Western Innovation Forum 2022 – Biographies of presenters

Doug Holt

Associate Vice President, Investments
Alberta Innovates

Doug Holt oversees the Alberta Innovates Accelerators program, Entrepreneurial Investments & Post Secondary Investments. Doug has over 20 years of experience in the fields of financial services, technology, and education managing high functioning teams, designing and implementing corporate strategies and performing complex financial analysis of companies across a wide array of industries.

Doug's financial services experience is both buy side and sell side with a focus on investment banking, credit analysis, and structured finance. Over the last decade, in various senior management roles ranging from Vice President marketing to President and COO, Doug has helped companies raise over $130,000,000 of equity investment.

As a buy-side credit investor in the US high yield bond and loan markets, Doug was part of a small team running a publicly listed ETF on the NYSE which rose from $80,000,000 (USD) in assets under management to over a $1,000,000,000 (USD).

Justin Riemer

Assistant Deputy Minister, Alberta Region
Prairies Economic Development Canada

Justin Riemer has provided leadership to the federal government's regional economic development agency in Alberta since 2019.

Previously, Justin held several senior positions at the Government of Alberta and Alberta Health Services. For more than 25 years, he has achieved results in regional economic development, industry expansion, investment attraction, and innovation.

As a dynamic leader of economic development in Alberta, Justin has a significant depth and breadth of experience in policy development and program delivery focused on innovation and business growth.

He is passionate about supporting the advancement of sectors vital to the diversification of Alberta's economy, having served in leadership roles to deliver initiatives at both the federal and provincial levels related to value-added energy, health innovation, clean technology, and inclusive economic development. Most recently, Justin led the Alberta region of Prairies Economic Development Canada in delivering unprecedented levels of relief and recovery programming to individuals, businesses, and organizations impacted by COVID-19.

Justin holds a Master's Degree in International Affairs from Carleton University, and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Political Science. Justin is married and the proud father of 2 young men.

Naina Sloan

Vice President
Pacific Economic Development Canada

Naina Sloan was appointed to the role of Vice President, Programs and Partners, for Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan) in 2021. PacifiCan is the new regional development agency focused on building a strong, competitive Canadian economy by supporting business, innovation and community economic development unique to British Columbia.

Prior to her current role, Naina served as a Regional Director General for Environment and Climate Change Canada. Based in Vancouver, she was the department's senior official in the West and North, focused on horizontal program delivery, intergovernmental, and transboundary work.

Before joining ECCC, Naina was Senior Executive Director for Natural Resources Canada's Indigenous Partnerships Office – West, where she was responsible for ongoing programming and strategic engagement with Indigenous communities on issues related to energy infrastructure development.

From 2011 to 2016, Naina was Director General, Operations at Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD), where she provided strategic and operational leadership for programs and services in British Columbia.

Prior to WD, Naina was the Vice-President, Corporate Affairs, at Canada Line Rapid Transit Inc., the public sector project management company responsible for developing, negotiating and delivering the $2B, P3 rapid transit line connecting Vancouver, Richmond and the Vancouver International Airport.

Dr. David Perry

President and Senior Analyst
Canadian Global Affairs Institute

David Perry is the host of the weekly Defence Deconstructed Podcast and author of multiple publications related to defence budgeting, transformation and procurement. He is also a columnist for the Canadian Naval Review. He received his PhD in political science from Carleton University where his dissertation examined the link between defence budgeting and defence procurement. He is an adjunct professor at the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary and a research fellow of the Centre for the Study of Security and Development at Dalhousie University. He was previously the Senior Security and Defence Analyst of the Conference of Defence Associations Institute and Deputy Director of Dalhousie University's Centre for Foreign Policy Studies. Embassy Magazine and The Hill Times has named him one of the "Top 100 Influencing Canadian Foreign Policy."

Colonel (Ret) Nigel Whittaker MBE, CD (MBA, BSc(Hons), GCGI)

Operations Facilitator
Survive and Thrive Applied Research, University of British Columbia

Twenty-eight years commissioned service in the British Army with 8 years operational experience in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Kuwait. This included command of troops on operations at platoon, squadron and battalion level. Other highlights include: two years in Whitehall in operational requirements: 30 months teaching at the Joint Services Staff College; principal command planner for the British Army and his last tour in a multi-disciplinary acquisition team. He retired as a Colonel and emigrated to Canada in 2007. A role as an operations manager for a major industrial gas and healthcare company in BC before making a transition to the technology sector. From 2009 to 2019 he served as a reservist in the Canadian Army, regaining the rank of Colonel. From 2015, to date his primary civilian career was in Emergency Management consultancy. This accords with his passion to build capability within levels of Government, First Nations, and organizations to prepare for and respond effectively to man made and natural disasters. He continues to work throughout Western Canada and in Asia. He has enjoyed a close relationship with UBC and has contributed to a wide number of projects both as a member of staff and a key member of a project team.

