AVIT president to advise feds on virus impact
Rhonda Barnet has been chosen as one of nine business leaders from across Canada to help inform the federal government on the effects of COVID-19 on Canadian industry.
Barnet is the president and chief operating officer of AVIT Manufacturing on Fisher Drive in Peterborough.
She was named on Tuesday to federal government’s new Industry Strategy Council.
The announcement was made in a press release from Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Navdeep Bains.
Barnet said in an interview Tuesday she’s “honoured” to be part of a group that includes executives of smaller companies like hers and large ones, too.
The council will include Monique Leroux, former chair, president and CEO of Desjardins Group, as well as Dr. Mona Nemer, Canada’s Chief Science Advisor.
It also includes: á Murad Al-Katib, president and CEO, AGT Food and Ingredients; á John Baker, president and CEO, D2L Corp.;
á Paviter Binning, president, Wittington Investments, Ltd;.
á Ben Cowan-Dewar, cofounder and CEO, Cabot Links;
á Karimah Es Sabar, CEO and partner, Quark Venture;
á Karen Hamberg, vice-president of external affairs and sustainability, Westport Fuel Systems Inc.; á Mark Little, president and CEO, Suncor Energy Inc.; á Sylvie Vachon, president and CEO, Montreal Port Authority.
Barnet’s company, AVIT Manufacturing on Fisher Drive, provides tooling and equipment technology to other firms in areas such as the automotive and energy industries to help solve their manufacturing challenges.
Barnet is the former chair of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters board.
She also represented Canada last year at the World Manufacturing Forum in Italy and in 2015 was named to an economic strategy table that worked with the federal government to help boost Canadian innovation.
“This is an extension of that work,” Barnet said, adding that she was approached by the government to sit on the new council.
She said her new role will involve speaking with leaders in manufacturing across Canada and reporting back to the council on how to boost economic recovery in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The council will hold virtual meetings every two weeks for the next 90 days, the press release states.
The council is meant to serve as a way for the federal government to have industry leaders “directly share” the pressures they are facing in the pandemic, the press release states.