TORONTO – Maple Leaf Foods Inc. has appointed the CEO of West Face Capital, to its board of directors. A Toronto-based investment fund, West Face Capital owns approximately 11.4% of Maple Leaf’s outstanding shares. As part of the agreement, Gregory Boland will serve on the company’s board and also serve on its Corporate Governance and Human Resources and Compensation Committees.

"Mr. Boland's appointment is part of an ongoing process to make changes in the composition and structure of our board that reflect the recent significant changes in our shareholder base," said James Hankinson, chair of the Governance Committee.


In early January, the board retained Russell Reynolds Associates, a leading global executive search firm, which will assist the board to identify a second new independent director for nomination to the board at the 2011 Annual General Meeting. The board will also reduce the number of directors to be nominated for election at the 2012 Annual General Meeting, from 14 to 10 or 12. In the latter case, four of the incumbent directors will not be re-nominated and the board will nominate two new independent directors.