EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Chair
Kirsten Sutton, ICD.D
Kirsten Sutton is an unconventional tech leader. From a professionally trained chef, Kirsten Sutton navigated a significant career pivot to become one of Vancouver’s most celebrated tech execs. As Chief Technology & Information Officer at Vancity, Kirsten oversees all Vancity’s technology operations as well as drives the organization’s digital future linking technology, members and community.
Before her appointment at Vancity, Kirsten spent 25 years at SAP across a variety of roles, most recently as Managing Director for SAP Labs Canada, the 3000-strong development organization across the country.
Her experience in the tech sector spans 25 years. But that only tells part of Kirsten’s story
Apart from being regarded as an energetic, inspiring and authentic leader, Kirsten is a highly engaged community leader: chair of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, past co-chair of the Government of BC’s Presidents Group which champions accessible and inclusive workplaces, member of the Government of Canada’s Task Force for Women in the Economy, and director of BC Tech and Science World.
A recipient of many awards, Kirsten has been recognized as a YWCA Woman of Distinction and received a Business in Vancouver Influential Women in Business award. She is also an in-demand speaker with more than 35 engagements a year in person and through the media.
An inquisitive thinker, Kirsten explored 24 different jobs early in her career before she set out on a technology path. The most interesting? You’ll have to ask her, but Private Investigator would be up there.
Kirsten holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in linguistics and creative writing from Western Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with honors from the University of California at Irvine.
Kirsten unleashes her creativity through cooking and writing. Thanks to her university education and training as a French chef she has created and served thousands of meals, published several short stories and theater productions as well as continues to plug away at a half-written novel.
Senior Vice-Chair
Radha Curpen
Radha is Vancouver Managing Partner & National Leader, ESG Strategy & Solutions at Bennett Jones LLP. She specializes in Environmental, Aboriginal, Environmental, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) and Regulatory matters, and the transportation of dangerous goods. Radha provides strategic counsel to clients with regards to regulatory compliance, the management of environmental risks, the defence of environmental litigation, the avoidance and defence of environmental related prosecutions, crisis prevention and management, Corporate Social Responsibility, mitigating business disruption and providing reputation management.
She was an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law for the Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility course. She is called in British Columbia, Ontario, and Manitoba and is admitted to the New York Bar. She practices in both English & French. Recognized as one of Canada's leading environmental lawyers by The Best Lawyers in Canada, as a leading practitioner in environmental law by The Best Lawyers in America, in environmental law by Chambers Global and recognized among Canada's leading energy lawyers by Lexpert®.
Vice-Chair
Walter Pela
Walter Pela is KPMG's Regional Managing Partner leading BC's largest and oldest professional services firm with over 1,450 team members in 12 offices across the Province. Walter also serves on KPMG's National Clients & Markets Committee overseeing client service and market development across Canada, is part of KPMG's National Digital Leadership Team responsible for internal and client-facing digital transformation, and leads KPMG's Vancouver Ignition Centre, a disruptive innovation and design thinking lab dedicated to exponential technologies and business transformation. With a 30 year career at KPMG, Walter enjoys leading conversations with clients, business leaders and organizations on the challenges and opportunities at the intersection of digital transformation, business model disruption, and changing environmental, social and economic dimensions affecting businesses and their broader stakeholders. Walter has been recognized as a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants (FCPA), as a Champion honouree by the Association of Women of Finance, is part of the President's Group representing BC's Accessible Employers, serves on the Executive Committees and Boards of the Business Council of British Columbia, the BC Achievement Foundation and the Pacific Autism Family Network, and is a past Governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation and past Finance Committee Chair of UNICEF Canada.
Juggy Sihota-Chahil
A telecom executive with more than 25 years of leadership experience, Juggy has enjoyed a fulfilling and rewarding career with TELUS leading many emerging technology businesses and operations. She has a well-established reputation for building and leading high performing teams with some of the highest engagement scores and engagement transformations across the company. Juggy is known for her unrelenting focus on quality and efficiency combined with a genuine concern and commitment for all who work with her. Juggy has led ground-breaking service development initiatives and diverse portfolios, and gained invaluable experience in strategy, marketing and operations management at TELUS overseeing many different portfolios throughout her tenure.
