Meet the guest speakers for Beef 2008! Download up-to date agenda below.
 Download ILC Speaker Agenda (.pdf - 528kb)
 Lorne A. Babiuk
Vice President (Research) University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Biography
Lorne Babiuk joined the University of Alberta as Vice-President (Research) on July 1, 2007. Prior to moving to the University of Alberta, he spent 34 years as a Professor at the University of Saskatchewan. The majority of his term at the University of Saskatchewan was associated with building a very successful research institution - VIDO (Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization). Under Dr. Babiuk's leadership, VIDO became internationally recognized as a leader in novel vaccine development. In 2005, he completed a $19.4 million expansion of VIDO and just prior to his leaving VIDO, he successfully assembled the funding for the construction of a $110 million level three biocontainment facility for work on infectious diseases (InterVac).
In addition to being the Vice-President (Research) and former Director of VIDO, he serves as a member on numerous industrial and governmental scientific advisory boards and committees as well as acts as a consultant to numerous companies. He has mentored over 90 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and published over 500 peerreviewed manuscripts, 100 book chapters or reviews. Dr Babiuk is the holder of 28 issued patents and 18 patents pending. He is a fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the European Academy of Sciences as well as an Officer of the Order of Canada. In September 2007, Lorne Babiuk was named an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He is also the recipient of honorary Doctor of Science degrees from Colorado State University (2007) and University of Guelph (2008).
 Dr. David R. C Bailey, Ph.D.
President and CEO, Genome Alberta
Biography
Dr. Bailey obtained his Ph.D. in Genetics and Animal Breeding at the University of Alberta in 1985 and began his long and distinguished career with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada starting as a research scientist in Lethbridge, Alberta and was later appointed to management postings as Research Centre Director in Charlottetown P.E.I. and Lacombe, Alberta before his appointment as Director General in 2003. In that capacity, Dr. Bailey managed and directed National research programs in food safety, quality and processing which involved 270 staff members at 11 federal research centers across Canada and an annual budget of $20 million. Dr. Bailey also represented the Department on several external boards which are involved in prion research (BSE, CWD, vCJD), PrioNet (National Centre of Excellence located on UBC Campus), Alberta Prion Management (Alberta Ingenuity) and Agrivita, the Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture.
He has published more than 60 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has received several awards for excellence in research and transferring research into commercialization, including the CSAS's Young Scientist Award and IRAP's Federal Partners in Technology Transfer.
He has mentored and co-supervised several graduate students and post-doctoral fellows who have since moved on to positions in academia, industry and government.
Dr. Bailey joined Genome Alberta as the President and CEO in April 2006. He brings a wealth of knowledge in financial, human resources, and research management to Genome Alberta. His communications and leadership skills will take Genome Alberta to the forefront of the emerging Life-Sciences industries in Alberta and Canada. Current business plans include investments with British Columbia to sequence the Mountain Pine Beetle and leading a Pan Canadian effort in nutrigenomics. For 2008, two areas that are actively being developed include hyrdrocarbon metagenomics and Bioenergy.
 Glen Hodgson
Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist, The Conference Board of Canada
Biography
Glen Hodgson brings 26 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 Mission Possible: Stellar Canadian Performance in the Global Economy in January 2007, co-authored with Anne Park Shannon and available at www.conferenceboard.ca. Glen took the lead in launching the Board's International Trade and Investment Centre, and is in the midst of publishing a series of briefs 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 two sons. He spends leisure time coaching youth soccer and hockey.
 Bill Holbrook
Owner, Holbrook Consulting Services LLC
Biography
Bill Holbrook provides research and analysis services to The ProExporter Network including feasibility studies for ethanol start-up ventures as well as assisting agricultural businesses with strategic planning. Bill was raised on a diversified crop and livestock farm in north central Kansas. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics and a MBA in Finance from Kansas State University. While in college Bill worked for the Cooperative Extension Service conducting research on cooperative equity management and long term strategic financial planning. Bill worked for Farmland Industries for 13 years where he held various positions including Regional Marketing Manager, Region Grain Manager, and Director of Professional Business Services. Bill, his wife and four children reside in Kearney, MO, northeast of Kansas City.
 Dennis Laycraft
Executive Vice President, Canadian Cattlemen's Association
Biography
Dennis Laycraft was raised on a cattle ranch in southern Alberta and studied livestock production. He has been involved in beef cattle association work since 1981.
From 1981 to 1990, he was employed by the Alberta Cattle Commission and served as Manager for 6 years. During this time, Dennis was actively involved in the development of new markets for beef, new product development activities, and domestic promotion programs and was instrumental in the establishment of the Canada Beef Export Federation. He served as its first Executive Officer.
In June of 1990, Dennis was employed by the Canadian Cattlemen's Association as General Manager and in 1992 was promoted to Executive Vice President. With the CCA, Dennis has been instrumental in beef grading revisions and new technologies, and managed the successful defense of the industry against the RCALF countervail and anti-dumping investigations. Dennis serves as a leading spokeperson for the beef cattle industry on trade, product safety, and animal disease issues.
Dennis is also currently serving as Chair of the Canadian Beef Industry/Government Roundtable and a member of the industry technical advisory group on WTO negotiations.
Dennis has also served as:
- Chairman of the Regulations and Standards working group on the Agri-Food Competitiveness Task Force
- An Executive member of the Agri-Food Competitiveness Council.
- Chairman of the external advisory panel of the 1992 regulatory review conducted by Agriculture Canada
- Advisor to Canada's Auditor General's department on a number of food inspection and research matters.
- Facilitator for the Beef Industry Development Fund committee meetings and workshops.
