Development/Construction
Gerda Geldenhuys has been appointed to associate at Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership Architects Designers Planners (MCM). Geldenhuys has been with MCM for eight years and has been involved in projects focused primarily in the residential sector, such as Corazon and Escher in Victoria and the Qube and Ellsworth in Vancouver. Prior to joining MCM, Geldenhuys was a design architect with HKR Architects in Dublin, Ireland.
Candice Nichol has been appointed to Michael Green Architecture’s (MGA) associate team. Nichol joined MGA in July 2014 and has been leading the firm’s T3 Minneapolis project – the largest modern wood building in the U.S. She has been an integral team member on other projects as well such as the University of British Columbia Baseball Indoor Training Centre and the Oregon State University Forest Science Complex.
Education
Stephen Toope, an international law scholar and University of British Columbia’s 12th president and vice-chancellor from 2006 to 2014, has been nominated as vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge. Toope takes up his post on October 1, 2017.
Health/Medical
Dawn Svoronos, a pharmaceutical industry executive whose experience includes a 23-year career at Merck & Co. with a focus on commercial operations and marketing, has been appointed to Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s board of directors.
Hospitality/Tourism/Convention
Matthew Stowe has been appointed director of culinary operations at the Joseph Richard Group. Stowe has more than 18 years of experience, including time spent at New York’s Lutece. Stowe was executive chef at Sonora Resort, wrote the cookbook The Tastes of Sonora Resort and in 2013 won the Top Chef Canada competition on the Food Network’s Top Chef Canada show.
Vancouver-based Blair Hirtle has been appointed western regional account manager for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, responsible for territory from B.C. to Manitoba. Hirtle has extensive experience in the tourism and travel industries having worked for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts and Tourism Whistler. His background includes a number of roles in marketing, sales and community relations.
Legal
Robert Quon has joined Dentons as a partner in the corporate group and lead partner in the aviation and aerospace sector in the firm’s Vancouver office. Quon offers national and international clients a broad range of experience in corporate and commercial transactions acts, particularly in aviation and aerospace, including a number of airlines based in Asia and Europe. He advises financial institutions on national and local regulatory issues, including the creation of new financial products and services, investment and ownership structures and licensing matters.
Non-profit
Toronto-based Tanya van Biesen has been appointed executive director at Catalyst Canada Inc., the organization with a mission to accelerate progress for women through workplace inclusion. Van Biesen has more than two decades of corporate leadership and diversity and inclusion experience, most recently co-leading the financial services practice at Spencer Stuart.
Gabe Kalmar has been appointed president and CEO at Pacific Autism Family Network, effective October 22. Prior to this appointment, Kalmar served as vice-president entrepreneurship and commercialization at Genome BC. Kalmar joined the team at Genome BC in 2004 as executive director of operations. Prior to that, Kalmar was a consultant with several early stage biopharmaceutical companies, and also held senior management positions with Kinetek Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Patti Glass, director of corporate marketing and communications at Grosvenor Americas, has been appointed to the Smith Foundation’s board of directors. The Smith Foundation’s mission is to ignite community engagement through Canadian art curation and education.
Retail
Angela Lorenzen has been appointed regional president of Whole Foods Market’s Pacific Northwest region. Lorenzen will oversee 22 stores in B.C., Washington and Oregon, including two stores opening in Eugene, Ore. and Victoria in September and November, respectively. Lorenzen previously served the company’s Northern California region in various roles including vice-president and executive coordinator of operations.
Frank P. Hood has been appointed vice-president, U.S. business development, at Global Gardens Group Inc. Hood will be responsible for leading the company’s selling efforts as it launches its brand Veggemo, a line of non-dairy vegetable-based beverages, in the U.S. market. Most recently, Hood worked in sales at Beverage Holdings.
Resources
Larry Yau has been appointed CEO at Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd. Yau was appointed interim CEO in June 2015 and previously served as CFO since January 2010.
Scott R. Mackie, president, Qualitor Inc.’s international brakes industries division – a diversified supplier of safety and wear parts for the automotive aftermarket – has been appointed to the board of directors of Westport Fuel Systems. In connection with this appointment, Dezso J. Horvath has stepped down from the board.
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 Rotary Club of Vancouver donated $5,000 to Decoda Literacy Foundation. The funds will be directed to the foundation’s Fostering Literacy project.
Westminster Savings Credit Union donated $30,000 to Douglas College Foundation, which, when added to its existing endowment, provides $2,000 annually in perpetuity for students with financial barriers to obtaining a post-secondary education.
RBC Foundation donated $5,000 to Vancouver Academy of Music. The funds will be directed to support the academy’s orchestral training program.
Boys and Girls Clubs of South Coast BC recently held its annual Club House Gala, celebrating 80 years of providing safe community spaces for children in the Lower Mainland. Donations for the evening totalled $335,000.
GCT Canada has received the 2017 Clean50 Top 15 Projects Award from Delta Management, for its dedication to establishing a coordinated system to improve truck processing times at its GCT Deltaport and GCT Vanterm container terminals in the Port of Vancouver. •
