Finance
Mike Greschner has joined George & Bell Consulting, a local pension, benefits and investment consulting firm, as a senior consultant. Greschner will be based in Vancouver, providing comprehensive benefit consulting services to public-sector, private-sector and multi-employer trusteed clients in Western Canada. Prior to this appointment, Greschner was chief actuary at a large international consulting company, overseeing strategic direction of actuarial services for the health business in Canada.
Alistair Vigier has joined Bon Macaron as its new investor relations manager. Vigier is also investor relations manager at Hart Legal, where he grew the firm from three locations to 16. Bon Macaron currently has one store in Victoria and two stores in Vancouver – in Kitsilano and on Granville Island. The company plans to open 10 new locations by 2019.
Hospitality/Tourism/Convention
Arun Subramanian has been appointed director, industry, human resource (HR) development, at go2HR, B.C.’s tourism industry human resource association. With more than 15 years of HR experience, Subramanian has worked in various sectors including hotels, airlines, retail and facility management. In his previous role with Cleantech Service Group, Subramanian was instrumental in creating and executing the company’s HR strategy.
Resources
Paul Parisotto has resigned from Scorpio Gold Corp.’s board of directors.
Technology
Paul Kariya has resigned as executive director of the Clean Energy Association of BC. Kariya joined the association more than seven years ago and is resigning to take a senior position with a B.C. First Nations organization.
Companies on the Move
New merger
Grant Thornton’s Vancouver Island team has incorporated the chartered accountant firm, LL Brougham Inc., into its operations as the firm continues to grow in Western Canada. LL Brougham was founded by Lindalee Brougham and has been serving Vancouver Island for 17 years. The merger is designed to allow Brougham’s clients enhanced access to tax resources and advisory services such as valuations, enterprise risk management, succession and estate planning, corporate restructuring and a wide variety of other services.
New in town
Quest Food Exchange, a non-profit organization that provides dignified access to affordable, healthy foods to individuals facing food security challenges in the Lower Mainland, has opened its doors to the communities of North and West Vancouver at its newest location, 167 East 1st Street, North Vancouver. Quest’s fifth grocery market has been made possible by donors such as the Faris family, who donated $200,000 in memory of Yulanda Faris, and the Walmart Foundation, which provided $135,000 towards the purchase of a three-ton reefer truck. The Sprott Foundation, North Shore Mayors’ Golf Tournament, Qzina Specialty Foods and an anonymous donor have also provided significant monetary support for the North Vancouver location.
Hats Off
The Milan and Maureen Ilich Family Foundation donated $1 million to Variety – the Children’s Charity. The funds, donated at the Show of Hearts telethon in February, will go towards the new Variety Kids Can campaign. Funds raised by the campaign will go towards Variety B.C.’s five granting pillars, composed of mobility, specialized therapies, mental wellness, educational programs and bursaries for learning disabilities, and life-saving medical equipment and supplies.
The City of Richmond donated $4,843 via a municipal grant to Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland. The funds will help the organization match vulnerable girls with supportive mentors through its one-to-one mentoring program in Richmond.
Triple Crown for Heart Association donated $27,960 to BC Children’s Hospital’s heart unit. The funds were raised via the association’s annual cycling event in 2016, in which participants cycled up Mount Seymour, Grouse Mountain and Cypress Mountain. The 2017 event takes place on Saturday, July 15.
Travellers who booked a May food tour of Japan, hosted by celebrity chef John Bishop, contributed to Vancouver-based Journeys With Heart and Travel Concepts’ more than $10,000 donation to the BC Centre for Ability Foundation.
Maple Ridge Fraternal Order of Eagles donated $3,500 to Children of the Street Society to help the society deliver its school-based prevention workshops for children and youth in the community.
Robert G. Heimbecker donated $30,000 to Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver to support the growth of the charity’s life-changing mentoring programs. Mentoring can curb issues like bullying and crime, so that children can grow into more resilient, more giving and more compassionate adults.
The Ames Family Foundation donated $25,000 to the Down Syndrome Research Foundation (DSRF). The funds will be used for the development of a reading assessment tool, which will measure individual student progress and provide aggregate data for the reading program as a whole. These performance measures will be used to isolate variables that contribute to optimal learning (age, frequency, intensity), which will help DSRF further refine its reading program to achieve the greatest impact. •
