Sustainability

Cody Slater founded BW Technologies in 1986, a global manufacturer of industrial and commercial gas detection devices with a product line of more than 30 unique instruments. From the Calgary head office, he grew the company’s operations to include offices throughout the world. His impact on one of the country’s fastest growing technology companies was well recognized through achievements that have garnered numerous awards including Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, Alberta’s Most Influential Top 50 People, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year, and the Certificate of Merit for Business Excellence by Industry, Science, and Technology Canada.

Chief Executive Officer of Peritus Partners, Inc., a valuation accelerator leading to next level growth or public markets with international consulting and operations expertise in software/SaaS, IoT, mobile, and digital (analytics, AI, marketing, e- commerce, and cybersecurity). Prior, she served as a Vice President at IBM and other senior leadership executive roles where she was responsible for fast growth multi-billion-dollar global businesses across consumer, M&D, and industrial sectors. She also served as Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Revenue Officer and President of mobile, software, and internet companies and as M&A partner. She was recently recognized as one of the “Top 50” directors in the United States by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). She holds a Doctorate degree specializing in “Computer-based Management Information Systems and Organizational Change” from the University of Houston.

Mr. Cohenour previously served as President, CEO, and Director at Sierra Wireless, Inc. (TSE: SW; NASDAQ: SWIR) from 2005 to 2018. While CEO, Mr. Cohenour led a successful business turn-around, resulting in revenue growth of nearly 800% to an annualized run rate of over CAD $1 Billion. He also led a multi-year business transformation, pivoting the company from a mobile computing pure play to the global leader in intelligent wireless solutions for the IoT.  Prior to being appointed CEO, Mr. Cohenour held several executive positions at Sierra Wireless from 1996 to 2005, including Vice President of Sales, and Chief Operating Officer.  Mr. Cohenour also serves on the boards of CalAmp (NASDAQ: CAMP) and RF Industries (NASDAQ: RFIL).

Mr. Gilewich is a Chartered Accountant with over 20 years of experience in advising private companies. He was a Partner at PwC in Edmonton until 2011, when he joined the Katz Group. Mr. Gilewich is Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and is responsible for corporate investment across the Katz organization. He is involved in financial review and liaising with operational leaders in the pharmacy, real estate and sports & entertainment divisions.

Mr. Hayduk has been a practicing lawyer since 1978. He has worked as an associate with Smith Mack Lamarsh since 2007 and as an associate and partner with Miller Thomson LLP from 1987 to 2006. From 1981 to 1987, Mr. Hayduk was legal counsel at the Alberta Securities Commission. He was also a director of Valentine Ventures Corp., a listed capital pool corporation, from 2006 to 2010 when the qualifying transaction was completed. Mr. Hayduk was secretary of Sawtooth International Resources, a listed oil and gas company, from 1997 to 2006.

Mr. Herdman is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and was formerly a Senior Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP ('PwC') in Calgary. He worked with the firm's largest Calgary-based public clients with extensive experience in industries including manufacturing, utilities, transportation, mining, oil and gas and financial services. After a 34-year career with PwC, Mr. Herdman retired from practice in 2010. Having previously sat on a number of committees overseeing the practice of accounting in Alberta, and also as a director for a series of not for profit organizations, he currently serves on the board of directors of a number of companies. Mr. Herdman graduated with a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Calgary.

Barbara Holzapfel is a passionate executive with 20 years’ experience driving growth through marketing and innovation in startups and large enterprise businesses, and across B2B and B2C. She is currently the VP of Microsoft Education, responsible for strategy, marketing and growth of the Microsoft portfolio of devices, education experiences and cloud services for the education segment. Prior to her work with Microsoft, Barbara was Chief Marketing Officer at fintech companies Taulia and Addepar.

Previously, she was the Senior Vice President and Managing Director of SAP Labs North America, where she drove innovation strategies in Mobile, Cloud and Big Data, and incubated various new businesses. Barbara held leadership positions at SAP since 2001, serving as Senior Vice President of Portfolio Marketing, driving growth through thought leadership and Solution Marketing for SAP’s solutions portfolio for large enterprises, SMB and across Analytics, Cloud and Mobile.

