July 27, 2011 (Calgary, Alberta) – Following a two-day meeting held July 26 and 27, 2011, in Calgary, Alberta, the newly-formed Canada Beef Inc. (CBI) is now positioned to move forward with the business of marketing Canadian and international markets.
The meeting saw the inaugural Board of Directors of CBI elect its Board Chair and Officers. Brad Wildeman, a feedlot operator from Lanigan, Saskatchewan, past President of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and a Co-Chair of the Canada Beef Implementation Team tasked with getting CBI up and running, was elected as Board Chair.
“I welcome the challenge of being the first Board Chair of Canada Beef Inc.,” says Wildeman. “The Canadian cattle and beef industry made clear their desire for one national independent agency to conduct the industry’s marketing, promotion and research activities. With the establishment of Canada Beef Inc., we have accomplished this.”
“Our job now is to pursue prosperity for the Canadian cattle and beef industry,” he says. “We have a strong and capable organization, a renewed focus on increasing sales of Canadian beef in both the domestic and international markets – and a goal of positioning Canadian beef as the first choice in high quality beef around the world. With Canada Beef Inc., I believe it’s a goal that’s within reach.”
Also elected as Officers of the 2011-2012 CBI Board of Directors were: Dane Guignion (Manitoba Cattle Producers Association) as Vice Chair; Brian Read (XL Meats) as Planning and Priorities Chair; Scott Ellerton (Sysco Canada Inc.) as Finance/Audit and Program Performance Measurement Chair; Mike Kennedy (Cargill Foods) as International Beef Trade Access Policy Advisory Chair; and Chuck MacLean (President, Alberta Beef Producers) as Governance Chair.
Canada Beef Inc. was established through the consolidation of the Canadian Beef Cattle Research, Market Development and Promotion Agency (National Check-off Agency), Canada Beef Export Federation and Beef Information Centre. The sixteen member Board of Directors of Canada Beef Inc. was appointed by the Canada Beef Implementation Team and its Governance Committee on July 4, 2011.