John is an innovative thinker with over 30 years of industry experience. He has lived and worked in Europe, North America and Asia and held executive roles as Vice President of Supply Chain Management at Glenayre Electronics, Vice President of eBusiness/CIO at SMTC, Managing Client Principal at HP Canada Consulting as well as roles as Practice Principal for Supply Chain, RFID and Manufacturing Solutions. John served as Global Director for Product & Consumer Safety at GS1 Global Office and Senior Vice President of Traceability and RFID at GS1 Canada. Previously John led the European Supply Chain Operations for Digital Equipment Corp. in The Netherlands. John’s clients range from industry executives to government officials, inter-governmental agencies, enforcement agencies, industry associations, solution and services provider CEO’s spread primarily across food, beverage, consumer goods, technology and services. He is a sought-after speaker, moderator/facilitator, expert advisor, media analyst and board advisor. He holds a post-graduate Diploma in Management, an MBA in General Management and an MSc in Business and Management Research (with distinction). He holds certifications in Quantitative and Qualitative Quality Control, Production and Inventory Management (APICS CPIM) and is certified in the design and implementation of RFID solutions. He is a curently a management science researcher (doctorate) in Food Chain Transparency and Trust at Henley Business School, the University of Reading.

Prof. Spink is an Instructor for the MSU Master of Science in Food Safety online program, and his online courses include the graduate class “Anti-Counterfeit and Product Protection.” Prof. Spink also directs Executive Education and research programs within A-CAPPP, serves on the State of Michigan’s Agriculture and Food Protection Strategy Team, and is a Participating Member/Delegate to the ISO/ TC247 Fraud Control and Countermeasures. Prof. Spink has 15 years of industrial experience (12 years with Chevron Corporation).

Barbara VanRenterghem, Ph.D., is the editorial director of Food Safety Magazine, a position she has held since 2008. From 2005–2008, she was the chief editor of Controlled Environments Magazine and the science editor of Animal Lab News and Lab Manager Magazine at Vicon Publishing. At Eaton Publishing (1999–2005), she rose from the positions of assistant scientific editor for BioTechniques and acquisitions editor for BioTechniques Press to the editor of content development and acquisitions and director of commercial product development. While at Eaton (then acquired by Informa), she served as the chief editor of Preclinica. She received a B.Sc. in biology in 1989 from Bowling Green State University and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology in 1994 from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.