International Advisory Board (IAB)

Blair Hagkull, Adviser, Jones Lang LaSalle Canada

Over the past 25 years, Blair Hagkull has played a leading role in some of the world’s largest real estate developments and investments in North America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. He has developed strategic management expertise and leadership skills in international real estate advisory, development and investment organizations.

Blair is currently an Advisor to Jones Lang LaSalle (jll.com), a leading global real estate services organization and has served as International Director and Managing Director of Jones Lang LaSalle Canada. He is also an Independent Trustee of a private Real Estate Investment Trust.

Blair started his real estate career with Concord Pacific Group (concordpacific.com) and served as group vice president. During the 1990s Concord was North America’s top master-plan real estate developer and built Canada’s two largest urban neighborhoods – Concord Pacific Place on False Creek in Vancouver and CityPlace on the former railway lands in downtown Toronto.

As Emaar Properties’ (emaar.com) General Manager, Marketing and Sales, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Blair was responsible for Group marketing and sales of a multi-billion dollar portfolio. His sales team introduced the marketing of freehold real estate in the Arabian Gulf region.

Blair then established RSP Group, a real estate investment services organization that operated in more than 20 Middle East and North African countries. Following Jones Lang LaSalle’s acquisition of RSP, Blair served as founding co-Managing Director, and then Chairman of the Firm’s market-leading business throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

Blair has participated in many real estate policy forums and has been a frequent commentator on global real estate and investment trends.

Blair is active in community and corporate groups. He is currently a Director of the Children’s Health Foundation of Vancouver Island (formerly the Queen Alexandra Children’s Foundation), a Governor of St. Michael’s University School and a member of the Victoria Golf Club. He is also a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors of Canada where he is currently enrolled in the Directors Education Program. Blair has served as a Trustee of the American School of Dubai and Chairman of the Urban Land Institute, Middle East and Africa.

Blair lives in Victoria, British Columbia, with his wife Tracey and their two children, Sarah and Matthew.

Merrick Abel, CEO and Executive Director, Primeserv Group Limited

Merrick Abel is from Johannesburg, South Africa. In 1997 he founded the Privest Group (now Primeserv Group Limited) which was successfully listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 1998. The Group has become a leading integrated Human Capital Services provider to major companies, multinationals and parastatals in Southern Africa. Merrick has served as CEO since 1997 and as Executive Chairman of the Group from 2000 to 2003.

Merrick completed his BA (Hons.) at the University of Natal and then an MBA at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business. After graduation, he gained experience in property development and property finance. From 1988 to 1998, Merrick developed the APW Group, which focused on the wholesale and retail distribution of specialized automotive components and on the engineering and remanufacturing of heavy duty automotive and industrial engines and engine components. This business operated throughout South Africa, and included agency agreements with original equipment manufacturers and suppliers of blue chip automotive brands in North America, Europe and the Far East.

Merrick lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Cameron Bailey, Chief Strategy and Culture Officer, World Vision International

Cam is the Chief Strategy Officer, World Vision International headquartered in the UK. World Vision is the world’s largest child-focused NGO, serving the world’s most vulnerable children with an operating budget of USD 3.3 billion and 35,000 staff in over 100 countries.

For 25 years, Cam worked for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and later with McKinsey & Company, where he assisted organisations in strategy development, transformation and organisational performance improvement. The Baileys moved to Asia in 1994 with BCG, where they spent a year in Hong Kong, 10 years in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, followed by five years in Moscow, Russia.

Cam returned to Calgary in 2009 to join McKinsey & Company, where he worked until retiring in 2013.

He has served on a number of not-for-profit boards, including the Calgary Homeless Foundation, where he is past Board Chair, and the Telus Science Center Board. He was appointed by the Alberta Government to serve as an inaugural board member of the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), and Cam is past Chair of the Board of Trustees at Westside King’s Church.

Cam has a BCom degree from UBC, Vancouver, Canada (1983) and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (1988). Growing up in Victoria, he attended UVic for his first year before moving to UBC to complete a Commerce degree. His daughter Mackenzie completed her BCom (Entrepreneurship) at the Gustavson School in 2014.

Cam and his wife Gelaine recently moved back to their home in Calgary after several years residing in Eton, England.

