Directors & Executive Director

Greg Donald
P.Ag.,N.Sch., B.Sc., MBA

Vice-President

Greg Donald has been the General Manager of the PEI Potato Board since 2009.

The PEI Potato Board represents PEI potato producers working together to ensure long term profitability and sustainability through marketing, advocating, negotiation and activities that support quality potato production.

Greg has a BSc. Degree in Agriculture with a major in plant protection from Dalhousie University. He also attended UNB and obtained a Master’s in Business Administration.

Greg has over 30 years of experience in the potato industry, including five years with McCain Foods in New Brunswick in the area of agronomy, potato production, potato procurement and green crop field management. He then spent 14+ years in progressively responsible management positions in the agricultural crop input business in Atlantic Canada and Maine with the Cavendish Group.

Greg also participates in a number of local and industry organizations including a director with the Kensington North Watershed Association, a member of the Prince Edward Island Institute of Agrologists, a director of the Farm & Food Care PEI, a director with the PEI Farming 4R Island, a director of the Canadian Potato Council, a director of the United Potato Growers of Canada and a director of the World Potato Congress. Greg completed the Nuffield Scholar Program (an international agricultural adult education program) that included a study of the Potato industry in Belgium (processing focus), Holland (seed focus) and the UK (fresh focus).

Greg, his wife Becky live in Margate, PEI. They have a daughter Abby and son Jack. Greg enjoys family activities, boating, outdoor activities and travelling.

greg@peipotato.org

Dr. Nigel Crump,

Secretary

Dr. Crump has a Ph.D. in Agricultural Science and a diverse background in several sectors including science, industry, and government. He has extensive experience in business process, service, operations, planning, and policymaking.

He has a strong background in formulating and implementing policy to support trade using good science-based rationale, particularly in relation to potato pest and disease issues.

Dr. Crump is the General Manager, Australian Seed Potato Industry Certification Authority (AuSPICA) a not-for-profit and industry-based organization in Victoria, South Australia, and New South Wales. In this role, he oversees the development and implementation of science and technology for the practical advancement of the seed scheme and the facilitation of trade. Dr. Crump is also actively involved in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Specialized Section on Seed Potatoes, as a Co- Deputy Chair. Dr. Crump currently serves as Acting Chair of Potatoes Australia Ltd, as well as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the World Potato Congress Inc. 

Brian Douglas

Treasurer

A graduate of the University of Guelph, Mr. Douglas has enjoyed a public service career spanning over 41 years. His career has provided him with an appreciation and understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing Canadian producers. From 2015 to 2016, Mr. Douglas was the Clerk of the Executive and Secretary to the Cabinet for the Government of Prince Edward Island. Previously, he held other senior-level positions in the Prince Edward Island government including Deputy Minister, Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal and Deputy Minister, Agriculture.

Mr. Douglas spent most of his career in the PEI Department of Agriculture where he served as Director of the Agriculture Resource Division and Manager of the Farm Extension Services. Throughout his career, he also served as a member and representative for the Province of Prince Edward Island on various provincial and national level boards and committees related to agriculture and transportation and infrastructure renewal.

Bret A. Nedrow,

Director

Bret A. Nedrow started his life and career in potatoes on a seed potato farm in Ashton, Idaho, USA. Educated at the University of Idaho with a B.S. in Agribusiness Management and a M.S. in Agricultural Economics. Bret has been involved in the potato processing world for 22 years starting with Nestle Food Service in Moses Lake, WA.

He also assisted with the startup of the grading company Ag World Support Systems LLC. Bret currently works for The JR Simplot Company and has for 20 years in Washington, Idaho, North Dakota, and Portage La Prairie, Manitoba in various positions in potatoes.

He is currently the Director of Raw Procurement overseeing North America potato operations, raw development, and sustainability for the Simplot Food Group. Bret is also a current member of The Potato Association of America.

Dr. André Devaux

Director

Prior to being appointed as a WPC Director, André Devaux was named as an International Advisor with WPC Inc. in 2018. He is currently our project lead on the International Potato Day.

Mr. Devaux holds a PhD in Agriculture Science, Université Catholique Louvain (UCL), Belgium, with more than 35 years of professional experience in the global South. Extensive and proven expertise in managing multidisciplinary teams to strengthen agriculture innovation in Latin America, Africa and Asia, with special emphasis on production and utilization of the potato for enhancing food security, in the context of agricultural innovation systems and inclusive value chain development. He has published more than 50 articles, books and reports. Experience mainly with the International Potato Center (CIP) but also working experience with FAO and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

Jaap Delleman

Director

With more than 30 years of experience in potato journalism at home and abroad, Jaap Delleman knows how to interpret new developments in the potato sector quickly and enthusiastically. This publisher of various trade books and editor-in-chief of the magazines Aardappelwereld and PotatoWorld also likes to get involved in the potato crop as an enthusiastic potato fan. He shares his knowledge and experience, gained from visiting growers and processors on all continents, with great verve with a rapidly growing international circle of readers. His professional passion and skill with the camera ensures that his written word is complemented by striking photographs and portraits. Besides publishing magazines and books, Jaap, after a recent study also qualified as a digital marketing professional, develops together with his experienced and driven Team Aardappelwereld a professional way of offline and online communication. Through this cross-media strategy, players in the global potato industry are provided with both a platform and a source of information. In a sector that never stands still, Jaap continuously develops himself and his business strategy in order to be of service to all links in the potato chain.

