MISSISSAUGA, ONT. — Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is making several changes to senior leadership as Curtis Frank, president and chief operating officer, prepares to transition into president and chief executive officer of the company by spring 2023. Michael McCain, current CEO, is stepping back from his role to assume the position of executive chair.

“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,” Mr. Frank said.

Casey Richards, senior vice president of marketing, has been promoted to the newly created role of president and chief growth officer. Mr. Richards will lead Maple Leaf’s value-added prepared meats and poultry businesses under one combined organizational unit to drive profitable growth.

Maple Leaf is creating a new dedicated growth-focused center of excellence called Accelerate, which will bring together 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,” Mr. Frank said. “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, senior vice president of operations and supply chain, has been promoted to the newly created role of chief supply chain officer. Mr. Stewart will expand Maple Leaf Foods' Operational Excellence System (OES) Center of Excellence, ensuring efficiencies and sustainability practices are consistently embedded throughout our 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,” Mr. Frank said. “He is a deeply respected leader with a proven track record of delivering winning results.”

Transitioning from president of Maple Leaf’s plant-based subsidiary Greenleaf Foods SPC, Adam Grogan will assume the role of president of alternative protein. Mr. Grogan will continue to lead the Greenleaf business, while also overseeing the company’s innovation and investment strategy in meat protein alternatives.

“Adam is a quintessential Maple Leaf Foods leader,” Mr. Frank said. “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 is joining Maple Leaf in January as its new senior vice president of people. With more than two decades of experience, Ms. Fagbemi will lead the company’s human resources team and its strategic people initiatives.   

“She is a remarkable talent and a perfect fit for our organization,” Frank said of Ms. Fagbemi joining the company. “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, vice president of marketing, is replacing Mr. Richards as senior vice president of marketing.

“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,” Mr. Frank said. “His expertise will make him a valuable addition to our senior leadership team.”

Mr. McCain said the personnel changes come at a “very exciting time for Maple Leaf Foods.”

“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,” he said. “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.”

Mr. Frank added, “With the company’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. 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 earth.”