Stan Blade
Chief Executive Officer, Alberta Innovates - Bio Solutions, Edmonton, Alberta

Biography

Dr. Stan Blade is the Chief Executive Officer of the Alberta Innovates - Bio Solutions Corporation (AI-Bio). The new Corporation (www.albertainnovates.ca/bio) will invest in innovation which delivers value to Alberta's agriculture and forestry sectors, and to all Albertans. AI-Bio will work with all stakeholders in the research-development continuum to provide strategic leadership and investment to create prosperous and sustainable agriculture and forestry industries. The new Bio Solutions Corporation builds on the activities of the Alberta Agricultural Research Institute, the Alberta Forestry Research Institute, the Alberta Life Sciences Research Institute and the Alberta Prion Research Institute. Dr. Blade is also an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Alberta. Dr. Blade has published 70+ research articles, ten book chapters, 140+ conference abstracts and has edited four books. Dr. Blade's expertise has been recognized through his invitations to participate in research reviews conducted by the European Union, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. Dr. Blade is a Board Member of the CHF - Partners in Rural Development (an international NGO).

Jack Hayden
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Edmonton, Alberta

Biography

Jack Hayden was elected to his second term as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the constituency of Drumheller-Stettler on March 3, 2008 and currently serves as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Previously, Mr. Hayden served as Minister of Infrastructure. Prior to running for provincial office, Mr. Hayden held various municipal government positions, including county councillor and reeve for the county of Stettler. Mr. Hayden has also served as director of the central district of the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties and in 1998 was elected president of the association, a position he held until his retirement from municipal politics in 2004.

Other appointments include:

• Representing rural and remote Canadian communities on the Prime Minister's External Advisory Committee on Cities and Communities
• Representing rural interests on advisory boards in Alberta
• Serving on the board of directors of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, where he held the position of national chairman of the transportation and communication committee and served as an environment committee member.

In 2002 Mr. Hayden was awarded the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for service to his community and country, and in June 2006 he was placed on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Roll of Honour. Mr. Hayden lives on a farm near Endiang and has three children.

Glen Hodgson
Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist, The Conference Board of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario

Biography

Glen Hodgson brings 28 years of experience and a specialization in international economic and financial issues to the position of Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist of The Conference Board of Canada. Mr. Hodgson is responsible for overseeing the Board's macro-economic outlook products, tourism, custom research and conferences programs. He is the Board's chief spokesperson on economic issues, has written extensively on Canadian and international economic and financial issues, and is bilingual. He plays a central role in enhancing the Board's public policy analysis. He published Getting the Balance Right: The Oil Sands, Exporting and Sustainability, with Len Coad, in January 2010. He is the editor of the briefing series "Lessons from the Recession and Financial Crisis" and authored two of the briefings. Glen took the lead in launching the Board's International Trade and Investment Centre, and has publishing over 100 articles and briefings, including a series on Canadian tax reform for sustainable prosperity. Mr. Hodgson joined the Board in September 2004, after 10 years at Export Development Canada (EDC), were he held several senior positions including Vice President of Policy and Deputy Chief Economist. He also spent 10 years with the federal Department of Finance. From 1984 to 1988, Mr. Hodgson served as Advisor/Assistant to the Executive Director for Canada, Ireland and the Caribbean at the International Monetary Fund. Mr. Hodgson has an M.A. in Economics from McGill University and also pursued Ph.D. studies at McGill. He resides in Ottawa with his wife and younger of two sons, and spends leisure time coaching youth soccer and cycling.

Rupert Claxton
Consultant, Gira Research & Consultancy, GIRA, E. Sussex, UK

Biography

Rupert has worked as strategy consultant in the food sector for Gira for the last 7 years, with a high level of specialization in global meat markets. Gira has a huge meat sector database, insight and intelligence network, having regularly forecast on macro and micro developments for over 30 years. Rupert has for the last 6 years produced the Far East sector of the annual Gira Meat Club report, as well as Gira's Long Term Meat report and forecasts on the EU, Asia and North America. His other work recently has included European studies on the beef & sheep meat industries, processed meat production, meat in retail and global salmon production and trade. Rupert's personal background in UK agriculture affords him a balanced outlook on the increasingly globalizing meat industry. Between the commercial drivers that control the processing industry and the complex cultural heritage that farming has evolved from

Chandler Keys
Government Affairs, JBS, Washington, D.C.

Biography

Chandler Keys has been with JBS in governmental Affairs from January 2005 to present. Previously, Chandler was employed with National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Washington, D.C. as Vice President Government and Industry Relations. Chandler received his education from the University of Maryland and resides in Washington, D.C.

Travis Toews
President Canadian Cattlemen's Association (CCA), President Melbern Holdings, Grande Prairie, Alberta

Biography

Involved with the Canadian Cattlemen's Association (CCA) since 2005, Travis Toews now serves as President, Foreign Trade Committee Chair and sits on the Domestic Agriculture and Policy Regulation, plus Value Creation and Competitiveness committees. Living near Grande Prairie, Alberta, Travis and his wife operate Melbern Holdings - a ranching operation that is home to 700 mother cows and between 1,000 - 1,500 yearlings. Along with the cow-calf, yearling operation, Travis backgrounds approximately 1,200 head. Passionate about ensuring the industry's competitiveness at all levels from domestic to international, Travis serves in both areas. His industry contributions include considerable work for his provincial association, the Alberta Beef Producers, plus until recently serving as a director with the Canada Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA).

