Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698841372911.pdf (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
Biography/Profile DR. ANDRÉ GORDON Dr. André Gordon is the Managing Director of Technological Solutions Limited (TSL), a company which provides technical services to the manufacturing, distribution, food service, hospitality and export sectors and Chief Executive Officer/Principal Consultant of TSL Technical Services Limited (TTSL) a consulting company.

Both are located at The Trade Centre at 30-32 Red Hills Road, Kingston 10, Jamaica.
A former Deputy General Manager, Technical Services for Grace Kennedy & Co. Ltd., in 1994, Dr. Gordon conceptualized and built the Grace Technology Centre, a first world technical and R&D facility which he then managed.

In 1996 he lead a management buyout of the operations and formed TSL which is the only private sector-owned organization of its kind in the Caribbean and runs an ISO 17025 certified laboratory which was also the first laboratory in the region to have been ISO 9002 certified from 1997.
Dr. Gordon has over thirty (30) years of experience in providing solution-oriented technical assistance to various players in the Food Industry and SME, private sector and support institutions, respectively, in Jamaica, the Caribbean, Canada, Western and Southern Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU).
As the Deputy General Manager, Technical Services for Grace, Kennedy & Co. Limited, Dr. Gordon managed all the Research and Development and Quality Assurance activities for Grace Kennedy for three years.

During this period, the rate of new product introduction surpassed any other in the Company's history at the time.
Dr. Gordon has led the development of over 80 commercially successful new products and has provided Technical Service support to well over 200 companies in agricultural, food, food service, hospitality and manufacturing businesses in Jamaica, the Caribbean, North America, Europe and Africa.

Through TSL and TTSL, Dr. Gordon continues to train and work with persons within the food, agricultural, food service, distribution and manufacturing sectors, governments, regional and international organizations.
André Gordon is widely recognized as the leading expert in Food Safety and Quality Systems training and systems implementation in the region by bodies such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centre for Development of Enterprise and regional Bureaux of Standards, among others.

He is also recognized as a Thermal Process Authority by the US Food and Drug Administration and has routinely trained in, and developed thermal processes accepted by the FDA since 1996.
He has successfully designed and led market access initiatives in several areas of the agri-food sector and has worked extensively throughout the Caribbean region which has given him a unique perspective on the region, its businesses and their potential.

He has also worked extensively with helping businesses and countries develop their capacity to, and access, export markets.
While initially specializing in the Food, Agricultural and Food Service areas, a major area of Dr. Gordon’s expertise is in the area of small business development and work with organizations that 1 support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

For the last twenty one (21) years he has worked to improve the sustainable competitiveness of private sector firms in Jamaica and the Caribbean through various approaches to enterprise upgrading and strengthening value chains, among others.
This includes actively working with MSMEs in the implementation of Cluster-based programmes.

Dr. Gordon has also worked to build private/private and private/public sector partnerships in achieving national and regional goals.

Dr. Gordon was instrumental in the implementation of the very successful USAID-funded Small Business Export Development Programme (SBED) which saw many firms in the SME sector successful entering the exporting arena or expanding their exports.
In addition, he has worked in Barbados, Cayman, Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname, Guyana, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Grenada and Dominica, among other countries, with firms who, with his guidance and help are now successfully exporting to new markets with significantly upgraded systems and facilities.
A Canadian Commonwealth Scholar, Dr. Gordon is the recipient of several awards and honours, including the Shell/Scientific Research Council Young Scientist Award, the President's Scholarship from Scanning Microscopy International and the Soden Fellowship from the University of Guelph, Canada.
In 2000, he was recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Embassy in Jamaica for his leadership of the successful Jamaican effort to regain access for Jamaican canned ackees (Blighia sapida) to the US market after a 27-year ban.

In 2006, Dr. Gordon again led a re-opening of the US market for Jamaican ackees after a temporary closure in December, 2005.
Earlier (in 1995), Dr. Gordon had prevented the banning of Jamaican ackees from the United Kingdom through his technical intervention with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF).

Besides his work with ackees, Dr. Gordon re-opened the US market for Canned Cheese in 2003 and was also instrumental in the work that led to the re-opening of the European market for Conch (Strombus giga) in 2000.
In 2007 he received the Pelican Award for his contribution to Science and Technology and was inducted into the Ardenne High School Alumni Hall of Fame.

In 2013, Dr. Gordon was granted the designation of “Certified Food Scientist” – CFS by the Institute of Food Technology, as part of the historic inaugural class of 2013, one of just under 300 such designates in the world at the time.

Just this year, He was recognized by the JEA and given their Lifetime Achievement Award as a Pioneer Exporter.
He has been the keynote invited speaker on matters of Market Access, Exports, Food Safety, Quality and Competitiveness at many international fora and continues to be in demand in this capacity.
Widely published in international fora, he is the author of 55 scientific publications and three books, Handbook for the Export of Fruit and Vegetables (2010), Food Safety and Quality Systems in Developing Countries, Volume 1: Export Challenges and Implementation Strategies (2015) and the most recent, Food Safety and Quality Systems in Developing Countries, Volume 2: Case Studies of Effective Implementation (2016).
A Professional Member of the Institute of Food Technologists and a member of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), Dr. Gordon has served on several national boards including the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST), a body which he helped to set up.

Dr. Gordon was involved in the development of Jamaica's National Industrial Policy and continues his involvement with policy development and implementation through various fora.
He has contributed to the development and implementation at various levels of the National Export Strategies of Jamaica, Dominica and Grenada and has also worked to strengthen the export sector of Suriname, as 2 well as several other Caribbean countries.

In this regard, he has also worked extensively with various Caribbean Bureaux of Standards.
He is a Past President of the Jamaica Exporters’ Association (JEA), a former Deputy Chairman of The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and has been a Director of the Scientific Research Council (SRC), JAMPRO, the National Council on Education, the University Council of Jamaica and the College of Agriculture, Science and Education, among others.
He is a Director of Spur Tree Spices, a small manufacturing company, a founding Director of the Jamaica Agro-processors Association, a Director of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA), founding Chairman of The Competitiveness Company.

Dr. Gordon is the founding Chairman of the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) in Jamaica, a body set up to pioneer and then regulate the development of a legal medical marijuana and hemp industry in Jamaica.
As founding Chair, Dr. Gordon was responsible for establishing the CLA, including the development of its staffing and structure, operating modalities, guiding principles and promulgation of all existing regulations and licenses to date, all of which was accomplished within the 10 month period July 1, 2015 to May 2016 when he demitted office.

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