William E. Aziz Nominated to Board of Directors

TORONTO, April 7, 2014 /CNW/ - Maple Leaf Foods (MFI: TSX)  today announced that William E. Aziz has been nominated to join the board as an independent director and will stand for election at the Company's Annual General Meeting on May 1, 2014.   

Mr. Aziz is President and Chief Executive Officer, Blue Tree Advisors II Inc., a private management advisory firm.  Mr. Aziz is also Chair of Investments and a member of the Human Resources Committee of the Ontario Municipal Employees' Retirement System. He is a Chartered Accountant and has completed the Institute of Corporate Directors Governance College at the Rotman School of Business, University of Toronto. Mr. Aziz served as a director of Canada Bread Company, Limited for 9 years. 

Mr. Aziz is being nominated by McCain Capital Inc. under the terms of the Governance Agreement with McCain Capital Corporation to replace Mr. Scott McCain, who served as a director of Maple Leaf Foods since 1995 and will retire from the Board at the Annual General Meeting. Mr. McCain is President & Chief Operating Officer of the Company's Agribusiness Group and will be retiring later this year after 19 years with Maple Leaf Foods. His leadership and knowledge of the agribusiness sector and manufacturing contributed to enhanced profitability and realization of significant value for the Company.  Prior to joining Maple Leaf Foods, Mr. McCain worked at McCain Foods, where he held progressively senior positions in manufacturing and operations. He is a director of Canada Bread Company, Limited, a director of McCain Foods Group Inc., and a director of Atlantic Institute for Market Studies.

Shareholders will vote for the election of directors at the upcoming Annual General Meeting. For further information, shareholders are encouraged to read the 2014 Management Proxy Circular which is available on SEDAR and under the Investor Relations menu at www.mapleleaf.com.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a leading food processing company, headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The Company employs approximately 18,000 people at its operations across Canada and in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Asia.  The Company had sales of $4.4 billion in 2013.

SOURCE: Maple Leaf Foods Inc.

Investor Contact: Nick Boland, VP Investor Relations, 416-926-2005; Media Contact: David Bauer, Corporate Communications, 416-926-2020