Chuck Roberts - President

A self-developed entrepreneur and well-respected international businessman, Chuck Roberts held his first job at Kraft Foods Ltd., a company of which his grandfather had been one of the founding Presidents.

In 1964, Chuck joined Pedigree Canada as Sales Manager, and was rapidly promoted to the position of General Manager; in 1972, he purchased the company. Given his success with Pedigree Canada, Chuck acquired warehouses and branches throughout the United States, and proceeded to establish both the Pedigree and Jean-Claude Killy labels-which he owned-as the best names in the industry, a reputation these labels have maintained to this day.

Putting forth his entrepreneurial expertise, Chuck took a step forward and started Descente Canada. The company, which held exclusive rights to its unique ski clothing line, became the supplier of sports gear to high-profile teams such as the American, Canadian, Swiss and Spanish Olympic ski teams. To this day, Descente Canada skiwear remains the top-rated brand in the industry.

With his numerous national and international contacts, Chuck was instrumental in the worldwide expansion of a networking company based in Montreal, Canada, where he acted as Executive Vice-president of International Markets.

In December 1996, Evergreen Products Ltd. joined forces with IMMUNOTEC Research Corp., a company with a 10-year expertise in research on health-promoting products, to form IMMUNOTEC Research Ltd

Dieter Beer

Further to the completion of his studies in Economics, Electronics, International Law and Languages in Germany, England, France and Spain, Dieter Beer launched his own electronic import business in 1961 in Wiesbaden, Germany. Acting as the exclusive agent and importer for NEC, AIWA Japan, Daewoo Electronics and Taiwan Electronics Korea from 1961 to 1983, he developed and commercialized his own line of audio, hi-fi and video equipment under his company name, TEC. When TEC was sold in 1983, it had been established as Europe’s largest importer and distributor in the electronics industry, also selling brand products in North America.

Dieter went on, in 1984, to purchase ORFA AG, a Swiss environmental and engineering company, and subsequently developed a fully automated recycling system for mixed solid waste and garbage. The licensing of this technologic advance to companies such as Hitachi-Zosen, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, ORFA Germany and Ecoltecnica Italy was followed by the launching of other ORFA projects in Europe, the Arab countries, Japan and Asia.

Preoccupation's with regard to health and natural therapeutics have been a tradition in Dieter’s family, from as early as the last century. In fact, they are responsible for having established, in Germany in the late 1800’s, the first sanitarium in which herbal and physiotherapy treatments for severe spinal disorders were used. When, in 1988-89, Dieter founded IMMUNOTEC Research Corp. with Dr. Gustavo Bounous and a team of medical researchers from McGill University, he was simply reviving this deep-rooted family belief in the benefits of natural healing. Well aware of the possible impact of a product such as Immunocal® on the promotion of the human immune response and the treatment of various conditions, Dieter provided the financial resources necessary to its production and patenting, and to the clinical trials conducted to confirm its health-promoting proprieties; options and sub-license agreements for Asia, Europe, and Africa were concluded with leading pharmaceutical manufacturers. In December 1996, IMMUNOTEC Research Corp., with its 10-year expertise in research on health-enhancing products, merged with Evergreen Products Ltd. to form IMMUNOTEC Research Ltd.

Gustavo Bounous, M.D., FRCSC Director, Research and Development

Gustavo Bounous, MD, FRCSC, has had a distinguished career in medical research and co-authored numerous articles in major professional journals worldwide. Born in Italy where he completed his studies (at the University of Turin) and his residency in surgery (at the University of Genoa), Dr. Bounous moved to the United States in 1956 and, until 1961, was a Research Fellow in surgery at the Indiana Medical Center, Indianapolis. With his work focusing on systemic and regional hemodynamics as well as renal hypertension, Dr. Bounous was responsible for elucidating the mechanism whereby normal blood pressure and blood flow are maintained in the kidney under pathological conditions.

In 1963, he moved to Canada and commenced an academic career that led him to become Professor of Surgery, firstly at the University of Sherbrooke (1973-1985), then at McGill University (1985-1993). Further to his discovery in 1964 of the primary role of pancreatic protease's in the pathogenesis of intestinal hemorrhagic lesions associated with shock, which had important implications for pathophysiology and treatment of this condition, Dr. Bounous was awarded the 1965 medal of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Independent confirmation of the adverse effect of pancreatic protease's in several intestinal disorders inspired Dr. Bounous to study possible reduction of pancreatic secretions by dietary means. His first step consisted in developing and pioneering the use of “elemental” diets in the prophylaxis and treatment of intestinal lesions associated with shock, intestinal ischemia, radiation cancer chemotherapy and Crohn’s disease. In 1968, he was named Career Investigator of the Medical Research Council, an award that was reconfirmed until 1993, the year of his retirement from McGill University.

In 1978, Dr. Bounous initiated a novel research program to search for a dietary protein source that would boost the immune system, in conjunction with a colleague from the McGill University Faculty of Medicine. Studies led to the discovery of an undenatured serum milk concentrate that sustains normal glutathione levels and promotes immuno-enhancing activity. Subsequent identification of the active ingredients present in this protein mixture brought on, in 1993, the production of a high-quality bioactive material given the name and trademark Immunocal®