Our People
Leaders in Agriculture and Food Processing
Richardson International is a team of over 3,000 employees in more than 100 locations across North America and in the United Kingdom. Our experienced leaders and strong network of specialized employees work together uphold our legacy of service excellence and our commitment to innovation. See our current job openings to join our growing team.
Executive Leadership
Curt Vossen
Chief Executive Officer
Curt has dedicated his career to Canadian agriculture. For more than 25 years, Curt has led the growth of Richardson International. Before joining Richardson as President in 1995, Curt held various merchandising and operational management positions in the grain industry.
Curt is an active member of both the business and arts communities. Curt is a board member of the Business Council of Canada and the Rabobank North American Advisory Board. He is also chair of the Premier’s Economic Advisory Board and past chair of the Manitoba Business Council. Curt is the board chair of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and is also chair of the Performing Arts Consortium. He is a board member of the Misericordia Health Centre in Winnipeg. In addition, Curt is a trustee to the Richardson Foundation.
Darwin Sobkow
President & Chief Operations Officer
As President and Chief Operations Officer of Richardson International, Darwin leads all operating business units in implementing strategic direction for the company. He is dedicated to building and developing Richardson and its employees in a globally competitive landscape. Darwin also assumes executive responsibility for corporate business functions, such as environment, health, and safety (EH&S), quality assurance, and food safety, in addition to overseeing Richardson’s office services, facilities management, and communications departments.
Darwin provides leadership to Richardson’s integrated business divisions, including:
- Grain and oilseed merchandising, handling, and crop inputs;
- Oilseed processing, and durum and oat milling;
- Malting;
- Food and ingredients;
- Engineering, transportation, and logistics operations.
Prior to joining Richardson in 1999, Darwin held various operations positions in the grain industry. Darwin currently represents Richardson on the boards of Richardson Milling U.K., Cascadia Port Management Corporation, and Prince Rupert Grain; he is also a Director on the Richardson International Board.
Craig Sheldon
Executive Vice-President, Finance & Chief Financial Officer
Craig is responsible for the all the company’s financial functions, including accounting, treasury, risk management, internal audit, and strategy. He also manages and oversees all of the company’s information technology activities. Craig is approaching 25 years with the company, and has held several roles with the finance team, becoming CFO in January 2015.
Craig is an active member of the community, and currently sits on the board of directors of the United Way of Winnipeg. He is also a member of the United Way Executive Committee and is chair of the Finance Committee. Previously, Craig has been president of South Winnipeg Community Centre as well as president of Southwood Golf Club.
Darrell Sobkow
Executive Vice-President, Processing, Food & Ingredients
Darrell is responsible for all operational aspects of Richardson’s oat milling, oilseed processing, and food and ingredients facilities, as well as food and ingredients sales, marketing, and product innovation. He also has responsibilities for engineering services and quality assurance for Richardson International as part of the senior executive team. Darrell joined the company as an area manager for Richardson Pioneer in 2000 and assumed various roles in grain handling, crop inputs, and logistics before moving into oilseed processing and packaging and oat milling.
Darrell is an active community member, participating in a number of volunteering, coaching, and fundraising initiatives for a variety of organizations. He was on the board of governors for Parkland College and has served as past member of the Western Grain Elevator Association.
Jean-Marc Ruest
Senior Vice-President, Corporate Affairs & General Counsel
Jean-Marc manages all legal affairs for Richardson International and its subsidiaries and oversees Richardson's relationships with governments and industry assocations. Called to the bars of Ontario and Manitoba, after starting his career in private practice, Jean-Marc joined Richardson International in 2002.
Jean-Marc is actively involved in Canadian agricultural policy matters as a member of the Western Grain Elevators Association Management Committee, Cereals Canada, the Canada Grains Council, and the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity. In 2021, Jean-Marc was recognized by Canadian Western Agribition as one of Canada's Top Fifty Most Influential People in Canadian Agriculture.
John Peterson
Senior Vice-President, Commodity Merchandising
John sets the strategic vision for Richardson's grain, oilseed, and oilseed products merchandising and hedging activities as well as the procurement of raw materials for Richardson's processing and manufacturing facilities.
John, who holds a FCPA designation, joined Richardson in 1994 as an accounts payable clerk and worked within the finance department, holding a number of different roles, gaining experience in grain handling, merchandising, and crop inputs. In 2012, John moved out of the finance department and into the merchandising department and focused on the company's wheat and durum merchandising programs.
Tom Hamilton
Senior Vice-President, Agribusiness Operations
Tom Hamilton is responsible for Richardson Pioneer agribusiness operations in Canada, which includes grain handling and crop inputs marketing and retailing. Tom is also responsible for Richardson’s port terminal operations along with environment, health, and safety.
Over the course of his 30-year career in the grain industry, Tom held various operations and merchandising roles. He is currently serving as chair of the Terminal Elevators Association and director for Prince Rupert Grain and Cascadia. Tom has served as a director with CAAR, Mid-Sask Terminal, North West Terminal, Tri Lake Agri Limited, and Westmor Terminals Inc.
Natalie Chan
Senior Vice-President, Human Resources
Natalie Chan is Senior Vice-President, Human Resources for Richardson International. Natalie joined Richardson in 2009 in the role of director of employee development, became the assistant vice-president of the human resources department in 2011 and was promoted to vice-president in 2014. In 2022, she was promoted to her current position Senior Vice-President, Human Resources. She oversees strategic direction for all HR initiatives, with a strong focus on ensuring optimal customer service to the department’s internal and external customers.
Prior to joining Richardson, Natalie’s HR career spanned fifteen years and included diverse experiences within numerous industries, such as financial services, call centres, and manufacturing and professional services. She was director, human resources for Richardson Partners Financial Limited (now Richardson Wealth), a JRSL affiliate, prior to joining Richardson International.
