"Linking: Sustainable Communities, Investment Capital, Technology, and Government"
October 5-6th, 2010
Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside Hotel
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Speakers
Joe Van Bellegham, CA
Lend Lease Development
He has over 20 years of development and financing experience in all forms of real estate development and was responsible for the First LEED Gold project in Canada. Joe conceived and was the developer of the Dockside Green project in Victoria. Dockside Green was the first Leed Platinum ND project and includes the highest LEED platinum rating for LEED NC and Core and Shell.
Joe is a founder of the Canada Green Building Council and former director and vice-chair of the organization. He also served on the board of directors for the United States Green Building Council.
Joe is a recipient of the life time achievement award by the Canada Green Building Council and the Province of British Columbia 2007 Arbor Vitae Award for Environmental Leadership for dedication to environmental protection and stewardship. Joe was a member of the Provincial of BC climate action team.
Joe recently joined Lend Lease Development in 2010 to provide sustainable development advice throughout the Lend Lease Group with particular focus on Lend Lease’s large integrated urban regeneration precinct projects.
Larry Blain, Incoming Chair, Board of Directors, Partnerships BC
Larry Blain has been CEO of Partnerships BC since January 2003.
Before joining Partnerships BC, Larry was an investment banker with Pemberton Securities, which was acquired by RBC Dominion Securities, which then became RBC Capital Markets. Over a 20 year period, Larry was responsible for senior coverage of major corporations and governments in western Canada, with specialization in public finance, utilities and infrastructure finance.
Previously, Larry was an economist with the Bank of Canada and Director of Central Borrowing with the B.C. Ministry of Finance.
Larry holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of British Columbia.
Senator Larry Campbell
Born and raised in Brantford, Ontario, Campbell became a steelworker in Hamilton in the 1960s. In his first career move, he joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and was transferred to Vancouver in 1969, later joining the RCMP drug squad in 1973.
With more than twelve years experience with the RCMP, Campbell transitioned into death investigation, establishing Vancouver’s first District Coroner’s Office in 1981 and becoming the Chief Coroner for British Columbia in 1996. In this capacity, he became the inspiration behind the popular CBC drama Da Vinci’s Inquest, as well as its spin-off, Da Vinci’s City Hall. Larry Campbell was intimately involved with the television programs, writing and collaborating on scripts for the series.
A huge proponent of the Four Pillars approach to ending drug abuse, Campbell ran for Mayor when he felt this strategy was being neglected. In 2002 he was elected by the citizens of Vancouver under the banner of the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) in what was a landslide election. Carrying on the legacy of his predecessor Philip Owen, Mayor Campbell spearheaded the approval and establishment of North America’s first legal safe injection site and continued to champion the Four Pillars Drug strategy. In addition to drug and crime prevention, he was also instrumental in the successful Vancouver bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
In August 2005, Campbell was summoned to the Senate of Canada by Prime Minister Paul Martin. As a Senator, Campbell has continued his work on drug policy, mental health, and aboriginal issues.
Senator Campbell is currently a member of the Senate Standing Committees on Aboriginal Peoples and Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration.
He holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from City University in Vancouver.
Sarah Clark, Incoming CEO, Partnerships BC
Sarah Clark joined Partnerships BC in May 2005. Her responsibilities include the management of current engagements; the development and resourcing of new partnership structures and opportunities; and the management of client relations and service quality for all Partnerships BC projects. She has extensive experience in the project management of large transportation and health projects, as well as the structuring of public private partnership contracts and teams on the private sector side.
Prior to joining Partnerships BC, Sarah worked for Bombardier Transportation where responsibilities included proposals for public private partnership projects and project management of rapid transit projects, both locally and internationally.
Sarah is a Professional Engineer and is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia and of the Professional Engineers of Ontario. Sarah holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Queen's University.
Chief Gibby Jacob
Gibby Jacob, ancestral name KáKeltn, carries the title of hereditary Chief and member of the Squamish First Nation. Elected a Squamish Nations Councillor in December 1981, he has since served six consecutive four-year terms in the position.
