The Board of the Centre has announced the appointment of Dr. Murray Pettitt as their new CEO. Murray assumed responsibilities on July 1,2018 and succeeded Lee Whittington, who retired after 26 years, the last 10 years as President/CEO.
Dr. Pettitt has been part of the swine research community for the past 21 years, and
was previously employed at Prairie Swine Centre (PSC) for 10 years, managing Contract Research from 2003-2009. During that time he grew the program’s size and capabilities,while being responsible for the business development as well as the design and implementation of customer-driven research.
“It is like coming home - to be able to return to the Centre after 9 years pursuing my
research interests in my area of specialization” notes Murray. “The position of CEO will
allow me to further my interests in bringing science to agriculture, and adding to the long,successful history of Prairie Swine Centre’s service to the pork industry”.
Background:
Murray is from rural Manitoba and received his BSA in 1986 and his M.Sc. in animal
reproduction in 1991 from the University of Manitoba. After three years at the Winnipeg
Health Sciences Centre, he returned to agriculture to pursue research in boar sperm
cryopreservation at the University of Guelph, receiving his Ph.D. in 1997. Murray
accepted a post-doctoral fellowship at the Ontario Veterinary College where he helped
develop practical embryo transfer techniques in swine.
In 1999, he assumed the position of Assistant Manager – External Research Services
(also known as Contract Research) at PSC. Subsequently he became the Research
Scientist – External Research Services from 2003 – 2009 where he was responsible for
leading this program.
Since leaving PSC, Murray has been at the Department of Animal and Poultry Science at the University of Saskatchewan where he was responsible for managing a research
program investigating markers of sperm function to identify the fertility potential of boars
and bulls.
The Company:
Prairie Swine Centre Inc., located near Saskatoon, is a non-profit research corporation
affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan, and is recognized globally for its
contributions to practical, applied science, training and knowledge transfer in pork
production with emphasis in the disciplines of nutrition, engineering, and applied animal
behavior.
Source : Prairie Swine Centre