 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Glen BallmanGlen Ballman founded Onvia in 1996 and raised over $70 million in private funding from venture capital, institutional and strategic investors including GE Capital and Comerica Bank. As Chairman and CEO, he lead the company to $150 million in annual sales in 2000; and through a $240 million IPO on NASDAQ. He successfully negotiated major alliances with such entities as America Online, E*Trade, and Visa and has been frequently interviewed on CNN Moneyline and MSNBC as a leading expert in e-commerce and B2B marketplaces. Glen is currently the CEO of Genesis Exchange - a private equities market. He was educated in Canada at the University of Western Ontario Business School (Ivey).
Robert BenderRobert Bender has been active in entrepreneurial, technology-based companies, primarily in the life sciences and health care field. His professional focus has been on the assessment and development of new ventures. Robert has extensive experience in institutional and private venture capital, and has participated in the management or development of a number of privately held start-up companies, including Neurochem and AtheroChem. He is active in the transfer of technology between corporations, and from academic institutions and is a Founder of Immune Control and Pharmena North America. Currently he serves as Chairman of Nometics, CAPT, and sGC.
Brad BennettBrad Bennett has been President of McIntosh Properties, a real estate investment and holding company based in Kelowna, British Columbia since 1989. He has served on a number of private and public company boards and is currently a director of BC Advantage Funds, Sidetrack Technologies, Quails’ Gate Estate Winery and Lodgepole Energy Management. A strong believer in community service, Brad is presently Chair of the University of British Columbia’s Board of Governors, Chair of the UBC Okanagan Regional Advisory Council and Director of the UBC Properties Trust. Brad also serves as a Director of the Premier’s Technology Council. Brad was the recipient of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award Medal in 2002, The City of Kelowna’s Businessman of the Year honour in 2005 and received the Honourary Alumni Award from the University of British Columbia in 2007.
Mike BlackstockMike Blackstock is a veteran technology leader and strategist specializing in systems support for mobile and pervasive computing. He currently serves on the board of directors of Inetco Systems, a provider of business transaction intelligence software and communications gateway products for the retail and financial payments industries. Previously, he co-founded and served as CTO of Colligo Networks, a leading provider of peer-to-peer wireless productivity software designed for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled notebooks, Tablet PCs, and handhelds. Before founding Colligo, Michael was the Vice President of Research and Development for Infowave Software, a global provider of software that connects enterprise applications to wireless devices. In 1994 Mike was recognized as one of the top '40 under 40' young entrepreneurs in British Columbia. He holds a Bachelors of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of British Columbia, and a Masters Degree in Computer Science from Simon Fraser University. He is currently pursing a PhD in Computer Science at UBC and leading pervasive computing research projects at the Media and Graphics Interdisciplinary Centre.
Leonard BrodyLeonard Brody has helped in raising millions of dollars for startup companies, been through one of the largest internet IPOs in history and has been involved in the building, financing and/or sale of four companies to date. Leonard was part of the initial executive team at Onvia Canada, which was voted Canada’s number one startup in 2000 and subsequently closing a $240 Million NASDAQ IPO. Currently, Leonard is a director and mentor to several technology companies, including Transgaming and Infowave. He is also a Director of Canada’s largest technology association, CATA. Leonard has lectured at universities and conferences throughout the world, and is co-author of the best selling books “Innovation Nation: Canadian Leadership from Jurassic Park to Java” and “Everything I Needed to Know About Business...I Learned from a Canadian”.
Lynda Brown-Ganzert Lynda Brown Ganzert is recognized as one of the most knowledgeable people in the Canadian digital media community.
As CEO of GoBe Media, Lynda created one of the first Canadian companies developing hybrid PC-mobile games for kids, which she co-founded after working with Electronic Arts Canada. She has produced over 35 interactive and broadcast television titles and has a conducted a number of applied research projects in the digital media domain. She has worked in the digital media sector for 17 years with companies such as Telus, Rogers Cablesystems, Knowledge Network, Telcom Training, Arts Umbrella, Simon Fraser University, and Electronic Arts. She is currently Vice President for Canada, Digital Media, Entertainment and Technology with Karyo-Edelman, while also providing strategic consulting services to digital media companies in Canada and the US.
Randy BuchamerRandy Buchamer is a seasoned executive with expertise in building sales and managing large operations. He is the President and CEO of Voice Mobility, a developer and provider of carrier and enterprise enhanced messaging solutions. Prior to Voice Mobility, Randy was Managing Director, Operations for The Jim Pattison Group, and was responsible for supporting the $4 billion operations of the 55 companies owned by The Jim Pattison Group. Before joining The Jim Pattison Group, Randy was Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Mohawk Oil.
Robin ChakrabartiRobin Chakrabarti is Vice President of the T & M Group of Companies. The T&M Group have over 30 years of experience investing, building and growing profitable businesses, including Boston Pizza, Mr. Lube and Global Entertainment. Previously, Robin managed 400 employees working in six distribution centers across Western Canada for Canada’s largest bottled water company - Canadian Springs Water. As Canadian Springs' Regional Vice-President and General Manager, he negotiated the sale of Canadian Springs to French multi-national Group Danonel for $500 million in 2003. Outside work, Robin mentors students and is a guest speaker at SFU's faculty of business. He also teaches a full-day course four times a year to junior-high students across B.C., encouraging them to stay in school. Robin graduated with an MBA from SFU in 1995 and was named one of BC’s top 40 businesspeople under 40 in 2005.
Peter CiceriPeter Ciceri is a corporate director and management consultant with 25 years experience in the technology industry. Peter was with Compaq Computers from 1995 - 2000, and held the position of CEO of Compaq Canada, from 1997 to 2000. Peter was also Lead Director and Chairman of Sierra Wireless from 2002 - 2006 as well as a director with Progressive Solutions. He serves on the University of Victoria's Board of Governors and their Innovation and Development Council. Peter also sits on the Premier's Technology Council and the board if VIATeC. He was named one of Canada's top ten "IT Influencers" in 1997 and one of Canada's 100 top business executives by the Report of Business. Peter is a frequent speaker on leadership and business counseling.
