Event Speakers

Michael Graydon is Chief Executive Officer of Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada (FHCP) the national association voice of Canada’s food, health and consumer products sector. A seasoned business executive, Michael has more than 20 years of visionary CEO leadership across multiple industries, driving proactive and collaborative stakeholder engagement and consistent corporate results. Since joining FCPC in 2016, his leadership has dramatically repositioned the organization into a driving force on industry issues as diverse as Canada’s Healthy Eating Strategy, free trade and tariff issues, environmental sustainability, product labelling and the changing dynamics of the supplier/retailer relationship.  Michael’s unique perspectives on the economic and political factors influencing the sector are regularly featured in media throughout North America. He is a strong supporter of industry/government partnership advocating industry voice and inclusion in consultations at all levels and he is a sought-after speaker at high level industry events and roundtables.

Before joining FHCP, Michael was the President of Parq Holdings (PHLP).  He joined PHLP in 2014 after six years at the British Columbia Lottery Corporation where he led the company to become a recognized leader in the worldwide gambling and entertainment industry. Previously, Michael held several senior roles in large corporations including CEO of Mega Group, Canada’s largest retail buying company,  food manufacturer J.D. Sweid, food retailer Sobeys, The Keg Restaurants and Carling O’Keefe Breweries.

Michael is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Global Self Care Federation and the Canadian Center for Food Integrity as well as a member of the Ontario Food Panel Advisory Committee. His previous community commitments have included serving on the Advisory Board of the School of Business and Economics at Thompson Rivers University, the Board of Directors of the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation and the Board of Directors of Brand Source USA. He has also served as Vice Chair of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and was the Co-Chair of the 2014 Grey Cup in Vancouver.

On February 20, 2023, Stefanie Beck was appointed Deputy Minister (DM) of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).

Prior to joining AAFC, Stefanie Beck held the position of Associate Deputy Minister for the Department of National Defence for 13 months. Between October 2020 and January 2022, DM Beck served as Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Alternate Representative to the International Maritime Organization. Prior to that, she was the Assistant Secretary to Cabinet, Priorities and Planning at the Privy Council Office, where she led work on Whole of Government priority setting and policy development, including through transitions to new mandates, and most recently, through the COVID crisis. Previously, DM Beck held leadership roles at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Global Affairs Canada, as well as several senior positions responsible for common services at Canada’s diplomatic missions abroad, including cross-government governance.

DM Beck joined the Government of Canada in 1990 with the Department of External Affairs, working abroad as a political officer and an ambassador in various missions. She served in Dakar, Senegal, Canberra, Australia, and in Cambodia and Croatia. DM Beck grew up on several continents, attended high school in Singapore and St. Catharine’s, Ontario, and has a Bachelor of Arts in German and Italian from McGill University.

Currie, a Collingwood, Ontario farmer, was born and raised on the family farm and is the 8th generation on the farm family operation. Currie graduated with a diploma in Agriculture Production Management from the University of Guelph, Ridgetown College in 1982. Upon Graduation, Currie returned home to manage the family dairy and cash crop farm in Simcoe County with his wife Janice and together they have raised four children.

Currie’s operation now focuses on production of grains and oilseed, forages for dry hay, along with a sweet corn and gladiolus flower production.

Over the years, Currie has represented many agriculture boards and organizations at the regional, provincial and federal levels serving on both livestock and cropping organizations. Keith is the Past President of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture(OFA) and has had 25+ years of board experience with the OFA. Agriculture Co-operatives, Dairy Herd Improvement association, Fair Boards, Holstein Clubs, Soil and Crop Improvement association, Conservation Authority committees and county federation of agriculture boards are just a few of the local organizations that Keith has been involved with over the years. Keith is also an Ontario delegate to The Co-Operators Insurance.

Keith has also been appointed to three provincial government advisory committees in Ontario, the 4 Plan Review committee(a review of 4 provincial land use plans), the Environmental Advisory committee as well as the Wetlands Advisory committee.

Before becoming CFA President in 2023, Keith served on the CFA board for several years, and was elected as the organization’s 1st Vice-President in 2019.

Jacob Glick is the Vice President, Public Policy at TELUS, a senior executive fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, and a global leader on complex issues at the intersection of technology, public policy and law. He brings more than 15 years of executive experience in technology and telecommunications law and policy.

Before joining TELUS, Jacob was general counsel of North Inc., a world-leading smart glasses start-up, funded by Intel Capital, Amazon and others, and acquired by Google. He also served as chief corporate affairs officer at Rogers Communications Inc. Jacob was the head of Google’s central public policy and government relations team, based at Google’s headquarters in California. Prior to that, he founded and led Google Canada’s public policy and government relations team.

He also served as general counsel, director of policy at the Canadian Internet Registration Authority and was a litigator with McCarthy Tétrault LLP. Jacob was a distinguished visiting executive fellow at the Centre for Law, Technology and Society in the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law. Called to the Bar in 2003, he holds a bachelor of arts with high distinction and a bachelor of laws, both from the
University of Toronto.