Food and Beverage Ontario names Executive Director

GUELPH, ON – The Board of Directors of Food and Beverage Ontario (FBO) today announced the appointment of Norm Beal as Executive Director. FBO is a not-for-profit organization that advocates on behalf of Ontario's food and beverage processing industry, an industry that generates over $39 billion in sales every year.

In other changes, Isabel Dopta, FBO Director of Communications is promoted into the role of Chief Operating Officer.

Beal, President of FBO’s Board of Directors, is the owner-operator of Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery in Beamsville, Ontario and a long-standing board member of the Wine Council of Ontario. He brings entrepreneurial business expertise and leadership to the position of Executive Director. Beal assumes the position as former Executive Director Steve Peters leaves the organization to be a consultant in the private sector and pursue his long time and well known enthusiasm as a collector and expert of significant historic artifacts.

"The Board extends its thanks to Steve who has been instrumental in positioning the food and beverage industry as a key player in the province’s prosperous economic future," said Beal. "We will now move ahead to build on this solid foundation."

Over the past several months, the organization was renamed FBO from Alliance of Ontario Food Processors; reorganized its Board structure; relocated the head office to the agriculture and food hub in Guelph; and completed the Ontario Food and Beverage Processing Industry Strategy – The New Engine of Ontario's Economy that recommended four priorities necessary to achieve significant growth and new jobs.

"For 2015 and in partnership with OMAFRA, FBO will focus on delivering value to our membership with two key priorities providing access to the latest technologies, innovations and productivity improvements for business competitiveness, and launching a coordinated career and education campaign to attract youth to our sector, ” said Norm Beal.

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For more information, contact: Isabel Dopta, COO
519.826.3741
idopta@foodandbeverageontario.ca 

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