Susan Barry, Former Head of Human Resources and Organizational Transformation, Nestle Nespresso Canada Leadership Team

Susan has over twenty-five years’ experience in national, regional and global leadership roles in Organizational Transformation, Information Management Systems/Technology, Customer Service/Supply Chain Development and Human Resources Development at Nestle.

Susan is a bilingual (English/French) Senior Project and Portfolio Manager with proven capabilities in change management and people development. She holds several years of operational experience in a variety of business and service models, including multi-brand management and acquisitions/divestitures.

After a brief retirement in 2014, Susan worked on a two year assignment with Nestle Nespresso Canada Leadership Team as Head of Human Resources & Organizational Transformation. 

Susan is now looking to apply her experience to select Board opportunities, in particular the not-for-profit sector. Her deepest interests lie in sustainability, creating shared value and mentoring youth. Susan continues to build her skills through her membership and many learning opportunities at the Institute of Corporate Directors, Canada and with the Women’s Executive Network/Canadian Board Diversity Council Governance Education Program.

Susan lives in Montreal, Quebec. 

Anatolijus Fouracre, CEO, Swiss Post Solutions

Anatolijus is the CEO of Swiss Post Solutions Vietnam, a premier provider of document management outsourcing solutions globally. With over 1,200 staff members, the Vietnam operation is the largest site conforming part of SPS global outsourcing. Their team provides document digitization, data entry, back office BPO, image processing, software development and intelligent automation services. With volumes exceeding 1/4 billion of documents processed per year, Anatolijus' team is one of the most efficient, secure and high quality document BPO delivery centers in Asia. Coupled with motivated staff, ISO 9001, 27001, 14001 certifications and European management, they offer top notch solutions, superb economic value and service excellence.

Anatolijus holds a BCom degree from the Gustavson School of Business. He considers this degree one of his most valuable assets, as it helped him kick-start his international career. 

Prior to Vietnam, Anatolijus lived in Lithuania, Canada, The Netherlands and Spain, where he worked for industry leaders including BearingPoint, EDS, HP and Barclays. Among his many successes, some of Anatolijus' business transformation accomplishments include:

• Top regional employee engagement scores through employee experience transformation;
• Top regional revenue & profitability results;
• Lowest staff absenteeism rates in Southern Europe (as compared to sister operations);
• Top customer service quality results measured by external mystery shopping providers and customer feedback (#1 place for retail banking services among top 20 banks in Spain; Net Promoter Scores of 50+, best NPS result among European sites)

Anatolijus lives in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. 

Gordon J. Fyfe, CEO, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation

Peter Gustavson, President and CEO, Gustavson Capital Corporation

Peter is the President and CEO of Gustavson Capital Corporation. Founded in Victoria, Gustavson Capital Corporation (GCC) follows a mandate of fostering entrepreneurialism and is currently investing in small to midmarket companies across a broad range of sectors.

In 1992, Peter founded Custom House Ltd, one of the world's largest nonbank foreign exchange companies, and guided it through more than 17 years of growth up until its sale to Western Union in September 2009 for $370 Million USD. At that time, it operated over 75 branches in seven countries, counted in excess of 40,000 corporate customers worldwide and employed approxi-mately 650 people. Under Peter's leadership, Custom House was named by Deloitte as one of the"50 Best-Managed Companies in Canada" for 7 years in a row, receiving Platinum Club status in 2008 and 2009.

Peter graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) from the University of Manitoba in 1979. He obtained his Chartered Accountancy designation in 1982 and was awarded the title "Fellow Chartered Accountant" by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC in 2005.

Among his many successes, some of Peter's career highlights and accomplishments include: 

• Naming of the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria (2010)
• Recipient of the Vancouver Island Business Lifetime Achievement Award (2005)
• Participant in Federal Trade missions to Beijing and Moscow/Berlin/Munich (2002/2005)
• Recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2002)

In addition to Peter's personal philanthropic involvement in organizations within his community, Peter's past and current board membership and service include:

• Chair of the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business "Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year" Awards Committee
• Board of Governors, University of Victoria
• Member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce
• President of the Canadian Foreign Exchange Dealers' Association
• Consultant to the Federal Government on the creation of anti-money laundering and proceeds of crime legislation
• Director and Chair, Finance and Audit Committee of the Royal BC Museum

Peter lives in Victoria, British Columbia.

