P a g e | 1 BC AGRIFOOD Growing AND SEAFOOD the Future CONFERENCE 2016 Together Speaker Biographies P a g e | 2 BC AGRIFOOD AND SEAFOOD CONFERENCE OVERVIEW The B.C. Agrifood and Seafood Conference: Growing the Future Together was held at the Coast Capri Hotel in Kelowna on November 14-15, 201, bringing together over 300 participants, 37 expert speakers and 17 innovative exhibitors to share their expertise and insight on the role they and others can play in strengthening food supply security and supporting continued growth of B.C.’s agrifood and seafood sector. Conference speakers included agri-entrepreneurs and business executives, tech leaders and business developers, distribution and retail companies, government representatives, and research and policy leaders from universities, not- for-profits and research organizations. Organized by session, biographies for each conference speaker are presented below. SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES Session 1: Branding and Marketing Session Roger Nairn Business Director, Karacters Design Group Roger Nairn is a Business Director at Karacters Design Group, a Division of DDB Canada. In 2015 his team was inducted into the Rebrand Hall of Fame. Roger is a problem solver, strategist, and “finder of new ways” that has experience advising clients and building brands for: Saputo, Dairy Farmers of Canada, BC Egg Marketing Board, BC Salmon Farmers Association, Skuna Bay, Happy Planet, Love Child Organics, Nando’s, Netflix, BC Lottery Corporation, University of British Columbia, British Columbia Institute of Technology, Province of British Columbia, Sprott Shaw, Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences, Vancouver Police Department, Vancouver Police Foundation, Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver, and Crimestoppers. Braden Douglas Founding Partner, Crew Marketing Partners Inc. Braden Douglas is a renowned marketing strategist with a passion for food. His depth of knowledge, understanding and insight within the Canadian food value chain have uniquely positioned himself and CREW as Canada’s Food Marketing Experts. Braden launched his career in brand management with Procter & Gamble and Frito Lay. Taking this disciplined approach to marketing, he has created strategies and campaigns that have driven record revenues for many young food start-ups including Hardbite Potato Chips, Silver Hills Bakery, and the Science World EcoDairy. He’s also pioneered public engagement and brand strategies within the agricultural sector, commodity food boards, and various public and private associations. As a speaker and writer, Braden delivers practical and straightforward marketing, leadership and entrepreneurial advice to audiences and inboxes around the world. P a g e | 3 Session 2: Agritech Rickey Yada Dean of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, Professor of Food Science at UBC Rickey Yada was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, and Professor of Food Science at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, B.C. in 2014. Prior to joining UBC, Dr. Yada was at the University of Guelph in a number of leadership roles, including Professor in the Department of Food Science, Chair of the Department of Food Science, Assistant Vice President Research, a Canada Research Chair in Food Protein Structure, and a Founding Member of the Food Institute. Dr. Yada is a Past President and Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology, Past President and Fellow of the International Academy of International Union of Food Science and Technology as well as a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists. Dave Smardon CEO, Bioenterprise Dave Smardon has a background in establishing, growing and financing technology-based companies. Early in his career, Dave held a variety of mid-to senior level positions with corporations including Texas Instruments and Apple Computer. In 1984, he began a career as an entrepreneur, establishing Learning Connections, an educational software company. In 1993, he founded Commcorp Technologies, providing technology outsourcing services and application software to financial and banking communities. In 2003 and in 2005, Dave became immersed in the agriculture industry, and then assumed the role of President and CEO of Bioenterprise Corporation. Raymond Szabada Founder and Chairman of the Board, SRCTec Raymond Szabada is the Chairman of the Board and Acting CEO of the Sumas Regional Consortium for High Tech (SRCTec), responsible for developing and driving forward the vision as related to tech-based economic and educational development of the east Fraser Valley region, with keen specific focus on innovation and agritech incubation. Additionally, he is a current and active member of the District of