John P. Oliver - President, Maple Leaf Bio-Concepts
Mr. Oliver was raised on a mixed farm near Napanee, Ontario (east of Toronto). He graduated with a B.S.A. from the Ontario Agricultural College at Guelph in 1961. Mr. Oliver joined Eli Lilly in agricultural promotion and advertising in 1965. He held several marketing positions before becoming Director of Elanco Products in 1971 and Vice President of Eli Lilly Canada in 1976. In 1989 he became President of Dow Elanco Canada Inc., a joint venture between Dow Chemical and Eli Lilly to research, manufacture, and market crop protection and plant biotechnology products.
Mr. Oliver was a founding member of the Canadian Agri-Marketing Association; past Chairman of the Crop Protection Institute and the Canadian Animal Health Institute. He is a member of the Agricultural Institute of Canada, past member of the Board of Governors of the University of Guelph (2 terms). Mr. Oliver is currently Chairman of Flax Canada 2015 Inc., and a member of the Advisory Board of the Canadian Agri- Food Policy Institute. As well, he is a member of several corporate/advisory Boards.
In 1997, with his combined interest in biotechnology and government affairs, he developed two consulting firms: Maple Leaf Bio-Concepts and Lojon Associates International.