Food & Beverage Summit Speakers

Cameron Bergen is the founder and CEO of mode40 ltd., where he leads the team behind MAST, the world’s first agentic-AI Manufacturing Execution System (MES) platform built to turn real-time production data into measurable profit on the shop floor. With more than three decades dedicated to the agri-food sector, his career began hands-on in the field before advancing into senior roles at one of Canada’s largest food companies. There, he helped design a $150M processing facility that became central to the company’s growth into a leading exporter and ultimately supported a landmark $1B acquisition.

Over his career, Cameron has helped pioneer practical methods now used across North America to modernize manufacturing through AI, analytics, and Industry 4.0 execution systems. He is known for his grounded, common-sense approach with customers and partners. His standard is simple: the solution must adapt how plants truly operate and the data must prove its worth.

Jennifer Boville is the Co-Founder and CEO of Farm Girl, a Canadian food brand disrupting the breakfast aisle with better-for-you cereals and pantry staples made from simple ingredients and classic flavours. With a background in marketing, sales, and brand strategy, she has scaled businesses across telecom, technology, and CPG sectors to over $100M. A nutritionist, certified spin and TRX instructor, and mom of two, she is passionate about helping families make healthier choices without compromise—an approach that shapes how she builds and leads the Farm Girl brand.

Peter Chapman not only understands the food industry, he has a passion for seeing others succeed. Peter’s experience includes the entire supply chain and retail merchandising. Starting at store level, he learned the importance of listening to consumers and the challenges of implementing strategies at retail. He went on to Canada’s largest food retailer, Loblaw’s, for nearly twenty years - expanding his knowledge working in various departments, including merchandising, marketing and advertising.

In 2007, Peter started a company to provide customized services to producers, processors and retailers across Canada. SKUFood works directly with producers and processors to help them understand their customers, the retailers. Peter is the author of A la cart, a supplier’s guide to retailers’ priorities and he was the national president of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers in 2021. He has provided food industry insights to Canadian Grocer, The Globe & Mail, Maclean's magazine, Canada AM and he writes a monthly column in the Grower.

Raised by murder mystery dinner theatre owners, Joshua Counsil is a recovering engineer, business founder, and keynote speaker who learned the entrepreneurial journey the hard way: by doing it in public.

In 2014, Joshua and two university buddies quit their engineering careers and founded Good Robot Brewing in Halifax, Nova Scotia. What started as an 800-square-foot garage brewery grew into a multi-venue tourism-hospitality and CPG business, known for standout customer experience, distinctive brand storytelling, and rapid growth on a shoestring budget. In 2023, he and his partners launched The Beverage Factory, a beverage co-manufacturing/co-packing facility that now produces beverages for dozens of companies, from startups to $4B multinationals. Joshua’s talks are built for operators, marketers, and leaders who want practical takeaways. He blends real stories (PR nightmares, near-bankruptcy moments, big pivots) with simple frameworks audiences can use immediately. His most-requested themes include $0 marketing that drives real-world results, turning customer feedback into cheap market research, building world-class customer service on small budgets, and protecting creativity as teams scale.

Good Robot has won 30+ awards for innovation, business, customer service, marketing, tourism-hospitality, and more, and has been featured in Forbes, CBC, CTV, WestJet Magazine, Global News, and BuzzFeed.

William Gould is part of the team guiding The Progressive Group of Companies, a Canadian success story rooted in pork production and agrifood. He also serves on the board of directors for Winkler Meats Ltd.

With family ties to farming but an upbringing in the city, he brings a perspective that bridges both worlds. Trained in law, he left the profession to pursue business, helping to drive growth through acquisitions and the adoption of new technologies and practices.

Craig leads economic analysis that informs strategy and risk management across the corporation. He is also a key FCC spokesperson, providing insights on the agriculture and food industry and the macroeconomy.

Prior to joining FCC, Craig led the Commodities Division at the Bank of Canada. He was also an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and lectured in economics at the University of Victoria. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Victoria, with a bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University.

Chris specializes in strategic alignment, and operational efficiency for SMEs in the agri-food sector. He supports them in their planning, leveraging of innovation, and building long-term relationships to foster success.

Backed by more than 15 years of experience, Chris has held a number of management and executive positions in the agri-food industry at companies such as Symington’s Limited, The Meatless Farm Co and Kinnerton Confectionery. He also founded Lovingly Made Ingredients, an SME in the food processing sector.

Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences from Leeds Beckett University (UK).

IC Canada

Mary MacLean’s entrepreneurial journey began as a high school music teacher with a reputation and passion for making great hummus. When she began to notice her hummus was repeatedly the first item devoured by students at year end events, and observed one of them doing a happy dance, she sensed a change ahead.

Mary is now the President and founder of Happy Dance Inc. - a Manitoba based business that sells 6 varieties of delicious and distinctly flavoured hummus in retail stores and chains across Manitoba. Happy Dance Hummus is also the supplier for school nutritional programs.

