Finance
Navdeep Gill has joined Sandpiper Group as vice-president of finance, overseeing accounting, tax and finance. Prior to this appointment, Gill served as vice-president, financial operations, at the Tempest Group, a boutique broker dealer and investment fund manager. Her experience spans more than a decade and includes holding positions such as senior manager at Deloitte and senior financial reporting positions at OMERS and its related investment entities including Oxford Properties. Gill also serves as a member of the finance committee for Power to Be, a non-profit organization that helps people living with a disability or barrier to access and explore nature; she also serves on the organizing committee for the non-profit’s signature event, Power to Play.
Hospitality/Tourism/Convention
John Clark has been appointed executive director at Ballet BC. Most recently, Clark was vice-president of development at the National YoungArts Foundation in Miami, Florida. Before joining YoungArts, he spent nine years at Georgia State University (GSU) in Atlanta, initially as senior director of development for the College of Arts and Sciences, then as associate vice-president of development. Prior to GSU, Clark was director of development for the Atlanta Ballet.
Bruce Okabe has been appointed chief executive officer at Tourism Richmond. Okabe has an extensive background in corporate strategy, marketing and executive leadership. He held executive positions in marketing, business strategy and channel management at Telus before leaving in 2006 to become deputy minister of tourism, sport and the arts in the government of B.C. In 2009, Okabe was appointed CEO of Travel Alberta. During his tenure the corporation achieved recognition as one of Canada’s most prominent tourism marketers, winning over 50 national and international awards including Canada’s 50 Best Small and Medium Employers.
Legal
Julia Winters has joined Lawson Lundell LLP’s Vancouver office as a new associate in its business law group.
Linda Lucas has been appointed chief executive officer at Roper Greyell LLP. Lucas is a chartered professional accountant with 20 years of experience in finance and operations, and has worked in many different industries across Canada, the U.K. and the Caribbean.
Media
Natalie Davidson has joined Brix Media Co. as senior account manager. Davidson has six years of experience in marketing services and public relations, with four of those spent in London, U.K. Prior to joining Brix Media Co., Davidson was at one of the U.K.’s top public relations firms working on accounts across finance, real estate, technology, grocery and telecom sectors.
Non-profit
Narges Nirumvala has been appointed social media director for the UN Women advisory committee of Vancouver. Nirumvala is a champion for women and gender equality and serves on the board of directors of the Dixon Transition Society, is a digital brand ambassador for the Women’s Executive Network and sits on the BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre Foundation’s Glow Gala committee. Nirumvala has extensive experience in communications, branding and social media.
Public
Michael Young has been appointed a director at ICC International Cannabis Corp. and will also serve on ICC’s audit committee; he is replacing Joel Strickland. Young most recently held the position of managing director and co-head of trading for GMP Securities in Toronto.
Real Estate
Carla Malmberg has been appointed director of operations at Associa British Columbia, a property management company. Malmberg has been with the Associa BC (formerly KCS) team for more than 23 years. Malmberg began her career as a receptionist and was promoted to the company’s accounts receivable/payable department. She then progressed through the finance department before becoming office manager. Malmberg has also served as accounting director and administration manager.
Sales/Marketing
Felicia Bochicchio has been appointed vice-president of sales at Social Nature, a Vancouver startup dedicated to connecting natural products and brands with consumers. Bochicchio has more than 20 years of experience in sales and customer engagement and specialized in developing small to medium-sized businesses into aggressive-growth companies. Prior to this appointment, Bochicchio was with Bench Accounting. Other companies Bochicchio has worked with include DTM Systems Inc., Mobify, Contractually and Conquer Mobile.
Hats Off
Vanguard Mortgage Investment Corp. is a new presenting sponsor for the BC Sports Hall of Fame’s annual Banquet of Champions, set to take place on April 12 at the Vancouver Convention Centre West. The banquet will honor the 51st induction class.
The seventh annual Pitch n’ Putt charity event raised $10,305 to support local children through Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver’s mentoring programs.
Brentwood Town Centre donated $3,810 to Burnaby Hospital Foundation. Funds were raised from photos with Santa, and will support essential equipment needs at Burnaby Hospital.
Astra Concrete Pumping, BC Comfort Air Conditioning, Boundary Bay Holdings, Can-Tec Electrical Services Ltd., Landrock Excavating, Ottens Landscaping and Winvan Paving donated $50,000 to Reach Child and Youth Development Society. The businesses are part of Boundary Bay Industrial Park. Dayhu Group, which contributed $20,000 of the total through Boundary Bay Holdings, has been a gold sponsor of Reach society’s Reach for the Stars fundraising gala for the past three years, and facilitated gathering donations from the industrial park’s businesses. •
