Building a more competitive Canada through continued agrifood leadership training

Access to Talent, Labour & Skills
Consortium Contribution
$30,000
Cluster Contribution
$723,289
Protein Industries Canada
The Ivey Academy at Western University
Goal
To help Canada’s SMEs become competitive in the global market, enabling the sector to reach its $25 billion potential through training and building skilling in leadership, communication and business acumen
Project Summary
Building on the first program offering, the second phase of the Accelerate Leadership Program provides new modules and a new location for its in-person portion. The program has been improved to better meet the needs of Canada’s ingredient manufacturing, food processing, and bioproducts sectors.
New modules including those related to topics such as cybersecurity, interpersonal conflict and economic reconciliation, on top of it's essential leadership, communication and business acumen.
To make the program more accessible to interested companies and more Canadians, travel assistance is available for a limited number of attendees, particularly Indigenous employees, newcomers to Canada and other underrepresented groups.
Each eight-month course is designed for future leaders at innovative companies across Canada, providing the Canadian ingredient manufacturing, food processing and bioproducts sector with the skills it needs to grow and become more competitive quicker and more easily.
Testimonials
“We were able to build connections across various companies from Ontario to B.C., which provided a diverse pool of knowledge. The dialogue in class helped us find connections among the cohort, ranging from farming to almost the end product. Everyone was a crucial part of the value chain. Because of those relationships, I continue to stay in touch with many participants from our cohort and several collaborations have emerged."
- Kanagaraj Selvraj, CTO, More Than Protein Ingredients
“I have spent my career learning, and I believe in it. Taking this program with Ivey gave me unique opportunities to learn through conversations with peers and professors about our real-world experiences. Having one-to-one conversations with the faculty really gives you interesting perspectives to take away. As a participant you reinforce your business knowledge and build new contacts in the industry. I have already changed my conversations with investors and it’s helped to guide my strategic thinking.”
- Todd Patterson, VP Sales, Big Mountain Foods
“This Ivey program is a game-changer for startups. It covers everything from finance to soft skills essential for effective communication and collaboration. Real-world case studies foster team learning, and expert faculty and guests provide insights into specialized fields. Our entire team went through the program and it improved both our internal alignment and our understanding of the rapid changes in our industry. This isn’t just for startups—every company can benefit from such a comprehensive reset.”
- Caroline Hui, VP Finance, Lucent Biosciences