John Williams - Chair
John Williams was Executive Vice President of Operations of Fairmont/Raffles Hotels, responsible for the operations and transition from a domestic Canadian hotel company to the largest luxury hotel group in the world, in 30 countries, which included such iconic historic properties as the Plaza in New York, the Savoy in London, Raffles Hotel in Singapore, Le Montreux Palace, Switzerland, Le Royal Monceau, Paris, the Norfolk, Nairobi, and Victoria's own Empress Hotel. Retiring after a 45 year career in January 2009, Williams was honoured by Fairmont Hotels through the establishment of two annual post graduate scholarships in his name, for colleagues’ children globally. He has served on various boards, including Chair Tourism Vancouver, Chair Tourism British Columbia, Chair Vancouver Hotel Association, Chair Crofton House School Vancouver, Canada/United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce, Victoria Hospitals Foundation, International Fellow Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, and Commander Sovereign Order of St John.
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Daphne Corbett
Daphne Corbett is an independent businessperson with over 20 years' experience in the financial industry. From 1981 to 2003 Corbett worked in various senior and executive positions with HSBC Bank including Head of Audit Canada from 1994-1997, Head of Audit Latin America with HSBC Brazil from 1997-2000, Senior Vice President BC Region from 2000-2002, and Senior Vice President and Business Manager Wealth and Tax Advisory Services Inc in San Francisco, California from 2002-2003. She served as a Director of Emergency Communications for Southwest British Columbia Incorporated for the last seven years and as its Chairwoman from 2008 to 2010. She has been an Independent Director of Pulse Seismic Inc, a TSX listed company, since June 2004 and is Chair of its Audit Committee. In recent years she has also been a Director for the Pacific Salmon Foundation and the Arts Club Theatre of Vancouver. Corbett received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Victoria in 1970. She is a former member of the Certified Management Accountants of British Columbia.
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Peter Gustavson
Peter Gustavson is the President and CEO of Gustavson Capital Corporation. He was the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Custom House Ltd, the largest non-bank foreign exchange provider in North America. Custom House now has 50 branches in Australia, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Previously, Gustavson was a Partner with Gustavson Shaffer, Chartered Accountants. Active in the community, he was a member of the UVic Faculty of Commerce Board of Advisors and is Chair of the UVic Business Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year Award Dinner. He was made a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC in 2006, a recipient of the Business Examiner Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002. Gustavson holds his Bachelor of Commerce with Honours in Accounting and Marketing from the University of Manitoba. In 2010 he was honoured by the University of Victoria with the naming of the University’s Business School the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business.
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Lynne Kennedy
Lynne Kennedy is President of Linman Investments, a land development and property investment company, and a Director of Mandale Holdings. Kennedy completed four terms as a Vancouver City Councillor. During her 10 years in local government she took leadership roles in economic development, tourism, urban planning, community safety, clean air initiatives, and heritage preservation. Kennedy represented Vancouver at provincial and regional levels as a Director of Metro Vancouver (GVRD) and was an Executive Member of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM). Currently, she is the Chair of EasyPark, a board member of the BC Press Council and a Director of the Vancouver Heritage Foundation. She also sits on the steering committee of Vancouver's Drug Treatment Court, and chairs their community advisory group. Active in the community, she served on the Vancouver Police Board, was President of the Canadian Association of Police Boards, and a member of the Canadian Police College Advisory Board. A graduate in secondary education from UBC, Kennedy also completed a degree in Archaeology from the University of Calgary, which led to her interest in built heritage in Canada's cities. She has worked as a field archaeologist, educator and was a school trustee.
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Susan Knott
Susan Knott was born in Vancouver, and after a long and varied career in all levels of government (municipal, provincial, federal), she began her next career as an Organization Consultant specializing in event management with a focus on organizing, motivating, and directing volunteers. Previously, Knott was actively involved as a member of the British Columbia Board of Parole and the National Parole Board of Canada. Active in her community, with a particular focus on non-profit organizations, most recently a past director of Gastrointestinal Society of Canada. Knott attended Vancouver Community College and the Dubrulle Culinary Institute.
