Speaker Series: Brian McCain, McCain Foods
McCain Speaker Series is back again for 2026-27 with a very special guest!
Join us on September 17 as Brian McCain, Head of Sales (Sysco North America) at McCain Foods shares his journey from engineering and sustainability into leading major customer partnerships across North America, offering a candid look at how careers can evolve in surprising and exciting ways.
If you are curious about sales leadership, career adaptability and growth, and what the future of work can look like across different industries and roles, this is a great chance to hear from someone who has done it firsthand.
Date: September 17, 2026
Time: 12 - 1 p.m.
Location: HIL 316 Innovation Hub, Third Floor, Harriet Irving Library
Lunch & beverages will be provided!
About the Speaker:
Brian attended Queen’s University where he obtained a BSc in Engineering Physics and a BA Arts in Music. He went to work in Canada and the UK on carbon capture and storage projects, including as lead technical advisor to the UK government on carbon capture technologies.
In 2009, he founded The Gaia Project, a charitable organization that provides students with hands on opportunities to make informed decisions about energy and the environment. Brian served as Founding Executive Director of Brilliant Labs in 2014, a non‐profit organization in Atlantic Canada fostering innovation, creativity and entrepreneurial skills in the K‐12 space.
In 2014, Brian joined McCain Foods as a third-generation member of the family business. He spent six years in manufacturing roles in Canada and Australia, before returning to New Brunswick to lead McCain Foods global program to reduce carbon emissions. Today, he leads McCain Foods’ Sysco North America Business Unit having also been responsible for McCain’s US McDonald’s Business Unit. He recently completed his Director certification from the Institute of Corporate Directors.