Currently, as the Vice President of Consumer Health, Juggy is responsible for the national strategy, execution and operation of the Consumer Health business unit for TELUS Health. Juggy believes in empowering Canadians with the right tools, information and support so they can live happier and healthier lives. She is revolutionising access to healthcare in Canada with important products she has launched virtual care (Babylon by TELUS Health), curated health content in the TELUS Healthy Living Network, personal emergency response systems (largest Canadian-owned provider in Canada), personal health records and more. She was the executive producer for the critical documentary "PainKiller" on the opioid crisis ravaging our country.
TELUS Health transforms information into better health outcomes by ensuring valuable medical information is in the right hands at the right time. TELUS Health is also the largest healthcare IT company in Canada. TELUS is the leading provider of electronic medical records, pharmacy management software, remote patient monitoring and health benefits claims management in Canada.
Community leadership is a critical component of Juggy's leadership story. Juggy is the Vice Chair for the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation Board, she is a Director for the Vancouver International Airport Authority (YVR), the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and the Canadian Men's Health Foundation. She previously served as a director on the Justice Institute of British Columbia, the Vancouver Community Board, and the Vancouver Board of Trade's Women's Leadership Council. Juggy also serves as an advisor to the City of Vancouver on racial and social justice issues.
Juggy is the recipient of the Diversity Champion award at TELUS. This award recognises leaders who are champions of all diversity and celebrates those who leverage diversity of thought to help advance business strategy. Juggy received the Leadership Excellence Trailblazer Award by Canadian Women in Communications and Technology (WCT) as well as the Forty Under 40 award in BC by Business in Vancouver for her business achievements, inspirational leadership and community contributions. In 2019, Vancouver Magazine recognized her as one of the most powerful 50 people in BC.
Juggy holds an MBA from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. She has also completed Executive Development programs at Harvard and INSEAD.
Secretary-Treasurer
Todd Shewfelt
Todd Shewfelt is the Regional Vice-President, Business Financial Services with RBC Royal Bank in British Columbia. He co-leads B.C’s team of Commercial and Small Business bankers serving clients from 17 centres across the region. Clients include mid-sized private and public companies from all industries.
With almost twenty years’ experience within RBC, which includes several leadership positions covering a broad range of customer markets; Todd has been actively involved in many local community organizations and boards, such has BC Children’s Hospital and coaching his sons’ baseball teams.
In Todd's spare time, you can find him enjoying a round of golf, cycling and spending time with this wife and two sons.
Finance and Audit Committee Chair
Mark Hoag
Mark Hoag, is a Partner with MNP's Private Enterprise group in Vancouver with a focus on working with owner-operated businesses.
Mark works extensively with clients who have expanded internationally and has assisted on projects that include succession planning in multigenerational business operations. He has experience serving clients across Canada and internationally and has worked in Vancouver, Ottawa, and London, England.
In addition to the GVBOT, Mark is on the board of the Women's Enterprise Centre.
Policy Council Committee Chair
Brad Eshleman
Brad Eshleman
Brad Eshleman was the President of Western Stevedoring Company Limited, a diversified transportation and logistics company. During his career at Western, Brad has been active in growing and diversifying the Company and sits as a Director on a number of subsidiary companies including Coast 2000 Terminals, CVS Cruise Victoria, Squamish Terminals, Tidal Transport, Tymac Launch Services, BC Vehicle Processing Center, Associated Stevedoring and British Yukon Railway Co.
Educated at the University of British Columbia, Brad received his Chartered Accountant designation while articling with KPMG prior to joining Western and holds the Institute of Corporate Directors designation (ICD.D).
He is also active in numerous industry and government initiatives including serving as a Director and Past Chair of the BC Maritime Employers Association, Vice Chair of the Greater Vancouver Gateway Council, Chair of the BC Marine Terminal Operators Association, Chair of the BC Ports Competitiveness Committee and past Director of the Western Transportation Advisory Committee. Brad also served as a Director and Treasurer for the Mission to Seafarers and is on the Cabinet Committee for the Business Laureates of BC Hall of Fame.
