2021-22 Board of Directors Announced at 134th AGM
November 9, 2021, VANCOUVER, B.C. — The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade appointed its 2021-22 board of directors today during its 134th Annual General Meeting.
Kirsten Sutton, Chief Technology & Information Officer at Vancity, has assumed the role of Chair of the organization for the next 12 months, while Radha Curpen, Vancouver Managing Partner and Co-Head of Environmental and Aboriginal Law at Bennett Jones LLP, has been appointed to the role of Senior Vice-Chair.
In total, the board contains 36 B.C. business leaders spanning a wide range of industries and sectors. The new board of directors exceeds the goals outlined in the Government of Canada’s 50-30 Challenge to achieve gender parity and significant representation of under-represented groups.
A high-resolution image of the 2021-22 board of directors is available for download here.
The full list of directors and their bios is available at boardoftrade.com/directors.
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About the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade:
Since its inception in 1887, the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade has been recognized as Pacific Canada’s leading business association, engaging members to positively impact public policy at all levels of government and to succeed and prosper in the global economy. With a Membership whose employees comprise one third of B.C.’s workforce, we are the largest business association between Victoria and Toronto. We leverage this collective strength, facilitating networking opportunities, and providing professional development through four unique Signature Programs. In addition, we operate one of the largest events businesses in the country, providing a platform for national and international business and thought leaders to further enlighten B.C.’s business leaders.
2021-2022 Board of Directors
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Chair
Kirsten Sutton
Chief Technology & Information Officer,
Vancity
Senior Vice-Chair
Radha Curpen
Vancouver Managing Partner, Co-Head of Environmental and Aboriginal Law,
Bennett Jones LLP
Vice-Chair
Juggy Sihota-Chahil
VP Consumer Health,
TELUS
Vice-Chair
Walter Pela
Regional Managing Partner,
KPMG
Secretary-Treasurer
Todd Shewfelt
Regional Vice-President, Business Financial Services,
RBC Royal Bank
Finance and Audit Committee Chair
Mark Hoag, CPA, CA
Partner,
MNP LLP
Policy Council Committee Chair: Brad Eshleman
Corporate Director
Immediate Past Chair
Brent Cameron
Board Chair,
Boyden Canada
Member at Large
Jessica McDonald
Corporate Director
Member at Large
Jennifer Foster
SVP, Human Resources & Corporate Affairs,
Western Forest Products
Member at Large
Stuart Louie
Co-President,
London Drugs Group
President and CEO
Bridgitte Anderson, ICD.D
Greater Vancouver Board of Trade
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Anna Stukas
Carbon Engineering Ltd.
Bruce Sprague
BDO Canada LLP
Christian Chia
OpenRoad Auto Group
Colin Bosa
Bosa Properties Inc.
David Garofalo
Corporate Director
Diana Vuong
Vancouver Airport Authority
Edoardo de Martin
CubicFarms System Corp.
Dr. Gail Murphy
The University of British Columbia
Kim Baird, C.M., O.B.C., ICD.D
Kim Baird Strategic Consulting
Kirk LaPointe
Business in Vancouver Media Group
Lisa Tuningley
T-RAIL Products Inc
Lorne Segal, O.B.C.
Kingswood Properties Ltd.
Meredith Powell
Voyager Capital
Michael McCarthy
Finning Canada
Michele Matthews
AG Hair
Natali Altshuler
EA Sports
Peter Dhillon
Richberry Group of Companies
Peter Xotta
Vancouver Fraser Port Authority
Richard Eppich
Ebco Group of Companies
Susannah Pierce
Shell Canada
Teara Fraser
Iskwew Air
Terry Hui
Concord Pacific Developments Ltd.
Tracy Redies
Science World
Vivian Zalkow
Taymor Industries Ltd.
New Director Bios
Anna Stukas – Vice President Business Development, Carbon Engineering Ltd.
Anna Stukas is a Vice President Business Development at Carbon Engineering Ltd. (CE), a Canadian-based clean energy company. CE is leading the commercialization of ground-breaking technology that captures carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere, and a second technology that synthesizes it into clean, affordable transportation fuels.
Anna is a professional engineer with over 15 years’ experience bridging the gap between technology and business to overcome barriers to cleantech commercialization. Anna previously worked with Angstrom Power and BIC developing hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, where her responsibilities spanned IP and licensing strategy, product safety, and international regulatory development. She currently leads a variety of CE’s partnering and strategic business development efforts, and previously led CE initiatives ranging from strategic projects to government programs. Anna’s work has been recognized by the Minerva Foundation’s Women In™ Energy Award for Philanthropy and Business in Vancouver’s Forty Under 40 Award.