Rob Inkster, Serial Entrepreneur 

Rob is a serial entrepreneur with experience in early stage technology companies in Canada, as well as the University sector.

Born in BC, Rob attended high school in Victoria and completed an undergraduate degree in Physics at the University of Victoria. He attended McGill University and earned MSc and PhD degrees in Meteorology.

Rob's experience includes patents and licenses, finance, strategy, and marketing, as practiced in earlystage companies. He has acquired, and managed or directed, companies in Asia, Europe, US, and Russia and has served on many corporate, University, and trade association Boards.

Rob was a co-founder of Intera Technologies, a Canadian company that pioneered the use of high resolution radar for ice reconnaissance, and for topographic mapping in the tropics. This work led to the launch of Canada’s RadarSat, and the establishment of RadarSat International. He then led Quester Tangent, a hydrographic technology company, and developed sonar seabed classification technology.

Rob founded Tactex Controls in 1998, and took the company public in 2000. Tactex commercialized patents developed for the Canadian Space Agency for fibre-optic pressure sensing technology. The firm developed pressure sensor touch controllers, keyboards, and medical devices based on this technology.

Leaving the private sector, Rob joined the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in 2008 to establish a research group, and became Associate Vice President of Research. Over a 5 year period, he organized research labs within the University focused on 3-D printing, stereoscopic cinematography, social Media, and healthcare design.

After moving back to Victoria, he joined the University of Victoria Gustavson School of Business International Advisory Board in 2015, and is active in teaching entrepreneurship to First Nations communities as part of the ACE program.

Patrick Kelly, Member of the Leq:amel First Nation (Sto:lo Nation) and Business Consultant

Patrick is a member of the Leq:amel First Nation (Sto:lo Nation). He operates a consulting business and was Advisor and Director of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry. Patrick is also the founding President of the BC Aboriginal Golf Association established in April 2009.

From September 2010 to February 2012, he was Vice President of National Services at CESO. From March 2001 to March 2007, he was the BC Director of Strategic Planning and Communications at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. In September 2012, he completed a five-year term as Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor of BC. In December 2010, Patrick was appointed as Governor of the Law Foundation of BC. In September 2012, Patrick became an Advisor to the Banff Centre for Indigenous Leadership & Management. Patrick is a also a mentor for Commerce students in the UVic Gustavson School of Business.

The Leq:amel First Nation elected Patrick as the Treaty Representative for treaty negotiations, a role he held from 1998 to 2001. He was the Manager of Cultural Relations and Corporate Training in BC Hydro’s Aboriginal Relations Department from April 1993 to December 1997. Prior to that, he was Executive Director of the BC Chapter of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.

From July 2002 to June 2010, the Attorney General for British Columbia appointed Patrick as a Bencher for the Law Society of BC to represent the public interest in the administration of justice. From February 2001 to May 2002, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the BC Buildings Corporation. In June 1997, Patrick completed a five year term on the Board of Governors of Vancouver Community College.

Patrick has been an active community volunteer holding executive positions with the Mission Chamber of Commerce, the Mission Heritage Association, the Mission Indian Friendship Centre, and the Coqualeetza Cultural Centre.

Among his many accolades, some of Patrick's successes include:

• Attended dinner with Queen Elizabeth II as a Young Achiever for Canada at the ceremony to repatriate Canada’s constitution (1982).
• Received a BC Community Achievement Award (2009). 

Patrick lives in Victoria, British Columbia. 

Christian Kittleson, Partner, Deloitte 

Christian is Deloitte's Financial Advisory Leader in the Victoria marketplace, the National Indigenous Practice Leader and the Value Creation Services Leader for BC.

Christian is experienced in leading large-scale public and private sector organizational transformations; completing large scale financial transactions; leading change management; and providing strategic advice on all aspects of indigenous reconciliation and indigenous relations through a strong understanding of indigenous culture.

Christian has more than 10 years of public, private and consulting sector executive experience including positions of Assistant Deputy Minister, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance. Christian moved to Deloitte from EY, where he was the National Indigenous Practice Leader and the lead for Government and Public Service in BC.

