Join Canadian Club Toronto, in partnership with the HBS Club of Toronto, on the evening of May 30, for a fireside chat with Michael McCain, Executive Chair of the Board of Maple Leaf Foods. The global food landscape has changed dramatically over the last few years with factors such as environmental sustainability and holistic health wellness becoming increasingly important. Evolving geopolitics and the Covid pandemic have further disrupted the industry with impacts on trade agreements, supply chains, and flavour trends. Michael will be joined in conversation by Ann Hui, Reporter at The Globe and Mail, to discuss his vision for Maple Leaf Foods, his leadership principles, and his thoughts on what’s ahead for the food industry in Canada.
Michael McCain
Executive Chair of the Board, Maple Leaf Foods
Michael H. McCain is Executive Chair of the Board of Maple Leaf Foods, one of Canada’s flagship food companies, with sales of $4.5 billion and employs approximately 13,500 people in Canada and the United States.
Mr. McCain has devoted his career to the food industry, starting at McCain Foods in the late 1970s, where he held a variety of roles, including President and Chief Executive Officer of McCain Foods USA. He joined Maple Leaf Foods in 1995. Since then, Mr. McCain has been instrumental in establishing Maple Leaf as a strong and sustainable, values-based company with leading brands and market shares across its businesses and a bold vision for the future.
Mr. McCain and his team are deeply committed to being the global leader in sustainable proteins, reflected in ambitious goals in the advancement of nutrition, reducing antibiotic use in livestock, animal care, environmental sustainability, and enhancing food security nationally and globally.
Mr. McCain is a director of McCain Capital and Maple Leaf Foods. He is a member of the Richard Ivey School of Business Advisory Board, the Business Council of Canada, and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation. He is also the honorary chairman of the Maple Leaf Centre for Food Security.
Born in Florenceville, New Brunswick, Mr. McCain attended Mount Allison University and received an Honours Business Administration degree from the University of Western Ontario. He also holds honorary degrees from St Mary’s University, Brock University, Carleton University and Guelph University. He is devoted to his five children and family, and lives in Toronto.
Ann Hui
Reporter, The Globe and Mail
Ann Hui is The Globe and Mail’s national food reporter, using food as a lens to explore public policy, health, the environment, and agriculture. She began her career as a general assignment reporter in the national section, before covering Toronto politics from 2013-2015.
She is the author of the bestseller Chop Suey Nation: The Legion Cafe and Other Stories from Canada’s Chinese Restaurants, which won the 2020 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction
