to utilize his experience in commercial and business strategy to chart the company’s future course of growth under Due North. Julian oversees the development and execution of strategies that provide successful retail refrigeration experiences for customers and consumers. His objective is to maximize customer value by offering purpose designed merchandiser solutions for all needs. He plans to scale the business, launch new technologies and drive growth within the market segments by offering dynamic and evolving product solutions to Due North customers.
Julian is committed to fulfilling a company mission that is focused on a customer-first mindset. He believes Due North’s strengths lie in the insights and expertise of its team, who are always striving for innovation and progress. Prior to building Minus Forty into an industry leader, he refined his skills applying his entrepreneurial passion and instincts to initiate and advance business in manufacturing and distribution sectors.
Debra McCullagh
COO
A leading player both operationally and strategically
Debra was an executive with Minus Forty Technologies for over 30 years before she became the COO at Due North. Her achievements lie in passionately developing innovative refrigerated retail merchandising solutions that maximize customers’ success. Debra’s focus is to oversee the business’ daily administrative and operational outcomes, reporting structures, and handle all internal affairs that deliver the company’s strategic plans and vision. She drives growth results and increases efficiency by identifying areas of excellence in creating, implementing, and rolling out objectives for process improvement, internal infrastructures, reporting systems, and policies.
Debra’s analytical and managerial expertise is vital in strengthening the company’s talented and energetic culture. She does this by building on high-performance mandates, developing leaders, and empowering the team to meet operational excellence that best serves the various markets and scales business profitability. In addition to managing the workforce, she forges strategic partnerships and relationships with customers and vendors. She oversees all other key correspondence to deliver against a world-class brand and state-of-the-art products and services.
Marinko Tepic
Vice-President of Engineering
A passionate and powerful force in merchandising innovation
Previous to Marinko Tepic’s role of Vice-President of Engineering for Due North, he was the lead engineering mind for Minus Forty Technologies. Marinko is committed to finding creative design solutions and developing advanced products in the field of refrigerated, retail merchandising solutions. He is devoted to inspiring, promoting, and leading the engineering team in professional development and growth for the long-term success of the company and its customers.
Marinko’s extensive background includes a B.Sc. degree in mechanical engineering and over 30 years of experience in engineering, management, and teaching. He is a thought leader and expert in mechanical, refrigeration, and electrical engineering; commercial refrigerating product design; plastic parts design and manufacturing processes; electrical and electronic controls; and regulatory compliance. He is an inventor named on numerous patents in the US and Canada. Mr. Tepic serves as the Vice-Chair of Technical Subcommittee on Household and Commercial Appliances for Refrigeration at Canadian Standards Association (CSA). He’s also a licensed professional engineer with Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) since 2000.
Aaron Reid
Vice-President of Manufacturing
A process improvement expert who maximizes team success
Throughout his career in retail refrigeration, Aaron has worked his way up by consistently developing new product requests that customers, from the convenience store and micro market industry expect. As the Vice-President of Manufacturing for Due North Aaron is responsible for all operational aspects pertaining to production, quality assurance, maintenance, and logistics. He drives development and implementation of strategies to increase production output and efficiency, so the company meets annual goals and objectives for retention, growth, and profitability in delivering refrigerated retail merchandising solutions that meet the standards of maximizing customers’ success.
Aaron is educated in Lean Six Sigma with the University of Toronto. He understands that the pathway to satisfaction for company customers is through employee development and engagement.Through consistent training and internal growth, a strong, focused, and energized workforce contributes to the bottom line for everyone.
Randy Skyba
Vice-President of Sales and Marketing
A marketer helping clients sell with great brand experience
Randy Skyba is Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for Due North. He has extensive experience in general management, sales, marketing, and strategic planning. He works to ensure that Due North refrigerated, and frozen technology products create a unique and comprehensive retail merchandising package for client specific needs. He is accountable for the company sales team and directs the development and execution of the annual sales and marketing plan. He also leads Due North’s go-to-market strategy helping to expand the portfolio, and drive revenue growth. When it comes to brand function, Randy believes in simplifying, unifying, and amplifying to deliver not only the Due North voice, but those of the company’s retail merchandising clients who want to provide noteworthy experiences for consumers.
Randy has worked for Fortune 500 companies in integral sales and marketing leadership roles. He was the Strategic Account Manager for Iconex where he led office product channels and was accountable for achieving and expanding sales objectives with partners. He was Area Sales Director for NCR Canada and the National Sales and Marketing Manager with Polaroid Canada. In both these roles he was accountable for large cross-functional teams to drive substantial revenue and margin. Randy has been recognized for his achievements in sales and marketing by closing the big deals and exceeding revenues.
Steve Burk
Vice-President of Purchasing
A results-driven procurement, supply chain and operations professional
Steve has over 20 years of experience on delivering results, improving processes, and leading efficient and cost-effective procurement solutions. As the Vice-President of Purchasing for Due North, he ensures strategies are in play to maintain agility and resilience throughout the supply chain, while overseeing product inventory levels are within budget. Steve is focused on developing efficient route to market solutions for all refrigerated, retail merchandising solutions. He leads the full process, from overseeing operations of the procurement department and successfully, efficiently, and economically acquiring materials that are essential to the company’s function, through production and on-time product delivery transport models customized for each customer requirement. Steve’s attentiveness is applied to the procurement of supplies with key vendors, that make the company’s merchandisers exceptional, and that facilitate efficient operations of the plant and other business functioning requirements. His main purpose is ensuring high-quality as well as cost-effective procurement means that meet the company’s, as well as the buyers’ budget.
Steve excels in global sourcing, purchasing, project management, supply chain, continuous improvement, and cross-functional and global team leadership. Critical to making the sourcing and procurement team more effective at their jobs, he is driven to develop the tools and processes that help maintain a constant flow of communications internally which is essential to Due North’s product quality and timely and effective customer order fulfillment.