Immediate Past Chair
Brent Cameron
Brent is currently Chair of the Board of Boyden Canada, one of the largest and leading executive search firms in Canada, with five offices and over 120 professionals across the country conducting critical executive placements from coast to coast. Globally, Boyden includes 70 offices in 40 countries, with Canada among the top three largest countries within the Boyden network.
Since 2014, Brent has served as Managing Partner of Boyden's Vancouver office. With a team of 30, the Vancouver office has been servicing clients in Western Canada for 47 years, conducting CEO and executive level recruitments for public sector, private sector, and not for profit clients.
In addition to his role as Chair of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, Brent is also a Board Member of the Take a Hike Foundation, an alternative education program that engages at-risk youth in BC. He is a past Board member and Chair of the Governance Committee of the UBC Alumni Association and a member of the United Way’s Campaign Cabinet.
Member at Large
Jennifer Foster
Ms. Foster is currently the Sr. Vice President, Human Resources & Corporate Affairs of Western Forest Products Inc., a publicly-traded, high-value, specialty forest products Company. Western operates primarily on the coast of British Columbia and Washington State, with lumber capacity in excess of 1.1 billion board feet and sources timber from its private lands, long-term licenses, First Nations arrangements, and market purchases. Jennifer moved to British Columbia in 2015 to join the executive team at Western.
Prior to moving to B.C., Ms. Foster worked in a global leadership capacity in the automotive industry. She currently sits on the Board of Trustees for the IWA-Forest Industry Pension Plan and has previous board experience as a Board member for AUTO21 (a national research initiative supported by the Government of Canada through the Networks of Centres of Excellence Secretariat) as well as for a number of charitable organizations.
Ms. Foster hold an Honours Bachelor of Psychology from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business, York University.
Jessica McDonald
Jessica McDonald is an independent corporate director serving on the boards of publicly traded companies in Canada and the United States. She served as Chair of the Board for Canada Post from 2017 to 2020 as well serving as President and CEO of Canada Post on an interim basis for a year during that time.
From 2014 to 2017, Ms. McDonald held the role of President and CEO at BC Hydro. Her prior experience also includes Chair of Powertech Labs, and Board Director for Powerex. She serves on the Member Council of Sustainable Development Technology Canada, and was previously a Visiting Fellow at Stanford’s Center for Energy Policy and Finance. Ms. McDonald currently sits on the boards of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, as well as Coeur Mining. She has extensive experience in government, including Deputy Minister to the Premier and Head of the Public Service of British Columbia.
Ms. McDonald has been named to Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame, Canada’s Diversity 50, and Canada’s Top 40 Under 40. She holds her ICD.D.
Stuart Louie
Stuart Louie
Stuart brings a wealth of legal and commercial expertise to the H.Y. Louie and London Drugs Group leadership teams, derived from his years with one of the leading business and litigation law firms in the United States. He focuses on strategic planning relating to business growth and development, working with teams at head office, and across the store network.
Stuart graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor
of Science in Economics, and a certificate in Markets and
Management. He completed his law degree at Duke Law School, and spent the next several years as a practicing attorney in the Finance and Commercial Transactions Department at Davis Wright Tremaine, in both their Seattle and New York offices.
Continuing his family’s legacy of philanthropy, Stuart serves as a a Director of the St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation, and a Trustee of the Vancouver Police Foundation.
President and CEO
Bridgitte Anderson, ICD.D
Bridgitte Anderson is the President and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade - Western Canada's most active and influential business association. Her expertise spans a broad spectrum of disciplines including business, communications, government and public policy.
She is the first woman to lead GVBOT in its 133-year history and came to the organization from Edelman, a global public relations firm, where she led the Vancouver office, the city's largest communications agency.
Prior to that, Bridgitte was Press Secretary to former BC Premier Gordon Campbell and an award-winning journalist. As a core member of Premier Campbell's strategic advisory group, Bridgitte provided communications strategy during the 2009 BC election and the 2010 Winter Olympics. As a journalist, Bridgitte was a news anchor in Vancouver and Toronto.
Bridgitte is a graduate of the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program and holds the ICD.D designation. She lives in North Vancouver with her two children.
2021-22 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Natali is a Vice President, Head of Operations, EA SPORTS overseeing the development of all EA SPORTS franchises.