Brad Wildeman
Past President Canadian Cattlemen's Association (CCA) and President of Pound-Maker Agventures Ltd., Lanigan, Saskatchewan

Biography

Elected President of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association (CCA) in 2008, for more than 10 years Brad Wildeman has served the CCA in various capacities including Vice-President, and chairing its Foreign Trade Committee, the Value Creation and Competitiveness Committee, plus CanFax Research. At home in Saskatchewan, Brad is the President of Pound-Maker Agventures Ltd. - a 28,500 head, one-time capacity cattle finishing operation, and a 13-million-litre ethanol facility. A strong promoter of the Canadian cattle industry's international interests, Brad serves as an advisor to Canada's Minister of Agriculture, Gerry Ritz, as a member of the Beef Value Chain Roundtable. He's also heavily involved with the agriculture sector in his home-province of Saskatchewan, helping to revitalize its rural economy while serving on a provincial action committee. In recognition of Brad's significant contributions to growing and diversifying Canada's agriculture sector and livestock industry, he received the Governor General of Canada's Award, the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal and in 2008, was inducted into the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame.

Scott Entz
Vice President/General Manager of Cargill Beef Business Unit, Cargill Foods, High River, Alberta

Biography

Scott Entz has spent his entire career of over 22 years, with Cargill and in various roles within the meat industry in North America. His formal education is as an Agriculture Engineer and has spent his earlier career with Cargill leading construction projects to expand Cargill's beef processing capabilities, including finishing up the construction of the High River facility and creating/leading the engineering/Rendering/Maintenance for the first 3 years of facility's operations. Throughout his career, Scott has been fortunate to have the opportunity to lead a couple of Cargill's beef facilities, Cargill's further processed red meat business, as well as Cargill Meat's Information technology and Engineering teams. Scott has been at Cargill High River for about 2 years.

Glen Price
Sunterra Quality Food Markets Inc., Calgary, Alberta

Biography

Glen Price grew up on his family's mixed grain and livestock farm in rural Alberta northeast of Calgary. He is a Bachelor of Commerce graduate from the University of Alberta. Upon graduation, he gained retail food experience working in Hong Kong for the Park n' Shop supermarket group (part of the Li Kai Shing Group). In 1989, Glen returned to Canada to pioneer a unique European-style fresh market concept along with other members of his family. The first Sunterra Market location opened in Calgary in 1990. The company has grown to 7 Sunterra Market locations in Calgary and 2 in Edmonton with two of these market locations being opened since 2009. The Sunterra Group has built their business by producing, processing and marketing food products of unmatched quality. With strong roots in primary agriculture, Sunterra has been a consistent innovator in various sectors of the local and international food industry.

James Bo Reagan, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President Research, Education & Innovation, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Centennial, Colorado

Biography

Dr. Reagan grew up on a diversified livestock operation in Lampasas, Texas. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University where he received his BS, MS and Ph.D. in Animal Science/Meat Science. Dr. Reagan attained the rank of Professor of Meat Science at the University of Georgia where he authored or co-authored over 125 scientific publications. In 1991, he joined a predecessor organization of The National Cattlemen's Beef Association as director of beef research. During his tenure with NCBA he has developed and implemented the National Beef Instrument Assessment Plan, Customer Satisfaction studies, Microbial Mapping studies, NCBA's Carcass Merit studies and the Beef Industry's E. coli Summit. He also led the development of the Beef Industry Food Safety Council (BIFSCo) and currently serves as the Chairman for this industry group. Reagan also serves as the chairman of the International Stockmen's Education Foundation. In March of 2008, Dr. Reagan was named Senior Vice President for the Research, Education and Innovation department at NCBA.

Jeffrey Simpson
Globe and Mail's National Affairs Columnist, Toronto, Ontario

Biography

As the Globe and Mail's national affairs columnist since 1984, Jeffrey Simpson knows domestic and international issues. He has won the Governor General's award for non-fiction writing, the National Magazine Award for political writing and the National Newspaper Award for column writing. He has also won the Hyman Solomon Award for excellence in public policy journalism. Simpson's views have been published in Saturday Night; Report on Business Magazine, The Journal of Canadian Studies and The Queen's Quarterly. He has lectured at Oxford, Edinburgh, Harvard, Princeton, Brigham Young, Johns Hopkins, Maine, California, and more than a dozen universities in Canada. His books include Discipline of Power, Spoils of Power, Faultlines: Struggling For a Canadian Vision, The Anxious Years, Star-Spangled Canadians and The Friendly Dictatorship. He co-authored his newest book Hot Air: Meeting Canada's Climate Change Challenge. Jeffrey Simpson regularly contributes to television and radio programs in both official languages and is a sought-after speaker at major conferences in Canada and abroad.