Bart CopelandBart Copeland brings over 15 years of leadership, management, finance and business experience to high technology and manufacturing operations for small and medium sized companies. Bart began his entrepreneurial career by establishing Wesgar Metal Finishers - a joint venture with Wesgar Industries Subsequently, Bart became the General Manager of the Wesgar Group of Companies - an organization specializing in precision sheet metal production and metal finishing for the high-tech industry. Bart was next appointed President & CEO and a founding member of Credo Interactive. Established in 1996, Credo is a software company creating innovative and easy-to-use character animation software products and solutions for applications in entertainment, telecommunication, business, education and the arts. More recently Bart was interim CEO of iMessaging Systems, a New Hampshire based interactive voice response software company and President & CEO of Recombo, a content integration technology company. Bart has served on the boards of the British Columbia Technology Industries Association and New Media BC Association.
Scott CormackScott Cormack is the founding President and CEO of OncoGenex Technologies. At OncoGenex, Scott has been responsible for negotiating the acquisition of the Company’s products, establishing the alliances, securing the necessary funding, and ensuring that the Company met its aggressive growth strategy, including advancing the Company’ lead drug into two phase clinical studies. Scott has almost two decades of experience in the biotechnology industry in executive management, research and development, regulatory affairs, business development, operations, sales and marketing and corporate finance. At Bioniche Life Sciences, Scott successfully led the development of the company's immunotherapeutic from lab bench through preclinical development and into clinical trials in oncology. Scott subsequently expanded his business development and operational skills, initially in Business Development and then as Chief Operating Officer of NeuroSpheres. Immediately prior to joining OncoGenex, Scott served as the Vice President, Western Region for Milestone Medica, where he was responsible for managing the western operations of this seed-capital investment fund.
Rob CruikshankRob Cruickshank served as President of the British Columbia Technology Industries Association (BCTIA) from 2005 to 2007. The BCTIA is a not-for-profit, member-funded organization representing the technology industry across the province. Prior to joining BCTIA, Rob had a long and successful career with TELUS/BCTEL serving in many executive roles, including over four years as the President of BCTEL Mobility. Between 1999 and 2001 he served as President of Mobile Data Solutions, an international software company specializing in workforce management and wireless data solutions. In 1992, he attended the Harvard Business School Program for Management Development. Rob currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Corpus Christi and St Mark’s Colleges, Chair of the Board of Director's of St George's School and is a member of the Board of the Canadian Association of Independent Schools. He also serves on the Advisory Boards of AfterCAD Software and Nutri-Loc, two early stage technology companies.
Mark DanceMark Dance was a director at Creo from 2001 to its sale to Kodak in 2005 for $1.2 billion. He joined Creo in 1994, was appointed Vice President of Product Development in 1995 and in 1997 was appointed Vice President, Operations. In 1998, Mark was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Creo, where he was responsible for overseeing the operations of the Company and the joint venture between Creo and Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG. In 2002, he assumed the role of Chief Financial Officer, while maintaining his position as Chief Operating Officer.
Avtar Dhillon M.D.Avtar Dhillon is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Inovio Biomedical (AMEX: INO). Prior to joining Inovio, Avtar was a Vice President of MDS Capital, at that time, one of North America’s leading healthcare venture capital organizations. From March 1997 to July 1998, he acted as consultant to Cardiome Pharma (NASDAQ:CRME). Avtar has also provided biotechnology investment analysis to various institutions from November 1996 to July 1998. He is a director of BC Advantage Funds and a director of Protox Therapeutics.
Tom DigbyTom Digby has been at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, in Cambridge MA, since 2005, where he provides worldwide intellectual property support for in-licensing transactions and acquisitions. Tom supports transaction teams for both biological and small-molecule products, at all stages of discovery, pre-clinical and clinical development. Tom is a qualified US and Canadian attorney. While practicing in Vancouver from 1997-2005, Tom provided IP services, including patent portfolio management, transaction and litigation support, to BC biotechnology companies such as Inex Pharmaceuticals and Xenon Pharmaceuticals. Tom was a founding employee at the DNA diagnostics company Visible Genetics (Toronto) in 1994.
Howard DonaldsonHoward Donaldson is Vice President, studio Operations at Propaganada Games, of the Walt Disney Company. Prior to co-founding Propaganda Games, Howard served as the Chief Financial Officer at EA Canada. As a key member of the executive team, he was responsible for managing the Company's financial performance and directing long-term business planning that led to EA Canada's double-digit annual growth. Before joining EA Canada, Howard was the Vice President of Finance and Administration for Disney Interactive. Howard has over ten years of experience in the video game industry and over 20 years of corporate leadership experience. He also serves as a director on several local technology companies and organizations including Director for New Media BC, Chairman for 90 Degree Software, Director and Audit Chair for MovieSet and Advisory Chairman for Vancouver International Games Summit. Donaldson holds an MBA and CPA.
|
 TOP |
David Dunnison
An experienced executive and board member, David Dunnison actively mentors and consults on business development, structuring, and market and product strategy. Previsouly, David was President and CEO of Protexis, where he assembled its team, completed its first customer sale, and led the company to its prominent position in software licensing and digital rights management. Before leading Protexis, David established Icron Technologies, the premier industry expert in Universal Serial Bus connectivity.
David was the primary architect for Ballard Generation Systems – Ballard’s stationary power subsidiary. Creating an opportunity for fuel cells to provide strategic and low-impact power generation, he developed three of Ballard's corporate strategic partnerships. David has two Bachelor degrees from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business where he finished in the top 15% of his class.
| TOP |
Don Enns
Don Enns has been actively involved in the Canadian life sciences industry for over 20 years. He is the President and CEO of Cantest, a life science company providing scientific expertise and consultation in environmental, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, food safety and industrial hygiene related fields.
Don is a director of numerous local for-profit companies as well as several non-profit organizations involved with national standardization, education, community affairs, and public health. He has been instrumental in Cantest’s expansion into the European and Southeast Asian markets, and his experience overseas includes consulting for the UN Development Programme, business development and mergers and acquisitions.
| TOP |
Tazdin Esmail
Taz Esmail was the co-founder, director and past President and Chief Executive Officer of Protox Therapeutics, a company that is developing targeted proteins for the treatment of cancer.
