Canadian Agri-Food in a Value-Added World

Wayne Arsenault is the CEO of Avena Foods, a specialty miller partnering with farmers to deliver value-added oat and pulse ingredients to food and beverage manufacturers worldwide. With more than 30 years of experience in the food, beverage and consumer products industries, Wayne has held senior leadership roles with Coca-Cola Canada, Molson Coors, Big Rock Brewery and Corey Nutrition.

A strategic and innovative leader, Wayne has a proven track record of driving transformational change, building high-performing cultures and delivering sustainable business growth. At Avena Foods, he is focused on advancing innovation, expanding value-added processing capabilities, strengthening customer partnerships and accelerating the company’s growth in functional and allergen-free food ingredients.

Joe Dales has gained 40+ years of agriculture industry experience beginning his career in sales, marketing and management, working with leading companies such as Pfizer, First Line Seeds, Cyanamid Crop Protection and NK Syngenta Seeds.

In 1997, he co-founded with his wife Sandra, www.AgCareers.com, in 1998, he co-founded Farms.com, where he helped grow the business for 20 years. In 2019, he co-founded agtech venture capital firm, RHA Ventures Inc. and has made more than 35 investments and continues to support entrepreneurs with hands on, experienced business mentoring.  Joe works directly with leading agtech startups like: Haggerty AgRobotics, , StrongBo Agritech, Vetson.ai, Turnkey Genomics, Farm Health Guardian, Nexus Robotics, The AgRobotics Working Group and Innovation Farms Ontario.  Joe has been involved in successfully launching over 50 agri and food tech innovations.

Joe has gained extensive corporate governance board experience with several companies such as Canterra Seeds, Western Fair Association and CAAIN.

Sangeeta Lalli is the Public Policy Director at TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods. Sangeeta specializes in public affairs, advocacy campaigns, policy analysis and development in the agriculture and agri-food sectors. At TELUS Agriculture, she works with industry, government and academia to create more opportunities for deploying technology in the agriculture sector. Sangeeta leverages over a decade of private sector, government, and advocacy experience in her work.

Previously, Sangeeta was a Policy and Communications Advisor to the federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food, supporting the development of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership and Canada’s negotiations in CUSMA. She also served as the British Columbia Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada where she provided insights to senior government leaders on issues of significance to British Columbians, and coordinated federal responses to emerging issues in the province.

Michael Del Ciancio is a third-generation greenhouse grower and co-owner/operator of DC Farms in Kingsville, Ontario, the heart of Canada’s greenhouse vegetable sector — supplying fresh vegetables to national retailers across the country. A systems thinker and advocate for sustainable agriculture, Michael’s work extends beyond the farm: from local council to greenhouse policy and water quality, he brings a practical, solutions-oriented mindset to guiding the CEA sector forward and building bridges between business, community, and government.

Bill Hurley currently serves as Vice President, Global Gov’t Affairs with the AGCO Corp., a global leader in the design, manufacture, and distribution of agricultural machinery and precision ag technology. Born and raised in central Texas, Bill earned a B.S. in Mechanized Agriculture from Texas A&M University and holds a Master of Business Administration from Emory University.
Mr. Hurley has extensive experience in the farm equipment industry with over 30 years in various sales, marketing, aftersales, customer support and dealer management positions. Bill began his career in the agricultural equipment industry with the John Deere Company where he spent over 20 years prior to joining the AGCO Corporation in 2009. He most recently held the position of Vice President, Distribution, Americas at AGCO.
Throughout his career he has been active in various local, regional, and national agricultural-related organizations. Bill currently serves as a board member of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and past Chair of the AEM Ag Sector Board, BOD of the Georgia Agribusiness Council, and BOD of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.
Bill is based out of AGCO’s global corporate headquarters in Duluth, Georgia.

Ted Bilyea retired as Executive Vice-President, Maple Leaf Foods Inc., having spent a very successful 35 years with the same company. Mr. Bilyea is an Agri-food consultant specializing in innovation with clients in both private and public sector.

