CANADA BEEF INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Export Market Development
Albert is responsible for managing Canada Beef's Export Market Development Programs and Emerging and Global Markets portfolios.
Prior to joining Canada Beef, Albert was Manager of International Market Development with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry for six years. In this role Albert and his team supported Alberta agriculture and food companies to identify export opportunities and assist in expanding their sales internationally through various export market development initiatives.
Prior to joining Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Albert devoted 21 years of his career operating his own business that promoted and coordinated the export of Canadian livestock genetics and livestock production technologies, successfully developing new business, and selling these products worldwide with specific emphasis on the Asian and Latin American regions.
Albert was born and raised on a mixed livestock and crop farm in Southern Alberta and has been involved with the Alberta and Canadian Agriculture industries for his entire career.
Albert has a Bachelor of Management degree with a Major in Marketing from the University of Lethbridge.
After completing a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Victoria in 2011, Cameron relocated to Australia where he began his culinary career and developed a keen interest for agriculture. It was while working in horticulture in Northern Queensland that Cameron developed a deep appreciation for the way food goes from farm-to-fork.
Upon returning home, he attended the Culinary Institute of Vancouver Island and furthered his skills working in Canadian restaurants from Tofino to Montreal.
Cameron joined Canada Beef in 2018 as the Centre Chef of the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence. In his current role of Culinary and Innovation Manager, Cameron leverages his passion for Canadian beef from the aspects of culinary, butchery and multi-media.
Job Titles:
- Director, Market Development Mexico and Latin America
Claudia has been an integral part of Canada Beef's team since 2004 when the organization established its footprint in Mexico.
Ms Herrera-Blanc obtained her B.Sc. in Business Administration at the Technological Institute of Higher Studies of Monterrey . Her role with Canada Beef has evolved from operations early in her career where she managed resources of Canadian Beef producers, to becoming instrumental to Canada Beef's business and market development team.
As a business developer, Claudia has led the development of the Hispanic communications platform for Canada Beef and she has also led brand marketing partnerships and strategic alliances with Mexico's Foodservice industry; projects that have been conducive at positioning the Canadian Beef Brand by its world class attributes within Mexico's white tablecloth operations.
Job Titles:
- Director, Market Development / Canada Beef International Institute Inc.
Canada Beef and the Canadian Beef Check-off Agency are pleased to announce that Eric Bienvenue will
Erika is an experienced operations coordinator who joined Canada Beef in 2014 and recently rejoined in 2023. With a strong background in customer service and administration in the hospitality industry, she brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her role.
Fareen Jadavji-Jessa has been blogging over at Food Mamma (foodmamma.com) for over ten years. Her blog focuses on food, family, travel and lifestyle. While Fareen was born and raised in Calgary, her mom was born in Mumbai, India and her dad in Moshi, Tanzania. The food of her childhood reflected both Indian and East African dishes.
Food has always been an integral part, especially when it came to big family gatherings. She lives in Chestermere with her husband and her two sons.
Job Titles:
- Director, Stakeholder Communications
Gina transitioned to public relations following a successful career in journalism that concluded with a nine-year stint as a business writer producing award-winning copy for a leading Canadian daily newspaper. She landed her first communications job at a national producer association in Canada's beef industry more than a decade ago and has never looked back, finding the dynamic nature and international scope of the work to her liking.
Gina is a strategic communications professional and experienced in government and stakeholder relations and advocacy, media relations, storytelling, brand and reputation management, and issues and crisis management.
Gina has a Journalism Diploma and a Basic Public Relations Certificate from Mount Royal College in Calgary (now Mount Royal University). In 2019 Gina earned the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) designation from the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS). She is a board member for CPRS Calgary. A lifelong learner, Gina is pursuing certification in nonprofit management.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Market Development
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Consumer Marketing
Joyce has worked in PR, marketing services and consumer content creation and promotions professionally for over 20 years, through positions at Nestlé Canada, Foodland Ontario and Beef Information Centre. Joyce represents the consumer voice in our marketing and communication strategies and campaigns, in both branded and generic beef initiatives.