He was also the founder, and former Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Forbes Medi-Tech, a revenue producing, diversified biotechnology company listed on the TSX and NASDAQ. He is a former Vice President of Operations of QLT and a former director of pharmaceutical operations for Wyeth, where he managed the company's oncology and hospital products division.
Taz has raised close to $100 million for these companies through private placements, public offerings and strategic alliances, and has extensive experience in guiding and growing life science companies from the start-up stage to revenue generating corporations.
| TOP |
Haig Farris
Since 1990, Haig Farris has been the President of Fractal Capital, a private venture capital company financing high technology start-ups and resource service technology companies. Previously, Haig practiced law with Farris and Company. In 1968, along with two co-founders, he started the Ventures West Management group of venture capital funds, which today is the largest venture capital pool of funds in western Canada. From 1993 to 2003, he held an adjunct professorship at the University of British Columbia, teaching a course on entrepreneurship and the financing and managing of high-technology companies to graduate engineering, science and MBA students.
Haig serves on numerous boards in the science and technology industry and has received many awards and commendations, including the Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2003 for service to his fellow citizens, the community and to the Canadian Crown. Mr. Farris holds a BA from the University of British Columbia (1960), a Law Degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School (1963) and an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from UBC (1997).
| TOP |
Chris Fibiger Ph.D.
Until July 2007, Chris Fibiger was Vice President and Global Head of Neuroscience at Amgen. In this position he was responsible for Amgen’s worldwide Neuroscience discovery efforts ranging from early exploratory research through clinical candidate selection. Before joining Amgen in 2003, Chris served as Vice President of Neuroscience Discovery Research and Clinical Investigation at Eli Lilly. Before moving to Lilly in 1998, he served as Professor and Head of the Division of Neurological Sciences and Chair of the University Graduate Program in Neuroscience at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
Chris received his B.Sc. in Chemistry and Psychology from the University of Victoria in 1966 and his Ph.D. in Psychopharmacology from Princeton University in 1970. He has made numerous contributions to neuroscience research and, during his academic career, was among the top 100 most cited scientists in neuroscience. Chris serves on the editorial boards of ten journals in the field of neuroscience and has authored or coauthored more than 400 scientific papers focused mainly on the neurobiological substrates of Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, depression and drug abuse.
| TOP |
Jim Fletcher
Jim Fletcher is President of Northwest Venture Developments, which is dedicated to working closely with entrepreneurs to finance and develop successful businesses in North America. He frequently plays active CEO, CFO or other roles at various stages of development. He was the founding CEO of Vector 12, a VC-backed spin-out of semiconductor technology from the University of British Columbia from 2001 to 2002; a director of Angus Reid Group, Canada’s largest market research from 1994 to 2000; and CFO of Angus Reid from 1998 to 2000, where he managed the sale of that company to Ipsos S.A. of France.
From 1982 to 1990, Jim was a founding partner of Ventures West Management, Canada’s largest venture capital firm at the time, with specific responsibility for all institutional fund-raising and a number of early-stage technology companies. Jim is an active director of several not-for-profit and for-profit organizations in Canada and the United States, including BC Technology Social Venture Partners, Antarctica Systems, Recombo, Redlen Technologies and Lifespan Biosciences. He is also an active member of the Canadian angel investor community.
| TOP |
Paul Geyer
Paul Geyer graduated with a B.Sc. in electrical engineering from the University of British Columbia in 1988. In 1991, he founded Mitroflow International, a medical device company that developed and commercialized bovine tissue heart valves. As the Company's President and CEO, Paul grew Mitroflow from a start-up of nine employees and an investment of $800,000 in 1991 to more than 125 employees in 1999, when he sold the Company to Sulzer Medica of Switzerland for more than $50 million.
In 1998, Paul received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Richmond Chamber of Commerce. In 1999, he was named as one of Business in Vancouver newspaper’s “Top 40 Under 40,” an award given to honour outstanding young businesspeople in the city of Vancouver. In 2001, Paul founded Medical Ventures (now Neovasc Inc. TSXV:NVC), a medical devices firm specializing in products for the quickly growing vascular and surgical market. Paul is the Chairman of the Board of Medical Ventures and Chairman of the Board of Governors of Science World British Columbia.
| TOP |
Richard Glickman
Richard Glickman co-founded Aspreva Pharaceuticals with Noel Hall and Michael Hayden after serving together on the board of the Canadian Genetic Disease Network. The three co-founders were frustrated at the lack of medicine development for rare diseases. Aspreva's business model was to overcome this problem by targeting drugs already on the market. Richard served as Aspreva’s Chairman and CEO. Under his leadership, Aspreva signed a major licensing deal with Roche Holding AG for the anti-rejection drug CellCept. Aspreva was then acquired by the Galencia Group for US$915 million in October 2007.
Prior to Aspreva, Richard was a co-founder and CEO of Stressgen, where he grew the company from startup to a major biotechnology player with a market capitalization over $500 million. Previously, Richard was the founder and director of Ontario Molecular Diagnostics, a diagnostic facility that evolved into the largest molecular diagnostic laboratory in Canada. He also co-founded Probtec, a rational drug design and molecular genetics firm where, as Vice-president of Corporate Development, he established and introduced the first licensed DNA-based forensic and paternity testing services into Canada. Richard received both Canada’s and British Columbia’s Top 40 under 40 Awards for entrepreneurs.
| TOP |
David Goodkin MD, FACP
David A. Goodkin is Acting Executive VP and Chief Medical Officer of Xenon Pharmaceuticals, a position he has held since February 2007. He serves on the Board of Directors of Urodynamix Technologies, in Vancouver. From 2002 to 2007, he was Senior VP and Chief Medical Officer of ICOS Corp, source of the blockbuster impotence drug Cialis. Prior to ICOS, David spent ten years at Amgen. As VP, Clinical Research he supervised the team leaders for all clinical programs internationally and contributed to the success of Epogen, Aranesp, and Sensipar.
