Ian Tostenson
President & CEO of the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Assoc.
As the dynamic, passionate and forward thinking President & CEO of the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association, Ian Tostenson combines energy and integrity with proven achievement in all areas of business. Ian spent most of his career leading brands such as Cascadia Brands, Calona Vineyards, Sandhill Vineyards, Burrowing Owl Vineyards Granville Island Brewing, Grady Wine Marketing and Potter Distilling.
He was appointed to the Premier’s Permanent Small Business Roundtable and took on the challenge as a member of BC’s Climate Team to chart out BC’s carbon future. Ian was BC’s second chairman for the BC Wine Institute, a finalist in the Ernest & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and a recipient of the Business in Vancouver Under 40 Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He has served on the Board as a Director and President of the David Foster Foundation, which continues to create a lasting legacy for the benefit of families with children requiring life threatening organ transplants. He speaks to this cause regularly as well to the cause of HAVE CAFÉ, which he cofounded with partner Brad Mills, sharing a passion to change lives in the downtown eastside.
Above all else, Ian is a coach and mentor to not only those he touches in the business and his community service, but to wife Cathy and his two sons and with whom he lives in North Vancouver. Ian uses a love for innovative thinking, technology and awesome people to lead the way in business and life.