Job Titles:
- Director of Health
- Director, Health & Nutrition
Karine is the Director of Health and Nutrition, responsible for the development and management of Canada Beef's nutrition strategy in line with the current science, industry needs and nutrition trends. She will also be responsible for education and communication initiatives with health and food professionals, food and nutrition students, thought leaders and consumers.
Karine has over 25 years' experience as a dietitian. She spent the first part of her career in healthcare, as a Food Service Director for a large hospital, as well as head office roles at both Cara Operations and Compass Group where she was responsible for developing and overseeing nutrition portfolios. She has worked in the Canadian beef industry over the last 10 years, first as a staff member for Canada Beef (from 2010 to 2015) and then in a consulting capacity. Karine is a graduate of the University of Guelph's Human Nutrition program and dietetic internship at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and a member of the College of Dietitians of Ontario.
Job Titles:
- Director, Canadian Beef Information Gateway
Kelly has over 25 years of combined strategic planning, communications, marketing, and project management experience. Prior to joining Canada Beef, Kelly's career was in the communications field where she worked in multiple sectors both in public and private industry. She also managed and owned her own consulting firm for over a decade. The company specialized in branding and developing strategic communication, marketing, and business plans.
Kelly enjoys collaborating with and bringing together various and diverse stakeholders to work toward achieving a common goal. Kelly has a degree from the University of Calgary, a diploma from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and most recently earned a graduate certificate in Values-Based Leadership from Royal Roads University. She is also an Accredited Business Communicator through the International Association of Business Communicators.
Kelly's role as the Director, Canadian Beef Information Gateway, is to oversee the planning, implementation, and promotion of multiple platforms for the Gateway. To accomplish this, she works closely with other Canada beef teams including, channel marketing, digital marketing, consumer marketing and the Canadian Beef Center of Excellence. This role aligns with Kelly's passion for food sustainability and security.
Mark Klassen is the Executive Vice President responsible for global, domestic consumer, channel and generic marketing and the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence activities as part of the Global Marketing Team bringing increased alignment and synergy to these functions.
Mark has 30 years experience in the Canadian meat and livestock industry including roles in livestock genetics and meat processing as well as positions with the Canada Beef Export Federation, Beef Information Centre and the Canadian Cattle Association. He has also provided consulting services in support of producer owned beef brands.
Mark grew up in a rural community and has a passion for agriculture and the people who serve Canada in this capacity.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence
As a young child, Mathieu Paré landed in Calgary, Alberta from the wilds of northern Quebec and immediately set off exploring. From the eastern slopes to the Cypress Hills, the boreal forest to the U.S. border, he foraged the landscape for edible plants and animals, eventually crossing the Rockies and the Strait of Georgia in pursuit of new food experiences. Now a Governor General Award winner and professional chef, Mathieu brings a passion for all things culinary and an expertise in fine dining to the table.
Trained in Western Canada's most demanding kitchens (La Chaumière, Rouge, Quail's Gate Estate Winery, CP Rail's The Royal Canadian Pacific, The Wickaninnish Inn), Mathieu's focus is on classic technique and execution while maintaining some freedom for surprise, fusion and one-of-a-kind creativity.
As a young chef, Mathieu travelled extensively to develop his palate and diversify his repertoire. Sharing his food knowledge and travel experiences from across Canada, in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Mathieu builds on a platform for exploration of local and exotic ingredients.
Mathieu is now with Canada Beef as Director of the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence. In this role, Mathieu leads a team creating opportunity and competitiveness for Canadian beef globally through successfully engaging clients across Canada and around the world to build understanding of the Canadian beef brand and drive demand.
Job Titles:
- Director, Technical Services
Mauricio is responsible for the technical services function, supporting Canada Beef in all matters related to recent meat industry developments and working in liaison with the scientific research community. He is proactively monitoring recent technological innovations while networking with key stakeholders and other industry associations to address current issues and challenges. The total focus is on the Food Safety, Beef Quality and Regulatory affairs of the beef value chain.
