Born in Chatham, Ontario; Bob is a Candidate Member of the Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC) and the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA) as well as a Professional Agrologist (P.Ag.). He is also a member of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society.

Bob's professional expertise is in agricultural and agribusiness real estate appraisals, business management and financial planning, and economic studies in the agri-food sector.

Bob has over 20 years experience as manager of the agricultural department in southwestern Ontario for a major financial institution, providing specialist advice on loan situations including asset values, repayment capacity and related negotiations for large corporate, small business and retail accounts. Bob also provided specialist consulting to clients regarding business plans, succession planning and investment decisions. Bob also conducted agricultural research and sector analyses to create effective lending templates and corporate policies. Prior to his banking career, Bob was an environmental planner with Ontario Hydro, providing an agricultural perspective to a multi-disciplinary planning process for environmental assessments of high voltage transmission corridors, which included research into effects on agricultural operations and analysis of mitigation alternatives. Over the period, Bob has also established and continues to operate a cash crop farm operation in the Chatham area.