Natali built her career at Electronic Arts (www.ea.com) over the last 17 years when she first joined as a junior project manager, after graduating from University of British Columbia (UBC) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science.
Electronic Arts (EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment, developing and delivering games, content and online services for Console, Mobile and PC platforms. In fiscal year 2020, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $5.5 billion.
EA SPORTS is one of the most iconic brands in entertainment with over 25 years of innovation, passion, and connecting millions of players across the globe to their favorite sports, teams, and players.
The EA SPORTS portfolio includes EA SPORTS FIFA, EA SPORTS MADDEN NFL, EA SPORTS NHL, EA SPORTS UFC, EA SPORTS NBA LIVE and other new IP products. The EA SPORTS organization is a global team of 1,200+ passionate developers, with development teams in Vancouver BC, Orlando Florida, Bucharest Romania & Madrid Spain. Natali's current responsibilities are partnering with the Executive Vice President to lead the EA SPORTS portfolio across all locations to bring both a strategic and operational focus in order to best support and optimize the EA SPORTS product development activities.
Natali is passionate about diversity, inclusion & equity and is a strong advocate for women in the workplace by helping support and promote women in tech & leadership roles. She is an active mentor in Leaders of Tomorrow program through the Vancouver Board of Trade as well as the UBC Computer Science Mentoring Program, mentoring those who are seeking advice & guidance for their career journey.
Natali is based in Vancouver and in her spare time enjoys spending time with her family appreciating the great outdoors of beautiful BC!
Kim is Chancellor for Kwantlen Polytechnic University and is the owner of Kim Baird Strategic Consulting and offers First Nation related and strategic advice to industry, government, and First Nations. While Chief of the Tsawwassen First Nation for over thirteen years, her most notable achievement was when she negotiated and implemented British Columbia's first urban treaty which is now culminating in expansive community development. She spent six years on the BC Hydro Board – providing her with in-depth knowledge on energy issues in BC. She is on several boards and has received numerous awards, including Indspire, the Order of Canada, and the Order of BC. Kim holds an Institute of Corporate Director's designation.
Colin Bosa
Colin Bosa joined in the management and operation of the Bosa Group of Companies in 1993 and is currently CEO of Bosa Properties. The company is family owned and is a fully integrated Development, Construction and Real Estate owner of Industrial, Office, Retail and Apartment buildings.
Prior to taking on his role as CEO, Mr. Bosa worked his way up through the business in progressively expanding roles touching on all aspects of the development business. Mr. Bosa is a CFA charter holder.
Christian Chia is CEO of OpenRoad Auto Group, the largest-volume dealership group in British Columbia. Representing more than twenty brands with over thirty locations in Canada and the US, OpenRoad is a proven innovator and has been recognized as one of Canada's Best Managed Companies for nine consecutive years.
Prior to OpenRoad, Christian established Summit Motors China, one of only five distributors for BMW and Toyota automobiles in China with locations in six provinces. He previously worked with Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan and was engaged in the finance industry in Toronto.
Christian has been involved with numerous private and non-profit organizations and currently serves on the boards of Servco Pacific Inc., the Vancouver Police Foundation and the UBC Sauder Faculty Advisory Board. He has been active in numerous community activities and is a member of the Young Presidents Organization. Christian was previously Chairman of the Vancouver International Auto show and was appointed a member of the Canadian Federal Advisory Committee on Financing. In 2012, he was named as the Laureate Award winner of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association and more recently he was recognized as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2018, Pacific-region.
Christian was educated at the Sauder School of Business in the University of British Columbia, with a Commerce Degree in Finance. In 1991 he was recognized by UBC as a Leslie Wong Fellow.
Edoardo De Martin is the CTO of CubicFarms, a local chain ag-tech company providing innovative automated technologies to grow onsite commercial-scale quantities of fresh food anywhere on earth, 365 days a year.
Graduating from SFU with a double major in Economics & Geography, his skill in putting culture first to build profitable, productive teams has been at the heart of his more than two decades in technology. A British Columbian by birth, De Martin launched his career in telecommunications before transitioning to successive roles in video games that would see him deliver the franchise leading, number one selling game worldwide, Need for Speed Underground, and become a voice for operational excellence within the industry and earn back-to-back ‘Best Company’ honours for Next Level Games. In 2010, De Martin joined Microsoft to work on early HoloLens development following that, in 2015 he was named Microsoft Vancouver’s new global development center, Site Leader. During his time as Site Leader, Microsoft Vancouver grew from 350 employees to over 1,700 employees.
