Michael Harrison McCain (born November 13, 1958) is a Canadian business executive who serves as the

executive chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

Maple Leaf Foods Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a Canadian multinational consumer-packaged meats and food production company. Its head office is in Mississauga, Ontario. History Maple Leaf Foods is the result of the 1991 merger between Canada Packers and Maple ...

. McCain formerly served as the president and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

from 1999 until 2023, and as

chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

of the company until the end of 1998. He is one of the wealthiest people in Canada and is currently listed on Canadian Business Magazine’s 100 richest Canadians.

Early life and education

Michael Harrison McCain was born in

Florenceville-Bristol Florenceville-Bristol is a former town in the northwestern part of Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada along the Saint John River. It held town status prior to 2023 and is now part of the town of Carleton North. History Florenceville ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, on November 13, 1958. He is the son of

Wallace McCain George Wallace Ferguson McCain (April 9, 1930 – May 13, 2011) was a Canadian businessman and co-founder of McCain Foods. With an estimated net worth of $US 4.15 billion (as of 2018), McCain was ranked by ''Forbes'' as the 13th wealthiest ...

, the co-founder of

McCain Foods McCain Foods Limited is a Canadian multinational frozen food company established in 1957 in Florenceville, New Brunswick, Canada. It is the world's largest manufacturer of frozen potato products, with 1 in 4 french fries in the world being a ...

and

Margaret McCain Margaret Norrie McCain ( Norrie; born October 1, 1934) is a Canadian philanthropist who was the first woman to serve as the lieutenant governor of New Brunswick. She is known for her work in the promotion of early childhood education. As a me ...

, a Canadian philanthropist. McCain attended

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Mount Allison was the first university in the British Empire to award a baccal ...

and then

Ivey School of Business Ivey Business School is the main business school of Western University, located in London, Ontario, Canada. It offers full-time undergraduate and graduate programs in London, Ontario and maintains a Toronto facility for its EMBA program and two ...

at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

. He graduated in 1979 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

. In 2014, McCain received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

in recognition of his leadership in economic development.

Personal life

McCain was married to Christine McCain in 1981 and a divorce was filed on January 13, 2013. The court decree nullified a contract imposed on Christine at the time of marriage by Wallace McCain, his father, that waived her right to spousal support.

Business work

McCain companies

In 1979, he joined McCain Foods sales department and worked up into management. By 1986, he became the president of McCain Citrus Incorporated and in 1990, was appointed as the president and chief executive officer of McCain Foods USA Incorporated. In the 1990s, a prolonged legal dispute between McCain co-founders and brothers Wallace and

Harrison McCain Harold Harrison McCain (3 November 1927 – 18 March 2004) was a Canadian businessman and co-founder, along with his three brothers, of international frozen foods giant McCain Foods. Early life McCain was born in Florenceville-Bristol, New ...

over succession to the company leadership ended with the departure of Wallace and Michael from McCain Foods.

Maple Leaf Foods

McCain joined Maple Leaf Foods as president and

in April 1995, and is currently the Executive Chairman of Maple Leaf Foods. McCain is also the director of Maple Leaf Foods, McCain Capital Corporation and

Group Inc. McCain is also a member of the board of the

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; ) is a Canadian multinational Financial institution, financial services company and the Big Five (banks), largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 20 million clients and has more than ...

, the

American Meat Institute The American Meat Institute (AMI) was the oldest and largest trade association representing the U.S. meat and poultry industry. In 2015, it was merged into the North American Meat Institute (NAMI). Overview Founded in 1906 in Chicago as the Ame ...

, and also serves on the

board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of the Hospital for Sick Children. He was also director of the American Frozen Food Institute and

Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Inc. () is a Canadian aerospace manufacturer that produces business jets. Headquartered in Montreal, the company was founded in 1942 by Joseph-Armand Bombardier to market his snowmobiles, and it later became one of the world's big ...

As CEO of Maple Leaf Foods, McCain's handling of the 2008 listeria outbreak was met with overall praise.

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

has referred to McCain as "a role model for crisis management" for his contributions toward ameliorating the incident. Writing in

The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It stars Gene Hackman as a surveillance expert who faces a moral dilemma when his recordings reveal a potential ...

, Deborah de Lange complimented McCain's transparency, ethics, and communication skills during the outbreak, referring to his "track record of leadership", and

Hill+Knowlton Strategies A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as mountains. Hills fall unde ...

's Jane Shapiro referred to it as "a textbook case of how to handle a crisis". McCain was named the Business Newsmaker of 2008 by the Canadian press. Writing a 2013 case study in the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

, business theorist

Morgen Witzel Morgen Witzel (born 1960) is a Canadian historian, business theorist, consultant, lecturer and author of management books, especially known from his work on "Doing business in China" and on "Managing in virtual organizations".Fineman, Stephen, Yian ...

noted that in addition to accepting responsibility, McCain's recovery strategy included a hiring freeze but open hiring in the food safety department, which was to hire at any cost. In January 2020, McCain criticized "a narcissist in Washington" regarding the events that preceded

Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 (PS752/AUI752) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Tehran to Kyiv, operated by Ukraine International Airlines. On 8January 2020, the Boeing 737-800 flying the route was shot down by the ...

being shot down by

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, from the company

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account. McCain, a well-known philanthropist, was lauded by some, for his humanity, and criticized by others, for supplanting

shareholder primacy Shareholder primacy is a theory in corporate governance holding that shareholder interests should be assigned first priority relative to all other stakeholders. A shareholder primacy approach often gives shareholders power to intercede directly a ...

, as reactive calls for a boycott of the company impacted stock prices. In May 2022, McCain announced that he was appointed as the executive chairman of Maple Leaf Foods and will hand over CEO responsibilities to Curtis Frank by the 2023 annual meeting. On May 11, 2023, Curtis Frank was appointed as CEO.

References

Sources

Maple Leaf Foods biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCain, Michael 1958 births Living people People from Carleton County, New Brunswick Mount Allison University alumni University of Western Ontario alumni Canadian chief executives Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent