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Development/Construction
Brenda Martens has been appointed director, research and collaboration, at Light House Sustainable Building Centre, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing sustainability in the built environment. Martens was recently appointed to the Order of British Columbia for her work on green building and sustainability over the past 20 years.
Health/Medical
Franco Columbu, actor, author, former champion bodybuilder and World’s Strongest Man competitor, has joined the management team at Iso-Sport. Columbu will focus on the business development of Iso-Sport and raise further awareness of the company’s health and wellness cannabidiol products for athletes around the world. Columbu serves as a consultant and adviser on several boards and organizations including the Arnold Sports Festival Event Committee.
Legal
Gib van Ert has joined Miller Thomson LLP’s litigation group as a partner practising civil and public law litigation out of the firm’s B.C. and Ontario offices. Van Ert was previously executive legal officer at the Supreme Court of Canada, serving as principal adviser to two successive chief justices, Beverley McLachlin and Richard Wagner. As executive legal officer, van Ert was also responsible for media relations at the court. Prior to his work with the Supreme Court, van Ert practised at a litigation boutique in Vancouver.
Non-profit
Doug Enns, a commissioner with the BC Utilities Commission, has been appointed to the board of directors at the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR). Enns is board chair of Consumer Protection BC and has served as board chair at WorksafeBC. MSFHR board member Joy Johnson, vice-president, research and international, Simon Fraser University, has been appointed vice-chair of the board and Nadine Caron, who has served as an MSFHR board member since 2009, has retired.
Resources
Hannes Portmann has been appointed to SilverCrest Metals Inc.’s board of directors, replacing George Sanders, who is retiring from the board. Portmann is a mining executive and most recently spent 10 years with New Gold Inc. until May 2018, ultimately serving as president and CEO of the intermediate gold producer.
Andrew Milner has been appointed senior vice-president, innovation and technology, at Teck Resources Ltd. Milner has more than 25 years of experience and expertise in strategy development and delivery of technology production systems globally. He most recently held the position of vice-president, technology production systems, with BHP. In an earlier role, Milner was also general manager and global practice leader, innovation delivery with Rio Tinto.
Sales/Marketing
Randy Whitcroft has joined MSAB, a pioneer in forensic technology for mobile device examination, to lead its sales efforts in Canada. Whitcroft has more than 25 years of experience in technology sales and client management. Previously, he was a senior account executive with Oracle Canada, where he worked with a number of Canadian federal government accounts within the public safety portfolio. Whitcroft is based out of MSAB’s Ottawa office, serving clients across Canada.
Transportation
Michael Bata has been appointed chief operations officer at Canada Jetlines Ltd. Bata has more than 35 years of experience in the aviation industry and has held positions with multiple companies, including Southwest Airlines and JetSuite in the U.S. and Vueling Airlines in Europe. Along with his experience as an executive, Bata is a commercial pilot with multiple ratings and over 3,500 hours of flight time logged.
COMPANIES ON THE MOVE
Name change
VANC Pharmaceuticals Inc., a company dedicated to bringing low-cost alternative generics to pharmacies across Canada, is changing its name to Avricore Health Inc. The name is derived from the Greek word “avrio” meaning “tomorrow” and the English word “core.”
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.
Helijet International and the Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) have announced a new partnership that will generate donations to help PSF fund wild salmon restoration projects in the Strait of Georgia and on Vancouver Island. The partnership will generate an annual donation based on the number of one-way flights sold on Helijet’s scheduled passenger service routes between Vancouver and Nanaimo harbours, which could lead to as much as $24,000 per year. To help spread awareness, the PSF logo will be emblazoned on Helijet’s fleet of courtesy vehicles and on a new Sikorsky S-76 helicopter.
Canuck Place Children’s Hospice’s 14th annual Gift of Time Gala, presented by Nicola Wealth Management and held at Parq Vancouver, raised more than $1.5 million to support the complex care of children with life-threatening illnesses.
The RBC Foundation donated $50,000 to PLEA Community Services Society in support of KidStart, a mentorship program for children aged six to 12. RBC’s grant will help KidStart’s volunteer mentors gain valuable work experience. RBC Foundation has been supporting this program since 2001 and has to date given more than $465,000 to KidStart.
Canada Scaffold Supply is a platinum sponsor for the 2018 Lights of Hope display. Canada Scaffold, which celebrates 20 years of supporting the Lights of Hope, donated the scaffolding and expertise needed to build the structures that support the thousands of lights that decorate the facade of St. Paul’s Hospital from November to January in support of St. Paul’s Foundation’s enhanced patient care grants program.
London Drugs and Tong and Geraldine Louie Family Foundations have donated $6.5 million to St. Paul’s Foundation in support of the provincial heart centre at the new St. Paul’s Hospital.
SurreyCares Community Foundation donated $5,000 to Zajac Ranch for Children. The funds were used to support children from Surrey so they could attend a summer camp session in 2018 at Zajac Ranch.
For the second year in a row, the District of West Vancouver has donated a $5,000 grant to Children of the Street Society. The funds will be used to deliver workshops to West Vancouver’s young people to give them the information and practical tools they need to keep safe from all forms of sexual exploitation. Last year, the society reached over 1,800 children and youth in West Vancouver and over 25,000 provincewide.
Richmond-based Nature’s Essence made a second donation of $20,000 in support of Richmond Hospital’s acute-care tower, bringing the company’s total contribution to $40,000. •