Today, De Martin lends his expertise to organizations shaping the local ecosystem. As an advocate for Vancouver’s tech industry, he seeks opportunities to drive action around the city’s position in the global marketplace. He’s previously served on the board of BC Tech, the board of Cascadia Innovation Corridor, and was Co-Chair of the Canadian Digital Supercluster. Currently, De Martin sits on the board of Innovate BC and the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.
Peter Dhillon
Mr. Dhillon graduated from the University of British Columbia (UBC) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and went on to complete an LL.B. with honours from the University of Leeds.
Mr. Dhillon is active in several business enterprises, most notably as President and CEO of the Richberry Group of Companies and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ocean Spray. Mr. Dhillon is also on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Canada.
Other board positions have included Vice Chairman, British Columbia Ferry Corporation; Vice Chairman, Agricultural Land Commission; Board Director, Canada Customs and Revenue Agency; Board Director, Vancouver Airport Authority; Board Governor, Simon Fraser University; Board Director, VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation; Board Director, Seacor Environmental; and Board Director, CanWel Building Materials.
He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation and served as chairman of the audit committee for the Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee Board. He is also a past chair of the Vancouver branch of the Right to Play, an international humanitarian organization for children in communities affected by war, poverty and disease.
Mr. Dhillon is widely known for his philanthropic work, particularly in the areas of health care, child humanitarian support, education and sport. He has made significant financial contributions to the Kwantlen Polytechnic University, the Canadian Red Cross, the Canadian Olympic Committee, Arts Umbrella and the Khalsa Diwan Society. In his father's memory, he established both the Rashpal Dhillon Fund in Idiopathic Pulmonary Research and the Rashpal Dhillon Fund in Cranberry Research at UBC, as well as the Rashpal Dhillon UBC Track and Field Oval. In 2015, he established the Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics, in partnership with the Sauder School of Business at UBC.
Mr. Dhillon was appointed to the Order of British Columbia in 2009 and is a recipient of the Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Richard Eppich is the President and CEO of the Ebco Group of Companies. Ebco manufactures custom industrial machinery for international markets in the Aerospace, Energy, Mining and Healthcare industries. Notable past and present projects include building the tunnel boring machine for the English Channel, water turbines for Alaska, airplane production equipment for Boeing, and providing components for the Skytrain and Site C dam. Richard is also CEO of Advanced Cyclotron Systems which designs and manufactures cyclotrons which are used to produce medical isotopes for the diagnosis of various cancers and heart disease. These cyclotrons are sold around the world to hospitals with nuclear medicine capabilities. Our cyclotrons are installed locally at BC Cancer Agency and TRIUMF, and globally in locations such as Bolivia, China, Europe and the USA.
Privately owned and with 250,000 sf of manufacturing space, Ebco is BC's largest job shop with machining capability that can't be found anywhere else in Canada. Established in 1956, Richard is committed to the long term growth of the Ebco Group by remaining focused on "BC Made" manufactured products for international markets.
Prior to Ebco, Richard was founder and CEO of Enterra Systems, a provider of workforce management software for manufacturing companies including Raytheon and Hitachi. Additionally, Richard was VP Operations and Director of Epic Data, a provider of workforce data collection systems to Fortune 500 companies.
Teara Fraser is the Lead Executive at Iskwew Air Becoming a pilot was transformational, truly giving this young Métis woman wings. Teara is the first Indigenous woman to launch an airline in Canada – Iskwew Air. Iskwew Air is the bridge between traditional air service and the sustainable technology of the future. She believes that together in this innovative space we will rematriate, reimagine, and rebuild our air transportation system - centering equity, resilience, and sustainability. Teara serves as a BC Executive Committee member of CAAM, the Canadian Advanced Air Mobility consortium, where Iskwew Air is a proud founding member.
As the visionary of the Raven Institute, she is particularly inspired by the RavenSPEAK initiative (Indigenous changemakers – visible, masterful, amplified, and connected). RavenSPEAK is elevating the voices, stories, and remarkable profiles of Indigenous peoples.