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Graham S. Lee
Graham Lee is president, CEO, founder and sole shareholder of RG Properties Ltd, an award-winning diversified real estate company that started as a university project and now employs more than 4,000. Lee’s major development projects include Planet Ice (Coquitlam, Delta and Maple Ridge), Capri Shopping Mall/Hotel and Prospera Place (Kelowna), Vector Aerospace Facility (Vancouver Airport) and the Save On Foods Memorial Centre (Victoria). In addition to holding past directorships with the Vancouver Board of Trade and the original Vancouver Olympic Bid Corporation, Lee recently served as Governor for the Vancouver Aquarium; he’s a member of the Advisory Board for the Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate at UBC; and he is involved with several charitable causes.
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Suromitra Sanatani
is passionate about driving change within organizations that in turn benefits the social, cultural and economic development of society. Trained as a lawyer, she is former Strategic Counsel for HB Global Advisors Corp., a consulting arm of the law firm Heenan Blaikie LLP. From 2003 to 2006, Sanatani was Vice President, Corporate and Government Relations with Partnerships BC, a Crown Agency that implements public private partnerships to build and maintain public infrastructure. Prior to that, she was VP, BC and Yukon for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and also Chair of the Coalition of BC Businesses. Sanatani’s current community activities include serving as a Director on the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the federal Panel on Responsible Conduct of Research, and the Telus Victoria Community Board. She is fluent in English, French and German.
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Terry Segarty
Terry Segarty is the President and Chief Operating Officer of 2 Baker Developments Ltd., Terrim Property Management Ltd., and O'Shea's Entertainment Inc. Previously, he was the Owner, President, and Chief Operating Officer of Birchwood Building Corporation; and a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia representing the constituency of Kootenay East. While in government, he served as the BC Minister of Labour from 1984 to 1986. In addition, he served as Government Caucus Chair, and chaired the select standing committees for agriculture, environment and resources, and municipal affairs and housing. Previously, Segarty served as a Director for the Cranbrook Regional Hospital and Green Home.
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Margaret Vandenberg
Margaret Vandenberg is a highly regarded external relations consultant specializing in government relations and fund development. She is currently the Director of External Relations at the Justice Institute of British Columbia. Previously as the Director of Advancement in the Faculty of Business Administration at Simon Fraser University (SFU) Vandenberg was instrumental in establishing the high profile of the Segal School of Business. Her extensive background includes positions as Executive Director of the Arthritis Society, BC & Yukon Division. Vandenberg has a prominent position within the non-for-profit community holding senior executive roles in such organizations as the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and the Canadian Diabetes Association. She has been involved in a variety of community activities including City of Port Moody's Economic Development Committee, Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal and currently is a Director on the CKNW Orphans Fund. Royal BC Museum and Knowledge Network Boards.
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Angela Wesley
Angela Wesley has provided services to First Nations, organizations, other governments and potential partners for the past 20 years through her consultancy, Wes-Can Advisory Services, based in Terrace. Wesley is Huu-ay-aht (Nuu-chah-nulth). Her primary focus in recent years has been on the development and implementation of the Maa-Nulth First Nations Treaty which came into effect on April 1, 2011. She has completed a diploma program in real estate appraisal. A valuable skill set during her time with Real Estate Services and Property Administration at Public Works Canada. Wesley is Board Chair for the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology and is the Maa-Nulth representative on the tripartite Implementation Committee for the Maa-Nulth First Nations Treaty.
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Lillian White
Lillian White is an accounting professional with over 30 years of experience. A Certified General Accountant, White recently acquired the industrial safety supplies company Treen Safety (WorkSafe) Inc. Prior to that, she was the Vice President of Finance for GFS British Columbia Inc. (formerly Neptune Food Service) for over 34 years. White sits on the Board for Columbia Power Corporation and is Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee. She was appointed to the Board of BC Assessment Authority in 2003 and served as Board Chair from 2006 to 2009. White is a mentor and member of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and a member of the Association for Women in Finance (AWK).
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