Christian lives in Victoria, British Columbia. 

Brent Kokoskin, Marketing Leader, Philips Ultrasound

Brent Kokoskin is currently the Marketing Leader at Philips Ultrasound. He joined Philips, the Netherlands based health and well-being company, in 2008 in Seattle, USA. As the Director of Global Upstream Marketing for the Sonicare power toothbrush business, he was instrumental in expanding the brand in Europe, Asia and North America.

Prior to Philips, Brent spent nearly a decade at Procter & Gamble in brand management and sales assignments in Vancouver, Toronto, Boston and Cincinnati. At P&G he gained classical marketing experience working on a range of healthcare brands from Crest toothpaste, to specialty pharmaceutical products.

Brent is a University of Victoria alumnus, holding a Master of Business Administration (1999). He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia, and a Graduate Certificate in Advanced Business Studies (Marketing) from Northeastern University. It was at the University of Victoria where Brent became inspired to pursue a career in international business after studying in France, Mexico and Korea and completing a work term in Malaysia.

Brent lives in Seattle, Washington. 

Laura Nashman, CEO, British Columbia Pension Corporation 

Laura joined BC Pension Corporation as chief executive officer in December 2008.

BC Pension Corporation provides pension services for five of the largest pension plans in the Province with assets in excess of $107 billion. The Corporation services over 569,200 plan members, 1,100 participating employers and pays out more than $349 million in benefits each month ($4.2 billion/year).

Laura is a high-performing senior executive who brings a fresh leadership style to her role. Her focus on, and dedication to, customer service, clear vision and strategic leadership gives her the ability to deliver results. She emphasizes the importance of maintaining strong relationships with staff and all key stakeholders.

Since joining the organization, Laura spearheaded the creation of the strategic plan for Pension Corporation called 12 to 21 Our Way Forward. This nine-year strategy is an ambitious plan for business transformation that ensures the Pension Corporation meets the changing needs and expectations of plan members, employers, trustees and staff.

Under Laura’s leadership Pension Corporation received “Gold” recognition from Excellence Canada which demonstrates it is one of the best managed organizations in Canada.

In 2017 Laura was recognized by Business in Vancouver magazine as one of their 2017 Influential Women in Business. She was also named as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network and recognized on Vancouver Magazine’s Power 50 list. Laura also has the designation of Director with the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D) and serves on several boards including Excellence Canada, the Conference Board of Canada and the Gustavson School of Business International Advisory Board.

Laura is an active mentor for women leaders and emerging leaders who look to her for guidance and direction on their leadership practice and career development.

Laura lives in Victoria, British Columbia.

Phillip Rubel, Managing Partner and Senior Advisor, Song Sparrow Advisory

Throughout his career, Phillip has cultivated a unique combination of corporate and entrepreneurial skill sets applied to a broad range of consumer, luxury, technology, financial services and healthcare categories. He enjoys multicultural and multinational environments having worked extensively in Canada, the US and Japan and having responsibilities for Asian markets and global assignments. Expertise includes growing existing entities and brands to their next level and igniting start-ups that disrupt the status quo. Phillip believes that the future success for brands and businesses converge at the intersection of behavioral insight, creativity and scaling technology.

Phillip is currently managing partner and senior advisor of Song Sparrow Advisory, a firm he founded in April 2021, helping brands and boards achieve their goals by combining technology, creativity and digital marketing expertise engaging a global network of SMEs.

Phillip most recently served as director of marketing and communications at Philip Morris International in Tokyo, driving the business transformation to reduced risk products. Was previously a Partner, Innovation & Insights at KPMG where he was responsible for launching and leading two new business units creating the firm’s future in business transformation, analytics, AI and digital solutions.

Before KPMG, Phillip was managing and representative director at Designit Tokyo. In addition to leading Japan, Phillip was responsible for Asia Pacific activities and expansion opportunities and was also a member of the Global Executive Board.

In 2003, Phillip co-founded the Japan office of Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon Tokyo, becoming CEO and representative director. In addition to CEO responsibilities, Phillip also founded the agency’s planning and consulting practice.

