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Health/Medical
Hamed Shahbazi has been appointed CEO of Wellness Lifestyles Inc., effective May 23, and was appointed chairman of the board in early April. Shahbazi is the founder and former CEO of TIO Networks and has more than 20 years of experience in technology with operating, investment and board positions with various companies. Alex Read, current CEO, will assume the role of chief operating officer.
Ontario-based Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd., a research and development company licensed to cultivate medical cannabis, has appointed several key executives: Brian Athaide, CFO; Anna Stewart, general counsel; Mike Gibbons, vice-president, sales; Andrew Pollock, vice-president, marketing; John Wren, vice-president, operations; and Andy Corcoran, regional sales manager, Ontario and Western Canada.
Legal
Cathie Brayley has joined Miller Thomson’s Vancouver office as partner in the tax group. Brayley has worked with clients through all types of tax complexities, from Canada Revenue Agency audits and appeals, buying and selling a business, structuring investments and personal tax and estate planning.
Non-profit
Hanne Madsen has been appointed executive director at Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland. Madsen was president and co-owner of DanFoss Couriers & Freight for 24 years, as well as a chair and facilitator for GroYourBiz Ltd., where she facilitated a peer-to-peer advisory board to empower female business owners to overcome business challenges. She currently serves as board chair for both the Fraser patient care quality review board and Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and as a director for Westminster Savings Credit Union.
John Nightingale
After 25 years at the helm of the Vancouver Aquarium and Ocean Wise, John Nightingale has announced his plan to retire at the end of the year. A search to find the next CEO of Ocean Wise has begun. Nightingale stepped into the leadership role at Vancouver Aquarium when founding director Murray Newman retired in 1993; Nightingale arrived here from his post as assistant director at the New York Aquarium. He has led the organization as it refined its mission, increased attendance and greatly expanded its science, conservation and public programs, culminating in the launch of Ocean Wise in 2017. Along the way, he initiated/co-founded the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, Ocean Wise Sustainable Seafood Program and the Coastal Ocean Research Institute, among other initiatives.
Resources
Bruce Larson, Tara Marsden and Rick Monchak have been appointed to the Forest Practices Board for two-year terms. The Forest Practices Board is B.C.’s independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices, reporting its findings and recommendations directly to the public and government. Larson, who will also serve as vice-chair, has been a professor at the University of British Columbia’s faculty of forestry since 2002. Marsden is the sustainability director with the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs Office in Gitanyow, has served as the B.C. leadership chair for Aboriginal environmental health at the University of Northern British Columbia and has been an instructor at the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology. Monchak is a professional forester with a long history of working on the B.C. coast; he retired from TimberWest in 2017.
Diane Garrett, president and CEO of Nickel Creek Platinum Corp., was elected as a new director at Novagold Resources Inc. Gerald McConnell retired as a director after more than three decades of service to the company.
Mark Redcliffe has been appointed executive vice-president, corporate finance, at Gen III Oil Corp. Redcliffe has 21 years of experience in the securities industry, was the founding president and CEO of Jordan Capital Markets Inc. and was most recently executive vice-president responsible for profit and loss at Mackie Research Capital Corp.
Brendan Reeve has resigned as chief financial officer of Kestrel Gold Inc. Kevin Nephin has been appointed interim chief financial officer.
Technology
Marc Loustau has joined AFL as senior vice-president, business development. AFL engineers, provisions, builds and provides products and services for customers’ broadband networks. Loustau has more than 18 years of experience in the telecommunications industry and will lead AFL’s new business development team in collaboration with AFL teams across North America to foster new growth opportunities.
HATS OFF
Business in Vancouver welcomes submissions from local small businesses and large corporations alike that demonstrate examples of corporate philanthropy and community involvement in the Vancouver area. High-resolution images are also welcome.
The City of Richmond donated a $6,000 municipal grant to Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland. These funds will help the organization match vulnerable girls with supportive mentors through its one-to-one mentoring program in Richmond.
More than 150 paintings, drawings, photographs and calligraphy works by elementary and high school students were collected and auctioned at Vancouver Artopia Youth Society’s Art Works Charity Art Exhibition. The auction raised $10,000, which was donated to Richmond Hospital Foundation. The funds will be used to support Richmond Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. Due to the success of the inaugural event, the Vancouver Artopia Youth Society hopes to make the art exhibition and auction an annual event.
TD Friends of the Environment Foundation has donated $25,414.06 to YWCA Metro Vancouver. The funds will go towards helping low-income single-mother-led families learn about their environment, fostering the development of more environmentally engaged citizens and giving them an opportunity to connect with nature and each other. Such families face barriers that may include fleeing abuse, food insecurity, low levels of education, mental health and substance use issues, trauma and challenges securing employment.
The John Hardie Mitchell Family Foundation donated $2,000 to the Down Syndrome Research Foundation. This is the fourth consecutive year the foundation has donated in support of educational programs for students with Down syndrome. •