Teara founded the not-for-profit Indigenous LIFT Collective and launched Give them Wings (Indigenous Youth Taking Flight) and the LIFT Circle (collectively co-creating the conditions for Indigenous Women Entrepreneurs to THRIVE).
Teara has been actively engaged in the British Columbia Aviation Council for over a decade and is a Board Director for Unmanned Systems Canada. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.
Teara holds a Master of Arts in Leadership degree from Royal Roads University, and she is a Certified Executive Coach. The journey of learning now takes her back to Royal Roads as Associate Faculty and to Fielding University where she is studying in the Human Development Ph.D. program.
Teara has been named WXN Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100, Top 25 Women of Influence, YWCA Woman of Distinction, and one of 24 ‘real world heroes’ in the DC Comics Wonder Woman anthology – Wonderful Women of the World. In 2021, she ranked 44 on Maclean’s Power List.
Teara is a proud Métis bridge builder.
David Garofalo serves as Chairman & CEO of Gold Royalty Corp., Chairman & CEO of the Marshall Precious Metals Fund. David previously served as President & CEO and Director of Goldcorp (2016-2019), President & CEO and Director of Hudbay from 2010, Senior Vice President and CFO and Director of Agnico-Eagle from 1998 and Treasurer of Inmet Mining from 1990. David is FCPA, FCA and ICD.D and holds a B.Comm. from the University of Toronto. He also serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Kirk LaPointe is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief at Business in Vancouver Media Group and is responsible for the editorial standards of parent firm Glacier Media, western Canada's largest news organization, as its Vice President, Editorial. He also teaches ethics and leadership as an Adjunct Professor and Executive-in-Residence at the Graduate School of Journalism at University of British Columbia.
He has been a media executive for three decades in Canada, leading the editorial operations of CTV News, Southam News and the Hamilton Spectator. He was the founding Executive Editor of National Post, Managing Editor of the Vancouver Sun, a program host on CBC Newsworld, the ombudsman for the CBC, and the Ottawa Bureau Chief and General News Editor of The Canadian Press, among other roles. He ran for mayor of Vancouver in 2014 and has a BA in Journalism from Ryerson University.
Michele Matthews has been a key contributor to the success of Canada’s leading haircare manufacturer, AG Hair, for over 27 years. As Chief Operating Officer, Michele is responsible for helping to set the strategic direction of the company in the ever-changing and fast-paced haircare industry, and working to enhance performance by aligning leadership, business strategy and culture. She is responsible for providing strategic direction and leadership to AG’s Operations, IT and People & Culture Departments.
By designing and implementing new business processes, systems, technology and job roles, Michele has fostered a dynamic company culture that inspires innovation and promotes ethical practices aligned with AG’s belief statements. Michele is a purpose-driven leader and her focus in helping her teams reach key milestones, issue resolution, company-wide project development, and transparent communication drives overall business results and ensures organizational effectiveness.
Michele is a Certified Executive Coach (Royal Roads University), holds a CPHR designation, and is a graduate of BCIT in Human Resources Management. Michele and her husband Glenn were both raised in North Vancouver, and along with their 2 daughters are still proud to call it home.
As Senior Vice President, Customer Solutions, Michael leads the sales, marketing and customer experience teams at Finning Canada, a division of Finning International the world’s largest Caterpillar dealer. For over 85 years, Finning has delivered unrivalled business partnership across mining, construction, energy, forestry, industrial, electric power, and marine applications. Building upon our heritage of exceptional customer service, Finning is now focused on enabling digital transformation through industry leading machine automation, telematics, and performance solutions capabilities.
Michael also serves on the Board of Directors for Cubic Farm Systems, an innovative global ag-tech company with a vision to transform the agriculture system enabling local food and feed independence via portfolio of proprietary automated growing systems designed to support large scale commercial growers in fresh produce and livestock feed markets.
He has an avid love for the outdoors and believes strongly in the benefits of community investment. He is a advisor to the board for Power to Be Adventure Therapy Society, and a past board member for the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs.
