Mark Taylor is President and Chief Executive Officer of Lactalis Canada Inc., one of Canada’s largest branded consumer packaged goods manufacturers and the country’s leading dairy processor. Lactalis Canada is a subsidiary of Lactalis Group, the world’s largest dairy company, headquartered in Laval, France.

Since assuming the role of President and CEO in 2018, Mr. Taylor has led a period of significant growth and transformation for the organization. He oversaw the $1.62 billion acquisition of Kraft Heinz’s natural cheese business in Canada in 2019, the largest transaction in the history of the Canadian dairy sector. This was followed by the acquisitions of Ultima Foods Inc. and Kraft Heinz’s grated cheese business in Canada in 2021, and Marie Morin Canada in 2024. Under his leadership, Lactalis Canada has become the third-largest country operation within Lactalis Group globally and is consistently recognized as one of Canada’s Best Employers by Forbes.

Mr. Taylor is an active leader within Canada’s food and grocery sector. He played a key role in industry advocacy supporting the development of a Grocery Code of Conduct for Canada. In recognition of his leadership, he was named Most Influential CEO – Toronto Food & Beverage Manufacturing by CEO Monthly Magazine in 2023 and was inducted into Canada’ Grocery Business Hall of Fame in 2024.

With more than 30 years of experience in consumer packaged goods, primarily in the dairy sector, Mr. Taylor has held senior leadership roles across the value chain, from primary agriculture to branded consumer businesses. Prior to relocating to Canada, he served as Group Managing Director of Lactalis U.K. and Ireland from 2015 to 2018. He has also served as Chair of the Board of Muddy Boots Software Limited, an agri-food supply-chain and quality compliance company acquired by TELUS Agriculture in 2021, and as a board member of Zenith International Consulting, specializing in mergers and acquisitions in the global dairy sector. Earlier in his career, Mr. Taylor held senior leadership roles with Express Dairy, Northern Foods, Unigate, and Dairy Crest, including participation in a management buyout and service as a board member of Wexford Creamery in Ireland. He began his career with hands-on agricultural experience on farms in the United Kingdom, Germany, and New Zealand before completing Diageo’s graduate training program. In the United Kingdom, Mr. Taylor contributed to public policy and innovation initiatives, including support for the U.K. Agriculture and Food Strategy, service on the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Innovation Platform Steering Group, and work with Innovate UK as a Monitoring Officer and Assessor. His broader interests include sustainability and rural development; he is a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural University 100 Club and a former Chair of HRH The Prince of Wales’s Rural Action Programme Dairy Group. Mr. Taylor currently serves on the boards of the Dairy Processors Association of Canada, Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada, Kids Help Phone, and The Grocery Foundation, where he also chairs the Donations Committee. He holds an MBA and resides in Toronto, Ontario, with his wife and two sons.