Staff Bios
- Nancy Croitoru
President & Chief Executive Officer - Blake Johnston
V.P Government Affairs - Kathleen Kennedy
V.P. Finance and Administration - Gemma Zecchini
Senior V.P. Public Policy
To arrange an interview, please contact:
Veronica Rivas
Communications Coordinator
Ext:2259 veronicar@fcpc.ca
Nancy Croitoru
President & CEO
Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC)
Nancy Croitoru is President & CEO of Food and Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC), Canada’s largest Trade Association of food, beverage and consumer packaged goods companies. Members of FCPC are Canadian-operated companies that manufacture and market private label and national brands sold through retail and foodservice outlets. The industry represents more than $86 billion sales annually and is the largest employer in the manufacturing sector in Canada. FCPC applies legal, scientific, communications and political expertise to the vital trade, manufacturing, retail and public policy issues that face the industry.
In her capacity as President & CEO, Nancy sits on the Board of Directors, oversees the Association’s operations, acts as an industry spokesperson, liaising with trading partners and senior government officials on issues of concern to the membership. She provides strategic direction to the Board and the staff of FCPC.
Prior to joining FCPC, Nancy was President of GCI Group Canada, a full-service public relations and public affairs agency with offices in Toronto (headquarters), Montreal and an affiliate in Vancouver. In her capacity as President, she oversaw a wide range of client matters in each of GCI’s key service areas. GCI’s clients included some of Canada’s largest corporations as well as associations and government bodies.
In her consulting capacity, Nancy has counseled clients from such diverse industries and disciplines as healthcare, food and nutrition, technology, fashion, toys and retail. She has specialized in assisting corporations with issues management, strategic planning and crisis communications.
Prior to GCI, Nancy was President and founder of CNC Communications, a public relations agency with offices in Montreal and Toronto, which she sold to GCI Group (a global PR firm) in 1989. In addition, Nancy was president of an independent television production company (MC Productions Inc) and executive producer of many national television specials in both English and French Canada.
Nancy has sat on numerous not for profit boards and is currently on the Board of Bishop Strachan School (BSS). Nancy has been a regular speaker over the years for many organizations including the Public Policy Forum, the Conference Board of Canada, Federated Press and a variety of others. The topics have included; the business of the Food and CPG industry in Canada; the need for regulatory reform and the future of manufacturing; Corporate Reputation; Branding and Crisis Management.
Nancy was recently profiled in the book “The NEW Woman Rules” by Fawn Germer, which highlighted 50 of the most senior CPG industry female executives from across North America.
Nancy holds an Honors Bachelor of Science degree from McGill University, a degree in dietetics and is fully bilingual. She also successfully completed “Leading professional service firms” course, Harvard University, Graduate School of Business Administration and “Governance course for not-for-profit organizations”, Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD).
Blake Johnston
V.P Government Affairs
Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC)
Blake Johnston is Vice President of Government Affairs for the Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC), the largest industry association representing Canadian-operated member companies that make and market retailer and national brand food and consumer products sold through retail and foodservice outlets. Blake heads FCPC's Ottawa office and is responsible for developing and implementing government relations strategies for the association. Using his extensive government relations experience, Blake's role is to ensure the industry's voice is heard in Ottawa.
Prior to joining FCPC, Blake worked at the Wellington Strategy Group, Inc., a full service government relations firm. As a senior consultant, he helped clients in a variety of industries, including agri-business, broadcasting, biotechnology and consumer product manufacturing, work effectively with government by developing and executing government relations and communications plans.
Prior to his government relations experience, Blake had a five-year political career holding a variety of positions within the federal government, including policy advisor roles in the offices of the Solicitor General of Canada, the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Transport.
Blake holds a Bachelor of Arts in Canadian history from Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. He also attended Holland College Journalism School before accepting his first position in Ottawa in 1997.
Kathleen Kennedy
V.P. Finance and Administration
Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC)
Kathleen Kennedy is Vice President of Finance and Administration for the Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC), the largest industry association representing Canadian-operated member companies that make and market retailer and national brand food and consumer products sold through retail and foodservice outlets. In her role, Kathleen oversees the association's operations, finance and human resources. She also acts as the corporate secretary of the association.
Prior to joining FCPC, Kathleen gained experience directing finance and administration functions at both GCI Canada, a public relations firm, and Intercon Security Limited, a private security company. At Intercon Security Limited, she was responsible for directing a team of 35 employees in the finance, payroll, facilities and administrative departments. She designed and implemented major organization change, including new systems for compensation plans and commission tracking for salespeople. She was a member of a national management team focused on strategy planning and a participant on a pay equity team evaluating and benchmarking positions across the organization.
As a Chartered Accountant (CA), Kathleen has experience overseeing treasury and commission payroll departments at Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., and planning and executing external audits at Deloitte & Touche Chartered Accountants.
Kathleen holds a Bachelor of Arts in administrative and commercial studies, finance and economics, from King's College, University of Western Ontario and a diploma in accounting from Wilfrid Laurier University. She has completed a human resources program at George Brown College and has been certified in risk management by the Canadian Risk and Insurance Management Society. She is also working towards the Canadian Human Resource Planners (CHRP) designation from the Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario (HRPAO).
Gemma Zecchini
Senior V.P., Public Policy
Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC)
Gemma Zecchini is Senior Vice President, Public Policy for the Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC), the largest industry association representing Canadian-operated member companies that make and market retailer and national brand food and consumer products sold through retail and foodservice outlets. Gemma is responsible for implementing government relations strategies and providing leadership to the association's public policy group.
For four years prior to joining FCPC, Gemma was President and CEO of Refreshments Canada, an industry association representing companies that make and distribute non-alcoholic liquid refreshment beverages. In her role, she advocated and negotiated on behalf of member companies in the areas of non-competitive trade, taxation, environmental stewardship and food/drug regulations with all levels of government across Canada.
Prior to Refreshments Canada, Gemma practised as a public sector management consultant with KPMG (now BearingPoint), specializing in the area of organizational change and project management. She also worked as a public relations and government relations practitioner in the public and regulatory sectors for 10 years. Early in her career, she left her position as a research analyst with a large investment firm to pursue a global assignment in the petroleum industry in the Middle East.
Gemma is accredited through the International Association of Business Communicators, certified as a chartered director through the Director's College (a joint venture between the Conference Board of Canada and McMaster University's DeGroote School of Business) and has a Master's Degree in Journalism from the University of Western Ontario.
Gemma sat on the board of a number of environmental stewardship organizations including Encorp Pacific Canada (Inc), and Waste Diversion Ontario, which she chaired during its start-up phase following its creation by the Ontario legislature.