Gillian Akai
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Gillian Akai joined Maple Leaf Foods as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in November 2025. In this role, she leads the Legal and Corporate Secretary team and supports the execution of the company’s strategic blueprint from a legal and governance perspective.
Before joining Maple Leaf Foods, Gillian was Chief Administrative Officer, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Postmedia Network Inc. where she was responsible for Legal Affairs, Human Resources, Communications and Risk. In her 15 plus years with Postmedia, she played a central role in shaping company strategy, guiding executive teams and Boards through major transactions, and successfully leading governance initiatives and transformation programs. Gillian was recognized twice as a finalist at the Canadian General Counsel Awards for her work.
Prior to joining Postmedia, Gillian was a lawyer at Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (now Dentons Canada LLP) focusing on private mergers and acquisitions, technology and privacy.
In addition to her executive responsibilities, Gillian is a former chair of the Hydrocephalus Canada board of directors and currently sits on the board of governors of North York General Hospital.
Gillian holds a joint LLB/MBA from Osgoode Hall Law School/Schulich School of Business (York University) and she is a member of the Law Society of Ontario.