When Natashia Dunham became Director of Real Estate at Sobeys Inc., she stepped into a role where the physical environment intersects with culture, inclusivity, and employee well-being. Since joining the company in 2018—first as director of shared services and facilities before moving into her current role in 2020—Dunham has guided the organization’s corporate real estate strategy through one of the most transformative periods in modern work life.
Sobeys, one of only two national grocery retailers in Canada, operates approximately 1,600 stores in 10 provinces under various banners, including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Farm Boy, Thrifty Foods, and Lawtons Drugs, as well as over 330 retail fuel locations. Its 134,000 employees and franchise affiliates serve communities from coast to coast, tailoring store formats to local needs. The company’s mission goes beyond selling groceries—Sobeys builds sustainable value for customers, employees, suppliers, communities and shareholders through its commitment to unique banner assortments, innovation, and superior service.
Dunham’s role is to ensure that Sobeys’ office and corporate spaces match that same level of care and adaptability. That means more than just making buildings functional—it means being externally focused and planning strategically for creating spaces where employees feel welcome, supported, and empowered to do their best work.
Designing spaces for comfort & inclusion
The pandemic and its aftermath reshaped the way employees think about office life. With hybrid and remote work more common than ever, Dunham recognizes that “we’re competing with the comfort of your own home” when it comes to attracting employees to the office. Her team’s strategy has been proactive rather than reactive, leveraging collaborative technology in building environments that are adaptable, accessible, and inclusive.
To make workplaces more functional in a hybrid world, Sobeys works in partnership with Cisco Systems to follow trends and solutions for changing needs; “leveraging our existing Cisco wireless and audiovisual investments, we are better able to understand how space is being used by gathering and correlating multiple data points (i.e. presence, occupancy, room bookings, temperature, air quality, traffic flow) without managing multiple systems. Recently implemented plug-and-play audiovisual systems for seamless virtual collaboration. Meeting rooms will feature a single-HELP button feedback mechanism, allowing employees to report maintenance needs anonymously and without leaving the room. Flexible spaces—including sit-stand desks and private phone booths equipped with integrated screens—give employees the freedom to choose how and where they work during the day.
Inclusivity has also been a driving factor in these changes. Multilingual signage will appear throughout offices, reflecting the diversity of Sobeys’ workforce. The company’s food service options have been expanded to include a broader range of ethnic cuisines, catering to employees’ cultural preferences and dietary needs. As Dunham notes, it’s not just about offering “healthy options” but understanding “what are the options” employees truly value.
Routine surveys and inclusive design workshops help guide these decisions, but Dunham also relies on behavioral data to understand how spaces are used in practice.
“People often say one thing,” she says, “but the behavior tells them differently.”
For example, employees frequently request more collaboration space, but usage patterns show that these areas often remain underutilized. Such insights inform how Sobeys invests in workplace improvements, ensuring resources are directed toward solutions employees will genuinely embrace.
To strengthen this work, Dunham partners with strategic advisors who help organizations facilitate meaningful strategy, leadership development, and internal customer engagement. Using a unique approach that unlocks collective wisdom within teams and stakeholder groups, The WorkLife Collective has helped Sobeys surface insights that shape its real estate strategy. Sometimes the result is a large-scale transformation; often it’s smaller, targeted shifts that make the biggest difference.
Balancing sustainability & employee needs
Inclusivity and comfort aren’t the only drivers of change—Sobeys is also making strides in sustainability, aligning environmental responsibility with its corporate real estate strategy. Under Dunham’s leadership, the office is central to the company’s renewable energy solutions, including solar-powered parking, furniture circularity programs and a national electric vehicle charging rollout. Facilities are exploring power-over-ethernet systems to reduce utility loads and installing UV-resistant windows to improve energy efficiency.
These initiatives are part of a broader sustainability capital agenda, which Dunham sees as intertwined with the company’s employee value proposition.
“When people come to corporate offices, they expect everything to look fabulous,” she says, but creating a great workspace is also about ensuring the company’s culture and values are reflected in the environment.
That includes designing outdoor patio spaces with appropriate, durable furniture; maintaining landscaped areas across Sobeys’ 10-acre headquarters; and ensuring accessibility standards keep pace with evolving Canadian regulations.
Environmental shifts also influence facilities planning. More frequent severe weather events, for example, have changed how Sobeys approaches scheduled maintenance, budgeting, and infrastructure upgrades.
“It changes how you look at solutions,” Dunham notes, pointing to the importance of flexibility in long-term real estate strategy.
Leadership built on relationships
Behind these workplace transformations is a leadership style grounded in empathy, trust, and relationship-building. Dunham manages a national team of 50+ and six direct reports, traveling frequently to stay connected with her colleagues across the country. One-on-one meetings are a regular part of her schedule, and she makes time for social connections in addition to professional check-ins.
“Just because someone is at work doesn’t mean they’re okay,” she says, underscoring the importance of truly knowing her team.
Her background in economics and psychology from York University, combined with over a decade in senior roles at Maple Leaf Foods, gave her a strong foundation in problem-solving and operational efficiency. She admits her path to real estate wasn’t traditional, but she has leveraged her ability to run transformations, prioritize effectively, and meld the science of business goals with the art of creative vision down to actionable reality, ensuring bold ideas translate into tangible outcomes.
Dunham empowers her team by giving them ownership of their work, offering coaching and guidance without micromanaging.
“A great job means letting people do their job,” she explains. This approach not only fosters accountability but also creates a workplace where employees are motivated to strive for excellence.
Her leadership also extends to strategic decision-making. Dunham uses six months of workplace utilization data—rather than small samples—to determine whether space adjustments are necessary. By combining trends, data research with on-the-ground observation, she ensures investments align with both employee needs and business priorities. This analytical approach enables Sobeys to make data-informed decisions while maintaining a focus on the human element.
To achieve this, she has built strong, collaborative relationships with trusted partnerships across the country in the organization and with vendors.
Creating value through people & place
For Dunham, corporate real estate is not just about managing assets—it’s about understanding the relationship between people and the places where they work. The design and fit-out of office spaces can significantly influence productivity, collaboration, and employee satisfaction, just as product marketing can impact consumer behavior.
“Space and place and how it’s fit out is about the intersection of the organization’s purpose of space and employees’ needs,” she observes.
Her team’s work has helped bridge the gap between the in-store realities faced by Sobeys’ retail employees—who must show up to work every day—and the evolving expectations of corporate employees, who may have more flexibility.
By creating a workplace environment that is welcoming, technologically equipped, and inclusive, Dunham supports Sobeys’ broader mission of delivering excellence both in-store and behind the scenes.
It is a role that demands constant adaptability, from responding to changing accessibility standards to anticipating how generational differences influence work habits. Younger employees may be more comfortable with screen-based collaboration, while others prefer the energy of in-person meetings. Balancing these preferences requires both flexibility and a clear vision—a combination Dunham has honed throughout her career.
As the workplace continues to evolve, so will Sobeys’ approach to corporate real estate. With Dunham at the helm, the company is well-positioned to meet those changes head-on, ensuring its offices remain not just places to work, but environments where employees feel valued, included, and inspired.