Prior to joining SAP, Barbara worked as a management consultant in London and Frankfurt, after spending several years working for The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta in Global Strategic Marketing. Barbara holds a master's degree in business administration from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and The University of Saarbruecken, Germany.

She serves as a member of the Board of Trustees at the Anita Borg Institute and is a past Board Director of the German-American Business Association, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG), and SVForum for Technologists and Entrepreneurs. Barbara has been recognized by German Business Magazine Capital among the “Top 40 under 40”.

Cody Slater founded BW Technologies in 1986, a global manufacturer of industrial and commercial gas detection devices with a product line of more than 30 unique monitors. From the Calgary headquarters, he grew the company’s operations to include offices and distribution throughout the world. His impact on one of the country’s fastest growing technology companies was well recognized through numerous awards including Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, Alberta’s Most Influential Top 50 People, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year and the Certificate of Merit for Business Excellence by Industry, Science, and Technology Canada.

Sean Stinson holds the position of President and Chief Growth Officer at Blackline Safety, where he is responsible for product sales and recurring service revenue as well as driving the company's overall strategy and direction. He oversees the teams contributing to revenue generation, including data science, user experience design, sales, client success and customer care. Prior to Blackline, Sean facilitated roles in product management, project management, engineering and engineering management at BW Technologies and Honeywell, as well as designing optics solutions for a life sciences start-up. Sean received a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Calgary in 2002.

Brendon Cook holds the position of Chief Information Officer at Blackline Safety, where he oversees information, computing, and systems, with a focus on improving processes and efficiencies through technology. As Privacy Officer, Brendon works with compliance, security, and privacy teams, and supports the groups focused on intrinsic safety certifications and quality standards.

Brendon co-founded Blackline Safety in 2004 and has supported its early growth as a technology leader, and in recent years, oversaw its marketing communication programs. Prior to Blackline, Brendon worked for Calgary-based CSI Wireless (now Hemisphere GNSS). As its Product and Marketing Manager, he developed relationships with various international organizations and managed the company’s precision product portfolio. Brendon earned a B.Sc. in Geomatics Engineering from the University of Calgary in 1996.

Christine Gillies holds the position of Chief Product and Marketing Officer at Blackline Safety, where she manages the product management as well as the marketing and communications programs and strategy for Blackline. With over 20 years of marketing experience, Christine has held leadership roles with other rapidly growing global technology and SaaS companies. Prior to joining Blackline, Christine served as Director of Product and Client marketing for Calgary software company, Benevity. Christine was also instrumental in developing technology product strategy and roadmaps during her time at SMART technologies, where she held the role of Product Line Manager, Technology Product Management. Christine earned her MBA in International Business from the University of Calgary in 2003.

Robin Kooyman holds 15 years of global experience in finance, capital markets, and strategic leadership, with senior roles at Brookfield Corporation, TD Securities, and RBC Capital Markets. She was CFO at Charger Ready Properties, and previously at Certarus. During her term at Certarus, the company saw its adjusted EBITDA double, leading to its $1 billion acquisition by Superior Plus in 2023.

Robin, a CFA Charterholder with an MBA from the London School of Business, also has extensive ESG and sustainability expertise. She volunteers on the Board of Wood’s Homes Foundation, serves on the LPAC for The 51 (Fund II), and mentors women through Women in Capital Markets.

Kevin Meyers currently holds the position of Chief Operating Officer with Blackline Safety, after joining the company from his position of VP of Operations at Imaging Dynamics Corporation (“IDC”), a publicly listed company on the Toronto Venture Exchange. Prior to IDC, Kevin worked as the VP of Operations for BW Technologies, Ltd for 8 years. BW Technologies was formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange before its acquisition by First Technology (2004) and finally Honeywell (2006). Kevin was instrumental in bringing new technologies in-house to reduce costs and improve margins on several of their product lines.

Meaghan Whitney is Chief People Officer at Blackline Safety, where she provides leadership and guidance to Blackline's human resources, health & safety, and payroll & benefits functions with her unwavering focus on culture, communication and engagement in support of our Blackline Values. With over 10 years of human resources experience, including health and safety, organizational development and instructional design, Meaghan has held a variety of roles in her career. She is a Chartered Professional in Human Resources, and is a Certified Professional of the Society of Human Resource Management.