People on the Move
Education
Joanne Curry has been appointed vice-president, external relations, at Simon Fraser University after serving four years as associate VP, external relations, and acting as VP, external relations, since December 1, 2015.
Finance
Gary Horga has been appointed vice-president, business development, at Guardian Risk Managers Ltd. Horga was previously branch manager at Economical Insurance Group, where he managed overall operations, business development and the broker distributions channel in B.C.
Peter Brady and Mark Wang have been appointed director of enforcement and director of capital markets regulation, respectively, at the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC). Brady was most recently director of corporate finance at the BCSC and, prior to that, was general counsel and corporate secretary for Qtrade Financial Group. Wang joined the BCSC in 2001 as a compliance officer, became manager of self-regulatory organization oversight in 2005, then transferred to the position of manager, legal services, in 2007.
Legal
Alexander D. Mitchell, Nicholas T. Hooge and Ron D. Dueck have joined the partnership of Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP. Mitchell practises in the labour and employment group, Hooge practises in litigation and Dueck practises in the taxation group.
Kai Alderson, Sarah Batut, Ally Bharmal, Amanda Robinson and Chris Sharpe are now partners at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP. Alderson practises business law with an emphasis on energy, aboriginal and environmental matters. Batut advises clients on real estate transactions, including acquisitions and sales, subdivisions, development of mixed-use, commercial and residential projects and commercial leasing. Bharmal’s practice focuses on corporate and commercial business advice, with an emphasis on the technology sector. Robinson’s practice focuses on securities, M&A transactions and corporate financings, both public and private. Sharpe advises clients on corporate and commercial transactions, particularly commercial real estate acquisitions and the development of those properties.
Non-Profit
Leonard Schein, founder of the Vancouver International Film Festival and Festival Cinemas, has been appointed chair of Coast Mental Health Foundation. Schein, a retired psychologist, also serves on a number of other boards including the Canadian Cancer Prevention Centre Foundation, Ecojustice, InspireHealth and the Schein Foundation.
Sales/Marketing
Adam Besse has been appointed president of Agency Media, a digital marketing company founded in 2013 and owned by the Westlund Group. Besse previously served as creative director at the company since July 2014.
Cameron Wilson has been appointed creative director at Tribal Worldwide Vancouver. Over his 17-year career in Montreal and India, Wilson has led teams to deliver digital-centric creative solutions to clients such as Royal Canadian Mint, Aeroplan, Loto-Québec, General Mills, IBM, Yoplait, Fido, Rona, Budweiser, Cirque du Soleil and Bell Canada.
Technology
Dan Cohrs has been appointed chief financial officer at D-Wave Systems Inc., the world’s first quantum computing company.
Cohrs has served in senior positions in corporate strategy, development and finance at Marriott, Northwest Airlines, GTE, Global Crossing and most recently at Rentech Inc. and Rentech Nitrogen Partners in Los Angeles, where he served as executive vice-president and CFO.
Companies on the move
Name change
Guardian Risk Managers and Chutter Personal Lines Underwriting Services have merged into one new managing general agency called Guardian Risk Managers Ltd., with headquarters at 212 – 15252 32 Avenue in Surrey.
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.
Acme Fire and Safety Co. Ltd. and T-Lane Nation donated $15,000 to British Columbia Children’s Hospital. Funds were raised through the Isabelle Tonolli Legacy Golf Tournament, and are directed to the child life department, which helps children cope with their hospital stay by introducing music, art, distracted play, games and other interactions.
SOS Children’s Village BC’s Gingerbread Village, presented by Re/Max, and the holiday gala event at Grouse Mountain, raised a total of $72,500 to benefit foster children.
RBC Foundation donated $40,000 to Zajac Ranch for Children in support of its therapeutic riding program.
Concert Properties donated $100,000 to British Columbia Institute of Technology in support of the school’s Trades Discovery program.
Boeing Canada-AeroInfo donated $15,249.60 to Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland in support of its Big Sisters program.
The Como Lake Village location of Your Dollar Store with More received a Community Citizenship/Involvement Award from the company’s head office for its contributions to the community. As part of the award, the head office donated $1,000 to the store’s charity of choice – Crossroads Hospice.•
