Author Archives: PFM Search

Michelle Harrison – Chief Information Officer – Smythe LLP

By

PFM Executive Search is delighted to announce the appointment of Smythe LLP’s inaugural Chief Information Officer, Michelle Harrison, who started her role in January 2021.

As CIO, Harrison will oversee the Firm’s technology and innovation strategy. Smythe views technological innovation as a critical element of achieving its vision of being the leading professional service firm in the marketplace and the creation of this position was the next step towards this goal.

Harrison joins the Firm with over 20 years of technology experience spanning the financial services, telecommunications, insurance and regulatory sectors. Most recently, Harrison was Director of Industry Experience and Operations for the Vehicle Sales Authority of BC, where she led a variety of business functions, including technology. During her time at the VSA, Harrison was responsible for developing and delivering the organization’s digital strategy, transforming and modernizing the technology to generate efficiencies and lay a foundation for the use of innovative approaches in industry regulation.

Congratulations on your new role Michelle.

PFM Executive Search is recognized as a leader in executive search and has been working with some of the most prominent Canadian private, public, and not-for-profit clients over the past 29-years. We are known for our ability to recruit senior leaders from around the world to top management positions.

John Lo – Chief Constable – West Vancouver Police Department

By

PFM Executive Search is delighted to announce the selection of John Lo as West Vancouver’s new Chief Constable, effective March 1st, 2021. He assumes the position from retiring Chief Constable Len Goerke who has provided WVPD with 7 years of leadership.

John brings over two decades of police experience to his role as Chief Constable and is the first internal promotion to the top role, in 17 years. Having spent his career serving the community of West Vancouver, John also brings experience with the Vancouver Police Department, having spent a secondment in their homicide section. Having taken on progressive leadership roles within the WVPD, including his most recent appointment to Deputy Chief, John brings experience within professional standards, operations and patrol.  He has strived to ensure community engagement, Indigenous relations and equity diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of WVPD’s mandate. John’s measured and intuitive approach has helped him build meaningful relationships both within the WVPD and externally, with the community and partner groups.

Chief Lo holds Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Simon Fraser University and is working to obtain his Master of Arts in Conflict Analysis and Management from Royal Roads University. From a volunteer perspective, Chief Lo is a Coach with Coastal FC Soccer.

PFM Executive Search is recognized as a leader in executive search and has been working with some of the most prominent Canadian private, public, and not-for-profit clients over the past 29-years. We are known for our ability to recruit senior leaders from around the world to top management positions.

Joe Wong – Vice President, Information Systems & Technology – Concert Properties

By

PFM Executive Search is delighted to announce the appointment of Concert Properties’ new Vice President, Information Systems and Technology, Joe Wong. He will official begin his new role on February 8th.

Joe graduated from SFU with a degree in Computer Science and since then has earned over 20 years leading IT teams for progressive local, national, and international organizations. During this time, he has counted on as a trusted, strategic business partner. Most recently, Joe was the Vice President, Information Technology at Coast Capital Savings where he helped develop the company’s digital transformation plan and oversaw all aspects related to technology. With a passion for building technology-enabled business solutions and working alongside great people, he is excited to start the next chapter with the Concert team.

Congratulations on your new role Joe.

PFM Executive Search is recognized as a leader in executive search and has been working with some of the most prominent Canadian private, public, and not-for-profit clients over the past 29-years. We are known for our ability to recruit senior leaders from around the world to top management positions.

Geoff Crocker – Chief Technology Officer – CEL

By

PFM Executive Search in Vancouver, BC is excited to announce that Geoff Crocker has been selected as the Chief Technology Officer with Controlled Environments Limited (CEL). CEL is the parent company of Conviron (Winnipeg, Man) and Argus Controls (Surrey, BC). Both organizations are global leaders specialising in developing customized client solutions for plant-centric environmental controls and automation systems used in laboratories, greenhouses and indoor growing facilities. The organization’s technology is being used in more than 90 countries to address the critical challenges of food shortage, food security and climate change.

In this newly created role, Geoff is tasked with the overall technology platform development of CEL. Additionally, he will lead a technical team and pursue increased user functionality through the timely and regular creation and release of applications to enhance client experience while generating new forms of recurring revenue for the businesses.

After the completion of combined Bachelor of Applied Science and Master of Engineering degrees Geoff went on to work in project engineering and R&D. His career led him to the fuel cell sector where he spent 8 years with industry leader Ballard Power Systems before becoming the VP, Technology at Corvus Energy, another global organization focused on sustainable power, this time in the maritime space. Most recently he was leading the hardware and software roadmap as Director of Product Management at Neurio Technology. Geoff will be joining CEL in January 2021.

Congratulations on your new role Geoff.

PFM Executive Search is recognized as a leader in executive search and has been working with some of the most prominent Canadian private, public, and not-for-profit clients over the past 29-years. We are known for our ability to recruit senior leaders from around the world to top management positions.

Dermot Strong – President – RSL

By

PFM Executive Search is delighted to announce the appointment of RSL‘s new President, Dermot Strong. He will officially begin his new role on January 18th.

Dermot’s appointment results from an extensive national search, which sought an accomplished leader who will build on RSL’s successful record as a high-performance organization in collaboration with the Senior Leadership team.

Having worked for two family-run businesses, Dermot brings a wealth of knowledge to the role. He has forty years of experience in manufacturing and distribution. Most recently, he held the President’s position at Motion Industries Canada Inc., a $600 million Industrial Distribution Company, for twenty-two years. He has led teams in Canada, Latin America, the United States, and southeast Asia. Dermot also serves on multiple boards in Vancouver as a Board Member.

Dermot recognizes our organization’s many strengths and will inspire, coach, and develop the next generation of leaders within RSL, ensuring they have all the leadership competencies, functional expertise, and business acumen to take over the business eventually.

As noted by Dermot, “I am honoured to have been selected to be the new President of RSL! RSL has experienced an outstanding 75 years of growth, enjoying a significant industry presence in Canada. I am thrilled to be joining a storied western based company with such a great history. I look forward to working with the ownership group, the leadership team and meeting as many of the staff as soon as possible. RSL is well-positioned to enjoy an exciting future, and I am delighted to be a member of the team as we advance.”

PFM Executive Search is recognized as a leader in executive search and has been working with some of the most prominent Canadian private, public, and not-for-profit clients over the past 29-years. We are known for our ability to recruit senior leaders from around the world to top management positions.