Diana Vuong – Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, Vancouver Airport Authority
Diana Vuong is the Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Vancouver Airport Authority, the non-share corporation that operates Vancouver International Airport (YVR). The airport plays a vital role in the region, enabling trade, travel and the exchange of knowledge, in service of the community and the economy that supports it. YVR was voted the best airport in North America for the twelfth consecutive year and was the only Canadian airport that earned the first COVID-19 Airport Excellence Award in 2021.
As a key member of the YVR Executive Team, Diana is involved in all facets of the Airport Authority’s business and is responsible for finance, enterprise risk management and sustainability reporting. An innovative leader and driver of change, Diana delivers on both strategy and execution, with a firm understanding of what it takes to implement change.
Diana is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CA), holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University and worked at KPMG as a Senior Manager in the audit practice. Diana joined the Airport Authority as the Director, Finance and Controller in 2007 and has been in her current position since 2018. Diana also serves on the World Economics Committee of Airports Council International and on the Board of the Richmond Hospital Foundation.
Edoardo De Martin – Chief Technology Officer, CubicFarms System Corp.
Edoardo De Martin is the CTO of CubicFarms, a local chain ag-tech company providing innovative automated technologies to grow onsite commercial-scale quantities of fresh food anywhere on earth, 365 days a year.
Graduating from SFU with a double major in Economics & Geography, his skill in putting culture first to build profitable, productive teams has been at the heart of his more than two decades in technology. A British Columbian by birth, De Martin launched his career in telecommunications before transitioning to successive roles in video games that would see him deliver the franchise leading, number one selling game worldwide, Need for Speed Underground, and become a voice for operational excellence within the industry and earn back-to-back ‘Best Company’ honours for Next Level Games. In 2010, De Martin joined Microsoft to work on early HoloLens development. Following that, in 2015 he was named Microsoft Vancouver’s new global development center, Site Leader. During his time as Site Leader, Microsoft Vancouver grew from 350 employees to over 1,700 employees.
Today, De Martin lends his expertise to organizations shaping the local ecosystem. As an advocate for Vancouver’s tech industry, he seeks opportunities to drive action around the city’s position in the global marketplace. He’s previously served on the board of BC Tech, the board of Cascadia Innovation Corridor, and was Co-Chair of the Canadian Digital Supercluster. Currently, De Martin sits on the board of Innovate BC and the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.
Michele Matthews – AG Hair
Michele Matthews has been a key contributor to the success of Canada’s leading haircare manufacturer, AG Hair, for over 27 years. As Chief Operating Officer, Michele is responsible for helping to set the strategic direction of the company in the ever-changing and fast-paced haircare industry, and working to enhance performance by aligning leadership, business strategy and culture. She is responsible for providing strategic direction and leadership to AG’s Operations, IT and People & Culture Departments.
By designing and implementing new business processes, systems, technology and job roles, Michele has fostered a dynamic company culture that inspires innovation and promotes ethical practices aligned with AG’s belief statements. Michele is a purpose-driven leader and her focus in helping her teams reach key milestones, issue resolution, company-wide project development, and transparent communication drives overall business results and ensures organizational effectiveness.
Michele is a Certified Executive Coach (Royal Roads University), holds a CPHR designation, and is a graduate of BCIT in Human Resources Management. Michele and her husband Glenn were both raised in North Vancouver, and along with their 2 daughters are still proud to call it home.
Peter Xotta – Vice President, Planning and Operations
In his role as vice president, planning and operations, Peter Xotta is responsible for the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority's long-term planning, land and marine operations, security, and trade development activities.
For more than a decade, Peter has led the development and funding of the port authority's gateway infrastructure programs. These trade-enabling infrastructure projects will improve the efficiency of goods movement throughout the Lower Mainland road and rail network, while also mitigating the impacts of trade on local communities. He also leads the port authority's data-capture and supply chain visibility work, which are collaborative initiatives between the Port of Vancouver and other industry partners that aim to improve the supply chain from prairie to port. Throughout his career, Peter has held diverse portfolios including business development and leading strategic port projects.
He was previously president of Modalink Distribution Hub Ltd., a multi-modal logistics facility in South Richmond, British Columbia. He is also the former chair of Canada Place Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.
Peter currently sits on the board of directors for the Freight Management Association of Canada, a position he has held since October 2018. He has a Masters in Business Administration from Simon Fraser University's Segal Graduate School of Business and is an active mentor in the program.
Susannah Pierce - President and Country Chair GM, Renewables and Energy Solutions, Shell
Susannah has held senior positions in the energy and technology sectors in Canada, the United States and Europe, most recently as Director of Corporate Affairs for LNG Canada.
She joined LNG Canada in 2013 as a Shell secondee and has been responsible for the project's federal and provincial regulatory approvals, Indigenous relations, government relations, media relations and community communications. Under her leadership, the project achieved federal and provincial environmental approvals on schedule and received unprecedented support from First Nations, communities and governments.
