Well-known Ontario civil servant Ken Knox has been appointed for a one-year term as chair of the Ontario Food Terminal Board (OFTB), until Jan. 16, 2020.

Mr. Knox was formerly deputy minister at OMAFRA and has led many high-profile initiatives such as the creation of Agricorp, the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program, the Ontario Genomics Institute, the Ontario Science and Innovation Council, and the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.  

The OFTB’s board mandate is to “acquire, construct, equip and operate a wholesale fruit and produce market, and operate such facility for the transportation, distribution, and handling of fruit and produce,” according to the Ontario Food Terminal Act of 1990.

The board chair of OFTB is supported by the vice-chair, Mark Pearlman, and five board members. They currently include: Larry Kieswetter, Ian Mackenzie, Margaret Appleby, and Lino Vittorio. One seat is vacant. 

Mark Pearlman is a director of sales at Hewlett Packard, and has previously worked with several global companies to implement business transformation programs, among them Walmart, IBM Canada and O&Y Enterprises.

Larry Kieswetter is a former senior director of produce with Burnac Produce Limited and with Loblaw Companies.  

Ian Mackenzie is the former general manager of the Ontario Produce Marketing Association until his retirement in 2015. He previously held positions at the Fresh Produce Alliance, the Canadian Horticultural Council and the Dispute Resolution Corporation.

Margaret Appleby is currently a part-time professor in the Food and Farming Program at Durham College. She previously worked for several decades at OMAFRA to develop integrated pest management strategies with horticultural growers.

Source: Ontario Public Appointments Secretariat February 4, 2019 website posting