Dr. Keith Culver

Director
Survive and Thrive Applied Research, University of British Columbia

Dr. Keith Culver is Professor of Management and Director of the University of British Columbia's Survive and Thrive Applied Research initiative, catalysing university-partner collaborative applied R&D improving human performance in extreme environments. As Director he works with a small staff team to identify opportunities, develop university-side understanding of problems and end-users needs, develop research program and project proposals, and implement collaborative research agreements. Culver is a fluent speaker of Tri-Council funding, ITB, NRC IRAP, IDEaS and MINDS. When not directing, Culver is a legal theorist whose recent work has focused on development of integrated academic-military perspectives on pro-active deterrence of grey zone threats.

Rachel Edwards

Head of Offset & Industrial Cooperation for the Maritime and Land sector
BAE Systems

Rachel is Head of Offset & Industrial Cooperation for the Maritime and Land sector at BAE Systems. Rachel started her career in the banking sector with roles in Brussels and Toronto, transferring to the Defence and Aerospace industry when she joined GEC-Marconi Avionics to undertake an international commercial role in the mission avionics division. Following the company transition to BAE Systems, Rachel has held various roles in Commercial, Strategy and Market Intelligence, working with customers in Europe and the Far East. Rachel holds a BA (Hons) degree in Business and French and an MBA from Ecole Supérieure de Commerce Poitiers, France. Outside of work she enjoys travel, learning foreign languages and running.

Larry Glenesk

Vice President Western Canada
JPOM Canada Inc.

Larry brings extensive experience and success in building, leading, and advising profitably growing businesses and teams in diverse environments. Highly results-oriented, Larry has a proven track record in leading the development and execution of effective Strategic Plans, Roadmaps, and Capture Plans. Immediately prior to joining JPOM, Larry held the position of Senior Vice President Business Development at Avcorp Industries, and previously held positions as: Director of Government and Strategic Programs at KF Aerospace; Vice President of Raytheon Technical Services Company and Raytheon Canada, in Los Angeles and Calgary. Larry's career also included 20 years in the RCAF in positions of ever-increasing responsibility: SAMEO; Flight Test Design; CF-18 Program Chief Engineer; leaving as a Major. Larry is a graduate of Royal Military College (BSEE), the USAF Institute of Technology (MScAE), the Canadian Forces College, and the Hughes Learning Institute and Queen's University Executive Programs. Larry joined JPOM in April 2015. Since then, he has enjoyed supporting leading technology innovators, Canadian and international, small and medium-sized enterprises to large multinationals, to: perform strategic planning; communications planning & advocacy; domestic and international business development & capture planning; proposal management; competitive analyses; and ITB/VP and Defence Procurement Training, Plan Development support and execution.

Barry Windsor

Manager Industrial and Technological Benefits
Raytheon

Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Barry obtained his Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Law degrees from the University of Saskatchewan in 1986. Barry practiced municipal law and contracts for over 20 years. He spent 16 years with the City Solicitor's office in Regina, and then over 7 years in private practice in Calgary. Barry joined Raytheon Canada in 2013, as a Senior Contracts Management Specialist. After 4 years in that role he moved to his current position as Industrial Technical Benefits Manager and Capture Manager. Barry manages all ITB obligations for Raytheon Canada. Barry is based in Calgary, is married and has two grown sons.

Martin Cronin

Executive Chairman
Physical Science Innovations

Martin spent over 20 years in international diplomacy with the British Government with appointments across the Middle East, South Asia, Europe and North America spanning counter-terrorism, conflict resolution, trade and inward investment. Following a posting as Consul-General to Western Canada, Martin settled in British Columbia and joined the private sector, serving as CEO and Director of several private and public companies in the public safety and defence sectors, He is the Executive Chairman of Physical Science Innovations Company, which has a portfolio of ventures.

Heather Larmer

Co-Vice President of Industry Relations
Women in Defence and Security (WiDS)

Heather is the Commercial & ITB Manager at KF Aerospace. KF Aerospace has 4 locations across Canada and is Canada's largest Commercial Maintenance Repair & Overhaul (MRO) provider. In addition, KF is a proud partner of the RCAF supporting pilot training on the CFTS program out of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Heather joined KF in July 2021 and works remotely in Ottawa which allows her to collaborate with Government and Industry partners including members of the SkyAlyne Team in pursuit of the Future Air Crew Training Program (FAcT). Prior to joining KF, Heather spent 2.5 years with Marshall Aerospace Canada, and prior to that almost 10 years at General Dynamics Mission Systems Canada. In 2020, Heather was honoured by Canadian Defence Review (CDR) Magazine as one of the top Aerospace and Defence Professionals under 40.

