WINNIPEG, MB. – The Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Association (MRFA) announced the appointment of Tim Feduniw as the association’s new executive director. Feduniw brings nearly 30 years of progressive business and community leadership to the role and is a passionate and respected voice within business, government and academic circles provincewide.
Most recently a senior manager at Economic Development Winnipeg (EDW), Feduniw was responsible for working with business, government and institutional leaders to develop economic development projects and initiatives contributing to increased investment and economic growth. He will now champion the province’s restaurant and foodservices association as it works strategically to enhance its value proposition in the coming years.
“Tim’s collaborative leadership style, warm and engaging personality, and extensive professional and volunteer expertise coalesce in a seasoned executive who is well-equipped to articulate and meet the MRFA’s challenges and opportunities in the years ahead,” said Robert Walker, chair of the MRFA’s board of directors.
An economic development veteran with more than 25 years’ experience working for agencies in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, Feduniw’s accomplishments are many and varied. From leading investment attraction efforts for Western Canadian communities that resulted in new cumulative investments totaling over $500 million to initiating efforts that led to establishing Western Canada’s first digital manufacturing hub, Feduniw is a consummate facilitator with an innate ability to identify, communicate and connect with the people and organizations boasting the resources and know-how to help deliver practical yet innovative solutions within multiple public- and private-sector environments.
In addition to spearheading an international investment attraction framework for Winnipeg, and orchestrating and hosting international trade missions and media tours, Feduniw’s diligent efforts to build and maintain collaborative working relationships prompted the establishment of four industry sector alliances during his tenure at EDW. These alliances all convened applicable industry experts focused on identifying strengths weaknesses, opportunities and threats, then implemented creative ways to make meaningful inroads within each of these diverse areas of the Winnipeg economy.
Feduniw’s ongoing cultivation of a substantial and broad-based personal and professional network is further enriched by his laudable volunteer work, which has seen him participate on numerous boards, councils and committees over the years, including memberships on the boards of the Assiniboia Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Developers Association of Canada, as well as serving as a council member of the Seven Oaks General Hospital Foundation and on the Indspire Awards Gala committee.
“You need only look at what Tim has accomplished both personally and professionally to appreciate what he brings to the proverbial table,” said Walker. “His well-earned reputation amongst colleagues and peers, his acute strategic sensibility and his proven capacity to build consensus around complex issues are attributes that will serve him well with the MRFA’s membership as the association enters its next phase.”
“I’m excited to be joining the MRFA at such an interesting point in its evolution,” said Feduniw. “The work the MRFA has done to date on behalf of its members is important and impressive, but I believe greater things are possible if a concerted effort is undertaken to define organizational priorities and develop complementary initiatives through a structured strategic planning process. This exercise should yield an even more consequential value proposition with current and prospective association members, and I can’t wait to see how 2018 unfolds in this regard.”
The Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Association
Photo mrfa.mb.ca