The Financial Executives International Vancouver chapter has announced its 2017-18 board of directors: Roger Bissoondatt (president), CFO, BC Liquor Distribution Branch; Anne Yu (vice-president), vice-president, finance, American Hotel Income Properties REIT; Timm Kukler (past president), CFO, Nexterra Energy; Oliver Piekaar (secretary), vice-president, finance, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers; Peter Ballachey (treasurer), board member, CRC Rail Management Services; Dave Andru (chair, events committee), CFO, Kit and Ace; Danley Yip (chair, membership committee), senior vice-president, Robert Half Management Resources; Eduard Epshtein (chair, sponsorship committee), CFO, Lithium Americas; Brad Cruickshank, CFO, TransCan Leasing; Jeff Shickele, vice-president, corporate finance and technology, Amacon; Doug King, CFO, Fenix Energy; Gail Davidson, consultant; Jessica Jang, corporate controller, Amacon; Christina Cheung, CFO, Procon Mining & Tunneling; Carrie Schnablegger, CFO, Serracan; and Hugh Lindsay.
Hospitality/Tourism/Convention
Susan Senecal has been appointed president and CEO of A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. and A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund, effective February 16, 2018. Senecal is the first female CEO in the company’s 62-year history, as well its first fully bilingual CEO. She succeeds Paul Hollands, who is retiring after 37 years with the company, but who will continue as chairman of the board. Senecal has been with A&W for 25 years and has been involved in or led almost all major areas of the business, including operations, development, real estate and marketing.
Legal
Nabil Virji has joined Miller Thomson’s Vancouver office as an associate in the firm’s business law group.
Non-profit
Jen Murtagh has been appointed chief strategy officer at BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre Foundation. Prior to this appointment, Murtagh was CEO at Minerva BC.
Public
Former British Columbia premier Mike Harcourt has been appointed a director on the board of Sharc International Systems, a company that recycles waste water to capture thermal energy. Harcourt is currently chair of the advisory board for the University of British Columbia’s Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability.
Real Estate
Graham Held has been elected president, for a one-year term, of the British Columbia Association of the Appraisal Institute of Canada, the provincial association that awards designations after completing extensive education, applied experience, guided case studies and final examinations. Held began his career in BC Assessment’s Nanaimo office in 1993, and over the past 24 years has gained experience from several BC Assessment offices, including Pitt Meadows and Burnaby. He currently holds the role of deputy assessor with the organization in Kamloops.
Resources
Marc Faber has resigned from Novagold Resources Inc.’s board of directors.
James Hyland has been appointed vice-president of corporate development at Aida Minerals Corp. Hyland has more than 25 years of experience as a financial and marketing consultant, a corporate founder and manager of several early-stage public and private Canadian businesses.
Rebecca Moriarty has been appointed CFO at TriMetals Mining Inc. Moriarty is currently the CFO of several mineral exploration companies and is a senior consultant at Malaspina Consultants Inc., where she focuses on clients in the resource sector; she is a former mineralogist. Moriarty’s appointment comes with the resignation of Matias Herrero, who has accepted a position in another company.
Eric Schjelderup, president, Port Mercantile Capital Ltd., based in London, England, has been appointed to the advisory board for business development activities at Stamper Oil & Gas Corp. Schjelderup has more than 30 years of experience, specializing in consultation with public companies, including strategy, structuring, financings, regulatory requirements, private placements, raising seed capital and general public relations. He also has extensive background internationally in the U.K., Europe, Africa and Asia consulting and co-ordinating investor relations for public company awareness.
Sales and Marketing
Skuna Bay Salmon, a Vancouver Island-based craft raised salmon farm, has been named 2017 Marketer of the Year by the B.C. chapter of the American Marketing Association.
Technology
Andrea Kolber and Byron Packwood have been appointed vice-president, marketing, and vice-president, technology operations, respectively, at TriNimbus, a company that works to enable organizations to migrate, develop and build their businesses on the cloud. Kolber is an award-winning media strategist with 16 years of experience working with companies like AOL, Sympatico, MSN, Transcontinental Publishing and, most recently, The Globe and Mail. Packwood previously managed JustEat’s global cloud-based restaurant delivery service.
