Canada: Diplomatic Appointments

         To view this document on the department website, please click on the following link:

http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2014/01/24c.aspx

Diplomatic Appointments

January 24, 2014 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today announced the following diplomatic appointments:
Douglas George becomes Consul General of Canada in Detroit (United States of America).
Jean-Pierre Hamel becomes Consul General of Canada in Monterrey (United Mexican States).
Roy Norton becomes Consul General of Canada in Chicago (United States of America).
James Villeneuve becomes Consul General of Canada in Los Angeles (United States of America).
A biographical note on the appointees follows.

- 30 -

For further information, media representatives may contact:
Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
613-995-1874
media@international.gc.ca
Follow us on Twitter: @DFATDCanada

Biographical Notes

Douglas George (BSc [Zoology], University of Toronto, 1980; MBA, Queen's University, 1982) joined the Department of External Affairs in 1982 as a desk officer for the Commercial Policy Division. In Ottawa, has served in the Consular Operations Bureau, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Affairs Division and the U.S. Trade and Economic Policy Division. Mr. George also served as a senior departmental assistant in the Office of the Minister of International Trade, director of the Softwood Lumber Division and as director of the Intellectual Property, Information and Communications Technology Trade Policy Division. In 2009, he became director of the Tariffs and Goods Market Access Division and lead goods negotiator on a number of FTA negotiations, including those with the EU, South Korea and India. Abroad, Mr. George served in Kingston and at Canada's Mission to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in Geneva. From 2000 to 2004, he was counsellor at the Mission of Canada to the European Union. Mr. George has been Canada's ambassador to Kuwait since 2011. He replaces Roy Norton.
Jean-Pierre Hamel (LLB, Université de Sherbrooke, 1983; Diploma [International Development], University of Ottawa, 1984) joined the Department of External Affairs in 1986. In Ottawa, Mr. Hamel served in the Export Finance, the General Trade Policy and the Western Europe divisions. He also worked on secondment for the Canadian International Development Agency as program manager for the Asia Branch (Private Sector Division). Mr. Hamel worked extensively abroad, serving in junior roles in Yaoundé and Bonn, as senior trade commissioner in Tunis, Havana and Bogotá, and as head of office in both Johannesburg and Chennai. He has also served as deputy head of mission and counsellor (commercial) in Algiers. Mr. Hamel is currently senior trade commissioner for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean at the High Commission in Bridgetown. He replaces François Lafond.
Roy Norton (BA Honours [History], Carleton University, 1975; MA [Canadian History], Carleton University, 1976; MPA [U.S. Policy Development], Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 1990; MIPP [International Economics], Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, 1993; PhD [International Relations], Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, 1999) has had a diverse career, serving as legislative assistant in both the House of Commons and the Senate, as senior policy advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and as a public policy consultant before working extensively for the Government of Ontario.  With the Government of Ontario, Mr. Norton was executive director (international relations), chief of protocol, president and CEO of Ontario Exports Inc., assistant deputy minister (export development), and assistant deputy minister (international relations). Abroad, Mr. Norton has been posted twice to Washington, D.C., and is currently consul general in Detroit. He replaces Gitane DeSilva.
James Villeneuve (BA, Carleton University, 1985) retired from Anheuser Busch InBev, the world's largest brewing company and the parent company of Labatt Breweries, after more than 27 years. He started with Labatt in Toronto in sales and marketing and was later transferred to Vancouver, where he was regional director of government affairs for Western Canada. In 1995, Mr. Villeneuve returned to Toronto to manage Labatt's rebranding initiative and to run the company's corporate and sports properties. He later became director of corporate affairs and then vice-president of corporate affairs for Canada. From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Villeneuve worked in Brussels to lead InBev's global corporate affairs practice. After InBev purchased Anheuser Busch in 2009, Mr. Villeneuve moved to St. Louis to lead the company's North American corporate affairs department.  Mr. Villeneuve has served on many boards during his career, including the Toronto Economic Development Commission, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the 2008 Toronto Olympic Bid, the Granville Island Trust, the Association of Canadian Advertisers, Carleton University, the Canadian Club, Teach for America, the United Way and the Regional Chamber and Growth Association in St. Louis. Mr. Villeneuve is married to Kim Walker-Villeneuve and they have two children, Grace and Andrew. He replaces David Fransen.