NEWS RELEASE for Immediate Release Ministry of Attorney General 2002AG0056-000644 Aug
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NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release Ministry of Attorney General 2002AG0056-000644 Aug. 20, 2001 PREMIER'S TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL APPOINTED VANCOUVER – Premier Gordon Campbell has appointed 14 members to the new Premier's Technology Council, which will inform the premier on all technology-related issues and advise government on how to make British Columbia a global magnet for high-tech investment, growth and job creation. "As part of our 90-day agenda, we committed to creating an advisory council to look at technology issues and devise strategies to put British Columbia at the forefront of the world's technology-based economies," Campbell said today. "This council includes some of our brightest and most innovative business leaders, researchers and educators from all major technology sectors. Together, we can make British Columbia the first choice for high-tech business, reinstate ourselves as a world leader in e-government, and ensure all British Columbians can participate fully in the digital economy." The premier will chair the council. Paul Lee, senior vice-president and worldwide studios chief operating officer of Electronic Arts Inc., will serve as industry co-chair. The council's first task will be to recommend strategies within 90 days to bridge the digital divide - the figurative line that separates British Columbians who have the access and skills needed to make use of information technology from those who do not. "Together, industry and government must build a bridge between information technology and people from all sectors of the economy," said Lee. "As British Columbia and Canada continue to develop expertise in the use of telecommunications, the entire community will share in the prosperity that follows." The council will engage in public consultation and hold quarterly meetings in a venue open to the public. -30- Attached are biographies of the council members. -2- PREMIER'S TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL Premier Gordon Campbell, Chair Paul Lee, Co-Chair Paul Lee is Senior Vice President and Worldwide Studios Chief Operating Officer of Electronic Arts Inc., the world's largest interactive entertainment software firm. An Electronic Arts executive since 1989, he has held various senior positions including General Manager, Electronic Arts Canada. Mr. Lee was a principal of Distinctive Software, Inc., prior to its merger with Electronic Arts in 1991. He graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours degree and is a Leslie Wong Fellow, as well as a chartered financial analyst. In 1996, Mr. Lee was awarded that year's Outstanding Young Alumnus Award from the University of British Columbia. He is the current Chair of the British Columbia Technology Industries Association. Greg Aasen As founder and Chief Operating Officer of PMC-Sierra, Mr. Aasen has developed the company into a leading supplier of semiconductor chip sets for Broadband Networking applications. After graduating from the University of British Columbia with a degree in electrical engineering in 1979, Mr. Aasen began his career with Mitel first as a product engineer and then as a design engineer. In 1986 he joined MPR Teltech as a design manager and two years later started their first business division, the Pacific Microelectronic Centre. In 1992, an agreement was negotiated with Sierra Semiconductor of California to invest US$5M in PMC-Sierra as a spin-off from MPR Teltech. In June 2000, Mr. Aasen was named "Person of the Year" by the British Columbia Technology Industries Association. He currently serves on the board for several industry associations: The Fabless Semiconductor Association, the Strategic Microelectronics Consortium (Canadian), and Micronet. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for Starvision Multimedia Corporation and Sierra Wireless. Barbara Alexander Barbara Alexander is Regional Sales Manager, British Columbia, for Microsoft Canada Co. She has been with Microsoft for three years. As Regional Sales Manager, she works closely with the Microsoft partners in BC to bring value to their Enterprise customers through the application of its desktop, office and server products and solutions. Before moving to British Columbia, Ms. Alexander was involved in Microsoft's Healthcare Division. She worked with Independent Software Vendors to incorporate Windows NT, SQL Server and Exchange Server technologies into their solutions and to help promote those solutions to perspective customers. Ms. Alexander is a 20-year veteran in the computer industry in Canada. She has worked in both sales and marketing positions for hardware and software solutions for Apple Computer, BULL, King Products and Network Associates. Shannon Byrne Shannon Byrne is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Paradata Systems Inc. She has an extensive background in object-oriented programming, software development of information security products and payment systems. Ms. Byrne's technical expertise is coupled with extensive sales, marketing and operations experience. She has been with Paradata Systems Inc. since 1995 and has developed e-Commerce systems for digital goods delivery via CD-ROM and the Internet. Initially the Software Development manager, she was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 1997 and then became President in 1998. Paradata Systems Inc. was recently awarded the 2001 British Columbia Technology Industries Association "Best Application of Web Technology" award. She is a recipient of Canada's "Top 40 Under 40" for the year 2000. -3- Michael Calyniuk Michael Calyniuk, C.A. is a senior audit partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and leads its British Columbia Technology Industry Group. Mr. Calyniuk has specialized in providing strategic business advice to B.C., U.S., and European based private and public technology companies. Mr. Calyniuk's responsibilities include private and public financing, due diligence reviews and corporate restructuring for global operations. Over the past 15 years he has focused significantly upon advising and assisting technology companies with their negotiations for the purchase and sale of technology. Mr. Calyniuk is also a member of PwC's Audit and Business Advisory Services Technology Board, responsible for the adoption and deployment of technology throughout the firm's 150 countries, a member of the firm's Global Information Technology Procurement Team and oversees the global procurement of software deployed to its 160,000 employees worldwide. Norm Francis Norm Francis is President & CEO of Pivotal Corporation. Mr. Francis has extensive senior high technology management experience including 20 years at the forefront of the software industry. In 1979 he co-founded Basic Software Group. After the success of BSG's best-selling accounting package, ACCPAC, Computer Associates International acquired BSG. A valued guest speaker and conference panelist, Mr. Francis has successfully shepherded all aspects of software development and marketing. He holds a B.Sc. in computer science from UBC and is a chartered accountant. Greg Kerfoot Greg Kerfoot is CEO and President of Crystal Decisions. Mr. Kerfoot joined Crystal Decisions in September 1988 when it was known as Crystal Services. At that time, he was director of research and development and chief architect of Crystal Reports. In 1992, he became president of Crystal Services, overseeing the expansion of the product line to include Crystal Info. In 1996, he became executive vice president of Crystal Decisions, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Seagate Technology. Prior to joining Crystal Services, Mr. Kerfoot spent five years at Computer Associates developing the well-known accounting system ACCPAC. He has spent nearly two decades studying and working with computers. He sits on the Board of Directors for Crystal Decisions and graduated from UBC in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. William Koty William Koty is the Director of the Division of Applied Technology for the UBC Continuing Studies. He has developed award-winning Certificate programs in Internet Marketing and Internet Publishing. Prior to joining UBC in 1994, he worked for 12 years in software marketing for several high technology companies. Mr. Koty specializes in strategic marketing, product development and marketing communications. He is a partner in a consulting firm High Latitude Consulting, which provides strategic and technical planning for companies seeking to develop e-business operations and enter new markets. Mr. Koty holds a Master of Arts in International Policy Studies from the Monterey Institute for International Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in World Business from San Francisco State University. Dr. Victor Ling Dr. Victor Ling is Vice President of Research at the BC Cancer Agency. World renowned for his discovery of the existence and mechanisms of drug-resistant chemotherapy, Dr. Ling's research has provided hope to patients suffering from leukemia, breast and ovarian cancers and cystic fibrosis. In particular, it has led to the discoveries of why many patients do not respond to traditional chemotherapy treatment. He has worked to decipher the language of cells, and has co-ordinated cancer research for British Columbia for the past five years. He is also Vice-Dean of Cancer Research, University of British Columbia and Member of the Governing Council, Canadian Institutes for Health Research. Dr. Ling has won several of the world's top awards in cancer research, and was awarded the Order of British Columbia in 2000. -4- Ian McBeath Ian McBeath is President