Maple Leaf Foods Inc., a Canadian branded food company, is announcing changes to its senior leadership team as it embarks on its next chapter of value creation. The changes come as part of the leadership transition plan that was announced earlier in 2022 as Curtis Frank, currently president and chief operating officer, prepares to step into the role of president and chief executive officer by the spring of 2023, and Michael McCain begins to step back from his CEO role to focus on his role as executive chair.

"With the [c]ompany's state-of-the-art London Poultry, Bacon Centre of Excellence and Indianapolis Tempeh plants all now up and running, we are at a natural inflection point in our journey to realizing our full potential," said Curtis Frank. "As Maple Leaf Foods' next generation leader, my commitment is to leverage our world-class network of assets and our talented team of passionate people to deliver transformational results and create shared value for all our stakeholders as we accelerate and elevate our bold ambition to become the most sustainable protein company on [E]arth. I am very optimistic about the next chapter in Maple Leaf Foods' story, and I am pleased to announce the team of senior leaders who will bring this vision to life."

Casey Richards, current senior vice president of marketing, is promoted to the newly created role of president and chief growth officer. In this new role, Casey will assume accountability of Maple Leaf Foods' value-added prepared meats and poultry businesses under one combined organizational unit to drive profitable growth through clear strategic alignment and agile decision-making. Under Casey's leadership, Maple Leaf Foods is also establishing a dedicated growth-focused center of excellence called "Accelerate." "Accelerate" will help Maple Leaf unlock new opportunities for growth by bringing together their world-class brand building expertise, data-driven insights and analytics, innovation and new technologies, and e-commerce and digital experience. 

"With over 20 years of global CPG marketing and management experience, Casey has the insight, expertise and strategic capability to lead our value-added packaged goods business into the future," said Frank. "He is a highly accomplished brand marketer, with strong commercial acumen and a history of success in strategy, brand building, innovation and business management. His vision for ["Accelerate"] will unlock new opportunities for growth with both consumers and customers."

Iain Stewart, current senior vice president of operations & supply chain, is promoted to the newly created role of chief supply chain officer. Under Iain's leadership, the company will further refine its manufacturing strategy to leverage its expertise in operations, purchasing, supply chain and engineering into a sustainable competitive advantage. Iain will expand Maple Leaf Foods' Operational Excellence System (OES) Center of Excellence, ensuring efficiencies and sustainability practices are consistently embedded throughout the company's operations, and optimizing operations and profitability within the pork complex.

"Since he joined the company 25 years ago, Iain has worked in almost every part of the business and is a pillar at Maple Leaf Foods," said Frank. "He is a deeply respected leader with a proven track record of delivering winning results. Not only does he have important insights into what it takes to manage the pork business, he also has the skills it takes to unite and inspire our operations, supply chain, purchasing and engineering teams as we emerge from the intense challenges of the last couple years."

Adam Grogan, currently president of Maple Leaf Foods' subsidiary, Greenleaf Foods SPC, is appointed to the role of president, alternative protein. Adam will continue to lead the Greenleaf business and will add responsibility for commercializing and broadening the company's innovation and investment strategy in meat protein alternatives, all as part of the company's future-oriented vision to deliver long-term financial and sustainability performance.

"Adam is a quintessential Maple Leaf Foods leader," said Frank. "He has built his career here and has tremendous knowledge of the food industry. His experience in both meat and plant protein categories makes him uniquely positioned to take on this broader role to lead our alternative protein strategy."

Jumoke Fagbemi will join Maple Leaf Foods in January as its new senior vice president, people. Jumoke is a well-respected human resources professional with more than 20 years of experience and a proven record of successfully implementing cost-effective, value-driven people strategies grounded in diversity, equity and inclusion principles. As part of the senior leadership team, Jumoke will play an integral role in leading the company's human resources team and its strategic people initiatives.   

"I am thrilled to welcome Jumoke to our Maple Leaf Foods team," said Frank. "She is a remarkable talent and a perfect fit for our organization. With her global perspective, depth of experience and future-oriented outlook, I know she is the right person to bring our Maple Leaf Foods' People Strategy to life."

Patrick Lutfy, current vice president of marketing, is promoted to the role of senior vice president of marketing, replacing Casey Richards.  

"Patrick joined Maple Leaf Foods in 2015 and has strong commercial experience in many aspects of our business, including supply chain, brand strategy and marketing," said Frank. "His expertise will make him a valuable addition to our Senior Leadership Team." 

"This is a very exciting time for Maple Leaf Foods," said Michael McCain, chief executive officer and executive chair of the company. "I have absolute confidence in Curtis and this Senior Leadership Team to deliver exceptional performance driven by our winning culture, world-class assets, leading brands, and talented people. Grounded in an unwavering commitment to build our brands and deliver the safe, healthy, nutritious and sustainably produced food that our customers and consumers crave, the next chapter in Maple Leaf Foods' journey is sure to be our best one yet."

Source: Maple Leaf Foods Inc.