PRESIDENT
Dr. Michael M. Oelck grew up in Germany and obtained his M.Sc (Dipl. -Ing. agr.) in agriculture at University of Bonn. He worked at Max-Planck-Institute in Cologne, Germany, obtaining his Ph. D. from University of Cologne in Molecular- and Cellular Biology. He established a new laboratory for Hoechst AG in Frankfurt, Germany. Delegated to Ottawa in Ontario, he led a project for canola herbicide tolerance with Dr. Wilf Keller at AAFC. After successfully producing herbicide tolerant plants, Michael set up a new R&D group for Hoechst/AgrEvo Biotechnology in Saskatoon. His team was the first to globally market introduce Liberty Link® tolerant Canola, which today is the best-selling Canola in Canada, and the US. Back in Germany, Michael became biotechnology speaker at corporate communication at Hoechst/AgrEvo including internal, external, and crisis communication. In 2012, Michael founded Canadian CarnationBioProducts Company, a bioproducts and chemistry firm which domesticates "Prairie Carnation" as a new crop for the prairies.
CEO
Dr. Geeta Patel grew up in India and obtained her Ph.D at Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Plant Biotechnology Division, Bombay. She passed her BSc in Botany and her Masters in Plant Tissue Culture at Bombay University. As Postdoc, she went to Technical Research Center of Finland, Espoo (‘87-’89). After returning to India, Geeta started the tissue culture business for Godrej group, the largest agricultural company in India. She was with Godrej group for 19 years and responsible for the Tissue Culture Business. In 2008, she moved to Ahmedabad and worked as Executive Vice President of the Agro Division of Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd, turning the Agro Division into a successful enterprise. She reported directly to the company owner, and during her tenure of 8 years at Cadila, she introduced various products and new businesses. Her team was working with more than 5,000 farmers. She also started and managed Ethiopia operations of Cadila Agro directing local staff in that country. In 2015, Geeta became a Permanent Resident in Canada and joined CCC as Chief Executive Officer.
R&D
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Dr. John Balsevich is a Canadian researcher who retired from the National Research Council of Canada and was an adjunct professor of pharmacology at the University of Saskatchewan. His original training was in organic chemistry with emphasis on medicinal natural products. His recent research efforts have focused on developing selected plant species as platforms for the production of industrial and medicinal products. His current work involves isolation, identification, quantitation, and bioevaluation of saponins – complex natural surfactants which possess a number of interesting structure-dependent bioactivities. The aim of the research is to validate and develop the lead compound for development of vaccine adjuvant and anticancer and immunostimulatory drugs.