CMC Appoints First-Ever Woman as Chair of the Board of Directors

As the Canadian Meat Council (CMC) celebrated its 100^th anniversary and conference this month in Ottawa; the occasion was also marked by appointing Kerry Towle as Chair of the Board of Directors for the next two years

“It was long overdue to have a woman at the helm of our board and someone with Kerry’s experience and acumen will greatly benefit our industry. Her political background and in-depth knowledge of the agriculture and agri-food industry will be a tremendous asset to help guide CMC as we work with government and stakeholders to advance the key interests of our members,” said Chris White, President and CEO of CMC. 

“I feel privileged to be the first woman appointed as CMC’s Chair as they mark a century of being the voice for meat processors in Canada“

Kerry Towle has been the Vice President of Industry and Government Relations at Sofina Foods Canada Inc since 2019, responsible for government and industry relations across Canada for all Sofina requirements.  Ms. Towle was a Member of Alberta’s Legislative Assembly (MLA), representing  Innisfail/Sylvan Lake from 2012 to 2015.  She served as Caucus Whip and Deputy Whip from 2012 to 2014 with direct accountability over the management of caucus staff, budges and priorities ensuring all caucus business was conducted in compliance with regulations. She has a Master’s of Business Administration and Global Leadership from the University of Fredericton and formerly owned Towle’s Poultry, a company that produced 150,000 kg of product per year.   

“I feel privileged to be the first woman appointed as CMC’s Chair as they mark a century of being the voice for meat processors in Canada. As we phase out of Covid-19, I am looking forward to working with the Board and CMC as we address the sustainability of our sector and supply chain issues as well as working together to grow our export markets,” said Towle. “As an industry, we also must be better aligned to help resolve sector issues from labour to regulatory burden and trade issues as we all face the same challenges.” 

Towle takes over from Sylvain Fournaise of Olymel who has led CMC over the past two years throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.