Her passion for good wholesome food and sustainable practices led Mary to create a unique and exciting additional product called Faba - a powdered egg-substitute, up-cycled from the brine water of the cooked chickpeas - perfect for baking applications, mayos, dips and cocktails. Happy Dance Inc was awarded the Manitoba Food and Beverage Association’s 2025 Sustainability Award in recognition of this innovative new product, which is now being sold in many countries worldwide.

Christine Milberg is President and Owner of B. Lambert Ltd. and Only Oats. Over the past 30 years, she has built B. Lambert from a regional food sales agency serving Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Northwestern Ontario into a national food brokerage with a dedicated retail salesforce across Western Canada.

With deep expertise in the consumer packaged goods sector, Christine has helped brands grow, scale, and secure meaningful market presence across Canada. Today, she brings that experience full circle as a brand owner, leading the development and expansion of Only Oats.

Christine is passionate about connecting buyers and sellers and believes sustainable growth is built on strong relationships, practical execution, and shared success. She continues to work closely with emerging and established brands, helping translate opportunity into commercial results.

Pina Romolo is the President & CEO of Piccola Cucina Inc., a Canadian food manufacturer located in Winnipeg, Canada, that was founded in 2009 originally manufacturing a single line of almond based products. Since its founding as a specialty, Italian-inspired single product business, Piccola Cucina has evolved from a producer of allergy-friendly, certified gluten-free, dairy-free, almond-based Italian macaroon cookies to include a diverse product line which now includes almond flour-based pie shells, almond flax wraps, gluten free pizza crusts, finished pizzas, and gluten free vegan superfood desserts.  The pizza and desserts lines were a result of the acquisition of the assets (including the brands) of Judy G Foods Inc. in 2023. Piccola Cucina operates a certified gluten free, HACCP certified and CFIA federally inspected facility manufacturing a suite of 20 products made with ingredients sourced using sustainable practices, that include minimizing by-products, achieving zero food waste, recycling processing and packaging materials, and conserving water and energy. Piccola Cucina’s products are available nationally through Sobeys/Safeway, Costco.ca, Amazon.ca and other independent retailers across Canada.

Pina started her career with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in MB, and has held various managerial roles across different industries in Corporate Canada but has always been an entrepreneur and foodie at heart. This entrepreneurial spirit propelled her into her current role of chief strategist & business developer, specialty food producer, brand creator, marketer & manager of Piccola Cucina.

Under Pina’s leadership, Piccola Cucina was a finalist in the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce’s small business award in 2015, was listed in Food in Canada magazine’s Top 10 Food and Beverage Companies to watch in Canada in 2015 and in 2016 was one of the 12 businesses selected from more than 700 applications to take part in the second cohort of District Ventures, Arlene Dickenson’s Business Accelerator.

She is the Past Chair of the Board for Food and Beverage Manitoba, Certified Woman Owned Business through WEConnect International and an active contributor to the food industry in Manitoba. She is fluent in Italian, Spanish and French, lives in Winnipeg with her husband David, and 2 children, Giuliano and Olivia.

Lena Russ is a proud Haida woman from the Maaman Gitanee clan of Old Masset and a devoted mother of two. With over 18 years of experience in hospitality, governance, and community development, she has led projects that strengthen Indigenous families, cultures, and Nations.

Lena is a member of the Four Pillars Society, an initiative created from a $2.8 billion class action settlement that works with over 325 Nations across Canada to revitalize Indigenous languages, cultures, heritage, and community wellness. She has also worked with Indigenous fisheries for many years — a passion that continues to guide her work as Special Projects Manager with Authentic Indigenous Seafood, where she supports the growth of Indigenous-led fisheries and helps bring their products to premium markets.

Known for leading by example, Lena remains committed to Indigenous resurgence and the power of collective growth.

Matthew Sabourin grew up on a family farm near St. Jean-Baptiste and built his entire career in Manitoba — including a stint in Hollywood visual effects, with credits including Avatar, without ever leaving the province.

It was leading operations at NuVision, a family business, that first revealed the entrepreneur in him. In 2017, he channelled that into co-founding La Brasserie Nonsuch Brewing Co. — Manitoba's first majority Indigenous-owned brewery.

As a Red River Métis and direct descendant of Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière and Marie-Anne Gaboury, Matthew built Nonsuch as both a business and a statement — that heritage, craft, and community belong in the same glass.

It worked. Nonsuch has grown into Manitoba's most nationally decorated brewery, with medals at the Canadian Brewing Awards, Canada Beer Cup, and World Beer Cup. The business has earned a spot on the Globe and Mail's Best New Restaurants on the Prairies, the Indigenous Tourism Award from Tourism Winnipeg and Travel Manitoba, the Asper School of Business VIBE Award for Visionary Indigenous Business Excellence, and the Mayor's Business Award. In 2025, Nonsuch was recognized among Manitoba Champions by the Lieutenant Governor.