Prior to becoming Executive Vice President of the parent company, Maple Leaf Foods Inc., Mr. Bilyea held the position of President of Maple Leaf Foods International, from 1995 to 2004. Earlier in his career with the antecedent company Canada Packers Ltd., Mr. Bilyea led teams that pioneered the export of chilled beef from Canada and was the first in North America to export chilled pork to Asia. Under his leadership Maple Leaf Foods became one of the largest exporters of food in Canada.

Mr. Bilyea holds a B.A. (Hons.) and an M.A. in International Relations from York University and is the past recipient of the H.R. MacMillan Laureate in Agriculture from the University of Guelph and was inducted into the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2018.

He has served on a number of corporate, government and university boards.

Ted has an extensive global network in the agri-food space and frequently does keynote presentations in Canada and abroad. He is a Distinguished Fellow with the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute an organization he previously chaired for several years.

Craig is the Manager of Thought Leadership at FCC. His insights guide corporate strategy and identify opportunities where FCC can influence change to help the agriculture and food industry maximize its potential. In addition to acting as an FCC spokesperson on forward-looking opportunities, Craig provides industry commentary through blogs, white papers and social media.

During his more than 15 years at FCC, Craig has led the Economics and Portfolio Risk Management teams. He has been a keynote speaker on trends impacting the agriculture and food industry, led initiatives on forecasting the operating environment, and monitored portfolio health and financial health trends. Prior to joining FCC, Craig worked with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. Craig has a master’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Saskatchewan.

Dr. Jessica Agnew is the Director of the Global Agricultural Productivity (GAP) Initiative and Associate Director of CALS Global at Virginia Tech, where she provides strategic leadership to global partnerships, applied research, and advocacy efforts focused on accelerating sustainable agricultural productivity growth. She serves as the managing editor of the annual GAP Report and is leading the development of a next-generation decision-support platform to provide actionable insights to policymakers, investors, and industry leaders worldwide. Her work bridges policy, business, and innovation to translate evidence into action across agri-food systems, with deep experience engaging public, private, and multilateral partners. Dr. Agnew holds a PhD in Planning, Governance, and Globalization and a Master of Public Health from Virginia Tech, and advanced degrees in agricultural economics from the University of Guelph.

Tom Ogaranko leads transformational change with high performing teams focused on complex challenges. Over his 26-year career, he has founded, built and exited multiple technology companies in advanced technology industries. He has advised the Governments of Canada and France and several Canadian Provincial Governments on innovation policy and has been involved in structuring the three crown agencies involved in research, innovation and technology development. Tom has assembled and structured $1B of investment funds for stimulating and growing innovative capacity for public and private clients. Tom is a frequent advisor to the Government on policies to grow ICT, biotechnology, genomics and cleantech sectors. Tom has also actively advised some of the leading innovative companies in Canada’s pharmaceutical, energy, mining, telecommunications and technology sectors.

Tom is presently involved in the development of a test and demonstration centre in Edmonton for bio industrial innovations, advises the Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre in Vancouver on its Industrial Challenge Program advancing pre-commercial innovations to market faster and serves as the Chief Innovation Officer for TrustBIX, a Canadian Agrifood Traceability and Sustainability company, with operations in Canada, USA, Mexico and China.

Tom is a Practitioner for the Challenge Dialogue System® (CDS®) Network — http://www.challengedialoguesystem.net/. The CDS Network is a community of practitioners – a community of practice – that is trained, accredited and have the rights to use the CDS® methodology for their own professional work or offer it as a service to their own clients. The CDS Network is overseen by a Practice Council that provides guidance to the Network on foundational values and principles, learning, accreditation, and the evolution of CDS. The Network also develops and makes available marketing and practice support materials. The Practice Council includes Keith (Victoria), Tom Ogaranko (Edmonton) and Don Simpson (Toronto).

As vice-president of Programs and Partnerships, Santiago Alba-Corral provides leadership, vision and strategic direction for IDRC’s research programming and partnerships. He oversees the development and implementation of program strategies and priorities in a manner that encourages sound stewardship of public funds and resources and contributes to the effective achievement of IDRC’s Strategy 2030.

