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Accelerate Okanagan 2019 Board of Directors Announced
Wednesday, December 4, 2019Company Profile | Follow Company
Kelowna, BC, December 4, 2019--(T-Net)--Accelerate Okanagan has announced its Board of Directors for 2019.
The association reported in a blog announcement that it has had an economic impact of close to $1.7 Billion, almost 12,000 jobs, and a year-over-year growth of 15% for the past 6 years making the Okanagan the fastest growing tech and innovation hub in the country.
The following individuals are the new Accelerate Okanagan Board.
Phil Ashman, Regional Dean for the Central Okanagan at Okanagan College
Phil spent eleven years in the department of Network and Telecommunications Engineering Technologies at Okanagan College before becoming Associate Dean of Science, Technology and Health and later the Regional Dean for the Central Okanagan. Phil has dedicated time leading technology workshops, representing the college on the Board of Directors for the Okanagan Research and Innovation Centre, and as a Technical Lead with the Okanagan High-Speed Broadband Initiative.
Dr. Phil Barker, Associate Vice-President Research & Vice-Principal Research at UBC Okanagan
Dr. Barker serves in the dual role of AVP Research for the UBC system and Vice-Principal Research for the Okanagan campus. There, he works to deepen the research and innovation culture. Phil is driven to build relationships that increase research and innovation capacity, as well as advocate for the University's research and innovation mission.
Blair Forrest, Partner at Pushor Mitchell LLP
Blair Forrest is a partner at Pushor Mitchell LLP, where he practices business law with a specific focus on corporate, securities, and matters of technology law. He deals with mergers, acquisitions, public offerings, private placements, venture capital investments, corporate finance transactions, corporate structuring, and regulatory applications to the Canadian stock exchanges and securities commissions. Technology transactions involve unique, complex risks and Blair's experience in this area includes the full spectrum.
Josh Fraser, Founder and CEO at Data Nerds
Joshua has over 10 years of digital advertising experience and is currently building Data Nerds in British Columbia, Canada. After completing the illustrious Techstars Boulder program, Josh and Data Nerds received its first US-based investment from the Foundry group. Josh and the Data Nerds are deeply involved in the community and helping to grow the tech sector in British Columbia.
Doug Gilchrist, Chief Administrative Officer at the City of Kelowna
Doug spent 4 years as Manager of Community Development & Real Estate before being named to the Senior Leadership Team as Director of Real Estate. During his time with the City of Kelowna, Doug managed a variety of divisions and has overseen numerous complex projects, such as the acquisition of the CN Rail line for the Okanagan Rail Trail initiative.
Corie Griffiths, Director of the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission
Corie is the Director of the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission (COEDC) and is a key resource for business retention and attraction initiatives. She has represented the COEDC on several boards and is currently sitting on the Kelowna International Air Route Development task force, and is a regional advisory member to both Okanagan College and the University of British Columbia Okanagan.
Tanja Halsall, Chief People Officer at Potentia Human Resources and Engagement Consulting
Tanja provides consulting services to various local businesses through her consulting company, Potentia Human Resources and Engagement Consulting. She is also an Adjunct Professor with the Faculty of Management at UBC Okanagan. Drawing on her 30 plus years of management, operations, and strategic Human Resource experience, she seeks to mentor, guide, and develop young professionals on their journey towards the HR profession.
Jason Kryski, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Strawhouse Labs
An accomplished serial entrepreneur who has co-founded three companies in the digital marketing space, Jason helps US-based venture and private-equity-backed companies in growing their distribution and revenue. Leveraging performance compensation models, he learned early on that, when all party's interests align profound things can happen.
Michael Macaulay, Partner at Lawson Lundell LLP
Michael was a key contributor in opening the firm's Kelowna office. His practice is focused on corporate, securities and technology law. Michael has extensive experience working with and advising entrepreneurs, start-ups, emerging companies, angel investors and venture capital funds. He also devotes significant time to organizations in the BC start-up community, including Accelerate Okanagan, Innovation Island and entrpreneurship@UBC.
Quinton Pullen, Partner at BDO Canada LLP
Quinton is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Tax Partner at BDO Canada LLP. His primary focus is providing tax planning to owner-managed businesses, particularly with respect to divestiture planning, mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, and cross-border transactions. Quinton is deeply involved in the community as a Director of a number of charities and NPOs, as well as an active supporter of Accelerate Okanagan.
Nicole Rustad, Founder of Vortovia
Nicole is the founder of Vortoia and a champion for world change. She uses equal parts strategy and passion to make things happen. During Nicole's decade as Corporate Citizenship Director for the tech division of Disney, she drove the corporate social responsibility vision, strategy, and programming across multiple lines of business. This included Disney's Club Penguin where she created bold, immersive initiatives that spanned the globe.
Harry Singh, Strategic Partnerships and Transactions at Facebook
Harry is an industry executive with venture capital, M&A, strategic transactions, and general management experience. Harry is a Canadian currently based in California's Silicon Valley. Harry's experience includes investments in connectivity, enterprise SaaS, artificial intelligence/deep learning, security, IoT security, identity and access management, encryption, and anti-fraud.
Scot Speiser, Vice-President of Business Development at CapriCMW
Scot spent the last 11 years with BDC as Vice President, Financing and Consulting where he was responsible for BC North & Interior. In addition, Scot led BDC's National Aboriginal Unit, served as the Lead for Business Development and Client Relationship Management of BDC's National Transformation Project and was a founding member on BDC's National Client Experience Committee.
About Accelerate Okanagan (AO)
At Accelerate Okanagan, our mission is to give new and growing technology-driven businesses the mentorship, connections and community they need to thrive.
We do this in two ways:
1. ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT
2. COMMUNITY BUILDING
Current Programs:
Startup Basics - Developed for early stage entrepreneurs and career-changers, the Startup Basics Program supplies participants with the tools and resources to accelerate their idea to the next stage in their entrepreneurial journey. Sessions are presented by Community Organizations, Accelerate Okanagan Executive in Residence Mentors, Partners, Clients, and Alumni. Each session is designed to educate the entrepreneur on the fundamentals essential to developing their startup.
Venture Acceleration Program - Our Venture Acceleration Program (VAP) starts with us pairing you up with a lead Executive in Residence (EiR) who will help to guide and coach you through a structured growth program. Specifically, we'll help you through the process of defining a business model, using a set of proven product-validation and market-validation and best practices. Workshops, seminars and networking events combined to ensure you get everything you need to succeed.
RevUP - The RevUP Program is vital for technology companies with rapid-growth issues. Individualized action plans, personal leadership coaching and targeted skill development are what make RevUP effective. RevUP connects you and your senior leadership team with peers from companies at a similar stage and a team of experienced entrepreneurs to help you grow your business. Clients on the RevUP program also receive complimentary tickets to BC's top tech events and access to quarterly investment events.
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