In September of 2018 Accelerate Okanagan elected their Board of Directors for the upcoming year. Sitting board members Scott Speiser, Quinton Pullen, Blair Forrest, Corie Griffiths, Karen Hawes, Mike Macaulay, Jason Kryski, Josh Fraser, Phil Ashman and Phil Barker welcomed three new members and saw one step down. Quinton Pullen was elected to be incoming Chair. 

 We are thrilled to be working with the Okanagan tech community as it continues to grow and evolve. We have an excellent team at Accelerate Okanagan, and I’m looking forward to working with them and the board of directors, to help keep up the momentum of the economic growth in this sector – Quinton Pullen, Accelerate Okanagan Board Chair

Long-time community supporter and board member, Peter Haubrich stepped down after two years of service. Peter is one of the Okanagan’s most recognized champions of tech. He has over 30 years of international experience in Research & Development and Innovation Management. He was highly successful in creating innovative teams in several European countries and Japan for the Consumer Electronics Business, and holds 2 patents.

Peter Haubrick has been an invaluable member of the Accelerate Okanagan team and instrumental in building a thriving Okanagan tech community. We are so grateful for his contribution – Raghwa Gopal, CEO Accelerate Okanagan

Our new board members, Nicole Rustad, Harry Singh and Doug Gilchrist are passionate about innovation, technology, and the growth of the Okanagan’s entrepreneurial community. They also bring a diverse set of skills that we are sure will continue to support and grow our booming industry.

Nicole Rustad, Founder of Vortovia

Nicole is the founder of Vortoia and a champion for world change who uses equal parts strategy and passion to make things happen. Formerly the Corporate Citizenship Director for the tech division of Disney, for almost ten years she drove the corporate social responsibility vision, strategy, and programming across multiple lines of business. This included Disney’s Club Penguin where she created bold, immersive initiatives that spanned the globe.

Harry Singh, Director at Intel Capital

Harry is a Director at Intel Capital in San Francisco. Formerly, Harry worked at the Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park (California) driving Strategic Transactions and Partnerships to achieve Facebook’s strategic objectives. Previously at Intel Capital, Harry drove investments in Enterprise SaaS, Artificial Intelligence/Deep Learning (AI/DL), and Security, IOT Security, Identity and Access Management (IAM), encryption, and anti-fraud.

Doug Gilchrist, CAO at City of Kelowna

Doug started his career with the City of Kelowna in 2004 as Manager of Community Development & Real Estate before being named to the Senior Leadership Team in 2008 as Director of Real Estate. During his 14 years with the City of Kelowna, Doug has managed a variety of divisions and has overseen numerous complex projects, such as the acquisition of the CN Rail line for the Okanagan Rail Trail initiative.

Please click here to view the full list of Accelerate Okanagan Board Members. For more information about our Report to Members, let’s connect.