Board & Management

Anthony spent most of his working life in Canada where he worked in the areas of Operations, Sales, Marketing, Customer Allegiance and Strategic Planning for a number of Fortune 500 companies in Canada and the United States in a variety of industries including manufacturing, distribution and technology.  Before joining Goddard Enterprises Ltd in 2013 as Managing Director, he worked with SM Jaleel in Trinidad – the largest soft drink manufacturer in the English speaking Caribbean – where he served as General Manager from 2010 – 2013 and where he was responsible for growing the business as well as the company’s market share over two years in all categories of their business. Prior to that Anthony joined Thermo Fisher Scientific –   the world’s largest provider of scientific equipment – in 2005 as Global Director of Operations and Customer Allegiance where he remained for three years; and then moved to Enerworks Inc. –  a North American manufacturer of Solar Thermal systems – where he served as Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Customer Allegiance. Anthony holds a BSc Honours Degree in Chemistry from the University of Toronto and also completed a post graduate degree in Executive Marketing from the University of Western Ontario. In 1993, he was selected from 6,000 employees from Abitibi-Price Inc.   – manufacturers and sellers of newsprint and groundwood specialties products –  to participate in a fellowship at McKinsey & Co. for two years where he worked on a number of projects –  both financial and operational –  for a variety of clients. Anthony has also served on several Boards in the Energy field, is the co-author of several publications and has four patents pending. 

(CEO) – Phil has a PhD in Science from McGill University and has a strong background in technology commercialization and executive management. Most recently, Phil was President and CEO of a renewable energy company. Prior experience includes being President of an international robotics and automation company, President of a fuel cell and rechargeable battery company, and VP roles in R&D and Engineering with a global water treatment company and a multi-national forest products company. Phil has also served on the Board of Directors for a number of private and public companies and has held academic appointments at the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario.

Randal is an experienced pharmaceutical and biotech executive who currently serves as a Business Advisor and Consultant to companies in the life science sector and is a member of the board of directors at Advanced Proteome Therapeutics Corp. and GeoVax Labs Inc.During the course of his career, Randal has held executive positions at several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including a number of leading vaccine companies. Most recent positions included President & CEO at Immunovaccine Inc., President & CEO at Shire Biologics, and Senior VP – Vaccines Operations at Biochem Pharma.  During the earlier part of his career, Randal spent significant time with two well-known pharmaceutical companies – Bristol Meyers and Glaxo Canada, where he held Director and Senior VP positions respectively. Randal has also served on the board at Medimabs Inc., Medicago Inc., ConjuChem Biotechnologies Inc., Acambis Inc., and Bioject Medical Technologies Inc. Randal holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of British Columbia and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the McArdle Cancer Institute of the University of Wisconsin. 

Greg has extensive operational and transactional experience in the financial services industry. He was an Equity Analyst at Neuberger Berman before joining American Strategic Insurance (ASI) where he served as Chief Financial Officer. ASI’s revenue grew from $38 million to $506 million during Greg’s tenure. He was instrumental in building an organization that won Best Workplace in the Tampa Bay, Florida area. Structured and/or executed $ 168 million worth of transactions. He has a BSBA degree from the University of Florida and an MBA degree from the University of Toronto.

Shona has extensive experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries and is currently working as a consultant advising life sciences companies on intellectual property (IP) management strategies. Previously, Shona has been responsible at the VP or Director level for the IP functions of several companies, including BioChemPharma, one of the most successful biotech companies in Canada; Shire Pharmaceuticals, the third largest pharmaceutical company in the UK; Bellus Health a biopharmaceutical development company; and most recently, Pharmascience, the largest pharmaceutical employer in Quebec. She has also served as chief patent counsel for Cambia a non-profit institute based in Queensland, Australia and dedicated to open innovation. In these roles Shona led all global IP activities including competitive intelligence, patent landscaping, patent portfolio management, licensing, freedom to operate and infringement analyses, litigation and a wide range of IP disputes in many jurisdictions. Shona practiced law for a number of years with Bereskin & Parr, a leading intellectual property boutique law firm in Toronto, specializing in the life sciences, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology with a practice in patent filing and prosecution, licensing and litigation of intellectual property matters. Shona is a lawyer and patent agent, with a PhD in biology from the University of Western Ontario, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School, Department of Rheumatology and Immunology.

John is a Professor of Physics, Senior Canada Research Chair in Soft Matter and Biological Physics, and Director of the Nanoscience program at the University of Guelph. John’s research focuses on the properties and practical applications of novel biological polymers and nanomaterials. For his research accomplishments, he received the Premier’s Research Excellence Award in 2000, and was elected as a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2007.

Anton has a PhD in Microbiology and has a strong background in biotechnology. He is an expert in a broad range of experimental techniques in microbiology, biochemistry and materials science. Currently Anton serves as Senior Scientist at Mirexus where he is responsible for product and process development. Previously, he was as a Research Associate at the Department of Physics at the University of Guelph. Anton previously worked as a Research Scientist at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Erzsebet has a PhD in Biochemistry from the University School of Medicine, Debrecen, Hungary. She has extensive experience in developing and successfully carrying out research projects in the areas of biochemistry, cell biology, microbiology and polysaccharide chemistry. Erzsebet has worked as a clinical chemist and has led departments; she held an Associate Professor position at a Chemistry Department and worked as a Post-Doctoral Fellow and Senior Research Associate for several years

Oleg has a PhD in Applied Physics and is currently University- Industry Liaison Officer at Wilfred Laurier University. Oleg entrepreneurial experience in founding, managing and operating three small start-ups in the area of contract manufacturing of electronic components, household security, and professional photography with a total of 25 part time employees. He gained extensive experience in all aspects of a start-up operation, including strategic planning, marketing, sales, inventory, human resources, payroll, customer relations, and liaising with other professional service providers. Oleg further improved his entrepreneurial skills through completion of the Entrepreneurship course at MaRS Centre, a Project Management course at Queen’s School of Business (Queen’s University) and a Strategic Business Planning course at the Xerox Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at McMaster University.