Blair Richardson

Director

Blair Richardson has fulfilled the responsibilities as CEO and President of Potatoes USA since 2013. On behalf of Potatoes USA and the potato industry, Blair sits on several produce and potato industry boards including the Alliance for Potato Research and Education, the Potato Leadership, Education, and Advancement Foundation, the Alliance for Food and Farming, and others.

Mr. Richardson actively engages in issues of importance to the potato industry and is passionate about the need to proactively protect and defend the reputation of the potato. He is a strong proponent of aggressive advocacy and marketing tactics.

Prior to this, Blair served in similar positions with other private and industry organizations in California and has been an active farmer of both almonds and cherries while he was CEO/Partner of a large grower/packer/sales company specializing in fresh stone fruit, grapes, and citrus.

Mr. Richardson sold his last farm in California in 2021, which capped 32 years of working and/or farming in the state that began in 1989 with a ten-year career in the California cotton industry.

Julio Kalazich

Director

Julio Kalazich is a professor at the Agronomy School of Universidad de Los Lagos in Osorno, southern Chile, with teaching, research, and extension responsibilities. Julio was born and raised in Porvenir, a small town on Tierra del Fuego Island in Chile’s extreme south, where his father—a son of Croatian immigrants—raised sheep on a small farm, and his mother was a teacher at the local school.

He attended high school in Punta Arenas, the region’s capital, and later entered Universidad Austral in Valdivia, southern Chile, where he obtained a degree in agricultural engineering in 1977 and developed an interest in agricultural research. That same year, he joined the Remehue Regional Center of the Agricultural Research Institute (INIA), part of the Ministry of Agriculture in Osorno, South Chile, to work as a potato breeder—a program he led for 40 years.

In 1985, he went to Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, where he obtained a PhD in plant breeding, working under Dr. Bob Plaisted, a renowned potato breeder. In 2002, Julio was appointed Regional Director of INIA Remehue, serving until 2010, and in 2014 became the National Director of INIA until 2018.

During his extensive career, he led the development and release of 13 potato varieties, one of which is currently the second most important in the country, and three others are among the 10 best-selling varieties. Julio has extensive national and international experience in the field of potatoes as well as in agricultural research more broadly, collaborating with institutions in several countries.

Between 2004 and 2016, he was a member of the Advisory Board of the McKnight Foundation’s Collaborative Crop Research Program, serving as its Chairman for the last two years. He was also a member of the Advisory Board of the Potato Genetic Improvement Program of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture for six years. Between 2014 and 2018, he was a member, Chairman, and Vice-Chairman of the Boards of PROCISUR and FONTAGRO—two organizations formed by South American and Latin American National Agricultural Research Institutes, respectively.

In 2022, Julio joined the World Potato Congress as an International Advisor, becoming a Director of the WPC Board in July 2025. He is currently Vice President of the Latin American Potato Association (ALAP), a member of the Board of the Chilean Potato Association, and also a member of the Board of the Chilean Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Chad Hutchinson

Director

A Hoosier by birth, Chad Hutchinson cultivated a deep appreciation for agriculture from his early days growing up amidst Indiana's farmlands. An early respect for farmers and farming guided him into a career in plant science.  Chad's academic journey began at Ball State University, where he earned both his B.S. and M.S. degrees in biology. He then pursued his passion for plants at Purdue University, completing his Ph.D. in Plant Physiology/Horticulture.

Dr. Hutchinson's background in horticulture led him to the University of Florida, where he served as a faculty member and the state's potato specialist for a decade. In this role, he directly supported potato growers, sharing critical knowledge and solutions in crop nutrition, variety development, and soil fumigation. His transition to the private sector in 2007 marked a new chapter as he joined TriEst Ag Group, Inc. as Director of Research. His impactful contributions led to a promotion in 2020 to Global Director of Potato Research and Market Support for the entire TriCal Group.

Throughout his career, Dr. Hutchinson has collaborated with potato producers across the globe. His work spans crucial areas such as variety selection, crop nutrition, soil health, and soil disease suppression, working to help farmers achieve their production goals. Chad is recognized for his understanding of crop production and soil fumigation practices, and their direct influence on potato crop yield and quality. He has been an invited speaker worldwide, sharing his positivity and insights on soil fumigation, soil health, and advanced potato crop production techniques.