Maple Leaf Foods Inc. has named Deepak Bhandari chief financial officer for its pork business, which will be spun off as an independent, publicly traded company in 2025, according to an announcement from the company.
Bhandari is returning to Maple Leaf, where he previously worked for 13 years on the processor’s finance side. He is joining Maple Leaf’s pork complex from High Liner Foods, where he has served as interim chief financial officer and senior vice president of strategy and corporate development. Bhandari will become Maple Leaf Foods’ CFO, Pork Complex in September 2024.
Dennis Organ, president of Maple Leaf Foods’ Pork Complex, lauded Bhandari’s familiarity with the company from his previous stint, saying, “Deepak has a thorough understanding of our pork operations and the landscape of the business. We look forward to his financial leadership and expertise as we complete the work to execute the spin transaction and embark on the next step in our journey as an independent company.”
Last month, Maple Leaf announced its plan to separate into two public companies by spinning off the entire pork business into a yet-to-be-named, independent company.
About the Author
Andy Hanacek
Senior Editor
Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.