Phil has a PhD in Science from McGill University and has a strong background in technology commercialization and executive management. Most recently, Phil was President and CEO of a renewable energy company. Prior experience includes being President of an international robotics and automation company, President of a fuel cell and rechargeable battery company, and VP roles in R&D and Engineering with a global water treatment company and a multi-national forest products company. Phil has also served on the Board of Directors for a number of private and public companies and has held academic appointments at the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario.

Greg has extensive operational and transactional experience in the financial services industry. He was an Equity Analyst at Neuberger Berman before joining American Strategic Insurance (ASI) where he served as Chief Financial Officer. ASI’s revenue grew from $38 million to $506 million during Greg’s tenure. He was instrumental in building an organization that won Best Workplace in the Tampa Bay, Florida area. Greg has structured and/or executed $168 million of transactions. He has a BSBA degree from the University of Florida and an MBA degree from the University of Toronto (Rotman).

Trevor is a graduate of McMaster University with an honors degree in Engineering and Management and has Executive Management Program certificates from the Schulich (York) School of Business and the University of Michigan. Trevor has an extensive history with business start-up and scale-up opportunities. He is the cofounder of CRS Robotics, an automation company where he held executive leadership positions in product development, systems integration, ISO9001 quality management and international sales. He was the General Manager of Yaskawa-Motoman Canada which is a manufacturer of automation equipment. Trevor has also held Business Development roles in a Systems Integration business. Trevor is a past President of the North American Robotics Industries Association and has participated in UL standards development committees for the automation industry.

Anton has a PhD in Microbiology and has a strong background in biotechnology. He is an expert in a broad range of experimental techniques in microbiology, biochemistry and materials science. Currently Anton serves as Senior Scientist at Mirexus where he is responsible for product and process development. Previously, he was a Research Associate at the Department of Physics at the University of Guelph. Anton previously worked as a Research Scientist at the Russian Academy of Sciences. 

Alison has an MBA from Queen’s University and has a strong background in R&D, Innovation and Business Development, with over 15 years of experience in developing and commercializing new products and technologies. Currently Alison is the Vice President Business Development at Mirexus where she is responsible for developing and implementing global sales and marketing strategies. 

Linda Stephenson is the ultimate Beauty Guru. It began with an Honours degree in Chemistry and Biology, a minor in Botany, and it resulted in a passion for beauty. Following graduation, she worked at a variety of companies in the health care and beauty industries. And from there, she became a jet-setting makeup mogul, overseeing product development for world-class cosmetic brands. With a growing family and newfound priorities, Linda left corporate life to launch her own consultancy. After seven years, she realized that her privileged access to exceptional ingredients from around the world could redefine the beauty biz. So she created an effortless line of multi-purpose products, and Mèreadesso was born. Today the expanded Mèreadesso line is praised by journalists, beauty bloggers, makeup artists, and clients of every age and skin type. Naturally, Linda’s glowing like never before. http://www.mereadesso.com/

Christine has a BSc in Science from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from Western University. Since 2009, Christine Burow has run an independent consultancy specializing in marketing, strategy and sustainability for clients in Canada, the U.S. and Germany. Christine has extensive experience in cleantech, green energy, innovative technologies, manufacturing, forest products, mining, and water treatment. Prior to setting up her consultancy, Christine was the Vice President, Marketing for Tembec’s Pulp Group. Her roles before Tembec include Director of Market Research at Vale (Inco), marketing and business development roles at Trojan Technologies (a manufacturer of water treatment equipment), and product development and marketing roles at Resolute Forest Products. www.christineburow.com

Elizabeth has a BA in Psychology and an MA in Counselling Psychology. She has worked for 20 years in the Human Resources’ field and is currently Executive Director of HR with a large company. In addition to her expertise in HR she has a private practice where she provides personal, couples and family counselling services to the public. www.centreforlifesolutions.com

David is a lawyer and a former business law partner in Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP. David has more than 40 years of experience in technology law, business and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance issues and private corporate finance. David is the Entrepreneur in Residence for Entrepreneurship at University of Ontario Institute of Technology. David serves as director and a consultant to science- based enterprises.  He is an active angel investor and is a director of NGOs serving the angel investing community. David is also a trained arbitrator and an ICD.D certified director.

Lorelei’s is a partner in the Intellectual Property Group at Norton Rose Fulbright. She is a lawyer and registered patent and trademark agent in both the United States and Canada. With over 20 years experience Lorelei addresses all aspects of a client’s IP needs, from initial consultations regarding IP strategies to drafting, filing and prosecuting patents, trade-marks, industrial designs and copyright in front of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, the United States Patent and Trademark Office and internationally. Lorelei advises on complex IP issues for national and international clients and provides a business-minded approach to solving these issues. She manages IP portfolios on an international level for a wide variety of clients in a variety of disciplines including mechanical, bio-mechanical, agricultural, food industry and environmental areas. She also works with emerging businesses, advising entrepreneurs on timely and cost-efficient IP strategies that work within their business goals. Lorelei believes in partnering with clients and providing a team approach to solve their legal issues. www.nortonrosefulbright.com/ca/en/