A familiar name in agriculture has been promoted within the Agri-Food Innovation Council (AIC), as Dr. Wilf Keller joins the organization as its vice-president of outreach. Keller was serving as AIC’s board chair.
“We’re looking forward to Dr. Keller joining our team; given his background, he will serve an integral role with our organization as VP of outreach,” says Serge Buy, AIC’s CEO. “His guidance, knowledge of the sector and key players will be an asset to help further the development and goals of AIC through various outreach efforts with stakeholders.”
In this position, Keller will be responsible for interacting with the various stakeholders in the agri-food industry on behalf of AIC.
His extensive background in agriculture includes a doctorate in crop science from the University of Saskatchewan and over 15 years at Agriculture Canada, where he established a plant biotechnology research programme which he chaired for nine years. He spent nearly two decades at the Plant Biotechnology Institute (PBI) of the National Research Council of Canada where he spearheaded canola biotechnology research.
According to a news release, he has also served as the head of the Transgenic Plant Center until 1999, when he accepted the position of research director. In 2007 he took a one-year posting as the acting director general of PBI and when finished, served as president and CEO of Genome Prairie from 2008 to 2012. He was then the president and CEO of Ag-West Bio Inc until 2020.
Related: Wilf Keller named to Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame
