Maya Lange
Destination British Columbia (DBC)
DBC Strategies and Tourism Trends
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Vice President, Global Marketing, Destination British Columbia
Maya Lange is the VP, Global Marketing for Destination British Columbia. Maya has a proven track record of managing strong brands on the local, national and world stage having worked in data-driven digital marketing and content marketing in Germany, France, USA and Canada. In 2018, Maya was recognized as the Canadian Marketing Association’s Marketer of the Year.
At Destination BC, Maya is responsible for our global marketing efforts in 14 domestic and international markets via the Super, Natural British Columbia® brand. A passionate British Columbian raising a young family, she loves skiing and exploring BC’s hidden wonders.
LUIS OSORIO
Wine Intelligence
BC’s Position in the Canadian Market
with Key Insights
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Wine Intelligence, Luis Osorio
Luis started his career in wine working as an intern in a Portuguese wine producer. He then joined a management consulting firm, where he developed strategy related projects in Portuguese-speaking countries. In 2014 Luis joined Wine Intelligence where he has been participating in market research and strategy projects around the world.
Luis graduated from Lisbon Technical University with a BA in architecture / civil engineering and later with a master’s degree in business administration majoring in strategy from the Catholic University of Portugal. He also holds the WSET Level 2 qualification in wines and spirits and the MRS certificate.
Darcen Esau
Terroir Consulting
Consumer Segments in the BC Wine Industry
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Darcen Esau, Partner, Terroir Consulting
Darcen Esau is a wine researcher specializing in consumer behaviour, sensory evaluation, and global trends. He is co-founder of Terroir Consulting, one of the largest wine research and development consultancy firms in Canada that is solely dedicated to supporting wine industry partners. Darcen has supported dozens of wine producers across Canada and Canadian regional wine associations with consumer research, export planning, marketing plans, sustainability initiatives, strategic planning, label design, and many other custom projects that he oversees with a team of multi-disciplinary experts.
Darcen is also part-owner and head of research at TasteAdvisor, which developed the world’s only white-labeled wine tourism platform. In partnership with Wine Growers British Columbia, the Wines of BC Explorer platform is the first wine tourism app to win gold in Travel Weekly’s Magellan Awards. He completed his Masters at the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) where he studied the sensory experience of wine and how this impacts consumer decision making. Darcen continues to contribute to academic publications through multiple universities, including UBCO and Thompson River University.
Tammy Tsang
AndHumanity
Incorporating Diversity and
Inclusion in the Business Day
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Tammy Tsang (she/her) is the co-founder of AndHumanity, Inclusive Marketing Agency. As a maverick business owner, she holds a lifelong passion for diversity and
inclusion. She is certified in Leadership & Inclusion. Over the years, her work has been recognized internationally including features in Marketing Magazine and at the Global American Marketing Association (AMA) Conference. Tammy is also one of the founding members of the Global Inclusive Marketing Alliance, which is a conglomerate of Inclusive Marketing agencies that specialise in this space across the world.
Their Lens*: Mother, Wife, Daughter, Sister, Friend & Confidant. Father’s daughter, even in heaven. Canadian Born Cantonese. Entrepreneurial Genealogy. Founder, Leader & Brand Strategist. My Real Job: Advocating with and for equity-deserving groups. Loves authentic visual storytelling (film, tv, ads), exploring cultures, positive psychology, fashion, and eating.
Ruth King
Sustainable Winegrowing BC
Inspired People Growing Outstanding Wine
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SWBC Program Manager, Ruth King
Ruth received her B.Sc. in Environmental Horticulture from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. With Paso Robles to the North and Santa Barbara wine country to the South, she found herself immersed in world class wine. When it was time for a new adventure, Ruth moved to Melbourne, Australia to participate in a harvest and she never looked back. For the last 13 years, she has been in the wine industry in one capacity or another, earning her Winemakers Certificate from UC Davis and her WSET III. Some career highlights include being the Wine Director of New District, Harvest Winemaker for Sandhill, Student Coordinator for Vinica, Researcher & Consultant with Terroir Consulting and Winemaker at Kitsch, but she’s sure the best career days are yet to come. When off the clock, Ruth has a husband, three kids, a wicked garden and a yoga practice that keep her busy.
Maxine Gurevich
Horizon Media
The Gen-Z Field Guide for Wine Marketers
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Horizon Media, Maxine Gurevich
Maxine Gurevich synthesizes consumer behavior and culture and translates it into meaningful opportunities for brands. With over a decade of experience, Maxine’s expertise lies at the intersection of cultural strategy, global audience research, and emerging social media behaviors. From this expertise, she’s developed a superpower of uncovering what’s next and why – and applying it across categories. Maxine has built multi-market strategies for culturally iconic brands including Calvin Klein, Kraft, Pepsi, Dove, Pond’s, and Singapore Tourism. With a strong track record of leading and training robust strategy teams, she helps apply cultural analysis frameworks to communications planning methodologies. She also brings a global perspective to her work, having lived and traveled across Southeast Asia and Latin America where she led on-the-ground cultural research focusing on youth culture and lifestyle trends for Fortune 500 companies.
With a pulse on everything from fashion and food to wellness and travel, Maxine’s deep passion for investigating macro-cultural shifts led her to Horizon Media, where she runs primary research studies on the intersection of trends and their effect across audiences and categories for Horizon’s robust portfolio of clients. By monitoring marketplace shifts alongside the mindsets, motivations, and behaviors of people, Maxine helps brands discover successful avenues of engagement for a more relevant role in today’s culture.
About Horizon Media
Horizon Media in Canada, the fastest growing media agency in Canada (according to RECMA), delivers data-driven business outcomes for some of the most innovative and ambitious brands. Founded in 1989, headquartered in New York, and with offices in Edmonton, Los Angeles and Toronto, the company employs 2,400 people and has media investments of more than $9 billion. Horizon Media’s fundamental belief is that business is personal, which drives its approach to connecting brands with their customers and engaging with its own employees resulting in industry-leading workplace satisfaction levels (Glassdoor). The company is consistently recognized by independent media outlets for its client excellence and has earned several “Best Workplaces” awards reflecting its commitment to DEI and the life and well-being of everyone at Horizon Media.
Horizon Media has become one of the largest and fastest-growing media agencies in the industry, with clients in Canada that include Tim Hortons, Harry Rosen, Pataks, Alberta Blue Cross, Al Fez, Burger King, Wild Brain, Blue Triton, Benjamin Moore, Peloton, Smile Direct Club, Petco, Blue Dragon, Impossible and many more.
For more information:
Michael Mills
VP, Growth & Marketing
mmills@horizonmedia.com
https://horizon-media.ca/ or https://www.linkedin.com/company/horizonmediacanada
Connor Clarkes
Commerce7
Driving DTC Revenue in 2023
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Commerce7, Connor Clarkes
As Commerce7’s Enterprise Account Executive, Connor helps wineries build the best Direct to Consumer shopping experiences in the wine industry. By leveraging the latest in eCommerce research and the most advanced DTC software for wineries, Connor educates his clients on the benefits of a customer-centric approach.
David Hume
Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General
Industry Update
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Assistant Deputy Minister and General Manager, David Hume
In 2022, David Hume was appointed as Assistant Deputy Minister and General Manager of the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB).
David joined the Province of B.C. full-time in May 2009 in the role of Executive Director of Citizen Engagement. Prior to joining government, David has worked in various consulting and project roles with the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Province of New Brunswick, the federal government and the Government of New Zealand. Starting out in 2002 with an organization called the KTA Centre for Collaborative Governance, and continuing as the owner/operator of his own firm, most of his work has been focussed on how and why the web matters to the way we govern.
Prior to his appointment with the LCRB, David was Assistant Deputy Minister of the Government Digital Experience (GDX) Division. He was appointed in February 2017, and in July 2019 the GDX team joined the Ministry of Citizens’ Services from Government Communications and Public Engagement. As ADM of GDX, David was responsible for using public engagement to help create citizen centred policy and services, and leveraging government’s main web presence, www.gov.bc.ca, to improve services for citizens. In addition, David was responsible for technology services to Government Communication and Public Engagement (GCPE).
In 2011, David was a Premier’s Award finalist in the Leadership-Vancouver Island category.
CHRISTOPHER MARK
Vintality Tech Inc.
Drone Usage in the Vineyard
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Vintality Tech Inc., Christopher Mark
Christopher Mark is the founder of Vintality Tech Inc., a precision viticulture company that helps vineyards farm more sustainably, more profitably, and achieve higher quality fruit. It accomplishes this through the use of targeted technologies and approaching the farming and winemaking holistically. You’ll find Christopher working at numerous vineyards in the valley, across BC, and outside of Canada.
ROLY RUSSELL
Member of the Legislative Assembly
Industry Update
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Member of the Legislative Assembly, Roly Russell
Roly Russell was elected MLA for Boundary-Similkameen in the 2020 general election. He is the Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Development.
Before running for provincial office, Roly served as an elected leader with the Kootenay-Boundary Regional District and the Association of Kootenay Boundary Local Governments, chaired the local credit union board, and was a member of the executive of the Union of BC Municipalities.
When Grand Forks was hit hard by flooding in 2018, Roly helped lead the response in the community by coordinating with emergency operations and between different levels of government to secure needed assistance. Through the flooding response, he helped establish a new model of community-led disaster recovery.
Roly has a Ph.D. in ecology, and his science focused on biodiversity and sustainability, including decision-making under uncertainty such as climate change. He has developed local food strategies, co-founded an agricultural society, sat on the board of the Certified Organic Association of BC, and operated his own organic farm.
Roly was born and raised in rural Grand Forks, where he now lives with his wife Christine, and their children Juno and Gabriel. He is proud to call the Boundary region home.
MICAH HEWER
University of Toronto
Climate Change and the BC Wine Industry
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University of Toronto, Dr. Micah J. Hewer
Micah is an applied climatologist and Canadian geographer who specialized in climate change impacts and adaption. Dr. Hewer has conducted several climate change impact assessments on recreation and tourism as well as grape and wine across Canada. He has published more than 20 peer-reviewed research articles in high-impact academic journals. His research has been cited more than 250 times, by more than 150 articles world-wide. Micah has served as an expert reviewer for Environment and Climate Change Canada’s recent reports on Canada in a Changing Climate. Dr. Hewer has also provided expert opinion on climate change impacts and adaption for the Canadian tourism and wine industries to several media agencies across the country.
BEN-MIN CHANG
Summerland Research & Development Centre
Assessing Winter Damage in the Vineyard
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Summerland Research & Development Centre, Dr. Ben-Min Chang
Ben-Min Chang is the Research Scientist of Viticulture and Plant Physiology in Summerland Research and Development Centre. Ben-Min joined Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Summerland in March 2022. Previously, he received his PhD degree and worked as postdoctoral research associate at the Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser, WA USA.
Ben-Min had diverse experiences working in viticulture. Starting with table grape research in subtropical Taiwan in 2008, he studied grape berry splitting and heat stress management in Washington state. His current research focus on the grapevine stress management. Specifically, he is interested in managing cold, heat, and drought stress of wine grapes in the Okanagan valley.
Rachel UDY
go2HR
Building Positive Workplace Cultures – A Post Pandemic Approach to Employee Engagement
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go2HR , Rachel Udy
Rachel’s passion for tourism and hospitality ignited in 2007, when she started working at a restaurant and realized how much she enjoyed engaging with people. Over the next several years, she gained education and work experience in counselling, and participated in a myriad of endeavors related to mental health – an ideal combination for her current role as a go2HR Workplace Learning Coach-Psychological Health & Safety. She also spent four years working as a flight attendant, where she further honed her skills in interpersonal relations and intuitive service. Rachel is committed to helping employers understand their responsibility of providing psychological safety to their employees, and supporting them to create environments where people feel safe to bring their whole selves to work and feel comfortable voicing their ideas, questions and concerns.
Ginger Brunner, CPHR
go2HR
Building Positive Workplace Cultures – A Post Pandemic Approach to Employee Engagement
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go2HR , Ginger Brunner
Ginger is the Manager, Industry Human Resources at go2HR and Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) with over 20 years of applied human resources and operations management experience in a range of industry sectors including hotels, restaurants, visitor services and event planning.