David received an AB degree from Dartmouth College and his MD from the State University of New York. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Miami and fellowship training in nephrology at Temple University and Albert Einstein Medical Center. From 1985 until 2002, Dr. Goodkin practiced nephrology and internal medicine.
| TOP |
Anne Graham
Anne Graham began her career as an account manager with technology companies, including NCR and Digital Equipment, achieving President’s Club recognition annually. She subsequently transferred to Vancouver, where she quickly returned a troubled division to profitability.
Anne now leads Graham and Associates, a consulting firm focused on helping CEOs and their teams become self-sufficient in building highly profitable companies. She pursues research dedicated to discovering how to build high-performance value-based companies as an Executive in Residence at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia, and is regularly invited to teach in the MBA and PhD programs. She is an Advisory Board member of the UBC Faculty Certification Program and of Ingenia Training, and is a past board member of the University of British Columbia Business Families Centre, past Vice-Chair of the Burnaby Board of Trade, and past Chair of the Burnaby Business Excellence Awards.
| TOP |
Mark Grambart
Mark Grambart is the CEO of Pherotech Industries - a clean tech company that develops and commercializes non-toxic products for the pet and pest management markets. Raised and educated on Vancouver Island, Mark’s professional experience includes roles with Mercedes-Benz and JM Huber that lead him through Germany, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United States. After completing his MBA from the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, Mark was recruited by American engineered–materials giant JM Huber where, as vice president and general manager of Huber’s Industrial Business unit, he had direct responsibility for $170M in sales, 550 people and ten plants. In this role Grambart helped turn the business around, shifting from commodity to specialty, and growing the business by $20M in a declining market and more than tripling profits in two years.
Mark is an advisor to Starfish Medical and a director of VIATeC (Vancouver Island Association of Technology Companies). Mark is also a member of The Executive Committee – an international organization of more than 2,000 corporate CEOs and presidents dedicated to improving the quality and productivity of their organizations. In 2006, he was named one of the business community’s “Top 40 under 40” executives, and his company Contech was named “VIATeC Member of the Year.”
| TOP |
Jim Heppell
Jim is President and Partner of BC Advantage (VCC) Funds, a venture fund focused on financing early stage life science, clean tech and technology companies. Jim focuses on the Funds' life science investments.
Jim was co-founder, CEO and Fund Manager of the Advantage Life Science Fund I, which received the “2006 Deal of the Year” Award from the Canada Venture Capital Association for having the highest realized return of any Canadian venture fund that year (23.4X its investment in Aspreva Pharmaceuticals). ALSFI has also posted the highest five year returns of any retail venture fund in Canada. Over the last 20 years, Jim has acted as a director, officer or advisor to approximately one-third of the life science companies that have spun out of BC universities. Jim is Chairman of the Board of Inovio Biomedical (AMEX: INO), director of Protox Pharmaceuticals (TSX: PRX) and Urodynamix Technologies (TSX-V: URO), and director of a number of private life science companies.
| TOP |
Frank Holler
Frank Holler is Chief Executive Officer and Partner of BC Advantage Funds, a venture fund focused on early stage life science, clean tech and technology companies. Frank focuses his efforts on the Fund's life science investments.
Frank is an active investor and successful entrepreneur. He previously served as President & CEO of Xenon Pharmaceuticals, a private genomics-based drug development company, from 1999 to 2003; President & CEO of ID Biomedical, a vaccine development company sold to GlaxoSmithKline plc in 2005 for $1.6 billion, from 1991 to 1998; and a founding director of Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, a TSX/ NASDAQ listed biotechnology company from 1992 to 1997. Prior to working in biotechnology and healthcare, he was a Vice-President of Investment Banking with Merrill Lynch Canada and Wood Gundy (now CIBC World Markets).
Frank presently serves on the board of directors of Protox Therapeutics (Chairman), Emerillon Therapeutics (Chairman), Xenon Pharmaceuticals, Cantest, Allon Therapeutics, Providence Healthcare and Genome B.C. He was previously a director of the British Columbia Biotechnology Association from 1992 to 1998. Frank received the BC Biotech Award for Vision and Leadership in 2003.
| TOP |
Victor Holysh
Victor Holysh, an experienced business development and operations executive, has successfully built organizations and managed new initiatives in international high-growth technology companies. From 1998 to 2003 Victor was based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he held various executive management positions with Retek, a provider of enterprise solutions to large retailers until its acquisition by Oracle in 2005. He also worked in Sierra Systems Toronto office from 1996-98, where he grew the North American financial systems implementation practice by more than 100%.
After returning to Vancouver in 2003, Victor was responsible for developing and growing Creo’s professional services business until Kodak’s acquisition of Creo in 2005 for $1.2 billion. More recently, he was COO at Loki Management Systems, a developer of workforce management software solutions. Victor holds a B.Sc. degree in Computer Science and an M.B.A., both from the University of Toronto, and is a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. Currently Victor provides business development consulting services to local high-tech companies.
| TOP |
Miljenko Horvat
Miljenko Horvat founded and currently directs Horvat Capital, a vehicle for private investments in technology companies and leveraged buyout acquisitions of middle-market companies. Miljenko is also a member of the Riverside Micro-Cap Investment Fund, a $150 million leveraged buyout fund focusing on fast growing private companies with $5 million to $25 million in revenue. Miljenko co-founded and was President and CEO of electronic newspaper delivery company, NewspaperDirect, from 1999 to 2003. During his time at NewspaperDirect, he grew the company from two to 60 employees, expanded its market presence to 65 companies and raised $12.5 million. The company is now valued at approximately $30 million.