Prior to his role as vice-president, Alba-Corral was the director of IDRC’s Climate-Resilient Food Systems program, overseeing research to build equitable, inclusive, healthy and sustainable food systems in the Global South. Previously, he was the senior director of international development at CARE Canada and served as the technical and research director at Action contre la Faim in Montreal.

He holds an Executive Diploma in Strategy and Innovation from the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, a master’s degree in international agriculture and rural development from Cornell University in the United States and a bachelor degree in agriculture engineering from the University of La Rioja in Spain.

Mehnaz Tabassum is the CEO of FOOD FORWARD and NL Eats, a nonprofit leader, entrepreneur, AI strategist, and ecosystem builder dedicated to advancing innovation, youth empowerment, and the future of food systems. Through her leadership, she has built cross-sector collaborations spanning technology, education, workforce development, and community impact initiatives. Mehnaz is passionate about leveraging emerging technologies and partnerships to create scalable solutions that strengthen communities and expand opportunities for the next generation. In recognition of her leadership and impact, she was named a 2026 QECT 100 Young Leaders Awardee by the The Queen Elizabeth II Commonwealth Trust.

Daniel McCann, founder, and CEO of Precision AI is passionate about shaping the future of global food security. He provides a unique perspective on how technology impacts our world. Mr. McCann is a three-time start-up founder and dynamic speaker with over 25 years of experience across diverse industries such as artificial intelligence, fintech, security, fast food, and agriculture. He holds 11 patents, is a 2024 Clean50 honoree, and a previous venture earned recognition in Peter Thiel’s acclaimed book “Zero to One,” an acknowledgment of his significant contributions to the tech landscape.

Tracy Gromniski is the Chief Product Officer and Partner at mode40, where she works with organizations across agriculture, food processing, manufacturing, and other industries to turn operational data and technology into measurable business value. Her connection to agriculture runs deep. Raised on a dairy farm in Manitoba, Tracy later owned and operated a broiler breeder farm, where her technology career began by solving operational problems inside an agricultural business.
With more than 23 years in technology and business transformation, she brings a practical, operations-first perspective to digital transformation, AI, automation, and productivity. Tracy is a strong advocate for technology as a tool, not a strategy, and believes successful innovation starts with understanding the business problem first. Her work focuses on helping organizations improve productivity, make better decisions, and build operations that can adapt, scale, and compete.

As Principal of DMci Strategies, a consultancy dedicated to advance the success of the agri-food sector, David McInnes initiated and led a novel coalition of over 150 private-public partners from 2020 to 2024 to create Canada’s first agri-food sustainability index: the National Index on Agri-Food Performance.

He also founded the Centre for Agri-Food Benchmarking, a not-for-profit organization, to manage the coalition and evolve the Index. David is a Senior Fellow and Steering Committee member of the Centre.

David is now moving forward with a new multi-stakeholder collaboration of national and global agri-food organizations from North and South America, Europe and Africa. He started this work to help bring greater coherence to major sustainability standards and disclosure reporting schemes. Such schemes are formative to enable agri-food trade and market access, enhance food security and accelerate sustainability progress.

David is a board member of the National Circle on Indigenous Agriculture and Food (NCIAF) and with a provincial government agency, Agricultural Research and Innovation Ontario (ARIO). He is a steering member of the Agricultural Genomics in Action Centre and a State of Agriculture and the Environment initiative at the University of Guelph; he is also affiliated with McGill University’s Institute for Global Food Security.

Previously, David was President and CEO of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute and held executive positions with a Canadian life sciences company, a global supplier of medical isotopes used to prevent, diagnose and treat disease. He also worked in corporate and government affairs for the country’s banking sector and he started his career working for the federal government. David is a past Chair of WaterAid Canada and a Trustee of London-based WaterAid International, an NGO dedicated to clean water and improved sanitation in the global south.

He is a graduate of the London School of Economics (MSc.) and Dalhousie University (B.A.)

LINKEDIN PROFILE

Shelley is a dedicated sustainability professional with over 20 years of experience forging partnerships across sectors to drive social, environmental, and economic impact, often for those furthest behind. Over the past eight years, she has deepened her expertise in the agri-food sector, working internationally and nationally to establish climate-smart and regenerative agriculture programs.

