Executive Leadership Team

Brock Furlong, President and CEO

Brock has been in the food industry for more than 25 years. He started his career with a focus primarily on the marketing and sales functions, securing his training from companies such as The Quaker Oats Company (1990 to 1994) and Pillsbury (1995 to 1998).

He left Pillsbury as VP of Marketing to join Maple Leaf Meats, a $5 billion international meat and bakery company head quartered in Toronto, Canada. Brock joined as SVP of Marketing and R&D directing the activities of over 60 professionals across fresh and further processed pork and beef.

Within three months of joining Maple Leaf, the Food Service sales function was added to his responsibilities, along with the leadership of a number of critical acquisitions. [expand title=”%(%em%)% Continue reading%(%/em%)%”] In October of 1999, Brock was promoted to the position of President of Maple Leaf Poultry. This company became the largest poultry company in Canada growing from $270 million in sales to over $600 million in the five years Brock acted as President.

The company serviced all major restaurants and retail customers in Canada and a number of significant US customers as well. In early 2005, Brock was asked to assume the President role of the Frozen Bakery division of Maple Leaf that was headquartered in Chicago serving major Food Service restaurants throughout North America. The business grew to $350 million in the two-and-a-half years Brock led the company. In 2008, Brock’s family made the decision that the nearly constant travel needed to come to an end, and he left Maple Leaf after 10 years to start a gourmet protein company making high end burgers, sausages and meatballs. The business grew rapidly over the course of the next three years serving the Food Service, Industrial and Retail business segments.

In the fall of 2010, Brock was enticed to join the Stampede team in the role of Executive Vice President to assist with broadening the strategy and strengthening the very capable organization already in place at Stampede. In December of 2011, Brock was promoted to the President of Stampede following the successful 17 year leadership of Edward Ligas.

Brock is Canadian originally but now resides in the suburbs of Chicago with his wife, Jill, having enjoyed 27 years of marriage. They have three children ages 23, 21 and 17 that are all equally active at school, in sports and in the community helping others. The entire Furlong family is looking forward to becoming a bigger part of the Stampede family and working hard collectively to continue the legacy the Ligas family has built.

Brock graduated in 1990 with an Honors Bachelor of Business Administration with Distinction Dean’s List, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada.[/expand]

Vito Giustino, Chief Financial Officer

Vito is responsible for the overall financial profitability and liquidity of Stampede Meat. He started his career more than 20 years ago as a financial analyst at Square D Company, a leading distributor of automation products, systems and services.

In 1995, he joined Kraft Foods and moved quickly through the ranks from senior financial analyst to process team manager of the Meals Division. Vito led cross-functional teams that streamlined operations at this international powerhouse.

He then joined Baxter International as finance manager of Baxter Capital, where he led an effort of dramatic expansion in European markets. [expand title=”%(%em%)% Continue reading%(%/em%)%”] He assumed additional responsibilities in business development, marketing and sales as he rose to the position of director.

He moved to Maple Leaf Frozen Bakery, headquartered in Des Plaines, Illinois, to take the position of director of financial planning and analysis. His financial team was responsible for sales, marketing, operations and logistics analytics as well as for business development. His achievements as a leader and business acumen led to joining the executive team as Vice President of Finance, where he was integral to the development and execution of the short- and long-term business strategies.

Vito joined Stampede Meat in 2011 to provide financial analysis, reporting and planning of business performance. His understanding and strategic vision are important parts of the senior management team.

Vito graduated from DePaul University with a B.S. in accounting. He earned an M.B.A. from Northern Illinois.[/expand]

Raymond McKiernan, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Ray has been with Stampede Meat since the beginning; he was one of the founding partners. He has more than 42 years of experience in the food service industry, including more than 30 in sales and marketing of beef, pork and chicken products.

Ray began his career at Bonanza Steakhouses, serving as regional vice president of Operations. While he was there, the company grew from a small chain to include nearly 600 restaurants.

In 1985, he joined Rymer Foods as vice-president of sales and marketing. He spearheaded the development of national food service chain and industrial accounts. [expand title=”%(%em%)% Continue reading%(%/em%)%”] In 1995, he and other key managers started a new company, which became Stampede Meat.

Throughout his long career, Ray has focused on business development at food service accounts. His success is predicated on identifying opportunities, marketing products and assisting customers as they grow their product lines and reach new customers in part through the innovation and imagination of Stampede Meat. He is also rightly proud of the number of successful people who started their careers working for him.[/expand]

Ron Jolicoeur, Corporate Executive Chef

Chef Ron brings more than 25 years of culinary experience to his position as Corporate Executive Chef at Stampede Meat, Inc.

Ron is a member of the American Culinary Federation, Chicago Chefs Association, Research Chefs Association, Institute of Food Technology and the Educational Advisory Board of The Art Institute of Chicago, Culinary/R&D. He received his degree in Occupational Science from Johnson and Wales, Providence, Rhode Island.

He started his career in fine dining establishments in Boston and then Chicago, including serving as executive sous chef at both the Pump Room and the Midland Hotel. [expand title=”%(%em%)% Continue reading%(%/em%)%”] These prestigious appointments gave him an opportunity to develop a mastery of food seasoning, recipe development and product presentation. He was appointed as a culinary instructor at The Cooking & Hospitality Institute in Chicago, where he introduced hundreds of prospective chefs to the culinary, baking and pastry arts industry. Ron moved into the corporate world where positions as executive chef allowed him to not only manage multi-million dollar food and beverage operations but also to work with marketing and purchasing groups to develop and launch new products.

In 2010, Ron joined Stampede Meat as Corporate Executive Chef. He leads and develops Chef2Chef™ relationships and directs the company in new product creation and menu analyses. Customers have invited him to work directly with their locations to study the customer experience, improve flow through the kitchen, and reduce ticket times. Ron knows his way around the front and back of house, bringing a skilled eye to each challenge.[/expand]

Dennis Gruber, Vice President of Technical Innovation and Culinary Development

Dennis has extensive experience in technical and product innovation, quality assurance, food safety, raw material sourcing, and culinary development — an excellent combination for Stampede Meat.

Dennis started his career at Cargill, where he spent 10 years. He began in beef and pork research and development and then moved into further-processed product development and customer support.

This experience laid the groundwork for his initial position at Stampede Meat in research and development. [expand title=”%(%em%)% Continue reading%(%/em%)%”] Today he is one of the primary team leaders in charge of technical and product innovation, safety, sourcing, quality control, research, customer support, and culinary development.

Stampede’s innovative production and extensive food safety programs are testaments to our commitment to meet customers’ expectations and to exceed U.S. and other government standards. Dennis works extensively with food-industry product teams to move gold-standard products from concepts to full-scale production quickly and efficiently.

Dennis has a B.S in animal science and an M.S. in meat science, both from Iowa State University.[/expand]

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