 Andrea Mandel-Campbell
Author
Biography
Andrea Mandel-Campbell is the author of the celebrated new book, "Why Mexicans Don't Drink Molson," which takes a penetrating and unapologetic look at why Canadian companies fail to go global and why they must. A veteran business journalist, Mandel-Campbell spent close to a decade as a foreign correspondent in Latin America, where she was the Mexico bureau chief for London's Financial Times as well as working for Business Week magazine in Argentina. In Canada, she worked as a feature writer for the National Post, specializing in global competitiveness issues. In 2006 Mandel-Campbell won a media fellowship from the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada to travel to China and write about Canada-China business ties for Maclean's magazine. Andrea is currently a contributing editor to the Business News Network and her book has just been short-listed for the Writer's Trust Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.
 Joe Schwarcz
Director, McGill University, Office for Science and Society
Biography
Joe Schwarcz is Director of McGill University's "Office for Science and Society". He is well known for his informative and entertaining public lectures on topics ranging from the chemistry of love to the science of aging. Professor Schwarcz has received numerous awards for teaching chemistry and for interpreting science for the public. He is the only non-American ever to win the American Chemical Society's prestigious Grady-Stack Award for demystifying chemistry. He hosts "The Dr. Joe Show" on Montreal's CJAD and Toronto's CFRB and has appeared hundreds of times on The Discovery Channel, CTV, CBC, TV Ontario and Global Television. Dr. Schwarcz also writes a newspaper column entitled "The Right Chemistry" and has authored a number of books, "Radar, Hula Hoops and Playful Pigs," "The Genie in the Bottle," "That's The Way The Cookie Crumbles," "Dr. Joe And What You Didn't Know," "The Fly In The Ointment," "Let Them Eat Flax" and "An Apple A Day" a national #1 best-seller. He is also an amateur conjurer and often spices up his presentations with a little magic.
 Jay Truitt
President, Policy Solutions, LLC, Alexandria VA
Biography
For more than twenty years Jay Truitt has been a central figure in U.S. livestock and food industry public policy development.
In April of 2008, Truitt announced that he would take over the reins of Policy Solutions, LLC a Washington DC based firm that provides consulting and lobbying support for those that need solutions for issues related to trade, regulatory pressures and relationship building in the food and fiber sector worldwide.
Prior to that Truitt served as the Executive Vice President and then Vice President, Government Affairs, for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) for seven years and headed up NCBA public policy efforts through some of the most difficult times in recent history. He served as the lead lobbyist for the cattle industry during the 2002 Farm Bill and the resulting implementation of the law. Jay also served as the primary liaison between the industry and congressional members and staff during the US BSE crisis and later as the primary connection between the beef industry and the current US Administration.
From 1995 to 2000 Truitt served as both the Executive Director/CEO of the Missouri Cattlemen's Association and CEO of Missouri's Cattlemen Foundation. Prior to his direct Cattlemen's experience he provided market development and policy expertise for clients across a broad spectrum of the food, fiber and beverage industry.
Prior to his direct involvement in public policy development, Truitt managed a number of activities for his families' diversified livestock operations that operate in the US and Mexico. Also during this time he hosted one the US's most listened to agriculture radio programs.
Jay received a BA in Communications from the United States Air Force, and completed the international studies program while serving in Europe. He has served in number of leadership roles in US agriculture.
 Brad Wildeman
President, Canadian Cattlemen's Association
Biography
Brad Wildeman, along with his wife Cheri and three children, lives in the Lanigan, Saskatchewan area. They operate a feedlot and grain operation.
Brad is involved with many agricultural organizations. He is a past director of National Pig Development and the Saskatchewan Cattle Feeders Association. He is a director of the Agricultural Development Fund, director of the Advisory Committee to Beef Chair, University of Saskatchewan, and a director with Canadian Renewable Fuels. Brad is also a director with the Saskatchewan Stock Grower's Association and President of Pound Maker Agventures Limited.
Brad has been actively involved with the Canadian Cattlemen's Association since 1998. He was elected President of the CCA in March 2008. He is past chair the Foreign Trade Committee. He was a strong voice promoting the interests of Canadian cattle producers at the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in Cancun in 2003 and in Hong Kong in December 2005. He participates in the Five Nations Beef Conference, working with the national beef producer organizations of Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, and the United States to coordinate efforts to eliminate non-scientific and political trade restrictions. In addition, Brad chaired the contingency planning working group of the CCA and was instrumental in working with government to develop strategies to assist producers throughout the BSE crisis. Brad is also a past-Chair of Canfax.
 Christopher Wolf
Director, Strategic Innovation
The Turover Straus Group
www.foodinnervation.com
Biography
Chris Wolf is a widely quoted authority on consumer and food industry trends. For more than 19 years as a food consultant, he has been uncovering emerging opportunities based on consumer needs and helping marketers like PepsiCo, Tyson Foods, Nestle, Sara Lee, McDonald's, Subway and Starbucks Coffee to anticipate and capitalize on these trends. In addition to immersing companies in growth-driven insights, Chris also is skilled at adapting and facilitating group processes to drive strategy and innovation for his clients.
Throughout his career, Wolf has developed consumer trend-tracking models, strategic planning templates and invented interactive and energetic brainstorming sessions that feed innovation pipelines for marketing companies. He is now applying those skills to create new innovative processes for his clients at The Turover Straus Group.
A graduate of the prestigious Kellogg business school, Wolf currently teaches Consumer Behavior and Marketing classes at Drury University. His trend-oriented insights can also be found on his weblog at www.thefoodscout.com.
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