Shelley’s early career saw her work in the public and nonprofit sectors before transitioning to sustainability consulting, where she developed strategies and engagement programs for a wide range of businesses. She later joined the UN World Food Programme, building partnerships to support rural producers transitioning to regenerative systems. Shelley then moved to Canada, where she worked with Indigenous communities on community development plans and advised midstream oil companies on sustainability and ESG strategies. Missing the agri-food sector, she returned to agriculture, leading PepsiCo’s global regenerative agriculture initiatives, managing a social innovation lab in Alberta to accelerate the widespread adoption of regenerative agriculture, as well as working with the most prominent players in the agri-food sector to develop and implement supply chain transitional programming, including insetting endeavours.

Shelley previously worked as an Advisor to Regeneration Canada, before serving as their Strategy and Development Director for over a year, then taking on the Co-Executive Director role with Sara. In September 2026 transitioned out of her current role and into a Strategic Advisory position, as she takes on a PhD in food systems transformation with the University of Ottawa.

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Monica Hadarits is the Executive Director of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB), a multi-stakeholder not-for-profit organization that advances, measures and communicates continuous improvement in sustainability of the Canadian beef value chain. She leads the strategic direction, management, and funding for the organization.

Monica holds a master’s degree from the University of Guelph. Her research focused on climate change and adaptation in agriculture. She has family farm roots in Saskatchewan, experience working with rural communities across Canada, and international agriculture research experience in South America.

Namat Elkouche is the Director of Data and Agri-food Standards at CSA Group, where she leads initiatives that advance trust, innovation, and resilience across Canada’s digital and agri-food sectors. In the agriculture sector, she is overseeing work around food loss and waste, regenerative agriculture, data and automation as well as supply chain efficiencies. Prior to her current role, Namat led the standards development program in energy efficiency and renewable energy at CSA Group and held leadership roles on climate mitigation with the federal government and the private sector.

Namat has more than 25 years of cumulative experience and holds an M. Eng in Chemical Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from McGill University.

Sara Kate Smith is a senior public affairs consultant at Clear Strategy where her work focuses on policy issues impacting the agri-food sector, including packaging circularity, food waste, and food system resiliency. She helps clients, including food and beverage multinationals, advance their goals through policy, public affairs, and thought leadership across Canadian and global markets.

Raised on a family farm and forestry operation, Sara brings firsthand food systems experience to her policy work. She was the first Canadian to sit on the UN World Food Forum Youth Policy Board and has served as a member of CSA Group’s Technical Committee on Regenerative Agriculture, the Canadian Agricultural Youth Council, and AAFC’s Sector Engagement Tables. Sara has previously spoken at the UN Committee on World Food Security, the World Food Forum, and the UN Innovation Symposium for Family Farmers on sector participation and policy for stronger agri-food value chains.

Jesse Hirsh is a futurist, researcher, public speaker, and farmer based in rural Eastern Ontario. His work explores how technology, politics, agriculture, and culture are reshaping authority, democracy, and public life. He is the founder of Metaviews Media Management and host of The Future Herd, a podcast examining leadership, collaboration, and innovation across Canada’s agri-food system.

His current work focuses on designing agents and agentic systems that help people and organizations conduct research, coordinate knowledge, and develop new ways of working. Jesse combines critical inquiry with a practical commitment to building alternatives, drawing on open-source culture, agroecology, and participatory research. From his farm, the Academy of the Impossible, he develops projects, conversations, and experiments that make complex ideas accessible and help people participate more confidently in shaping the future..

Sylvie Cloutier is a recognized leader in the Quebec food sector. She has worked in strategic positions in this industry for more than 20 years and has developed expertise in issues management, negotiations, relations with stakeholders and public affairs. She has been at the Conseil de la transformation alimentaire du Québec (CTAQ) since 2002, first as Vice-President of Communications and Public Affairs and, since 2010, she holds the position of President and CEO.

Between 1999 and 2002, Sylvie served as Vice President Communications and Executive Director of the Canadian Grand Prix New Products at the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors.

Over the years, Ms. Cloutier has earned the greatest respect from stakeholders in the Canadian agri-food sector, who recognize her dynamism, her integrity and her ability to rally people around common goals.

