Rick Young

Senior Vice President, Operations, Supply Chain & Purchasing, Maple Leaf Foods
Business Marketing – Class of 1978

It has been quite a journey for Rick Young, from growing up on a farm south of Ottawa to becoming a leader with one of Canada’s largest global food companies. After graduating with a marketing diploma in 1978, Rick started his first job with Canada Packers on the plant floor as an Assistant Product Manager.

Rick has spent his entire career with Canada Packers, renamed Maple Leaf Foods in 1991 when it merged with Maple Leaf Mills. Fast forward to 2018 and today, Rick is the Senior Vice President, Operations, Supply Chain and Purchasing with Maple Leaf Foods.

Over the course of his career, Rick saw the company grow as much as he did. In 2000, Rick assumed the role of President of Maple Leaf Consumer Foods. At that time, Maple Leaf Consumer Foods was a $600 million business with a number of challenges. During Rick’s tenure, his leadership helped to grow the company to a $3 billion business.

Over a successful career spanning more than 30 years, Rick worked his way up from the shop floor to the Executive Team. He has learned everything about the company from the inside out, and as a leader used his extensive experience to help positively change the trajectory of Maple Leaf Foods in one of the most significant supply chain transformations in the North American food industry.