Miljenko began his career in corporate finance in 1985 with Citibank in New York, Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe. Citibank appointed him Managing Director of Russia, where he established Citibank as a full service commercial bank and oversaw all of Citicorp’s private equity investments in Russia until 1999. Miljenko holds a MA in International Relations, with an international finance focus, from Yale University and is currently a member of the advisory board for the Maurice Young Center for Entrepreneurship at the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia.
| TOP |
Doug Janzen
Doug Janzen joined Cardiome as Chief Financial Officer in January of 2003. Prior to Cardiome, Doug served as Managing Director - Health Sciences, and Partner at Sprott Securities, a Toronto based institutional Investment Bank. During his time there, Doug was instrumental in building Sprott's biotech practice, augmenting Sprott's position as a leading independent institutional brokerage. Before Sprott, Doug was Head of Research, and Senior Health Sciences Analyst at Loewen Ondaatje McCutcheon, another Toronto based Investment Bank. Doug has participated in more than $500 million in financings for Canadian life science companies.
| TOP |
Eric Jordan co-founded PureEdge Solutions, and served as its President and CEO from 1993 through 2002. During that time, the company became a profitable organization with over 70 employees with over five million users. In July 2005, IBM acquired PureEdge Solutions and the PureEdge Victoria office became IBM’s Victoria Software Development Lab. Prior to the acquisition, the company was named a “Venture AllStar”, “Top-Ten E-commerce Company”, “Ready to Rocket 25” and a "Company to Watch" by leading business technology publications and analysts.
Eric has been a keynote speaker at Harvard and numerous technology industry events. He was selected by Business in Vancouver for their "Top 40 Business People Under 40" award, by the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce for their Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, by the University of Victoria for their Distinguished Young Alumni award, and has been recognized by John Manley on behalf of the Canadian government as an Internet pioneer. Additionally, Eric serves on the Premier’s Technology Council, the BC Technology Industry Association Board and the BC Cancer Foundation’s Vancouver Island Advisory Board.
| TOP |
Paulin has extensive experience in the technology industry. Paulin was co-founder and CEO of Altus Solutions Inc., a company that developed network management systems for telecom service providers worldwide. He has also been CEO of FDM Software Ltd. and JGKB Photonics Inc., COO of Sxip Networks Inc., and General Manager of CrossKeys System Corporation. Prior these executive level roles, Paulin held sales, management and technical positions in several technology companies. Paulin is a current board member and past chair of ACETECH.
Paulin is currently an advisor and mentor to a number of technology CEOs and works with them to them improve their organizational results. He also works with companies to create strategic plans, design operational plans and budgets, and ensure organization-wide participation in the overall strategy.
| TOP |
Ed Levy
In 1988, Ed joined the biotechnology company QLT. At QLT he worked in regulatory affairs and project management before becoming Vice President, Corporate Development in 1993, and Senior VP in 1998. In these roles he had responsibility for establishing, developing, and managing QLT’s strategic alliances, led strategic planning, and oversaw the intellectual property area.
At the end of 2002, Ed retired from QLT and became an adjunct professor at the W. Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics at UBC. Ed is a member of the boards of several technology companies and sits on the Genome BC Ethics Advisory Committee. He serves as a member of the health sector advisory committee to the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
| TOP |
Angus Livingstone
Angus Livingstone is the Managing Director of the University-Industry Liaison Office of the University of British Columbia. He is also the President of the University's wholly-owned subsidiary, UBC Research Enterprises.
After graduation, he participated in the start-up of International Mining Services, a mining software company. In 1986, Angus returned to UBC as the Assistant Director in the Office of Research Services and in 1988, he joined the University-Industry Liaison Office where he has held a progression of positions relating to industry sponsored research and technology.
Angus serves on numerous boards including Inimex Pharmaceuticals, LIST Foundation, UBC Research Enterprises, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Trust, Webnames.CA, and WestLink Innovation Network. Angus chairs the UBC Technology Equity Management Committee and the Canadian University Intellectual Property Group.
| TOP |
Gordon McCauley was appointed President of Allon in 2004. Mr. McCauley is a co-founder, and the former President and COO of Neuro Discovery Inc., now NDI Capital. Prior to co-founding NDI, he led the successful growth and development of two Canadian healthcare companies. Outside of the healthcare industry, Mr. McCauley has been a senior sales and public affairs executive for a Canadian multinational energy company and served in a staff capacity to two Prime Ministers and former Ontario Premier David Peterson. Mr. McCauley serves on the Board of Hallmark Insurance, ACETECH, BIOTECanada, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), Washington, D.C., and LifeSciences British Columbia.
Fahar Merchant Ph.D.
Fahar Merchant is the President and CEO of Protox Therapeutics, a Phase II biotechnology company at the forefront of developing novel treatments in the emerging field of targeted therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and other proliferative diseases.
In 1992, Fahar established Avicenna Medica, an Edmonton based biotechnology consulting firm with an international client base. In 2000, Avicenna in-licensed from GE Health and the U.S. National Institutes of Health exclusive worldwide rights for TransMID, a targeted toxin for the treatment of brain tumours. In 2001, he sold Avicenna to KS Biomedix (LSE), for $90 million and was appointed its Chief Technology Officer until 2002. He remained a member of its Board of Directors until its subsequent acquisition by Xenova (LSE and Nasdaq).
| TOP |
Amos Michelson
Amos Michelson was CEO of Creo from June 1995 until Kodak purchased Creo for $1.2 Billion in May 2005. Prior to joining Creo, Amos was CEO of Opal, a semi-conductor equipment company, and Chief Operating Officer of Optrotech, a developer and manufacturer of optical and imaging systems for the electronics industry. Amos is currently Chairman of three high-tech start-ups and director of an additional five high-tech companies in the areas of life sciences, energy, and Web 2.0.
Amos is a past member of the Premier’s Technology Council and in 1999 was named Entrepreneur of the Year, along with Dan Gelbart, by Ernst & Young. In 2005, he was named the “BCTIA Person of the Year”, an award presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the technology industry in BC during that year. Amos holds a Master of Business Administration from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.
| TOP |
Jim Miller Ph.D.
Jim Miller is the Managing Partner of NDI Capital, which manages the Neuro Discovery Limited Partnership, an institutional-backed venture capital fund. Originally a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, Jim was the founding President and CEO of QLT Inc. (1981 to 1991) and Inex Pharmaceuticals (1992 to 1999).