Chief Jacob is the director for the Squamish Nation Land Claims Department. Appointed in 2000 by Squamish Nations Chiefs and Council as the department head of Land Claims and official spokesperson for the Nation, he has played an instrumental role as the intergovernmental relations representative and chief negotiator for the development of treaties between First Nations, municipal, regional, provincial and federal governments.
Chief Jacob is also a member of various Squamish Nation Committees that deal with land and environment issues, economic development and repatriation of ancestral remains and artifacts.
Chief Jacob is a founding director and the current chairman of EAGLE (Environmental Aboriginal Guardianship through Law and Education). He also has served as co-chair of the British Columbia Aboriginal Fisheries Commission, Coastal Region and was a representative of Canada for the Pacific Salmon Commission.
Chief Jacob has been associated with the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games since the bid phase, serving as a director on the Board of the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation.
Currently a resident of West Vancouver, he is married and has two children and four grandchildren.
Wal van Lierop, President & CEO of Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital
Wal is a co-founder and President and CEO of Chrysalix Energy. Chrysalix is a venture capital firm providing early stage financing, hands on assistance, and strategic connections to innovative companies creating solutions for the new energy economy. He is responsible for strategy and operations of the Chrysalix funds. He actively supports a number of portfolio companies and holds board positions with HydroPoint, Angstrom Power and Bridgelux.
As well Wal is a part-time adjunct professor teaching Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Finance in the MBA program at the University of British Columbia. He is the founder and a Director of New Ventures BC, a successful new ventures and business plan competition, has been on the Advisory Board of the Cleantech Group LLC for many years and is a founding member of the Alliance of Cleantech CEOs of British Columbia, Canada. He is also a member of the Clean Energy Tech Advisory Committee of the BCTIA. He has written and edited several books and many scientific articles and is a regular speaker at conferences all over North America and Europe.
Wal holds a PhD in Economics from the “Vrije Universiteit”, Amsterdam.
D. Scott MacDonald, Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Carbon Trust
D. Scott MacDonald was appointed Chief Executive Officer for Pacific Carbon Trust on May 1, 2009. As CEO he has overall responsibility to set the strategic direction for the Crown Corporation. In the start-up phase, Scott was responsible for PCT’s governance structure and staffing; his current focus is to provide the direction needed for PCT to become a leader in the BC carbon offset market, setting the standard for credible, high-quality BC greenhouse gas offsets to help clients meet their carbon reduction goals and support the growth of BC’s low-carbon economy.
Scott has extensive leadership and public sector experience. A former Assistant Deputy Minister for the BC Ministry of Education, he developed his career shaping the BC school system, from his role as a classroom teacher on Vancouver's east side, to setting provincial education policy and curriculum standards. Scott was instrumental in creating and implementing world-leading information management systems for use in BC schools and led the provincial Green Schools Strategy in response to growing concern over climate change.
A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Scott achieved his undergraduate degree from the University of Alberta, followed by a Masters of Business Administration from Royal Roads University.
Scott is an avid cyclist and for the past 18 years has completed his daily commute to work by bicycle in an effort to stay healthy and reduce his personal carbon footprint. Scott lives in Victoria, BC with his wife and two daughters.
Thomas Mueller, President & CEO, Canada Green Building Council
Thomas Mueller is a Founding Director of the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) and became President & CEO of the Council in 2005. In this role, he leads the Council in its efforts to transform the building and real estate industry in Canada. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the World Green Building Council and the Green Building Certification Institute; and, a frequent contributor to government and industry consultations, conferences and other events on green buildings and sustainable communities.
More recently he participated in Energy Efficiency Working Group (Environment Canada); the Commercial Buildings Initiative (National Roundtable of the Environment & Economy); and is currently contributing to Quality Urban Systems of Tomorrow (Quest) led by the Canadian Gas Association; the Federal Building Labeling Initiative (Natural Resources Canada); and the Dean’s Advisory Committee, University of Waterloo, Faculty of Environmental Studies.
Doug Pearce
Chief Executive Officer/Chief Investment Officer
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation
Doug is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC).
