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Development/Construction
Darren Tice has joined Elias Tkachuk Contracting Ltd. (ELI) as senior construction manager. Tice has more than 30 years of construction management and property development experience and, prior to this appointment, was director of construction for Western Canada at Loblaw. Tice recently relocated from the Greater Toronto Area to join ELI and will manage construction activities from the firm’s head office in North Vancouver.
Scotty Grubb, one of the founders of Oliver Heights Development Corp., has been appointed CEO of the company. Grubb has experience in multi-family property development in B.C., Alberta and Texas; he was general partner and responsible for capital raises for Prestigious Properties, a multi-family management company. Oliver Heights is developing a 21-acre parcel in the township of Oliver.
Rick Eggert joined Turner Construction Co. in April as general superintendent for Turner’s Vancouver business unit. Eggert has more than 35 years of professional industry experience and previously worked as a field operations manager with PCL Constructors Canada for 27 years. Eggert is a Red Seal-certified carpenter, a Gold Seal-certified superintendent and a LEED-accredited professional. Eggert has extensive experience in multiple market segments including large-scale retail, commercial, industrial, civil, education, health-care and hospitality projects.
Health/Medical
New Age Farm Inc., an agricultural services company offering turnkey growing infrastructure and services for licensed growers and processors of marijuana crops at its agri-campuses in Washington state, has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, We Are Kured, has expanded into South America by launching Kured Latin America LLC and electing a managing director, Yves Yon, to spearhead the new expansion. Yon is a technology entrepreneur and is a founder and CEO of a consortium of companies in Latin America.
Hospitality/Tourism/Convention
New trustees were recently elected to the BC Sports Hall of Fame’s board of trustees: Michelle Collens, senior manager of sport hosting, City of Vancouver; Jon Festinger, lawyer, Festinger Law & Strategy, also teaches at the Peter C. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia, as well as at the Centre for Digital Media; and Stan Wong, former marketing executive with Labatt and Nike, now a teacher at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Jim Lightbody, CEO, British Columbia Lottery Corp., has concluded his three-year tenure as chair. Tom Mayenknecht, principal, Emblematica Brand Builders, and founder and host of The Sports Market on TSN Radio, has been appointed chair.
Legal
Michael Scott, Polly Storey and Leslie Wong have joined Clark Wilson LLP as associates. Bhagwant Dhaliwal, Alex Farkas, Laura James and Ethan Plato, who all previously articled with the firm, have also joined as associates. Scott joins the estates and trusts team, Storey joins the family law and estates and trusts groups and Wong joins the mergers and acquisitions practice group. Dhaliwal is in the commercial real estate and general business law groups, Farkas has joined the securities group, James has joined the general business law and securities groups and Plato has joined the family law and higher learning groups.
Public
Paul Kania has joined the board of directors of Dragonfly Capital Corp. Kania will also assume the role of chairman of the audit committee of the company.
Nick Brusatore has stepped down as president and CEO of Affinor Growers Inc. Brusatore will be focusing his time and effort on working with VDA Vertical Designs Aruba VBA in preparing a vertical farming project as well as working with the Government of Aruba in setting up and developing an agricultural research facility. David Mack has decided to step down from the board of directors in order to focus his energies on his legal career. Affinor Growers’ current CFO, Randy Minhas, is replacing Brusatore as president and CEO and will also join the board as a director. The company has started the search for a new CFO to replace Minhas, who will remain on as interim CFO. The company has also appointed Brian Whitlock, a current director, as chairman of the board.
Resources
James Bertram has been appointed to Methanex Corp.’s board of directors. Bertram served as CEO of Keyera Corp., one of the largest independent midstream energy companies in Canada, from its inception in 1998 until 2014 and is currently its board chair; he is also a director of Emera Inc. Prior to working at Keyera, Bertram held senior marketing roles with other energy companies, Gulf Canada and Amerada Hess Canada (now Hess Corp.).
Technology
Zainul Mawji and Jim Senko have been appointed president, home solutions and small business, and president, mobility solutions, respectively, at Telus. The appointments come as Dave Fuller, executive vice-president and president of consumer and small business, announced he will be leaving the organization in January 2019 after 14 years at Telus. Both Mawji and Senko have been at Telus for 17 years. Mawji most recently led the home solutions and complementary channels team, while Senko’s most recent role was as senior vice-president, consumer and small-business marketing. The appointments are a result of Telus’ long-standing succession planning process.
Uniserve Communications Corp. has reorganized its management team: Nicholas Jeffery is no longer CEO and Darren Nichols, previously vice-president sales and customer services, is now president.
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 Surrey Board of Trade recently presented four winners with the Surrey Environment and Business Award at the 12th annual event. The awards were presented to Surrey Board of Trade members or Surrey-based businesses that have demonstrated exceptional dedication to environmental leadership and/or issues. The Small Business Award went to EcoSafe Zero Waste Inc.; it designs and implements solutions for source separation of organics and recyclables with a focus on diverting organic wastes from landfill to commercial compost facilities. The Medium Business Award went to Affinity Manufacturing Ltd., a custom manufacturing company capable of manufacturing a multitude of precision components and assemblies. The Large Business Award went to Powertech Labs Inc., which has launched the Infrastructure for the Electrification of the Light-Duty Transport project that focuses on the design and building of hydrogen fuelling infrastructure and the deployment of an electric vehicle charging station network. The Circular Economy Award was presented this year to FortisBC Energy Inc., which has demonstrated that it reinvents, rethinks and redefines how it uses materials. The awards were sponsored by Exp Services Inc., Kwantlen Polytechnic University and Super Save Disposal. Media sponsors were Surrey Now-Leader newspaper and Aaj Magazine.
The City of Vancouver gave a community services grant of $49,272 to Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland. These funds will help the organization match at-risk girls with a supportive mentor through its one-to-one mentoring program.
Capilano University donated $17,830 worth of computers and computer related equipment – over 125 computers – to BC Technology for Learning Society. BC Tech collects donated computers, trains and hires youth to refurbish them and then distributes the computers to schools, non-profits, libraries and First Nations communities.
Journeys with Heart donated $6,300 to Dan’s Legacy. Since 2008, Journeys with Heart has provided bespoke international tours for small groups of adventurers. Accompanied by celebrity guest hosts, the customized travel packages include traditional sights mixed with hands-on experiences. Each tour is paired with a local charity that benefits from the trip.
Coast Capital Savings’ annual charity golf tournament raised $300,000 for the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation in support of mental health research for youth.
Executive search firm Taylor Ryan recently hosted the second annual real estate industry charity cycling event in support of Covenant House Vancouver. Participants and sponsors donated $30,000 to the organization that provides shelter and hope for homeless youth in Vancouver. •