Jim is a director of a number of other private and public biotechnology companies including Inex Pharmaceuticals Corp., NeuroMed Pharmaceuticals, Gateway Income Trust, Medical Ventures and Protox Therapeutics.
| TOP |
Zeid Mohamedali M.D., Ph.D., FRCSC
Zeid Mohamedali is a consulting urologist at several hospitals in British Columbia with over 20 years of experience in medical research and clinical practice specializing in oncology and urology. A Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Zeid is board certified in Urology by the Medical Council of Canada.
He has received numerous awards and honors for his research from the American Urological Association, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Medical Research Council of Canada. Zeid is a director of Urodynamix Technologies and received his MD and PhD degrees from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia.
| TOP |
Erich Mohr
In 1995, Eric Mohr co-founded CroMedica, a Canadian based global, full service CRO with a strong focus on treating disorders of the central nervous system. CroMedica merged with PRA International in 2002 and Erik joined PRA as its Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer.
Eric is Chairman and CEO of Medgenesis Therapeutix, a biopharmaceutical company focused on utilizing convection enhanced delivery to deliver drugs with established safety and efficacy profiles for the treatment of serious central nervous system disease.
| TOP |
Robert Neal
Robert Neal is a seasoned telecommunications executive having spent over twenty-eight years in the industry and twenty years at Aliant (and NBTel) - a telecommunication company known worldwide for its innovation and success.
Robert has held a number of executive positions including President of Innovatia, Senior Vice President of Aliant, President of NBTEL Global, President of NBTEL Interactive, President of ISM - Datacor, and President of NBTEL Mobility. He has also been appointed to over 15 Board level positions while at NBTEL as well as while he was incubating and advising several start-up technology companies.
|
Tom O'Flaherty
Tom O'Flaherty has had a long career in the BC technology industry. Tom co-founded the companies that brought Simply Accounting and Maximizer to market, and has been CEO of several other companies. He was a founding director and a Chair of the BC Software association (now the BCTIA).
Tom authored the initial reports on the BC technology industry in the mid-1990’s and he was recently made a Fellow of the AceTech organization. Tom's present activities include angel investing, serving as a director on early stage boards. He also acts as an advisor, coach and mentor to a number of BC technology CEOs.
| TOP |
Ron Palfrey
Ron Palfrey has extensive experience as a senior negotiator, problem solver, operations specialist, business developer and strategist. Ron has served as a Chairman, CEO and held senior management positions in private sector companies in Canada, the United States and Europe. Ron currently serves as the Chairman and CEO of Vireo Technologies; Chairman of NxtGen Emission Controls and a director of several private boards.
Ron has previously served as President, Teleflex Energy Systems; President GFI International; President, Teleflex Canada; Sr. Vice President and General Manager, Avcorp Industries; Sr. Manager, Scientific Systems Engineering, McDonnell Douglas. In the public sector, Ron has served as the B.C. Chairman of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association and a director of the advisory board to the faculty of Commerce at the University of British Columbia. Ron holds a B Sc. from the University of British Columbia.
| TOP |
Alan Pelman
Alan Pelman recently retired as Vice President, Technology, Canada of Weyerhaeuser. Previously, he was Vice President of Research and Technology of MacMillan Bloedel. He holds a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from UBC, and began his career at Alcan Aluminum where he held a series of positions in technology management.
Prior to joining MacMillan Bloedel, Alan was President and CEO of Powertech Labs an applied technology company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of B.C. Hydro. He has served as Chair of the Canadian Advanced Industrial Materials Forum; Chair of the Innovation Management Association of Canada; on the board of PRECARN, a pre-competitive research consortium for artificial intelligence and robotics; as a member of NABST, the National Advisory Board on Science and Technology; and of the Ministers’ Advisory Committee for Science and Technology for Natural Resources Canada. Alan currently serves on the Boards of the National Research Council and of Genome BC.
| TOP |
Basil Peters
Basil Peters is an active, early-stage investor and currently manages www.FundamentalTechnologiesII.com. He has a PhD in Electrical Engineering from UBC and has been a CEO here and in Silicon Valley.
As part of putting something back into the angel community, Basil is working on a blog at www.AngelBlog.net where he propagates best practices for angel investors and entrepreneurs. He is also a regular contributor to www.TheAngelJournal.com. Basil is currently the Chairman of Backbone.
| TOP |
Tanner Philp
Tanner Philp, is Chief Financial Officer and Partner of BC Advantage Funds, a venture fund focused on early stage life science, clean tech and technology companies.
Tanner is a Chartered Accountant who worked previously with KPMG. Tanner focuses his efforts on the fund’s technology and medical device investments. Tanner specializes in working with early stage public and private companies on all aspects of the financing process, including business plan development and evaluation, deal structuring, regulatory compliance, exchange listing, capital sourcing, M&A and corporate partnering. Tanner is a director of Vigil Health Solutions, Secretary of Urodynamix Technologies, Chairman of Conasys Consumer Assurance Systems, Secretary of RewardStream and an Observer at Zeugma Systems. Tanner was awarded the 2007 Early Achievement Award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC.
| TOP |
Simon Pimstone M.D.
Simon Pimstone is a founder, director, and President & Chief Executive Officer at Xenon Pharmaceuticals. Xenon is a privately owned biotechnology company engaged in discovering and developing novel pharmaceuticals targeting genes and proteins that underlie human diseases. Xenon is one of Canada’s leading private biotechnology companies, having established itself as a leader in genetics-based drug discovery and development. Xenon’s track record includes the largest target and drug discovery deals in the history of biotechnology in Canada.
Simon received his MD from the University of Cape Town. He is an internal medicine specialist with an interest in cardiovascular disease. Simon is the author of numerous peer-reviewed publications and is also a regular guest speaker at international scientific meetings and healthcare conferences.
| TOP |
Brad Popovich MSc, Ph.D., FACMG
Brad Popovich is CEO and President of Sirius Genomics. Prior to joining Sirius, Brad was Vice President of Operations at Xenon Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that, he was a tenured professor at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) focusing on the characterization of the fragile X syndrome. Concurrently, he was also the Director for both the Clinical Genetic Laboratories and the DNA Diagnostic Laboratory in the University Hospital at OHSU where he was responsible for the development of molecular assays for a wide variety of genetic diseases.