Ms. Cloutier has served on several important boards of directors for the food sector, including Aliments du Québec, Éco Entreprises Québec, le centre de recherche industriel du Québec (CRIQ) and the Canadian Council for Food Integrity. In addition to Farm Credit Canada, she sits on the board of directors of Moisson Montreal and Food Bank of Canada. She also co-chairs the Canadian Food Policy Advisory Council, she is a member of the Steering Committee for the development of a code of conduct and is a founding member of Food and Beverage Canada.

Before being involved in the food sector, Sylvie worked for the Canadian Space Agency as Acting Director of Communications, for the global public relations firm Hill + Knowlton Strategies Canada as a strategic advisor, as well as for the federal government. as Press Secretary for a federal Minister. Sylvie holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Ottawa and holds a certificate in ESG with Competent Boards.

In 2022, Sylvie was awarded the Prix Femmes d’affaires du Québec – Quebec Business Women Award – in the Leader of Influence category.

Daryl Fransoo is a third-generation grain farmer from Glaslyn, Saskatchewan, where he farms with his family, producing wheat, barley, canola, peas, lentils and oats. He is Chair of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association and serves as Second Vice-Chair of the Grain Growers of Canada. A strong advocate for Canadian farmers, Daryl brings a producer’s perspective to agricultural policy, trade, competitiveness and the challenges facing the Canadian grain sector.

Evan Fraser is one of Canada’s most cited scientists working on food systems, climate change, and agricultural sustainability, with an h-index of 70 and more than 21,000 citations. His research advances a single core argument: the efficiency of modern food systems is central to their fragility. By optimising for productivity and cost, we have eliminated the redundancy, diversity, and slack. These are the buffers that allow food systems to absorb shocks. Understanding how those buffers work, and how to build them, is the thread connecting his research, policy work, and public writing.

As the President and CEO of Burnbrae Farms, Margaret is a 4th generation member of the Hudson family working in the business, which has been in the family since it was founded in 1891. Burnbrae Farms is recognized as a food industry leader with egg grading, processing, and farming operations in five provinces across Canada. In her role Margaret is responsible for leading strategy development and implementation, operations, innovation and brand portfolio growth and succession for the business and family ownership.

Margaret has overseen a number of initiatives contributing to environmental and community stewardship including diverting more than 90% of their waste from landfill in their grading and processing operations, the commissioning of both a solar powered layer hen farm and solar field on two of their layer hen farms, as well as supporting a wide array of charitable initiatives including breakfast programs, food banks, disaster relief charities, environmental causes, and student education around agriculture.

One of Margaret’s passions has been to educate non-farming Canadians about farming. She served on the Royal Winter Fair Board for 6 years and has been a leader in promoting transparency as a means of building trust. Margaret represents Burnbrae Farms on the GS1, FHC and Grocery Foundation boards and has been honoured with a number of industry awards and recognition including the Golden Pencil (2020), Grocery Business Hall of Fame inductee (2021) and Canadian Grand Prix Lifetime Achievement (2022). Margaret holds a B.Sc. and an MBA from the University of Toronto and lives in Toronto with her two children, Evelyn and James Rogan, and enjoys travelling, her farm and cottage, and spending time with her family.

Tyler Groeneveld is the Chief Executive Officer of Protein Industries Canada, one of the country’s five Global Innovation Clusters dedicated to advancing growth in Canada’s food production, ingredient manufacturing and agriculture ecosystem.

With more than 31 years of leadership experience in Canada’s agriculture and food industry, Tyler has built a career focused on advancing innovation, sustainability, and value creation across the agri-food value chain. Before joining Protein Industries Canada, he held senior leadership roles with Corteva Agriscience and its legacy companies, most recently serving as Commercial Lead for North America.

Tyler has a long history of sector leadership and governance. He previously served as Chair of Protein Industries Canada’s Board of Directors, helping guide the organization’s early growth and strategic direction. In addition, he has held board positions with CropLife Canada, the Canola Council of Canada, and Cereals Canada, contributing to national strategies that strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of Canada’s agriculture and food sector.