From the Ground Up - McCain Foods Limited

lEFT: A computer rendering
of one of three wind turbines
that together will provide 80
percent of the energy for the
Whittlesey, England, plant
once installed, in 2007.
rIGhT: Solid set irrigation,
as at this farm in Chile, is a
system of irrigation sprinklers
and piping placed in the
field. A more efficient use
of water than flooding, it is
becoming the predominant
irrigation method in India
and elsewhere.
other regions around the world swiftly.” Morrison’s focus is on ensuring that people
at all levels of the organization are leading and that decisions are being taken at the
closest level to the customer, while at the same time taking full advantage of the best
ideas around the globe. He calls this “distributed and networked leadership,” and it is
a key feature of the Growing Together strategy.
For example, if it happens that McCain usa has developed an excellent product,
or a quality or cost-saving idea with global potential, then it is U.S. CEO Frank van
Schaayk’s job, not just Morrison’s, to play an active role in spreading that product to
the rest of the world and the responsibility of the other CEOs to adapt that product
quickly to their respective markets.
Van Schaayk sees the Growing Together strategy as an excellent platform for
McCain’s continued push to be a major presence in the American food industry.
Growing Together emphasizes operations excellence in McCain’s core potato business
while also stimulating innovation in other areas that appeal to consumers,
Van Schaayk says. “Most importantly, the plan sits on a foundation of people and
values – no different from when Harrison and Wallace were building the company.”
Through the years, McCain has developed the managerial talent to take on additional
responsibility and leadership. Janice Wismer points out that 44 percent of
the company’s more than one hundred senior managers have worked in another region
or function, 93 percent have degrees, and almost half have master’s degrees or
professional certification. “Not a lot of companies can boast that kind of experience
and education,” she says. McCain’s senior leadership team includes both McCain
veterans and new recruits with wide-ranging experience. “This team is totally focused
on taking McCain to the next level of performance,” says Wismer.
As part of the implementation of the Growing Together strategy, McCain has
established several global councils, bringing together McCain people from around
the world to share their expertise in different areas. As of 2007, global councils
were operating in agriculture, supply chain, human resources, food service sales
and marketing, retail sales and marketing, quality, manufacturing, and safety.
Each council has a sponsor from a high level of management, either a CEO or vicepresident.
In addition to the global councils, McCain has a health and wellness
advisory board.
Morrison is a believer in big ideas. He says he would rather fail to reach a bold goal
than succeed in meeting a modest one. It’s better to aim to increase sales from $6 billion
to $10 billion and fail, reaching only $8 billion, than to try to go from $6 billion
to $7 billion and succeed. Real success, he says, requires a willingness to “embrace the
art of the possible.”
Says Morrison: “I think Harrison and Wallace always embraced the art of the possible.
For the first ten years, they bet the company every year. That’s courage. It’s
having your sights set very high. They could easily have stayed in Canada and had a
wonderful food business in Canada. Instead, they were talking global food company
before most of the food multinationals were even thinking about it.”
Andrew McCain, chairman of Holdco, says the Growing Together plan continues to
build the company for the long term, and the family is particularly proud that the
values established in the company over the past fifty years remain the same. Allison
232 f rom T he ground uP
a world of change 233
lEFT: Fields are monitored
with the help of satellite
imagery. The yellow areas in
this image are the McCain
fields outside Strzelin, Poland.
The more red a field shows,
the higher the potato yield
per hectare.
rIGhT: The cab of a tractor in
a modern farming system is a
high-tech environment.