Prior to joining LNG Canada, Susannah served as Vice President, Value Chain Integration, Shell Canada. In this capacity, she was responsible for identifying new business opportunities across Shell's multiple businesses in Canada. Prior to this position, Susannah was Vice President, Communications, Upstream International based in The Hague.
Susannah was previously Head, Government Relations for Shell Canada, where she established the government relations practice to support Shell Canada's Upstream, Downstream, and manufacturing businesses.
Prior to joining Shell in 2009, Susannah was Director, Government Affairs for TransCanada Pipelines based in the United States, where she was responsible for driving government policy at federal and state levels in support of TransCanada's existing power and pipeline interests, as well as new business development activities.
Susannah was named one of Vancouver magazine's Power 50 in 2019 and on B.C. Business's 2015 Most Influential Women in Business list. She was also recognized as a 2019 Most Influential Woman in Business by Business in Vancouver magazine.
Susannah is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and The George Washington University, and speaks English, Spanish and French. She lives in Vancouver with her two children, Robert and Gabriela.
Teara Fraser – Lead Executive Officer, Iskwew Air
Teara Fraser is the Lead Executive at Iskwew Air. Becoming a pilot was transformational, truly giving this young Métis woman wings. Teara is the first Indigenous woman to launch an airline in Canada – Iskwew Air. Iskwew Air is the bridge between traditional air service and the sustainable technology of the future. She believes that together in this innovative space we will rematriate, reimagine and rebuild our air transportation system - centering equity, resilience, and sustainability. Teara serves as a BC Executive Committee member of CAAM, the Canadian Advanced Air Mobility consortium, where Iskwew Air is a proud founding member.
As the visionary of the Raven Institute, she is particularly inspired by the RavenSPEAK initiative (Indigenous changemakers – visible, masterful, amplified, and connected). RavenSPEAK is elevating the voices, stories, and remarkable profiles of Indigenous peoples. Teara founded the not-for-profit Indigenous LIFT Collective and launched Give them Wings (Indigenous Youth Taking Flight) and the LIFT Circle (collectively co-creating the conditions for Indigenous Women Entrepreneurs to THRIVE).
Teara has been actively engaged in the British Columbia Aviation Council for over a decade and is a Board Director for Unmanned Systems Canada. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. Teara holds a Master of Arts in Leadership degree from Royal Roads University, and she is a Certified Executive Coach. The journey of learning now takes her back to Royal Roads as Associate Faculty and to Fielding University where she is studying in the Human Development PhD program.
Teara has been named WXN Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100, Top 25 Women of Influence, YWCA Woman of Distinction, and one of 24 ‘real world heroes’ in the DC Comics Wonder Woman anthology – Wonderful Women of the World. In 2021, she ranked 44 on Maclean’s Power List. Teara is a proud Métis bridge builder.
Tracy Redies – Chief Executive Officer, Science World
Tracy Redies joined as President & CEO of Science World British Columbia in 2020, inspired by Science World’s mission to ignite wonder and empower dreams through science and nature. She is passionate about disseminating STEAM-learning to more people in B.C., believing these skill sets will be key to the province's and Canada's success in the coming decades.
Tracy has over 25 years of experience as a high-growth organization builder with a strong commitment to serving the province and its communities. Tracy spent much of her career leading complex financial institutions, serving as CEO of Coast Capital Savings Credit Union and, before that, Executive Vice President and Head of Personal Financial Services of HSBC Bank Canada. In 2017, she joined the B.C. Liberal party as MLA, Surrey-White Rock serving as Finance Critic for the Opposition.
Tracy has served on the University of Victoria board of governors, the Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation board, and as a corporate director for BC Hydro. As a member of the Premier's Women's Economic Council for BC, Tracy supported the improvement of economic outcomes for women entrepreneurs and business leaders. She was also a past director of the Vancouver Board of Trade and the Sauder Advisory Council. She is currently on the Sources Foundation Board, an organization responsible for supporting local food banks, women’s shelters and affordable housing options.
Tracy and her husband have raised their 4 children in the Surrey-White Rock area. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, horse racing and spending time outdoors with her family and dogs.
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About the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade:
Since its inception in 1887, the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade has been recognized as Pacific Canada’s leading business association, engaging members to impact public policy at all levels of government and to succeed and prosper in the global economy. With a Membership whose employees comprise one-third of B.C.’s workforce, we are the largest business association between Victoria and Toronto. We leverage this collective strength, facilitating networking opportunities, and providing professional development through four unique Signature Programs. In addition, we operate one of the largest events programs in the country, providing a platform for national and international thought leaders to enlighten B.C.’s business leaders.
Media enquiries:
Victor Young
Communications Manager
Greater Vancouver Board of Trade
604-640-5450 | media@boardoftrade.com