Board Members
POS Bio-Sciences Board of Directors
John Cross
Mr. John Cross is Chairperson of the POS Board of Directors, and President, John V. Cross and Associates. John has an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering, followed by M.E. Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Western Ontario.
He has over thirty years of experience in the development of crop fertility products in Canada. Trained as a chemical engineer, he joined the Food Research and Development Department of John Labatt in London, Ontario in 1965. His work centered on the development and commercialization of new products in the fermentation, food, beverage, dairy and animal feed industries.
In 1980, he was a founding partner, then became President and CEO, of Philom Bios Inc. Philom Bios develops, manufactures, and markets high value inoculants which enhance fertility efficiency of crops and increase farmer profit. Products include JumpStart, the world's first commercial phosphate inoculant; a line of Phozobium products under the N-Prove label; and TagTeam the world's first combination nitrogen and phosphate innoculant. Philom Bios is now Novozymes.
Mr. Cross was a member of the National Research Council of Canada and Chairman of the Saskatchewan Research Council.
He has received numerous awards for his business insights and successful ventures including the first Agribusiness Leadership Award from the Saskatoon and District Chamber of Commerce in 1988, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Prairie Region, in Science and Technology in 1995, and in the Health Science category in 2004, and the Ag-West Biotech BioScience Award for Entrepreneurial leadership and vision in May 2003.
Dennis Mulvihill
Mr. Dennis Mulvihill is Managing Director, Corporate Finance, RBC Capital Markets. He has over 30 years of experience in the investment industry in Canada. He has been employed with Royal Trust Corporation, Houston Willoughby, and Pemberton Securities. His extensive investment experience has been specifically in institutional sales, investment banking, and management and capital markets.
As the Managing Director, Corporate Finance with RBC Capital Markets, Mr. Mulvihill is responsible for RBC Dominion Securities global banking operations in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
He previously served as Chairperson of the POS Board of Directors for 10 years.
Tom Gottemoller
Mr. Tom Gottemoller is Director, Food Processing Research at Archer Daniels Midland Company in Decatur, Illinois, and has been with ADM since 1992. Tom is responsible for management of all food processing pilot plant research. Over the years he has served in various capacities at ADM including ADM's Protein Specialties Division specializing in process development and application development for soy products. Prior to joining ADM, Tom worked for Germantown US in research for the development and use of hydrocolloids and emulsifiers in foods. He also worked in the area of operations for three dairy companies. Tom attended the University of Maryland, Villanova University in Pennsylvania, and Illinois State University. Mr. Gottemoller holds degrees in Agricultural Biochemistry, Mechanical Engineering, and Business Administration.
Murray McLaughlin, Ph.D.
Dr. Murray McLaughlin has a B.Sc., from McGill University and M.Sc. and Ph.D. from Cornell University.
Dr. McLaughlin is Executive Director of the Bioindustrial Innovation Centre in Sarnia, Ontario. The BIC is focused on taking sustainable feedstock such as agricultural and forestry by-products and wastes, and turning these renewable resources into energy and value-added chemicals for use in applications ranging from construction to automotive parts.
Dr. McLaughlin's career has focused on agricultural science including research, development and product management and marketing. He was President and CEO of Foragen for 7 years and Director of business Development for the Canadian Light Source (Synchrotron) in Saskatoon. He has also held various positions in the private, government and non-profit sectors including Adjunct Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, President of Ontario Agri-Food Technologies and President of Ag-West Biotech Inc. where he helped build the Saskatoon cluster, and several assignments with ELANCO.
He has been active in Canadian agriculture for many years and is a member of numerous Boards of Directors and Advisory Committees.
Dr. McLaughlin was awarded the Canadian Agri-Marketer of the Year award from the Canadian Agri-Marketing Association, the Alumni of the Year from the Nova Scotia Agricultural College and the National Merit Award from the Ottawa Life Sciences Council. He received an Honorary Docctorate from Dalhousie University/Nova Scotia Agriculture College, May, 2006.
Daphne Taras, Ph.D.
Dr. Daphne Taras has a B.A. (Hons) from York University, and an M.A. from Duke University, both in political science. Her M.B.A. and Ph.D. are from the University of Calgary, and she has an LLM in Labour and Employment Law from Osgoode Hall.
She is Dean of the Edwards School of Business at University of Saskatchewan. The Edwards School has over 2100 full-time students and 60 professors.
