What's Sizzlin'

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 have a say in shaping them. Beyond her day-to-day role, Kathleen is a foodie at heart! In this episode, she gushes over a love for bacon, and shares why team members producing food across our sites play such a vital role in living and representing our Purpose, to Raise the Good in Food.

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 fried bologna sandwiches. 

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 learnings and technical knowledge she picked up along the way. She also shares how her expertise in food science helps shape innovative food systems, and explains the fascinating contrast between tempeh and tofu.

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 to a diverse set of customer channels and focusing on a wide array of sales growth capabilities. Her team is focused on growing and marketing Maple Leaf as the sustainable protein partner of choice. No two days are ever the same: let’s find out what’s sizzlin’ with Rebecca!

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 him to join our organization. Leading the Investor Relations team means that Omar is dedicated to nurturing meaningful relationships with a diverse group of investors by communicating results openly and honestly each quarter, ensuring trust with our stakeholders. While the finance and numbers are an important part of our business, so too is the food. Omar fulfills our Purpose by honing a passion and love for food — because if there's one thing he can count on, it's that a hot dog always hits the spot!

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 are ever the same. As Brand Manager, she’s responsible for crafting and executing marketing plans that establish clear brand positioning, create excitement and demand, and strengthen consumer connection from coast to coast. Working closely with agencies and cross-functional partners, Heather leads the development of integrated campaigns that amplify awareness, engagement, and loyalty. It all ladders up to our one shared Purpose of Raising the Good in Food. Right now, Heather is in the midst of one of the most exciting chapters of her career: Maple Leaf Foods is becoming the Official Protein Partner of the Canadian Olympics. Tune in to hear what exciting initatives are in store during this partnership!

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 episode, she talks about how her role is pivotal to providing a value-added poultry product to our customers and consumers. Tune in to hear more — including why she believes chicken is the "perfect protein" to enjoy! 

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 career. Today, his role requires having a deep care for the environment as he seeks out ways to reduce waste and improve our sustainability practices. As a Team Member who works out of our Bacon Centre of Excellence, it's only right that Rob's specialty meal involves bacon tossed into a delicious Caesar salad. 

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 such an important part of her role in the corporate kitchen, and gushes about the power of a really great, sustainable meal. Chef Sam is Raising the Good in Food in one of the most obvious ways: by preparing delicious, inviting meals for people far and wide!

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 across Ontario. 

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.