Brad has been on the boards of Tm Bioscience and the American College of Medical Genetics, and he currently sits on the boards of the American College of Medical Genetics Foundation, DNA Direct, and Genome British Columbia. Dr. Popovich received his PhD from McGill University, and did his postdoctoral studies under Nobel Laureate, Dr. Oliver Smithies. He received his Postdoctoral Research Fellowship and Clinical Training at the University of Wisconsin and the University of North Carolina Schools of Medicine.
| TOP |
Trent Punnett
Trent Punnett leads Marketing and Corporate Development for Sierra Wireless, with responsibility for global marketing and product management, business and product strategy and strategic partnerships. Prior to joining Sierra Wireless, Trent spent 14 years in senior positions with Motorola in Vancouver, Chicago, and San Diego leading marketing, product management, business development and sales functions. During his career at Motorola, Trent worked with wireless data, cellular infrastructure, voice over IP, WiFi, broadband cable and DSL technologies, and he has significant experience in international markets and with major wireless and wireline telecom customers. Previous to Motorola, Trent was involved in the management consulting and commercial banking industries. Trent holds a Master of Science, Business Administration and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia and is a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers.
| TOP |
David Raffa
David J. Raffa is a Partner and Chief Operating Officer and Partner of BC Advantage Funds, a venture fund focused on early stage life science, clean tech and technology companies. David focuses on the information and clean technology sectors.
David currently serves as a director, officer or advisory board member of a number of private and public technology companies including NxtGen Emission Controls, Mobidia, Voice Mobility, Contigo Systems and Rewardstream, among others. As Chairman of ActiveState, David led the successful sale of the company to Sophos PLC of the UK in September 2003. As co-founder of Amorfix Life Sciences, David helped grow the company from inception to the completion of an initial public offering in 2005. In 2007, David led the sale of Advantage portfolio company, Parasun Technologies, to Universe (TSX:USS). In 2004, David was named as one of BC's top 25 "New Elite" innovators in the technology industry by BC Business magazine.
| TOP |
Bob Rieder
Bob Rieder has been President & CEO of Cardiome Pharma since April 1998. In that time, Cardiome has raised more than $90 million, and has moved first to the TSX, then to NASDAQ. Under his leadership, Cardiome has completed a successful M&A transaction, executed a marketing partnership with Fujisawa Healthcare, and taken the Company’s lead molecule into phase III clinical studies.
Bob has extensive experience in venture capital investing and in operational management. He was previously Vice-President at MDS Ventures Pacific, the Vancouver-based affiliate of MDS Capital, and has served as a director for nine public and private technology companies. Bob was Chief Operating Officer for DBA Telecom, and CEO for Synapse Technologies. He currently serves as a director of Micrologix, Cardiome, Venta and Inovio Biomedical.
| TOP |
Bruce Ripley Ph.D.
Bruce Ripley has over 25 years of engineering experience in the hydroelectric industry, including 16 years with BC Hydro where he was Vice President, Engineering from 2004 through 2006. In this role he was responsible for delivery of engineering and construction projects for the generation, transmission and distribution systems of BC Hydro, with annual value of greater than $400 million.
Bruce has worked on projects in Canada, USA, China, Philippines and Australia. He is a former President of the Tunnelling Association of Canada, has sat on the Boards of Powertech and Science World, and has been a member of the Electric Power Research Institute's Research Advisory Committee. Bruce has a Bachelor of Applied Science (Civil) from the University of British Columbia, and Master and Doctor of Engineering degrees (Civil) from the University of California.
| TOP |
Rick Rolston
Rick Rolston is cofounder and CTO of Ingenium Technologies. Ingenium provides integrated, web-based sales management/CRM services to the construction vertical market. Before Ingenium, Rick founded ConFax Publishing, providing construction sales leads to the Canadian building products/construction industry. Rick has also held senior positions with STP - Specialty Technical Publishers, Oxford Research and Meyer Systems/Rolston Controls. Rick has a BSc in Agricultural Economics from UBC.
| TOP |
Patrick Rooney
Patrick Rooney is the President & Chief Executive Officer of Navarik, a privately held company that designs, develops, deploys and maintains web-based software systems for the maritime shipping industry. Prior to Navarik, Patrick was CEO and President of Kelsan Technologies, a company with technology and products designed to control friction between the wheel and rail for the global rail industry. Patrick turned that company around and then sold it to Portec Rail for $20 million in cash.
Prior to joining Kelsan, Patrick was Director of Supply and Distribution at Viridian, a publicly traded fertilizer company where he managed supply and distribution activities and facilities in Canada and the U.S. He has extensive business and legal experience in joint ventures, technology transfers and mergers and acquisitions, including several years with McCarthy Tetreault in Toronto. Patrick has a Master of Laws degree from the London School of Economics & Political Science in England.
| TOP |
David Shore
David Shore is a partner of Stirling Mercantile, a Vancouver based investment bank established in 1998. David’s background combines the establishment of IT-related entrepreneurial ventures with consulting for early stage financing and mergers and acquisitions. David’s M&A activity, most recently with CIBC Investment Banking in Vancouver, included non-asset backed debt and equity financings and M&A intermediary services to mid-market firms. Today, David focuses on helping early stage IT companies prepare and execute financing plans.
David is a director of BC Advantage Funds, a member of the Advanced Systems Institute Business Advisory Board, has been a mentor for Telus New Ventures BC since it’s inception in 2001. David also sits on the advisory board of several local start-ups.
| TOP |
Derek Spratt
Derek Spratt is President & CEO of Mobidia. He is also a director of Alt Software, and a director of Shelby Ventures. Derek was the founder and past CEO of Intrinsyc Software, and currently serves as an advisor to the Company on an adhoc basis. In the past, Derek was a co-founder and CEO of Consequent Technologies, a co-founder and past President/EVP of PCS Wireless, a VP and Business Unit Manager of Nexus Engineering, and a Product Development Manager in Motorola's Wireless Data Division. He also been involved with a number of other technology companies including ERNEX/CSI Credit Systems, Integra Systems, Canysco Industries, DBA Telecom, Cambian, Image Power, and Icron Technologies.