With $80 billion in assets under administration, bcIMC is among the largest Canadian institutional investors in the global capital markets. bcIMC is responsible for the investment of public sector pension funds, sinking funds and other trust funds in the Province of British Columbia, Canada.
Doug has served as the Chairman of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, a past director and Chairman of the Pacific Pension Institute, including past Director and Chairman of the Pension Investment Association of Canada (PIAC). He is also a member of the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business, Faculty Advisory Board.
Doug is a graduate of the University of Calgary.
David Suzuki, Co-Founder, David Suzuki Foundation
David Suzuki, Co-Founder of the David Suzuki Foundation, is an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster. He is renowned for his radio and television programs that explain the complexities of the natural sciences in a compelling, easily understood way. Dr. Suzuki is also recognized as a world leader in sustainable ecology. He is the recipient of UNESCO’s Kalinga Prize for Science, the United Nations Environment Program Medal, UNEPs Global 500 and in 2009 won the Right Livelihood Award that is considered the alternate Nobel.
Jonathan Rhone
Jonathan Rhone is President and CEO of Nexterra Systems Corp. a leading developer and manufacturer of biomass gasification systems. He has an extensive track record with energy and technology businesses including Dome Petroleum, Amoco Canada and The Delphi Group. He serves on the Board of the BC Technology Industry Association (BCTIA), the BC Premier’s Technology Council and Chairs the BC Clean Tech CEO Alliance. In 2009 he was also honoured as the BCTIA's Person of the Year.
Mayor Gregor Robertson
In November 2008, the people of Vancouver chose Gregor Robertson as their new Mayor. He was elected on a platform of ending street homelessness in the City of Vancouver by 2015, and making Vancouver the greenest city in the world.
Mayor Robertson is committed to building a sustainable and thriving economy in Vancouver. By working to foster economic hubs in the burgeoning green economy, including digital media, clean technology, and renewable energy, Mayor Robertson is establishing Vancouver internationally as the Green Capital—a City where going green is good for business. Vancouver was recently named the greenest city in Canada by Corporate Knights, as well as predicted to have the fastest growing economy in 2010 by the Conference Board of Canada.
Under Mayor Robertson’s leadership, Vancouver has taken swift action on becoming more sustainable by doubling the City’s bicycle infrastructure budget, setting the highest electric vehicle charging standards for new buildings in North America, and approving laneway housing. Vancouver now has the greenest building standards in North America, requiring all new buildings to be LEED Gold.
John W. Sheridan
President and Chief Executive Office, Ballard Power Systems, Inc.
John Sheridan was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer on February 22, 2006. He was previously Chair of the Board (June, 2004 to February 22, 2006).
Mr. Sheridan is a prominent leader in Canada's business community with a strong track record of success in diverse challenges. Over the course of his twenty-four year career with Bell Canada, he rose to high impact officer roles including Group Vice President of Business Development, Vice Chairman and President and Chief Operating Officer.
In between his positions within Bell Canada, Mr. Sheridan served as CEO of Encom Cable TV and Telecommunications in the UK. He was recognized as an innovative leader in the industry and elected Vice-Chairman of the UK Cable Communication Association in 1994.
Mr. Sheridan has extensive experience in corporate governance, as a director, committee chair and board chair of numerous companies in Canada, the USA, and the UK including Bell Canada, MTS, Aliant and Sun Media Corporation. He currently serves as a director on the board of NewPage Corporation, a leading US coated paper company, Chairman of the Board of Dantherm Power, as well as Ballard and AFCC. He also serves as a member of the Premier's Technology Council and as Chair of the Hydrogen Highway.
Mr. Sheridan holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo, a Bachelor of Arts from Wilfrid Laurier University's School of Business and Economics, and a Master of Arts in Economics from Queens University. He has also completed Executive Development Programs at Western, Queen's and University of Southern California and Harvard Business School.