Debbie Goodleff

British High Commission

Well-regarded for her knowledge of Canadian defence procurement, Debbie has worked at the British High Commissions for the past 8 years to support closer collaboration between UK and Canadian defence stakeholders. Her success in providing high level advice and support on major defence procurement campaigns and policy, connecting UK and Canadian stakeholders through Ministerial and Senior Official visits, facilitating trade missions, thought leadership roundtables and major events, such as the Royal Air Force Red Arrows North American Tour and the visit of the HMS Queen Elizabeth to Canada. Debbie is a passionate mentor and a champion for women in the defence and security sector and sits on the executive committee of WiDS Canada as co-chair for industry relations and is part of FCDO North America Gender Network. Debbie's other interest include skiing and sailing and when she is not doing either of these activities you will likely find her performing as part of the Canadian Military Wives Choir, an organisation of which she is proud to have played a small part in getting off the ground and where she also sits on the Board of Directors for the governing organisation which is committed to providing a home from home support network for military spouses across Canada.

Jessica Vo

Industrial Participation Manager
General Dynamics Mission Systems–Canada

Jessica Vo is the Industrial Participation Manager at General Dynamics Mission Systems–Canada, managing the company's international and Canadian offset programs, including several new contracts under the Canadian Industrial and Technological Benefits Value Proposition policy. After 5 years in private practice as a family and child welfare litigation lawyer, Ms. Vo joined GDMS–C's Contracts department in 2017 to support a growing offset portfolio. She has since prioritized company- and corporation-wide offset strategic initiatives such as inter-business unit training, small-and-medium business and Indigenous-owned business supplier engagement, and post-secondary research partnerships.

Michael Kerr

Director of Regional Innovation
Alberta Innovates

Michael Kerr is the Director of Regional Innovation at Alberta Innovates. For 25 years he has worked to grow some of the most notable success stories in Alberta and BC across many sectors. This includes helping innovative companies grow/commercialize their technology via coaching (technical and business advice), networking (national and international networks), and capital (via links to funding programs).

Mr. Kerr spent 8 years working in the chemical processing field before moving to the National Research Council as advisor to innovative technology firms (13 years) covering sectors such as bioenergy, forestry, manufacturing, agriculture, IT, oil and gas, clean energy and marine applications. He has been with Alberta Innovates since 2012, and recently taken the role of Director of Regional Innovation. In this role, he works with local agencies to unlock the potential of many innovative firms and accelerate their growth.

Michael continues to be a part-time instructor at Mount Royal University in Calgary for the Venture Launch Course and at the University of Northern BC in the MBA program, teaching Project Management and International Business Courses. He has also been the Prince George Chamber of Commerce President and Director of the BC Chamber of Commerce. He is one of the founding judges of the Global Energy Show Awards in Calgary He was also recognized as Mentor of the Year for Northern BC, and Citizen of the Year for Prince George.

Phil Garber

Business Development
VoltSafe

Phil Garber leads business development for VoltSafe, driving B2B sales of commercial products and pursuing partnerships for future verticals. He led the go-to-market efforts for VoltSafe's first commercial product that is now available at 400+ stores from Anchorage to Moncton. With several products at or near the prototype stage, his current focus is on partnerships and commercialization.

Prior to VoltSafe, Phil worked in BD, marketing, and fundraising-related roles for two other cleantech startups. He's an Ecologist by training and was a Incident Commander on a career track with the BC Wildfire Service, before several knee injuries and a deep frustration with fighting the symptoms of climate change led him to pursue an MBA and a career in commercializing systemic technology solutions that actually address some of the underlying causes of climate change. He's also a mentor through Big Brother Vancouver and an avid outdoors-person.

He's excited to share how VoltSafe can create value on several fronts: Electrical safety, ease of use, and energy management.

Mina Zarabian

Co-founder
Carbonova

Mina is a lifetime learner and an entrepreneur. She co-founded Carbonova as part of the successful journey of her Ph.D. at the University of Calgary, where she and her previous supervisor co-invented a catalytic chemical process to produce carbon nanofibers from Greenhouse gases.

Entrepreneurship thinking enabled her to pave the way from successful research into commercialization and the founding of Carbonova in late 2018. Since then, she has served as the CEO and President of Carbonova where she managed the organization's successful growth with a like-minded team and supportive board of directors.

Mina has over ten years of experience in directing research and development projects related to emerging new materials, materials characterization, and process engineering. In addition, she had developed her leadership and management skills as an executive director in non-for-profit organizations and managed a large number of scientific and industrial events. These efforts resulted in her successful nomination of dozens of awards and recognitions including GreenSTEM, Alberta Innovates, and Eye's high scholarship.

Russ Beaudin

Director of Defence Projects
Calian

Russ Beaudin is the Director of Defence Projects at Calian, Advanced Technologies and has been a part of the Test, Aerospace and Defence business unit since joining Calian in October 2019. In his current role, Russ is responsible for the successful execution of Defence projects as well as the strategic planning and overall growth of the division. Russ has over 25 years of experience in the defence industry supporting various technical and leadership roles associated with the evolution of the Canadian Army platforms and tactical networks. Russ is happy to call Saskatoon home and when he is not working, he enjoys spending time outdoors with family and friends.