In the non-profit sector Derek has served as a board member and Vice Chair of the Vancouver Enterprise Forum, a board member and sponsorship Chair of AceTech, a member of the Toronto Stock Exchange Advisory Committee, a member of the BC Securities Commission NEAT committee, and a board member and Program Chair for Softworld.
| TOP |
Arran Stephens
Arran Stephens has been at the leading edge of the organic food and sustainable movements for most of his life. During 1971 to 1981, Arran opened Canada’s first whole foods restaurant, followed by two LifeStream natural supermarkets. He and wife Ratana, COO, began Nature's Path Foods in 1985. Today, Nature's Path is North America’s largest certified organic breakfast foods company, employing over 300 people, operating out of 440,000 sq. ft. of certified organic facilities in British Columbia, Ontario and Washington State.
In September 2002 the CHFA bestowed its first-ever Organic Award of Excellence for Arran’s outstanding commitment to organic and sustainable food production. In October 2002 he received Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of The Year award and a further Special Citation for Product Development and Marketing Excellence. In recognition of its progressive HR practices, MacLean’s Magazine and MediaCorp included Nature’s Path Foods in “Canada’s Top 100 Employers” for the past three years in a row.
| TOP |
Karole Sutherland
Karole Sutherland’s 30-year career in healthcare encompasses roles in hospitals, healthcare education, prehospital care, and biotechology. Karole joined QLT in 1987 and was the first member of the clinical research department. She was a member of the oncology, ocular and urology clinical project teams as well as on the joint development teams with Novartis, Lederle, Sanofi and Beaufor-Ipsen. As a core-team member she participated in three successful FDA approvals. Most recently she served as Director of Clinical Operations at QLT with responsibility for all aspects of clinical trial management, outsourcing, financial reporting and management and optimization of business processes.
In 2005, Karole established a consulting practice providing services in clinical trial planning and management, project team organization and development, process and workflow optimization, budget and resource planning and outsource provider management. In addition she serves as VP, Clinical Operations for Allon Therapeutics.
| TOP |
David Turner
David Turner has substantial international business experience in the life sciences industry, having lived and worked in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. He is a UK trained Chartered Accountant by profession.
David is currently the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Lignol Energy, a biofuels company. He has held senior executive positions with a number of large public and private corporations, has led several public financings involving foreign issuers on international stock exchanges and has managed an organization with over $1 billion in revenues and 1,000 employees.
| TOP |
Mike Volker
Mike Volker serves as the Director of the Industry Liaison Office of Simon Fraser University. In 1973, he founded Volker-Craig, a computer terminals company that was acquired in 1981. In 1988, he accepted the role of Executive Director of the BC Advanced Systems Institute, an organization dedicated to technology development and technology transfer. From 1991 to 1996, Mike was Chairman & CEO of RDM Corporation (formerly Mindflight). From 1996 to 2001 he was Chairman of the Vancouver Enterprise Forum and continues as an active director of that organization, including managing the Vancouver Technology Angel Network.
Mike serves on the Board of Visiphor and has taught courses in engineering, economics, design and management at the University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, Simon Fraser University, and Kansas University. Mike obtained his Bachelor of Science (1972) and Masters of Science (1973) degrees from the University of Waterloo. Mike also served a maximum term as a Governor of the University of Waterloo (1987 - 1993).
| TOP |
Chris Wagner
Chris Wagner joined Sirius Genomics with 15 years of experience in marketing, sales and business development. Sirius is a private biotechnology company that is focused on developing DNA-based diagnostic and pharmacogenetic tests for critical care. Sirius' first product is a pharmaco-genomic test for sepsis, a systemic blood infection.
Previously, Chris was with Aspreva Pharmaceuticals as the Vice President of Marketing, Vice President of Business Development and Vice President of Alliance Management. During his four year tenure there, Chris directed and oversaw all aspects of Aspreva's marketing policies, objectives and initiatives for all markets worldwide. Prior to Aspreva, Chris was with Eli Lilly as an international service employee working in Europe, North American and Asia with positions based in Toronto, Indianapolis and Boston. He has worked on the marketing plans for 15 product launches, including biologics and small molecules, with annual sales ranging from tens of millions to over $4 billion dollars per year.
| TOP |
| TOP |
Sean Wise
According to Canadian Business magazine, Sean Wise is one of Canada’s leading experts on raising venture capital. Sean has trained over 500 CEOs in venture capital fundraising over the last several years. He has five years of professional services and over 15 years of entrepreneurial services. To date, Sean has founded or co-founded five venture companies.
Sean helped found Ernst & Young’s Venture Capital Advisory Group in Canada and now works with young technology companies looking for strategic guidance on capital raising and growth through Wise Mentor Capital. Sean sits on the boards of several young technology companies, as well as the University of Toronto’s eXcelerator, the MIT Enterprise Forum and the Toronto Venture Group.
| TOP |
Jack Wood
Jack Wood has had an extensive career in the pharmaceutical and health care industry, most recently as President of CSL Bioplasma, an Australian based provider of health care products. He served as a Director for its US based subsidiaries CSL (USA), and ZLB Behring. He has held senior executive positions with companies including Baxter Healthcare, Bayer and BioResponse.
A business graduate from the University of Saskatchewan, Jack was an officer in the Canadian military retiring with the rank of Major. Jack currently sits on the Board of Directors for QLT and enGene.
| TOP |
Leonard Zapalowski
Len Zapalowski has held leadership positions with some of Vancouver’s most successful companies including Nexus Engineering, Creo Products, NCompass Labs and Simba Technologies. He is currently Senior Vice President, Product Strategy at Pivotal where he initiated and leads its innovative vertical solutions programme. Additionally, he was Chairman of the Advanced Systems Institute, and director of Brightwave Technologies.
Len has extensive experience in both start-up environments and large multinational organizations. He has broad global leadership experience, having led Sales, Marketing and Business Development initiatives in North America, Asia and Europe. His interests are currently focused on investment opportunities in energy technology and enterprise software.
|