Gail C. Murphy is a Professor of Computer Science and Vice-President Research and Innovation at the University of British Columbia. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), as well as co-founder of Tasktop Technologies Incorporated.
After completing her B.Sc. at the University of Alberta in 1987, she worked for five years as a software engineer in the Lower Mainland. She later pursued graduate studies in computer science at the University of Washington, earning first a M.Sc. (1994) and then a Ph.D. (1996) before joining UBC.
SSusannah has held senior positions in the energy and technology sectors in Canada, the United States and Europe, most recently as Director of Corporate Affairs for LNG Canada.
She joined LNG Canada in 2013 as a Shell secondee and has been responsible for the project's federal and provincial regulatory approvals, Indigenous relations, government relations, media relations and community communications. Under her leadership, the project achieved federal and provincial environmental approvals on schedule and received unprecedented support from First Nations, communities and governments. .
Prior to joining LNG Canada, Susannah served as Vice President, Value Chain Integration, Shell Canada. In this capacity, she was responsible for identifying new business opportunities across Shell's multiple businesses in Canada. Prior to this position, Susannah was Vice President, Communications, Upstream International based in The Hague.
Susannah was previously Head, Government Relations for Shell Canada, where she established the government relations practice to support Shell Canada's Upstream, Downstream, and manufacturing businesses.
Prior to joining Shell in 2009, Susannah was Director, Government Affairs for TransCanada Pipelines based in the United States, where she was responsible for driving government policy at federal and state levels in support of TransCanada's existing power and pipeline interests, as well as new business development activities. Susannah was named one of Vancouver magazine's Power 50 in 2019 and on B.C. Business's 2015 Most Influential Women in Business list. She was also recognized as a 2019 Most Influential Woman in Business by Business in Vancouver magazine.
Susannah is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and The George Washington University, and speaks English, Spanish and French. She lives in Vancouver with her two children, Robert and Gabriela.
An award-winning entrepreneur and investor, Meredith is a Venture Partner with Voyager Capital, Cascadia's leading enterprise software fund invested across CA, OR, WA and BC with $500M USD AUM. Prior to working in tech VC, she successfully launched and scaled three companies the most recent of which - a B2B digital marketplace - was acquired by UBM Global in 2014.
Meredith is a sought-after expert on innovative leadership, emerging technology and early stage venture models as well as funding. She is featured regularly in the media and serves on various public and private boards. Her nonprofit commitments include increasing diversity at the executive level, championing youth entrepreneurship and STEAM, and supporting the performance arts.
Meredith serves on the Governor General's Innovation Awards committee and is Startup Canada's National award winner for promoting entrepreneurship, one of The Boardlist's Top Women in Tech, and a YWCA Women of Distinction winner for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
Tracy Redies joined as President & CEO of Science World British Columbia in 2020, inspired by Science World’s mission to ignite wonder and empower dreams through science and nature. She is passionate about disseminating STEAM-learning to more people in BC, believing these skill sets will be key to the province's and Canada's success in the coming decades.
Tracy has over 25 years of experience as a high-growth organization builder with a strong commitment to serving the province and its communities. Tracy spent much of her career leading complex financial institutions, serving as CEO of Coast Capital Savings Credit Union and, before that, Executive Vice President and Head of Personal Financial Services of HSBC Bank Canada. In 2017, she joined the B.C. Liberal party as MLA, Surrey-White Rock serving as Finance Critic for the Opposition.
Tracy has served on the University of Victoria board of governors, the Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation board, and as a corporate director for BC Hydro. As a member of the Premier's Women's Economic Council for BC, Tracy supported the improvement of economic outcomes for women entrepreneurs and business leaders. She was also a past director of the Vancouver Board of Trade and the Sauder Advisory Council. She is currently on the Sources Foundation Board, an organization responsible for supporting local food banks, women’s shelters and affordable housing options.
Tracy and her husband have raised their 4 children in the Surrey-White Rock area. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, horse racing and spending time outdoors with her family and dogs.
Bruce is the Western Canada Tax leader for BDO. Bruce has been practicing for over 25 years and has considerable experience advising Boards and Senior Executives on a range of issues including succession planning, governance, estate and trust planning. Bruce works with a wide range of private businesses and has experience in proactive tax planning for companies in Canada and with foreign operations. In addition to bringing substantial technical and leadership skills to the overall direction of his mandates, Bruce is a trusted advisor to many of his family business and high net worth clients.