Dr. Peter Williams, Chief Technology Officer, Big Green Innovations, IBM Corporation
Dr Peter Williams is the Chief Technology Officer for IBM's Big Green Innovations incubator, whose role is to create environmentally focused businesses for IBM. He is responsible for assembling, maintaining and developing the portfolio of businesses included, and technologies used. His particular focus areas have been PV technologies; developing green house gas reduction solutions and services; and most intensively, water management solutions, covering entire water resources (for example entire rivers or aquifers), utility infrastructures, and enterprise water management. As such, he has had a major role in developing IBM's water management solution framework and a number of specific areas of intellectual property within that. He has also been heavily involved in creating the intellectual foundation for IBM's "Smarter Planet" initiative.
Dr Williams holds the title of IBM Distinguished Engineer. By background, he is a management consultant with well over 20 years experience of bringing technology and business issues together to develop novel solutions and business models. He holds or co-holds 6 US patents with others pending. A native of the UK, he has lived in California since 1999, and is married with three children. His PhD was awarded by the School of Management at the University of Bath, England, in 1986.
Francis A. Wong, Chairman & CEO, Genesis Hotel Development LLC
Francis A. Wong is the principal shareholder and chairman of Genesis Hotel Development, an international, full service international hotel development company with offices in Indian Wells, California. Mr. Wong, in partnership with others, developed and owned several hotels in Hawaii, including the 720 room Maui Marriott Resort and 450 room Fairmont Kea Lani Resort and Spa. Mr. Wong has had a distinguished political career, including being a member of the staff of U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy and is a retired Hawaiian State Senator.
Mr. Wong was also a named partner in his Hawaiian law firm of Rice Lee & Wong. As an experienced professional in the fields of hotel development, law and politics, Mr. Wong understands all aspects of development and is able to lead his clients through the maze of the entitlement and development process and structure transactions and developments to maximize return on capital.
While residing in Whistler, B.C. Mr. Wong was chairman of the Whistler Centre for Business and the Arts, who founded the B.C. Council for Sustainability. Currently he is a founding director of the Palm Springs Institute for Environmental Sustainability at the Cal State San Bernadino Palm Desert Campus.
Recently, he has been the principal resort consultant for Avanterra, a mixed use development in Palm Desert, CA, which development includes a luxury 350 room Fairmont hotel and branded residences, the home of the PGA Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in 2007 and 2008, a retail center of about one million square feet and over 1000 dwelling units. His other recent and current projects include a 130 Homewood Suites by Hilton in La Quinta, CA and projects in the planning stages in Paradise Valley, CA, Whistler, B.C., Canada and La Paz, Mexico.
Mr. Wong is a member of the board of directors of the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation, one of the largest non profit organizations in the West and Allied Hotel Properties, Inc., a Canadian public hotel company based in Vancouver, B.C. Canada and owners of Crowne Plaza Hotels in Canada. He is also the past president of Legatus Palm Springs, an organization of Catholic CEO’s. He is the past chairman of the Architectural and Landscape Committee for the City of Indian Wells, CA and is currently the chairman of its Planning Commission. He was also a member of the Policy Board of the Fisher Institute, which is part of the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. Mr. Wong, a graduate of Georgetown College and Law School in Washington, D.C. , is a frequent speaker at hotel and hotel condominium conferences.
John Yap, Richmond-Steveston, Minister of State for Climate Action
John Yap was appointed Minister of State for Climate Action on June 10, 2009. He previously served as the Chair of the Government Caucus and on various committees.
First elected in the riding of Richmond-Steveston in the 2005 provincial election, Minister Yap was re-elected in 2009.
Minister Yap is active in the community as a Rotarian, being a charter member and Past President of the Richmond Sunset Rotary Club. He is also a member of Gilmore Park United Church, where he has previously served as Board Chair, Finance Chair, Treasurer and Personnel Committee Chair. He has served as board chair of Gilmore Seniors Centre, a 117 unit seniors residence. Minister Yap is an honorary member of the Vancouver Diamond Lions Club.
Minister Yap is also a former member of the Mission Through Finance Committee of British Columbia Conference of the United Church of Canada and is a past member of the Seniors Advisory Council of the City of Richmond.
Born in Singapore, Minister Yap immigrated as a teenager to Canada with his parents and has lived in the Lower Mainland for the past 32 years, living in Richmond for 22 of those years. Married with two children, he enjoys reading, jogging, golf and travel.
