Built From Real Life Experience

We combine decades of industry experience with a practical, unbiased approach to help corporate leadership teams strengthen operations and manage risk with predictability and confidence.

Used by the world's leading companies

Mission, Vision, and Values

Our Purpose

We are in business to help organizations grow with the clarity and discipline required to become truly world-class, by confronting risk with honesty, clear-thinking under pressure, and making informed decisions that endure beyond the moment.

Mission

To enable founders, entrepreneurs, and corporate leadership teams to predictively uncover risk, make clear strategic decisions, and build systems that proactively prevent events that negatively impact business.

Vision

A global food industry where risk is understood, managed with prediction, and treated as a core part of how businesses operate and grow.

Values

We are practical, approachable, and focused on delivering real value through clear, effective guidance that works with intergity for businesses.

Leadership

Our Team

Decades of global experience supporting farm to fork  businesses with growth opportunties.

Paul Valder

Chief Executive Officer

Paul is co-founder of Culture Advisory Group and serves as CEO, leading the Leadership Team to deliver integrated, valuable solutions to its customers. With decades of experience helping consumer brands, retailers and supply chains differentiate themselves, he believes a strong culture of risk, safety, and quality management is foundational to product integrity and consumer trust.

Paul Valder

Chief Executive Officer

Peter Niemeier

Chief Finanical Officer

With over 10-years of experince, Peter acts as  CFO of Culture Advisory Group, providing financial planning, accounting , future-proofing, reporting and problem- solving leadership for complex business issues.

Peter Niemeier

Chief Financial Officer

James Burgess

Senior Advisor

James is the author of the international bestselling book CHAOS and brings over 30 years of small and medium sized business planning and execution experience to our clients. As a senior advisor, he coaches leaders on mastering focus and accountability, delivering lasting solutions to business planning challenges through programs that drive radical clarity and results.

James Burgess

Senior Advisor

Frank Massong

Vice President, Government Affairs

As a past Canadian regulator, Frank is a globally recognized expert in regulations, voluntary standards, and management systems, drawing on extensive leadership experience across the federal government and private sector. He leads the Grants and Funding business pillar, advising about eligible government federal and provincial programs for capital expansion, marketing and innovation with the Company's food, beverage, and agricultural clients in Canada and beyond.

Frank Massong

Vice President, Government Affairs

Deborah Valder

Director of Finance

Deborah manages all accounting and finances for the business, building trusted relationships with co-workers,  clients and suuppliers. With years of logistical, operational and project management experience as a senior leader, she has a proven track record working with mid-market businesses.

Deborah Valder

Director of Finance

Tricia Ryan

Vice President of Marketing

Tricia is a marketing leader with over 20 years of experience helping brands from startups to Fortune 500 companies drive growth through positioning, innovation, and market insight. Her expertise spans product development, packaging, branding, and go-to-market strategy across food, beverage, and emerging CPG categories.

Tricia Ryan

Vice President of Marketing

Jenna MacLeod

Director of Commercialization

As Director of Commercialization, Jenna ensures project deliverables are met on time and on budget by supporting customers, consultants, and technology partners. Drawing on years of experience in the agriculture and food value chain, she works across the buisness consulting, software, and funding pillars to help clients build capacity and realize growth.

Jenna MacLeod

Director of Commercialization

Sean Berdan

Senior Sanitation Advisor

Sean is a senior food safety and sanitation leader with 35+ years of experience across multinational and mid-sized food manufacturers, specializing in sanitation system design, environmental monitoring, and regulatory turnaround under CFIA, USDA, USFDA, and GFSI frameworks. He delivers disciplined, measurable controls that reduce regulatory exposure, lower operating costs, and strengthens audit performance across multi-site operations.

Sean Berdan

Senior Sanitation Advisor

Mahsa Ravan Bakhsh

Recall Intelligence Advisor

Mahsa helps clients in food, beverage, health products, pharmaceutical, and consumer goods  turn fragmented quality programs into scalable, efficient systems. Drawing on experience leading large-scale recall operations and building enterprise technology solutions, she helps clients shift from reactive firefighting to proactive risk prevention.

Mahsa Ravan Bakhsh

Recall Intelligence Advisor

Gary Solomon

Senior Quality Advisor

Gary is an executive leader in Quality and Food Safety with a global track record for building high-performing teams, embedding risk-based food safety across corporate, manufacturing, and supply chain operations, and strengthening compliance to FDA, CFIA, USDA, ISO, FSMA, and GFSI standards. He delivers measurable improvements in consumer complaints, waste reduction, and cost savings during M&A integrations.

Gary Solomon

Senior Quality Advisor

Valentina Chiran Buda

Senior Scientific Advisor

Valentina is a proven Quality, Food Safety, and Regulatory professional with 20+ years of international experience across agri-food, nutraceuticals, and health-related sectors. She has a unique abilityy to bridge science and buisness strategy that strengthens supply chains, ensures compliance, and protects public health.

Valentina

Senior Scientific Advisor

Matt Barth

Director of Marketing

Matt combines strategic marketing, website design, and content development to help businesses communicate clearly, build trust, and turn complex ideas into compelling brand stories.

Matt Barth

Marketing Director

Testimonials

Hear From The People

A proud history of helping people grow their buisness.

"Paul and the Culture team always follow through thoughtfully, making introductions quickly and keeping things moving with ease. So appreciative of their support."
Haley Gilis
President, Haley's Pantry
"CAG has been a true enabler, generous with their time and industry knowledge, guiding us through grant applications and client introductions from day one."
Arun Srinivasan
The Head Tern, SusTern
"The team at Culture Advisory Group exceeded our expectations. After years of unsuccessful grant attempts on our own, they got it right on the first try."
Peter Busca
Financial Controller, Molinaro's
"Culture Advisory Group's food industry expertise was instrumental in helping us access the grants and funding needed for our upcoming projects."
Peter Busca
President, Hans Dairy Inc.

Ready to Move Forward

Schedule a conversation with our team to explore your operational landscape.