Matthew also serves on the boards of the Exchange District BIZ and the Winnipeg Executives Association.

Everything Nonsuch has built started with the conviction that Manitoba was always enough.

Kevin Selch is an economist turned entrepreneur and the founder of Little Brown Jug Brewing Company (LBJ) in Winnipeg’s Exchange District. Since launching in 2016, he has built LBJ into one of Manitoba’s leading craft breweries, producing and distributing a focused portfolio of branded products, led by its flagship 1919 Belgian Pale Ale.

Beyond manufacturing, LBJ is an active participant in Manitoba’s cultural and sports landscape, supporting local events and institutions. Kevin is also a leading voice on economic development, downtown revitalization, and public policy. He has served as Chair of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the Winnipeg Police Board, and is an advocate for improving the competitiveness and sustainability of Manitoba’s craft beverage sector.

 Prior to entrepreneurship, Kevin spent a decade as a senior economist with the Government of Canada, including work on international trade negotiations at the World Trade Organization and on high-profile microeconomic policy files.

Across both business and policy, his work is grounded in a focus on incentives, competitiveness, and building stronger local economies.

At Stone City Coffee Roasters, we are a family-run business fueled by a passion for exceptional coffee, with a little help from our two boys.

Raised in southeastern Manitoba, we grew up learning the value of hard work, honesty, and integrity—values we are now passing on to our own children in the same community we are proud to call home.

Our love for quality coffee was shaped through years of visiting specialty coffee shops and craft roasters while traveling, but one unforgettable trip along the California coast changed everything. Driving home with bags of freshly roasted coffee in the car, ocean air in our lungs, and our family beside us, a dream quietly took root.

That dream became reality in 2020 when we launched Stone City Coffee Roasters just days before the world shut down. At the time, our oldest son was 8 and our youngest was just 2. In the middle of uncertainty, we pivoted, offering free home deliveries with our oldest son earning ten cents per stop. We kept going, and by early 2021, both of us had left our 20+ year careers to pursue this full time.

Today, we roast specialty grade coffee in small batches right here in Steinbach, Manitoba, carefully developing each roast to create the smooth, distinct cup we have become known for.

But for us, this has always been about more than coffee. It is about creating connection, building community, and serving people well.

What started as just the two of us has now grown into a team of 10+ amazing people, and truthfully, we could not do this without them. They care deeply, work incredibly hard, and help make Stone City what it is every single day.

In 2023, that journey grew with the opening of our first coffee bar inside Steinbach Sobeys, followed by the launch of our mobile coffee bar for markets and events. In May 2026, we were honoured to expand again with the opening of our second location inside Bethesda Regional Health Centre.

We are deeply grateful for every person who has supported this dream, especially our loyal customers, retail partners, and team who have helped make this all possible.

At Stone City Coffee Roasters, we are a family-run business fueled by a passion for exceptional coffee, with a little help from our two boys.

Raised in southeastern Manitoba, we grew up learning the value of hard work, honesty, and integrity—values we are now passing on to our own children in the same community we are proud to call home.

Our love for quality coffee was shaped through years of visiting specialty coffee shops and craft roasters while traveling, but one unforgettable trip along the California coast changed everything. Driving home with bags of freshly roasted coffee in the car, ocean air in our lungs, and our family beside us, a dream quietly took root.

That dream became reality in 2020 when we launched Stone City Coffee Roasters just days before the world shut down. At the time, our oldest son was 8 and our youngest was just 2. In the middle of uncertainty, we pivoted, offering free home deliveries with our oldest son earning ten cents per stop. We kept going, and by early 2021, both of us had left our 20+ year careers to pursue this full time.

Today, we roast specialty grade coffee in small batches right here in Steinbach, Manitoba, carefully developing each roast to create the smooth, distinct cup we have become known for.

But for us, this has always been about more than coffee. It is about creating connection, building community, and serving people well.

What started as just the two of us has now grown into a team of 10+ amazing people, and truthfully, we could not do this without them. They care deeply, work incredibly hard, and help make Stone City what it is every single day.

In 2023, that journey grew with the opening of our first coffee bar inside Steinbach Sobeys, followed by the launch of our mobile coffee bar for markets and events. In May 2026, we were honoured to expand again with the opening of our second location inside Bethesda Regional Health Centre.

We are deeply grateful for every person who has supported this dream, especially our loyal customers, retail partners, and team who have helped make this all possible.

Cheryl Zealand is the Founder and CEO of Cranked Energy, a fresh, refrigerated protein bar company built on the belief that convenience food doesn’t have to sacrifice quality. A former CPA turned entrepreneur, Cheryl started Cranked at 40 in her home kitchen—while raising her three boys—developing over 70 recipes before bringing her first bar to market. Today, she leads a fast-growing Canadian brand carried in over 300 retailers nationwide, known for its real ingredients, playful flavour innovation, and strong community roots. Cheryl is passionate about building a business that prioritizes both profitability and people.