Prior to her move to Saskatoon in 2010, Dr. Taras was a professor at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business and was Associate Dean (Research) and Director of the PhD Program. She has also held a Professorship in the University of Calgary’s Institute for Advanced Policy Research (IAPR), and was Area Chair of the Human Resources and Organizational Dynamics group.
Dr. Taras has been active at the intersection of labour relations, public policy and law. Her particular interest is in bringing multiple disciplines together on important labour market and workplace issues. She is working on two SSHRC-funded projects: the Micropolitics of Justice in Labour and Employment, and Adjudicators and Arbitrators and their Slippery Deadlines. Dr. Taras has published over 50 journal articles and book chapters, five books and edited many important journal symposia. She has mediated labour disputes, facilitated union-management committees, and provided training in conflict resolution.
She received many research and teaching awards from the University of Calgary. She was expert advisor to the Federal Labour Standards Commission from 2004 to 2006. In 2006 she was awarded the US-based Labor and Employment Relations Association’s Excellence in Education Award. In 2008 she gave the H.D. Woods lecture to her academic association.
For fun, only a few years ago, Dr. Taras completed her LLM in labour and employment lay at Osgoode Hall law School.
Art Froehlich
Mr. Art Froehlich is Strategic Advisor, AdFarm. Art's roots in the world of agriculture reach back to his childhood on the family farm in east central Saskatchewan.
With an undergraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan and an Executive MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, Mr. Froehlich has spent the last 30 years working in primary food production, agri-business and agrimarketing in Canada, United States, Europe, South America and Asia. He has served as the president of AdFarm, President of Westcan Malting, General Manager of Operations for Alberta Pool and the Director of Sales and Marketing at Hoechst Canada.
Along with his business and professional commitments, Mr. Froehlich is still active on the family farm raising registered Red Angus cattle and producing wheat, malting barley and milling oats. In addition, he volunteers his time to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and has served as a mentor to young entrepreneurs through the Business Development Bank of Canada. He also volunteers support for organizations dealing with adults with developmental disabilities.
Recently Mr. Froehlich has taken on a philanthropic developmental initiative in Peru where he is supporting local communities outside Lima to establish community gardens, composting and tree planting programs. Art also provides financial support to young Agricultural scientists from the developing world to allow them to attend major agricultural scientific conferences.
He has extensive Board leadership experience, in particular, in the role of Chair including Executive Committee, ABIC 2013, Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions Corporation, Science Alberta Foundation and Founding Chair, Genome Alberta to name a few.
In 2005, Mr. Froehlich received the distinguished Agrologist Award from the Alberta Institute of Agrologists and the Alberta Centennial Gold Medal by the Province of Alberta.
Jerald D. Heise, Ph.D.
Jerald (Jerry) Heise obtained his Ph.D., in Inorganic Chemistry from Purdue University in 1996. He has worked in R & D laboratories in academic, forensic, and industrial settings for over twenty five years.
Dr. Heise has been employed with Monsanto for the last fifteen years in St. Louis, Missouri. During his tenure at Monsanto, he has led teams focused on R & D in catalysis, process development, and plant start up with herbicides like Roundup®.
Today, Dr. Heise is the Oilseed Processing Facility Director and group leader for the Oilseed Processing Team. The Oilseed Processing Team focuses on aligning R & D, quality control, and customer support with the commercial business. In addition, he has a technical advisory role with regulatory and public outreach teams.
Patrick W. Pitka, FCA
Patrick Pitka is a consultant who currently works in a CFO capacity with a number of organizations, including Genome Prairie (a Saskatchewan/Manitoba research management company headquartered in Saskatoon); Ag-West Bio Inc. of Saskatoon; Mustard 21 Canada Inc.; and Amicus Health Care Inc.
Patrick brings over 4 decades of financial and administrative experience to his position on the POS Board of Directors. Prior to taking on the consulting positions listed above, he was VP of Finance and Administration with Hitachi Canadian Industries Ltd., where he still serves as a Director and, Partner at KPMG. While at KPMG he served as engagement partner with clients in industries as diverse as mining, manufacturing, hospitality, post-secondary education and private enterprises.
Pat also works with many community and professional organizations. At the community level, he currently serves on a variety of local Boards and Committees. These include Director and Treasurer of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, the Government Affairs Committee of the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce, the Taxation Committee of the North Saskatoon Business Association, the Board of Governors of St. Thomas More College and the Finance Committee of Holy Spirit Parish Church.
Past professional commitments are many – including serving as President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Saskatchewan, President of the Saskatoon C.A. Association, and Member of the National Board of Examiners for the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.