Jim Farrell
Consultant in Forestry and Forestry Services
Fredericton, NB
Canada
Jim Farrell is a consultant in the Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, where he previously served as assistant deputy minister (ADM).
As ADM, Farrell was responsible for international market development; investment in forest sector innovation and new technologies; the green transformation of Canada’s pulp sector; forest economics and policy analysis; and a national program of biological research. This research examined forest sustainability, pest and fire management, forest genomics as well as climate change impact and adaptation.
Prior to his appointment as ADM, Farrell was director general of the Policy, Economics and Industry Branch at Natural Resources Canada. There he oversaw domestic and international forest policy. Before moving to Ottawa to join government in 1997, Farrell was director of development at the Great Lakes Forestry Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and senior officer for the Canadian Forest Service in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Farrell has also worked in the private sector with Abitibi Paper Company (now Resolute Forest Products).
Since 2011, Farrell has worked in an advisory capacity with a number of organizations, including the Forest Products Association of Canada, FPInnovations, Genome British Columbia and Genome Quebec.
Farrell is currently Canada’s representative on the board of directors of the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities, and is a member of the board of directors of Genome Canada.