Profiles
Li-Cycle appoints Debbie Simpson as new CFO

Li-Cycle employees at a facility in Kingston, ON.

TORONTO — Li-Cycle Holdings Corp., a company involved in lithium-ion battery resource recovery and a lithium-ion battery recycler in North America, announced the appointment of Debbie Simpson to the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective February 1, 2022.

“We are thrilled to welcome Debbie to Li-Cycle,” said Ajay Kochhar, Li-Cycle’s co-founder and CEO. “Debbie will be an immediate strategic partner as a member of the Li-Cycle executive leadership team. As a proven, finance executive with global public company experience and a champion of growing and developing talent, she will contribute to our efforts to drive growth and maximize shareholder value.”

Ms. Simpson brings financial leadership focusing on strategic and transformational investment projects and optimizing capital structures to drive returns and facilitate scalability and growth for global companies. She joins Li-Cycle at an important juncture, as the Company is scaling its business with plans to build commercial lithium-ion recycling facilities across the globe.

Prior to joining Li-Cycle, Ms. Simpson served as the CFO of Maple Leaf Foods, a protein company with revenues of approximately $4 billion and over 13,000 employees. At Maple Leaf Foods, she was involved in driving a strategic shift for the company to become a higher-value sustainable protein business, advised on successful acquisitions, and helped secure over $2.0 billion in funding. Prior to that, Ms. Simpson was the acting CFO of Vincor International Inc., a global producer and distributer of wines with operations across several countries. At Vincor International, she completed several business acquisitions, equity and debt transactions, and the successful sale of the business to Constellation Brands Inc.

“I am delighted to join the Li-Cycle team. I was drawn to its innovative technology, global growth plans, and dedication to enabling a circular economy,” said Ms. Simpson. “I look forward to being a part of the Li-Cycle team and contributing to their future expansion in this rapidly evolving sector.”

Ms. Simpson will succeed Li-Cycle’s current CFO, Bruce MacInnis, upon his previously indicated retirement and the two will begin working together immediately to ensure a smooth transition and succession.