| Leadership |
| Managing Directors |
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Daniel Huvet
Agribusiness |
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Daniel Huvet is an international agribusiness
executive with senior management experience
in North America, Europe, Russia, Latin
America and the Asia Pacific region. |
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His 30 year career with Malteurop Groupe
encompassed management positions from
Sales and Export Administration and Chief
Commercial Officer to Chief Executive Officer
responsible for developing production capacity
from 0.8 m tons to 2.2 m tons and leading 750
employees in 12 countries. |
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As First Key’s senior agribusiness advisor, Mr.
Huvet assists clients with the development of
malt strategy, procurement and supply logistics.
He possesses a superior degree of human
relationship skills working with people at all
levels and for a range of cultures. |
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Mark Benzaquen
Brewing and Packaging |
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Mark Benzaquen is an accomplished Master
Brewer (B.Sc., M.Sc., Brew. Diploma) and
Project Manager (PMP) with a successful
career working for one of Canada’s largest
brewing companies. He has lead teams of
quality, production and packaging technicians
towards ensuring consistent high production
and quality standards. |
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In addition to successfully managing all aspects
of brewery operations (large scale,
microbrewery, brewpub) Mark has used his
brewing and packaging expertise to oversee
design, start-up and commissioning of new
brewing and packaging equipment around the
world, hire and train staff, set-up quality (Q.C.)
and safety programs, and formulate and launch
award winning beer recipes. |
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John Eckmire
Commercial Strategy |
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John Eckmire is a consultant and former
executive with Labatt Breweries of Canada
where he was an advisor in marketing and
corporate strategy and was responsible for
recommending and implementing innovative
marketing concepts and corporate
diversifications. |
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John ran the marketing function at Labatt's
largest Canadian unit and then joined the
company as Vice President Development for
Labatt Breweries of Europe, and then as
Managing Director Labatt Brewing UK. |
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John teaches strategy and innovation at
Canadian Management Centre, is a qualified
executive coach, and heads up First Key's
commercial strategy business unit. |
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Paul Woodhouse
Financial Services |
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Paul Woodhouse is the Senior Financial Advisor
at First Key providing valuations and fairness
opinions, international investment opportunity
evaluations, turnaround studies, litigation
support services and financial due diligence for
a wide variety of investment firms, banks, and
brewery clients. |
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Prior to First Key Paul worked with
PricewaterhouseCoopers where he earned a
Chartered Accounting and a Chartered Business
Valuators designation. |
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He was formerly the President of the B.C.
Chapter of the Canadian Institute of Chartered
Business Valuators, and has written articles and
organized conferences and educational
seminars on the subject of business valuation. |
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| Administration |
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Jim Clarke
President |
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Jim Clarke has directed the operations of First
Key since 1985, and has participated in
international projects involving strategic
planning, market research, conceptual and
feasibility studies, and the development of
business plans for new breweries. |
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He has traveled extensively throughout the
brewing world, and works with many of the
industry's leading companies and
financial/equity investors. Jim is responsible for
scheduling all major work assignments, the
quality of client service, development of new
business, and for providing strategic vision and
strategy consulting for many of the company's
clients. |
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Rod McLeod
Vice President
Technical Affairs |
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Rod McLeod has specialized in brewery and
winery operations for more than 35 years. His
expertise encompasses operations management
positions, including brewer, plant management,
VP operations, and general management. |
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Rod graduated with a degree in food science
from the University of British Columbia and
obtained his M.S. degree in food science at the
University of California, Davis. He also has
attended Harvard Business School. |
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As Vice President, Technical Affairs at First Key
Rod has provided leadership for global brewing
projects encompassing capacity and facility
management, strategic planning, due diligence,
and productivity and efficiency enhancement. He
has also presented and written published articles
on world class manufacturing in the brewing
industry. |
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Christopher Clarke
Research Services |
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Christopher Clarke manages the research,
reporting and technology functions at First Key.
Since graduating from university in 2005 he has
developed various websites, managed the
company’s technology support systems, reports,
proposals, and worked on many of the
company’s projects. |
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Chris specializes in research and statistical
analysis of market trends for projects such as
concept and feasibility studies for new breweries
and international brand assessments to identify
market opportunities for major clients. He has
direct experience in sales and distributor
management, importing and logistics planning,
warehousing operations, order and budget
forecasting and event planning and execution. |
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| Regional Representatives |
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Oladapo Loto
Africa
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| Oladapo Loto is an accomplished Brewer and Operations Manager with a proven track record in the Nigerian beer market. His career history which spans more than 20 years includes senior operations and technical management roles with major global brewing companies where he gained broad management experience encompassing various functions including Brewer, Development Brewer, Brewing Manager and Head Brewer. He was also the founder and Managing Director of a start-up Beverage Company. |
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| With expertise in process improvement, key performance indicators (KPI”s) measurement and benchmarking, Oladapo has lead teams in strategic and production planning, cost containment, capital planning, product development, quality control, development of standard operating procedures, implementation of best practices, and training in all technical aspects of beer and malt drinks production. |
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Tony Fletcher
Europe
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Tony Fletcher has specialized in brewing,
malting and food industry management for over
25 years working in various roles including
Group Technical Director with a major Russian
brewing and malting company and senior
operations and technical management with a
leading UK Brewer. |
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His experience includes quality assurance and
auditing, product development and risk
analysis, capital planning and project
management, training advice and interim
management. Tony has also acted as a
consultant for both 'blue-chip' companies and
SME's in Eastern Europe, the UK and Canada. |
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Currently resident in the Czech Republic, Tony
is responsible for developing First Key's
business interests in Eastern and Central
Europe. |
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Dr. Andrés Furukawa
Latin America
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| Andrés Furukawa is a professional Brewmaster and distinguished authority in brewing technology. He holds a PhD degree in Brewing from the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling at Heriot-Watt University, and has his Brewmaster Diploma (Malting & Brewing Technology) from Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei, Technische Universität Berlin, as well as a Bachelor of Science Diploma in Food Chemistry from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México. |
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| Andrés is fluent in Spanish, English and German. Over the last 12 years he has worked in the production department of a major brewing operation and has provided technical brewing and quality assurance consultancy to both large-scale and microbrewery clients in Europe and Latin America. |
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Dr. John Gore
Europe
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John Gore has spent over 25 years in the
European brewing and distilling industry
working in various roles progressing from
Brewer and Operations Management through
to General Management and CEO with several
major brewing companies, including Guinness,
Heineken, and Scottish Courage. |
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In addition to his in-depth background in
Operations and General Management, John
has had extensive experience at providing
consulting and business development services
to private equity investors in the brewing
industry. |
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| Where talent meets opportunity |
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| Check out our www.brewingwork.com online job board exclusive to the brewing industry. It is free for Candidates to post a resume and free for Employers to post jobs and search resumes. It also has a unique feature for brewery consultants interested in working with First Key on projects. read more+ |
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| Sign up on our networking site |
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| Set up your association, project team or special interest
group to share files, organize discussion forums and
polls and post events. There is a daily news feed,
classified section, and a directory where suppliers can
add their company website. Its free. read more+ |
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