Mission Economic Development Board. As a seasoned tech entrepreneur, he is the President and CEO of Mission-based Systems and Data Integrator and Red Deer-based Polar Technologies, delivering software and damage prevention solutions to the pipeline industry. Timothy Kendrick President and Chief Designer, BW GLOBAL Structures Inc. As Chief Designer at BW GLOBAL, Timothy is responsible for the developing and evolving new Greenhouse structures and systems. He was directly responsible for the development of the BW FREEFLOW Greenhouse, a design that challenges the assumption that the Venlo design is the most effective and efficient design for commercial Greenhouses. He is also responsible for P a g e | 4 designing the first systems in the world that can pressurize and de-pressurize individual bays of a Greenhouse as well as a designing and patenting a system that crystalizes the dream of a 100 per cent sealed Greenhouse environment. Timothy’s work includes advising multi-billion dollar corporations, academic institutions, government and not-for-profit organizations on they can be more relevant to the rapidly evolving food-water-energy contexts for local communities around the world. He holds both a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia, Canada and a law degree from the University of Cambridge, England. Session 3: Zero Waste Jerry Keulen Owner, Seabreeze Farm Along with his wife and sons, Jerry Keulen operates Seabreeze Farm. They milk approximately 350 cows and also run an anaerobic digester with a nutrient recovery system. With the help of Jerry’s father and brother, Jerry and his family began farming in 1981 on a small rented farm in Surrey with 30 cows. In 1985, they moved to their current location in Delta and have steadily progressed to where they are today. During a visit to Europe, Jerry became aware of the benefits of an anaerobic digester and how it could fit very well into their operation. They had the good fortune of being chosen to be part of a biogas feasibility study in 2011 prepared for ARDCorp by CHFour Biogas. They pursued the possibilities and began operation of their renewable natural gas facility in January of 2015. Pamela Ambriz Director, New Product Development, Vitalus Nutrition Inc. Pamela has worked in the food industry for 19 years and is currently the Director of Product Strategy and Development at Vitalus Nutrition Inc. As Director of Product Strategy and Development, Pamela leads the implementation and execution of key projects including research, development and application of existing products. She oversees the creation of new products from concept to full scale production, and serves as liaison with Vitalus’ Operations, Quality Assurance and Sales teams. She is responsible for providing technical support to customers and other project stakeholders, and oversees the conduction of applied research and manages the Vitalus Innovation and Development Center (IDC). Pamela also maintains technical relationship with Universities and Food Technology Centers. Matt Dickson Managing Director, Hallbar Consulting Mathew Dickson is an experienced, resourceful and effective sustainability professional with over twelve years diverse renewable energy and waste management experience in industry, government and non-profits. With a strong background and keen interest in sustainable resource management, renewable energy, waste management and agriculture, and a proven track record in all aspects of project management, Mathew works with clients to maximize their renewable energy, waste management and agricultural opportunities, or overcome waste management challenges they may face. P a g e | 5 Chris Bush President, Catalyst Agri-Innovations Society Chris is a sustainable agriculture pioneer, responsible for taking the first biogas plant for agriculture in B.C. from concept to full operations. It stands as an example for all future digesters in North America as the first to deliver “biomethane” to a utility grid from a farm. Chris has a vision for Zero Waste Agriculture through his program called “Technology Meets Permaculture,” and has launched “Symbiosis Centre for Zero Waste Agriculture at Seabreeze Farms.” You can see 10 years of his life work in 12 minutes in a TEDx Talk called “Poop Soup and the Inevitable Global Movement.” Session 4: E-Commerce Suthamie Poologasingham Director, U.S. Marketing & Research, JC Williams Suthamie Poologasingham is the Director of Research and a Senior Advisor of E-commerce at J.C. Williams Group (JCWG). J.C. Williams Group is one of North America’s leading retail consultancies with 40 years of industry experience. Suthamie leads J.C. Williams Group’s RetailWATCH, providing syndicated research and intelligence on Canadian consumer shopping behavior, retail tends and global best-in-class