What's Sizzlin'

In this episode, host Sarah Stern sits down with David Alexander, VP of Snacks and Meal Solutions, to talk about his 14‑year journey at Maple Leaf Foods. From being recruited into our Leadership Track (LT) program to rotating throughout different teams across the business, today, David is leading one of our most dynamic portfolios on the Marketing team. David shares what it’s like working across e...

This week, host Sarah Stern sits down with Debbie Slater, Plant Manager at Walker Drive, to talk leadership, lean operations, and why the people make the difference at every site across the company. From fast, efficient poultry lines to reducing waste, Debbie shares what she’s learned across five plants — and why she’s proud to be back where it all started.

Chantal Goeree, Manager of Animal Care, has always felt a strong calling to work with animals. Her journey began in school, where she specialized in poultry, and about seven years ago, Chantal joined Maple Leaf Foods as an Animal Health and Welfare Technician. Today, Chantal still admires Maple Leaf Foods’ dedication to animal care, noting that the company’s commitment shines through significant i...

Kathleen Sullivan, Vice President of Government and Industry Relations, brings energy and passion to Maple Leaf Foods. Her days are always full of surprises, and she’s involved with just about every department in the organization. As a key connector between the company and government officials, Kathleen helps us understand all the rules and policies that affect our business — and makes sure we hav...

This week’s guest is Jen Hawn, Director of Strategic Execution, who’s been with Maple Leaf Foods for almost 25 years. Originally joining the Poultry team back in the early 2000s, today Jen leads vital projects across the company, and was a key player in the strategic split of Canada Packers.  Tune in as Jen shares her insights on leadership, the evolution of our Purpose, and a childhood love for f...

The newest episode of Season 2 of the ‘What’s Sizzlin’ podcast is live! Host Sarah Stern welcomes  Violet Baker, Vice President of Product Development,  whose inspiring journey began years ago as an intern with Maple Leaf Foods and evolved into a key role leading the development team. Violet reflects on her unique experience joining MLF during the Listeriosis crisis of 2008, and the very quick lea...

In this first episode of Season 2, host Sarah Stern (Director, Community Involvement), chats with  Rebecca Smith, Director of Strategic Growth Channels  in the U.S.  Rebecca brings a wealth of experience throughout her journey in the food industry, having joined the plant-based division (formerly Greenleaf Foods) in 2019. Today, her expanded focus includes both plant and animal protein, delivered...

In our final What's Sizzlin' podcast episode for 2025, we take a deep dive into the Investor Relations side of our business as host Sarah Stern (Director, Community Involvement) chats with  Omar Javed, Vice President of Finance - Investor Relations.  As he wraps up his first year at Maple Leaf Foods, Omar shares how our culture of high performance and commitment to transparency inspired hi...

Our latest episode of the What's Sizzlin' podcast features  Heather Murphy, Brand Manager for Maple Leaf , as she chats with host Sarah Stern (Director, Community Involvement). Throughout her nine years within the organization, Heather has developed a breadth of knowledge in marketing roles across all of our brands — yes, all of them! For Heather and the brand marketing team, no two days a...

In our next episode of What's Sizzlin', host Sarah Stern (Director, Community Involvement), sits down to chat with  Kate Longmire, VP, Poultry Commercial Optimization. Kate has been a part of the Maple Leaf network for decades, and it's her diverse array of experience across departments that has kept her invigorated and invested for so long here. Today, Kate leads the Poultry team, and during this...

Our latest episode of What's Sizzlin' features  Rob DePape, Sustainability Manager  at Lagimodiere. He chats with host Sarah Stern (Director, Community Involvement) about his unique and vital role supporting sustainability initiatives at our Lagimodiere plant.  Rob has worked at Maple Leaf Foods for nearly 30 years — a wonderful accomplishment! — and has stayed within the network for his entire ca...

In this week's episode of What's Sizzlin', host Sarah Stern (Director, Community Involvement), is joined by Samantha Lazuric (Head of Culinary) — also known as Chef Sam — to chat about how our culinary team brings to life the joy and deliciousness of our food.  Chef Sam explains what made her fall in love with Maple Leaf Foods many years ago, how collaboration across the company is suc...

In our first official episode of the What’s Sizzlin’ podcast hosted by Sarah Stern (Director, Community Involvement), Sarah is joined by Ryan Walker (Senior Vice President, Poultry) to explore how he and his team bring our Purpose to life.  Together, the poultry team practices volunteering, sustainability initiatives, and community involvement by supplying chicken to food banks for those in need a...

To kick off our first episode, host Sarah Stern (Director, Community Involvement & Executive Director, Maple Leaf Centre for Food Security) with Stefanie Ucci (Senior Content Specialist) about the power of storytelling and how creating meaningful content can help to connect our Team Members back to our Purpose.