Program

Dr. Eduardo Ribeiro grew up on a small family farm in southern Brazil and graduated in Veterinary Medicine at the Santa Catarina State University in 2008. In 2009, he moved to Florida to start his graduate studies in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Florida, where he completed a MSc in 2011 and a PhD in 2015. In 2016, Dr. Ribeiro joined the Department of Animal Biosciences at the University of Guelph as an Assistant Professor, and in 2020 he was promoted to Associate Professor. At Guelph, Dr. Ribeiro teaches animal health and animal reproduction to undergraduate and graduate students and leads a research program in reproductive health of dairy cattle. His multidisciplinary research program examines problems related to transition health and fertility of dairy cows at all levels of organization, from herd management to cell biology, and aims to develop novel management solutions that ultimately improve efficiency and sustainability of dairy production.

Mark Taylor is President & CEO of Lactalis Canada Inc., the Canadian dairy leader behind iconic brands like Cracker Barrel, Black Diamond, Balderson, Astro and Lactantia and a subsidiary of the world’s leading dairy group, headquartered in Laval, France.
Since assuming the role of President & CEO in 2018, Mark has been instrumental in driving the company’s growth and transformation including leading the CDN$1.62 billion acquisition of Kraft Heinz’s natural cheese business in Canada in 2019, the biggest of its kind in Canadian dairy history. This transaction was followed by the acquisitions of Ultima Foods Inc. from Agropur and the Kraft Heinz Grated cheese business in Canada in 2021. Today, Lactalis Canada is the third largest country by turnover in Lactalis Group, third largest branded CPG manufacturer in Canada and consistently named on Forbes’ list of Canada’s Best Employers.
Within the industry, Mark has played an instrumental role in the advocacy and creation of a Grocery Code of Conduct for Canada.
Mark brings over 30 years of experience in CPG, specifically in the dairy category across the supply chain from farm to consumer. Before locating to Canada, Mark was Group Managing Director of Lactalis U.K. and Ireland from 2015 to 2018 and has previously held various senior leadership roles at Express Dairy PLC, Northern Foods PLC, Unigate PLC and Dairy Crest PLC. He formerly served as Chair of the Board of Directors of U.K.-based Muddy Boots Software Limited, Zenith International Consulting in the U.K. and Wexford Creamery, Ireland.
Mark is currently a Board Director of Dairy Processors Association Canada (DPAC), Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada (FHCP) and The Grocery Foundation where he also Chairs the Donations Committee. Mark has also been appointed as cabinet member of the Feel Out Loud with Kids Help Phone campaign, the largest youth mental health movement in Canada.
Mark holds an MBA and resides in Toronto with his wife, Angela, and two sons.

Originally from Switzerland and having grown up on her family’s dairy farm in the Eastern Townships, Débora has always shown a keen interest in everything that does not produce milk in the barn, such as calves, heifers and dry cows. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science, a Master’s Degree in Dairy Cattle Nutrition from McGill University and a PhD in Animal Science from Laval University, Débora joined Valacta’s R&D (now Lactanet) team in 2010 as a nutrition and management expert and became Director of the R&D Team in 2019.
With her communication skills and her passion for dairy production, Débora is a highly coveted speaker, both in Quebec and internationally. In addition to her role at Valacta, she is also an Adjunct professor in the departments of Animal Science of McGill, Laval, Manitoba and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (University of Montreal). As on the CRAAQ Dairy Cattle Committee since 2009, she has been involved in the organization of the Dairy Cattle Symposium for several years.

Simon joined Lactanet in March 2021. He holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Kentucky (USA) and a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from McGill University. He has over 17 years of experience in agricultural economics for various organizations in Canada, USA and France. His previous work consisted of knowledge transfer to producers and development of decision-making tools, with a strong interest in Human resources management.

Julien Chamberland is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences. He has recognized expertise in dairy processing, and particularly in cheese technology.
The career of this cheese enthusiast has been marked by his six years of experience as a consultant in artisanal and industrial cheese making. He completed his graduate studies at Université Laval (2014-2018) as part of the NSERC-Novalait Industrial Research Chair in Milk Processing Efficiency, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Milk and Egg Science and Technology Laboratory in Rennes (2018-2019). This stay in France allowed him to contribute to the creation of a new patented technology aimed at reducing the environmental impact of cheese processes.
Julien Chamberland was recruited in 2020 through the creation of the Chair in Teaching Leadership in Cheese Technology. As a chairholder, he will develop new training programs focused on cheese making, in addition to initiating research activities on the variability and efficiency of cheese-making processes.