Board of Directors
Yad Garcha
Chief Executive Officer, Director
Mr. Garcha's venture-capital background spans nearly two decades in the biotech, medical device, and pharmaceutical sectors. A former senior vice-president at GrowthWorks Capital, Mr. Garcha also worked at the Business Development Bank of Canada. As a VC, Mr. Garcha backed Angiotech, Anormed (sold to Genzyme) and Creo Products (sold to Kodak). Mr. Garcha earned a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from the University of British Columbia, and a MBA from the University of Western Ontario.
Max Donelan
Chief Science Officer, Director
Dr. Donelan is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Physiology and Associate Member of Engineering Science at Simon Fraser University near Vancouver, British Columbia. He has a Ph.D. in Integrative Biology from Berkeley, and his achievements have been recognized by the American Society of Biomechanics, the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Iain Mant
Director
Mr. Mant is a partner at Fasken Martineau, one of the world's leading international business law and litigation firms. He advises clients on matters as diverse as venture-capital financing, private placements, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance. Mr. Mant's practice focuses on the technology, life science, and income-trust sectors, where he represents issuers, underwriters, and venture capitalists. He is also a director of the British Columbia Technology Industry Association, and a former chairman and director of Ability Biomedical.
Charles Stone
Director
Dr. Charles Stone is a renowned expert in proton exchange membrane fuel cell technology. Having completed his PhD at the University of British Columbia, he began his career with Ballard Power Systems in 1990 as a research scientist. Dr. Stone assumed ever-more senior roles at the company, becoming Vice-President of Research & Development in 2002. In this role, Dr. Stone had overall responsibility for driving fuel-cell technology into products, in addition to executive responsibility for intellectual property. Dr. Stone left Ballard in March 2007 to start up his own green-energy consulting firm.
Robert Fischer
Director
Mr. Robert (Bob) Fischer has served as a Major-General with the Canadian Army. He has held several senior staff appointments at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa including Executive Assistant to the Chief of the Defence Staff and Project Manager for the acquisition of several fleets of operational vehicles. In 1990, on promotion to Brigadier General, he was appointed Director General Land Engineering and Maintenance. In April 1997, Mr. Fischer joined General Dynamics Canada as Vice President of Business Development and Government Relations. He is a past President of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries. Currently, he is the Chairman of the Canadian NATO Industry Advisory Group and a member of DND’s Defence Industry Advisory Committee.
Joe Reed
Director
Mr. Reed is Vice President of Government Systems at NCS Technologies. Prior to this he served as Vice President of Programs and Vice President of Business Development at Sierra Nevada Corporation. Mr. Reed's background includes a 21- year U.S. military career, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2000. Since retiring from the U.S. Army, Mr. Reed has spent over nine years with a number of programs related to network-enabling soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines at the tactical edge of military networks. This experience has run the full range of Command, Control, Communications, Computing, and Coalition Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) capabilities. He holds a MBA and Bachelor of Science Degree in Nuclear Engineering and Physics.