Companies on the Move
New in town
McKinley Burkart, a Calgary-based multidisciplinary architecture and interior design firm, has opened its Vancouver studio in Railtown, at 412 – 611 Alexander Street. Founding partners Walker McKinley and Mark Burkart have family ties to Vancouver, and the company has a portfolio of Vancouver-based projects, including the recently completed Craft Beer Market, Bosa Developments and Stanley Park Brewery. The firm also works internationally, with the design of Goose Island Brewery projects in London, São Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai and Mexico City.
Ryan Holmes, CEO, Hootsuite, has launched a philanthropic venture, League of Innovators (LOI), to support the next generation of Canadian entrepreneurs. The LOI series of programs intends to provide support and resources to Canadians aged 15 to 25 from discovery to acceleration, through education, mentorship and experiences. LOI has partnered with Shaw Communications, Hootsuite, Microsoft Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, Ernst & Young, SAP, Osler, Omers, Thinkific and New Avenue Capital.
Hats Off
Oughtred Coffee & Tea was recently named Roaster of the Year by Roast Magazine. This is a first for Western Canada and the fourth time a Canadian company has taken home the award in 14 years.
The Seedlings Foundation donated $6,000 to Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland. These funds will help the organization match at-risk girls with a supportive mentor.
A recent Point Grey golf tournament raised $9,050 for Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland. These funds will also help the organization match at-risk girls with a supportive mentor.
RBC Foundation donated $10,000 to the Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Centre of BC. The funds will be used to support the Youth Distress Services program, which provides youth support through phone and chat lines and offers informational and referral resources for available community programs.
Fraser Grain Terminal and Fraser Surrey Docks donated $150,000 to Hockey Education Reaching Out Society (HEROS). HEROS uses the game of ice hockey to teach life skills and empower marginalized youth. The volunteer-driven non-profit offers three main on-ice hockey programs that are completely free for all participants: Future Stars, All Stars and Summer Camps.
The 13th annual Gift of Time Gala recently raised $1.24 million for the Canuck Place Children’s Hospice. More than 600 guests attended the sold-out event at the Westin Bayshore Hotel.
The Canadian Insurance Claims Managers Association donated $38,000 to the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada British Columbia and Yukon chapter. Funds were raised at the association’s golf tournament.
Another golf tournament, the BC Gaming Facilities tournament at Morgan Creek Golf Course in August, raised and donated $72,000 for the British Columbia and Yukon chapter of the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada. This tournament has been supporting Children’s Wish for 17 years, and this year’s total is a new record for the organizers.
Donors, sponsors and community leaders at the annual Richmond Hospital Foundation Starlight Gala raised $688,000. A portion of the funds will help to purchase a new nuclear medicine scanner to improve medical imaging for cardiac and cancer-related illnesses at Richmond Hospital, as well as help to purchase four new defibrillators.
More than 550 business leaders and young professionals raised $170,000 for Ocean Wise and its ocean conservation initiatives at the 11th annual Toast to the Coast gala at the Vancouver Aquarium. Guests ate dishes prepared by B.C. chefs and dedicated partners of the Ocean Wise seafood program while observing the aquarium’s more than 50,000 aquatic creatures.
The Evening Optimist Club of Coquitlam donated $1,000 to Children of the Street Society to support the charity’s work in preventing the sexual exploitation of young people.
Avison Young’s Vancouver staff participated in the firm’s fourth annual Global Day of Giving on October 19 by painting, landscaping and building a shed at YWCA Semlin Gardens. Materials, supplies and food were donated by Surrey Cedar Products, Continental Roofing, Driving Force Truck Rentals, Johnstone BBQ, Kerrisdale Equipment Rentals, Willie’s Rubbish Removal and Freshii. Employees in Avison Young’s 80 offices in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Europe dedicated the day to participating in volunteer projects that promote social, economic and environmental sustainability in their respective cities. •