Anna Stukas is a Vice President Business Development at Carbon Engineering Ltd. (CE), a Canadian-based clean energy company. CE is leading the commercialization of ground-breaking technology that captures carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere, and a second technology that synthesizes it into clean, affordable transportation fuels.
Anna is a professional engineer with over 15 years’ experience bridging the gap between technology and business to overcome barriers to cleantech commercialization. Anna previously worked with Angstrom Power and BIC developing hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, where her responsibilities spanned IP and licensing strategy, product safety, and international regulatory development. She currently leads a variety of CE’s partnering and strategic business development efforts, and previously led CE initiatives ranging from strategic projects to government programs. Anna’s work has been recognized by the Minerva Foundation’s Women In™ Energy Award for Philanthropy and Business in Vancouver’s Forty Under 40 Award.
Driven by purpose to take the industrial sector mainstream and drive economy with heart, Lisa Tuningley is an inspired leader, industry advocate and entrepreneur specializing in RAIL. RAIL transports 70% of surface goods, producing only 3.4% of transportation greenhouse gas. RAIL has impact and creating sustainable rail solutions has become her team's passion. Proud to be a Canadian. She reminds us "Rail Connects Us", invites innovations to rail, which in turn promote our growth as a nation and our individual rights and freedoms.
Diana Vuong is the Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Vancouver Airport Authority, the non-share corporation that operates Vancouver International Airport (YVR). The airport plays a vital role in the region, enabling trade, travel and the exchange of knowledge, in service of the community and the economy that supports it. YVR was voted the best airport in North America for the twelfth consecutive year and was the only Canadian airport that earned the first COVID-19 Airport Excellence Award in 2021.
As a key member of the YVR Executive Team, Diana is involved in all facets of the Airport Authority’s business and is responsible for finance, enterprise risk management and sustainability reporting. An innovative leader and driver of change, Diana delivers on both strategy and execution, with a firm understanding of what it takes to implement change.
Diana is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CA), holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University and worked at KPMG as a Senior Manager in the audit practice. Diana joined the Airport Authority as the Director, Finance and Controller in 2007 and has been in her current position since 2018. Diana also serves on the World Economics Committee of Airports Council International and on the Board of the Richmond Hospital Foundation.
In his role as Vice President, Operations and Supply Chain, Peter Xotta is responsible for the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority's long-term planning, land and marine operations, security, and trade development activities.
For more than a decade, Peter has led the development and funding of the port authority's gateway infrastructure programs. These trade-enabling infrastructure projects will improve the efficiency of goods movement throughout the Lower Mainland road and rail network, while also mitigating the impacts of trade on local communities. He also leads the port authority's data-capture and supply chain visibility work, which are collaborative initiatives between the Port of Vancouver and other industry partners that aim to improve the supply chain from prairie to port.
Throughout his career, Peter has held diverse portfolios including business development and leading strategic port projects.
He was previously president of Modalink Distribution Hub Ltd., a multi-modal logistics facility in South Richmond, British Columbia. He is also the former chair of Canada Place Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.
Peter currently sits on the board of directors for the Freight Management Association of Canada, a position he has held since October 2018. He has a Masters in Business Administration from Simon Fraser University's Segal Graduate School of Business and is an active mentor in the program.
Vivian Zalkow is actively involved in the leadership of the Zalkow Group of Companies. As CEO of Taymor Industries, where the principal ownership of the company by the Zalkow family dates back to 1948, she has played a pivotal role in positioning the company as a leader in the decorative hardware industry in North America. The founding values of continuous learning, collaboration, and innovation continue today, ensuring the sustainability and success of the company.
Vivian's additional involvement, in other integral entities in the Zalkow Group of Companies, includes Mason Investments, a diversified real estate management company, Norco Bicycles, a leading brand of high-performance bikes and accessories, and the Zalkow Foundation, established to support medical advancements and community. In alignment with the values of the Zalkow Group and grateful for the expertise obtained as an FCPA, Vivian is personally committed to contributing her time to several Boards and committees, currently including the GVBOT and YPO.