Full Name
Brodie Bertrand
Job Title
Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs
Company
W.W. Grainger, Inc.
Speaker Bio
Brodie Bertrand was named Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs in June 2021. In this role, he is responsible for all internal and external communications, including media relations, recruitment marketing and employer social media. He sets the company-wide communication strategies and oversees all major change initiatives, engagement and reputational programs. Brodie joined Grainger in 2020 as Senior Director, Enterprise Communication and played a critical role in leading through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prior to joining Grainger, Brodie started his career at Walgreen Co. in corporate communications before moving to Aon where he worked in both business, marketing, sales and HR roles. Over his 20-year career, Brodie has supported more than 50 senior leaders to deliver messages with intent. He’s held leadership roles in professional services, HR benefits and outsourcing, financial services, human capital, pharmacy, health care and retail across both global and domestic organizations. He is an expert in running internal, external, and crisis communications and driving more than a dozen complex M&A, restructuring, culture, and business transformation initiatives.

Brodie earned a bachelor’s degree in Communications from University of Illinois and an MBA from Northern Illinois University. He has served on the Chicago board for the International Association of Business Communicators and the Illinois chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, where he and his family have raised more than $150,000 toward type 1 diabetes research.

W.W. Grainger, Inc., with 2021 sales of $13.0 billion, is a leading broad line distributor with operations primarily in North America, Japan and the United Kingdom. Grainger achieves its purpose, We Keep the World Working®, by serving more than 4.5 million customers worldwide with a wide range of product categories that keep customer operations running and their people safe. The Company also delivers services and solutions, such as technical support and inventory management, to provide tangible value and save customers time and money. Grainger offers more than 2 million maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products in its High-Touch Solutions assortment and more than 30 million products through its expanding Endless Assortment offering.
Brodie Bertrand