Phillip’s career experience also includes chief operating officer of McCann Erickson Worldgroup Japan; founding president and CEO of Beacon Communications (Leo Burnett) in Japan; EVP Leo Burnett USA; co-founder and MD of Rubel & Schwab Communications in Canada. Phillip began his career in Montreal with Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, quickly rising through progressive sales and marketing positions.

Phillip serves on a variety of community and industry associations, is a frequent guest lecturer on marketing and a trustee for HOPE International. Phillip is a member of the University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business International Advisory Board and an Adjunct Professor. He currently serves as Executive-In-Residence at Gustavson.

Ramki Subramanian, Managing and Global Director for Mobility, DowAksa

Ramki Subramanian joined IAB in October of 2021, bringing years of experience to Gustavson’s board. A senior management professional and techno-commercial expert, Subramanian serves as Managing and Global Director for Mobility at DowAksa. A champion of new technologies, Subramianian brings a passion for academic-business partnerships that can help drive scientific development and build skills for the next generation.  

Prior to his work with DowAksa, Subramanian served as Senior Vice President of Business Development at Reliance Industries. He was also the founder and CEO of Lithe Power Storage Solutions, a company created to address the chronic power problem in rural India. There he helped pioneer the use of Lithium battery solutions throughout the region. For over a decade, Subramanian served in a variety of positions at Dow Chemical focusing on the development and commercialization of new technologies.  

Carole Taylor, OC, OBC, Chancellor, journalist and former politician

Carole Taylor (O.C., O.B.C.) is Chancellor Emeritus of Victoria University at the University of Toronto, Chancellor Emeritus Simon Fraser University and a member of the Trilateral Commission. She also serves as Vice-Chair of the Audain Art Museum.

Carole was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2001 and awarded the Order of British Columbia in 2020.

Prior to her current roles, Carole worked in public affairs broadcasting for many years, covering the Yom Kippur War, the revolution in Chile, devastating floods in Honduras as well as Canadian politics.

Her interest in public policy led to Municipal politics, where she served for 2 terms as a Vancouver Councillor. Eventually, Carole’s political involvement led to the Provincial arena where she was named British Columbia’s Minister of Finance, introducing one of the first comprehensive carbon taxes in 2008.

Along the way, Carole served as Chair of the CBC/Radio-Canada, Chair of the Vancouver Port, Chair of Ports Canada and Chair of the Vancouver Board of Trade. She was also named Director of more than two dozen Boards including Bell Canada, TD Bank, HSBC Holdings, Fairmont Hotels and Canadian Pacific Ltd.

Jawahar Vadivelu, Chairman, Cameo Corporate Ltd.

Jawahar Vadivelu is the Chairman of Cameo Corporate Services Limited, a business process outsourcing firm headquartered in Chennai, and also holds directorships in the following companies, namely National Trust Housing Finance Limited and Navia Markets Limited. He has served as independent director on the board of India's largest company, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited, and on several of its sub-committees, including its audit committee and policy and planning committee. He has also served on the boards of Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation Limited (SPIC) and Sical Logistics Limited.

Jawahar is also the Vice-President of the Southern India Chamber of Commerce & Industry, member of the national executive committee of FICCI, and serves on the governing councils of the Indian Council of Arbitration, Chennai Mathematical Institute, Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering & the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Jawahar holds MBA degrees from the Asian Institute of Management, Philippines, and from the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago. He has rich experience in a broad spectrum of financial services in India, that includes, mortgage finance, stock broking, insurance, registry and transfer, and asset management.

Kresse Wesling, Co-Founder, Elvis & Kresse

Kresse Wesling, CBE, is a multi-award winning environmental entrepreneur. After graduating from McGill with a degree in Political Science and East Asian Studies she started her career in venture capital (Hong Kong) before launching a string of eco and ethical businesses. An obsession with waste and a chance meeting with the London Fire Brigade in 2005 resulted in the launch of Elvis & Kresse, which rescues and transforms decommissioned fire hose into innovative lifestyle products and returns 50% of profits to the Fire Fighters Charity. The company now collects 12 different waste streams and has several charitable partnerships and collaborations across industries. In 2021, Elvis & Kresse also took on a farm in order to establish a regenerative agriculture project, build a passive workshop, generate their own renewables and implement a host of environmental initiatives. The farm is in rural Kent, England, and is also where Kresse lives with Elvis and their dog, Monty.