Based in the Thompson Okanagan, Ginger is proud to work with tourism and hospitality employers in the TOTA region to provide guidance, support and resources in the areas of human resources, mental health, health and safety and training to help them build strong workforces and safe workplaces.
ANGELA NAGY
GreenStep Solutions
Measuring and Reducing a Winery’s Carbon Footprint
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CEO, GreenStep Solutions Inc., Angela Nagy
Angela Nagy is a sustainability expert with more than 25 years of international experience working with all levels of business, utilities, and government, on a variety of environmental and sustainability-related projects.
In 2008, Angela founded GreenStep Solutions, a company that provides sustainability strategies, program development, assessments, and certifications to help small and medium-sized enterprises measure and improve their sustainability performance and reduce their carbon footprint. To date, GreenStep has worked with more than 5000 businesses and organizations including utilities, government, industry associations, and businesses ranging from one to thousands of employees. Through their Sustainable Tourism Divison, Angela and her team provide solutions that help tourism destinations and businesses to improve sustainability performance through the use of purpose-built, industry-specific assessment and certification programs.
Angela has been trained by former Vice President and Nobel Laureate, Al Gore, David Suzuki, and IPCC scientists to deliver the Climate Reality Project. She is certified in Organizational GHG Accounting through the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute, and as a Sustainability Practitioner through The Natural Step. Her experience also includes politics, and Angela has served as an elected official at both the municipal and regional levels, elected on a platform of sustainability.
HON. PAM ALEXIS
Minister of Agriculture and Food
Address to the BC Wine Industry
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Minister of Agriculture and Food, Honourable Pam Alexis
Pam Alexis was elected as the MLA for Abbotsford-Mission in 2020. She served as chair of the Caucus Committees on Economy and Health, which worked to provide recommendations on the continued opioid crisis in B.C. She was also a member of the Cabinet Committee on Economy, and the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services.
She began her career in public service in 2005 serving as a school trustee until 2011. She served as a Mission city councillor from 2014-18 before holding the office of mayor from 2018-20.
From 2014-20, she sat on the Abbotsford-Mission Joint Shared Services Committee, and the Fraser Valley Regional District executive committee. She worked closely with the city of Abbotsford on shared issues, including water, sewer and transit, and gained a greater understanding of the issues facing Abbotsford and residents east of Mission.
Prior to entering politics, she served with many boards and non-profits, including the Mission Chamber of Commerce (vice-president), the Rotary Club of Mission Midday, and the Sunshine Rotary Club, where she also served as president and earned four Paul Harris Fellowships. From 2012-15, she was the vice-president of the BC Winter Games.
She has a bachelor of arts from the University of Victoria and obtained her post degree professional program certificate in 1982 with a focus in English and theatre.
RENU BAINS
BC Liquor Distribution Branch
LDB Wholesale Sales Trends from 2022
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BC Liquor Distribution Branch, Renu Bains
Renu Bains has been the Director of Wholesale Supply Chain at the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) since 2020. In this role, Renu is responsible for vendor relations and demand planning and oversees two wholesale customer centres located in Vancouver and Victoria.
Renu ensures that the thousands of vendors and wholesale customers who interact with her team have the information and support they need to do business with the LDB. Over the past few years, Renu has also taken a lead role in mitigating risk to the liquor supply chain in BC during times of crisis including the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires and floods.
Prior to moving into wholesale and supply chain, Renu was the LDB’s Director of Wholesale Pricing and Imports where she worked with her team to establish the LDB’s wholesale price and managed relationships with the Canada Border Services Agency to import liquor products into British Columbia as part of the LDB’s liquor supply chain.
Renu has been with the LDB for over ten years, holding various roles within the Wholesale and Finance departments
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Members of the WGBC are proud of their wines and are committed to ensuring their wines are promoted and enjoyed responsibly by those adults who choose to consume them for the continued enjoyment and prosperity of the BC wine industry.
Learn what is the right amount for you at therightamount.ca
Learn what is the right amount for you at therightamount.ca
