Brian was born and raised in the Interlake area of the Province of Manitoba. He studied Mathematics and Economics at the University of Manitoba and secured a doctorate from the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota. He is also a graduate of the International Senior Management Program of the Harvard Business School.

Brian worked at the Canadian Wheat Board from 1970 to 1973 as a sales representative and then spent several years working in the area of policy analysis with Agriculture Canada in Ottawa. Brian returned to the Canadian Wheat Board in1981, eventually assuming the position of Executive Director (i.e. Executive Vice-President) of Planning and Communications Directorate. In support of the grain marketing program (5 billion in annual sales) of the CWB, this unit was responsible for market analysis, crop surveillance, library services, corporate communications, corporate planning and corporate policy including trade analysis. In this capacity, Brian closely followed and participated in the Uruguay Round from inception to implementation during which time he represented the CWB serving as an advisor to the Canadian trade negotiators. He was also a member of the Canadian delegation to the International Grains Council from 1979 to 1997.

In January 1998, Brian accepted a three-year appointment to fill the Agribusiness Chair in Cooperatives and Group Marketing at the University of Manitoba. He has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Alberta, and is a Past President of the Canadian Agricultural Economics and Farm Management Society.
 

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