In Canada, Mauricio has worked in diverse technical roles for the cattle and meat industry for the last twenty years. His experience includes management responsibilities in the quality and technical services functions for Cargill, Canada Beef Export Federation, the Canadian Beef and Breeds Council, IdentiGEN and BHJ Canada Meat Products Inc.
After finishing his undergraduate education in Colombia, Mauricio completed his Master of Science degree at the École Nationale Supérieure des Industries Agricoles et Alimentaires (ENSIA) in France, with applied research for agricultural development in South America.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Finance and Operations
Michael is responsible for implementing and managing corporate financial and risk management systems for both the domestic and international operations. This includes policies and procedures that manage the day-to- day business and finances of the organization. In collaboration with the CB business development and brand teams, he and his team continually focus on finding ways of creating value for money for producers' check off dollars and import levies in CB marketing programs.
He joined CB in 2011 following the merger of the Beef Information Centre, Canada Beef Export Federation and the National Check-Off Agency. Prior to joining CB, Michael worked in accounting practice with BDO Dunwoody in Penticton and Kelowna, BC and was Chief Financial Officer for a first nation in northern Alberta.
Michael is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK). He was born in Africa, lived in Europe for 5 years and has lived in Canada since 2007. In Canada, he has lived in or visited 7 provinces and 1 territory. QC, NF and Nunavut are on his bucket list.
Michael Young is the President of Canada Beef and he brings broad expertise in domestic and global business development, brand and strategic leadership. Michael has worked in the Canadian red meat industry for over 39 year specializing in beef, veal and pork sales, marketing, product development and education in both the domestic and export marketplace.
During his professional career, Michael has promoted Canadian beef, veal and pork in more than 25 countries and conducted over 300 carcass cutting, merchandising and sausage making demonstrations. He has authored numerous technical cutting and buying manuals, guides, merchandising resources and financial yield and performance analysis tools for the Canadian red meat industry.
Michael leads all aspects of Canada Beef's domestic and international market development and promotion efforts, including strategic business planning, program development, performance measurement and reporting and human resource management.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Digital Marketing
Michele leads Canada Beef's digital marketing programs. Michele has over 25 years of experience managing projects in consumer relationship marketing, content creation, media, TV production and digital programs. Michele started her career within the Kraft Kitchens at Kraft Canada.
Michele is skilled at website, social and email content planning and execution. She is grounded in understanding how consumers interact with digital platforms and thus is able to effectively deliver content marketing plans that not only meet business and brand objectives but also delight and engage the consumer.
Michele's role is to connect consumers and producers to the Canadian Beef brand story through strategic, collaborative, consistent and authentic content on all social and digital channels and in doing so, builds trust and an appreciation for Canadian Beef.
Job Titles:
- Vietnam - Marketing Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Culinary Multi - Hyphenate a Former Head
Phillip Walters is a culinary multi-hyphenate; a former head chef, current Private Chef, food stylist, and catering chef in boutique, private catered events. He specializes in both traditional and progressive cooking techniques.
His events are customized from top to bottom to serve the needs of his individual clients. Phil has catered private events for distinguished VIP's all over the GTA, private parties in Muskoka and for high-end clients in the Arctic, as well as internationally in places like Turks and Caicos. Phil trained at Canada's finest restaurants, including, Scaramouche, The Harbord Room, Momofuku, Buca, The Food Dudes and Joey.
Job Titles:
- China - Manager, Operations China
- Manager Operations, China
Rachel has joined to Canada Beef Inc. since 2007 for more than 10 years and worked for the office administrative and finance operations. With her great expertise, she is not only managed daily finance and operation works, but also take in charge of the challenge for maintaining in the roles of program managements, executions of brand licensing, and various supports of individual marketing initiatives in the region. She devoted her enthusiasm and career to Canadian beef industry with long term loyalty and efforts to communicate the brand and strategies among the clients and consumers in the China market. The working experience of marketing in last company Lucent Technology gave her solid background which led her to be capable of the work in brand new industry within short time.
