Quality Assurance - General Inquiries

Dr. George Soleas, Senior Vice-President, Logistics and Quality Assurance

George Soleas joined the LCBO in 1996 as Director of Quality Assurance, overseeing the laboratory and quality services processes that ensure LCBO products are safe to drink and of a high quality. The LCBO became the first liquor jurisdiction in the world to be doubly accredited by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from some 130 countries, based in Geneva, Switzerland.

In March 2009, George’s areas of responsibility were expanded to encompass Logistics, which involves procuring and distributing LCBO products. He oversees Customs and Excise clearances, transportation, warehousing and private ordering operations. He also supports supply chain projects to improve the flow of products through the logistics system.

George received his B.Sc. from McMaster University and M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. His areas of interest have been the analytical and biochemical aspects of beverage alcohol constituents and their absorption and bioavailability in humans. He trained in Oenology at U.C. Davis and spent 11 years with the Canadian wine industry as a Director of Research and Quality Assurance for a major winery and Chaired the Technical and Scientific Committee of the Canadian Wine Institute for nine years.

George is Chair of the National Quality Assurance Committee of the Canadian Association of Liquor Jurisdictions. He represents the LCBO on many prestigious committees, including the “Expert Committee” of the World Wine Trade Group (WWTG), the American Society for Enology and Viticulture technical committee and Viticulture Institute (Brock University) where he is also a professional affiliate. He has a Masters Certificate in Supply Chain & Logistics Management from York University and is an affiliate of the McMaster Institute for Transportation & Logistics and member of the Supply Chain and Logistics Management Institute.

In February 2009, George received the Ontario Imported Wine-Spirits-Beer Association’s Industry Partnership Award.

His oenological and biochemical research has led to eight book chapters, 44 peer reviewed publications and several national and international industry and scientific presentations devoted to beverage alcohol.

Tel. (416) 864-6723
george.soleas@lcbo.com

Stephen Cater, Acting Director

Stephen holds a B.Sc. and MSc. in chemistry from Brock University and a Ph. D. in organic chemistry from the University of Guelph. He spent 15 years at Calgon Carbon Canada as Laboratory and Research Manager before joining the LCBO in 2002 as the Manager of the Quality Assurance Laboratory. Stephen is responsible for overseeing the management of the department.

Tel. (416) 864-6725
stephen.cater@lcbo.com

Leonard Franssen, Manager, Quality Services

Leonard has held several positions within the LCBO since joining the company in 1981; including Customer Service Representative, Product Consultant and, most recently, Manager Quality Services. Leonard actively participates as a technical advisor on various industry committees, most notably the Vintners Quality Alliance of Ontario (VQAO) Standards Development Committee and National Wine Standards Committee. He has over 20 years experience participating on taste panels performing sensory evaluations on a variety of beverage alcohol products and is the one of the LCBO’s leading authorities on packaging, labelling and quality control practices.

Tel. (416) 864-6732
leonard.franssen@lcbo.com

Dorina Brasoveanu, Acting Manager, Laboratory

Dorina holds an M.Sc in Food Processing Engineering from the Food Industry, Aquaculture and Fishing Faculty in Romania with a major in Winemaking, Beer and Beverage Alcohol Technologies. She started her career as a research scientist in oenology acquiring significant experience in research and development, winemaking and chemical, microbiological and sensory analysis of wines. Since joining the LCBO in 2000, she expanded her expertise in laboratory and sensory analysis. Dorina is responsible for management of the laboratory including the day-to-day operations and research projects.

Tel. (416) 864-6876
dorina.brasoveanu@lcbo.com

Carol Drummond, Quality Officer

Carol holds a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Toronto and the Certified Quality Engineer designation of the American Society for Quality. Before joining the LCBO in 2000, she worked as an analytical and quality chemist for over twenty years. Having worked at a major Canadian brewer for fifteen of those twenty years, she is knowledgeable about the analysis requirements of the brewing industry. Carol is responsible for the maintenance of our quality management system to meet ISO 9001 and ISO 17025 requirements.

Tel. (416) 864-6726
carol.drummond@lcbo.com

Darlene Verge, Coordinator, Quality Assurance Administration
Darlene handles the general inquiries for the department.

Tel. (416) 864-6724
darlene.verge@lcbo.com