Raquel Fox grew up in The Bahamas where she learned to love the nuances of traditional island cooking from her grandmother. Always a seeker for knowledge, she attended international schools where she catalogued authentic family recipes from a melting pot of friends from all over the globe. Her passion for food and travel soon led to the establishment of Raquel and her husband's restaurant, The Wine Lounge, which USA Today voted as one of the 10 Best Bahamian Lounges.
Raquel had a wider vision. After moving to Canada, she studied at The Chef School at George Brown College in Toronto, where she explored all aspects of cooking, food culture and international cuisine.She now teaches her own Caribbean Cooking Course at the college, in addition to attending events as a motivational speaker. Raquel is the author of Dining in Paradise, a media personality, and a Cityline Expert that also appears regularly on Breakfast Television Toronto.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Corporate Affairs
For the past 25 years, Ron Glaser has been a communications professional specializing in the agriculture and agri-food sector. In July 2011, he became VP, Corporate Affairs and Operations for the newly formed Canada Beef. Prior to that, he was Executive Director of Communications and Public Affairs for the Beef Information Centre and also has served as Communications Manager with the Alberta Beef Producers.
Ron and his team of marketing and communications professionals oversee consumer and stakeholder communications, media relations, public affairs and operations for Canada Beef. He is also a member of the Executive Leadership Team which sets the organization's direction in the execution of the strategic plan and business plan. Ron graduated from Mount Royal College in Calgary with a diploma in public relations.
Sage Watson is from Medicine Hat, Alberta and was raised on a beef farm. She is an Olympic track and field athlete, making her first Olympic debut in 2016. Sage is excited to share her love for eating beef as part of a wholesome and well-rounded diet to increase performance and help with physical recovery.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Channel Marketing
Shelby VanSickle is responsible for leading Canada's domestic beef marketing strategy for increasing demand, client confidence and competitive position in the Canadian marketplace.
Shelby brings relevant experience in market research and analytics, brand management and strategic communications. Prior to joining Canada Beef, Shelby worked as a Brand Manager at Canada's largest privately-held specialty food distributor, where she honed her skills in project execution and client satisfaction. Additionally, Shelby previously worked on projects for Canada Beef related to market intelligence across various sectors of the industry.
Shelby holds a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Marketing Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, and a Master of Science in Strategic Marketing Communications from Fordham University.
Shelby enjoys continual learning and collaborating with others, as well as a plethora of sports (she can often be found with a hockey stick, lacrosse stick, or softball bat in hand).
Job Titles:
- Japan - Senior Manager, Operations
Job Titles:
- Merchandising Manager, Channel Marketing
- New Merchandising Manager
Todd Van Eyk is the new Merchandising Manager on the Channel Marketing team.
Todd is responsible for managing Canada Beef's merchandising-related initiatives for the domestic market. He has significant experience developing video content, and one of his first projects will be to work with the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence to develop video and other content for the Wholesale edition of the Canadian Beef Information Gateway. This initiative will support personnel at retail and foodservice by providing guidance around beef merchandising.
He brings over 20 years of meat retail, merchandising and sales experience with companies such as Sobeys and JBS Canada. Van Eyk's passion for the product, significant meat industry experience, and technical skills will be a strong asset for the Channel portfolio as well as other key functional areas at Canada Beef.
A graduate of Niagara College's Sales and Marketing program, Van Eyk is based in Canada Beef's Mississauga office.
Job Titles:
- South Korea - Marketing Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Japan - Associate Director
Yuko started to work for Canadian Beef in April 1999. At first, she was in charge of accounting and office operation and in 2013 she became Marketing Manager. Yuko focuses on marketing and branding of Canadian beef in Japan market through relationships with the meat industry people such as retailer, food-service, distributor and importer. She aims that Japanese consumers can eat and buy Canadian beef anytime and anywhere in Japan.