Management

Peter D. Jeffrey - President

FormaShape™ & Whitewater Composites Ltd.

Peter D. JeffreyMr. Jeffrey was born and educated in England, where he obtained his Chartered Accountancy degree (FCA).  He worked in Africa with Coopers & Lybrand, and in the Bahamas with First City Bank of New York before settling in Vancouver in 1974.

Mr. Jeffrey has a broad range of executive management experience, having held senior management positions with various companies. Prior to joining Whitewater Composites Ltd. as President in Kelowna, he held various positions with start up companies, including Legend Power Inc. He was also President & CEO of Radical Elastomers Inc. where in eight months, he reduced monthly operating expenses by 50%, and simultaneously increased productivity by 60%. Prior to this, Mr. Jeffrey was President & CEO of Avcorp Industries, a Canadian aerospace manufacturing company. In five years, he achieved a major turnaround of this company, increasing revenues by 225% to $90 million, profits by 190%, and capitalization by 549%. Avcorp Industries employed 800 people in 5 divisions in British Columbia and Quebec. During his tenure at Avcorp, Mr. Jeffrey introduced several advanced innovations, including anthropomorphic robotics for assembly production, a first in North America. He was also responsible for establishing the first facility purpose-built for flexible integrated cellular manufacturing in British Columbia, and he made Avcorp the first Canadian company in its industry to use high-speed, flexible manufacturing cells to produce components.

Mr. Jeffrey has received the Gold Entrepreneurial Award from the National Canadian Productivity Awards organization and was one of three finalists in the Pacific Region for Turnaround Entrepreneur of the Year. Mr. Jeffrey was also named 1996 Executive of the Year by the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and given the Award of Merit by the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada in 1999. Upon resigning from Avcorp Industries in 1999, Mr. Jeffrey went on to operate his own company, providing management services specializing in start-ups, high-tech, and financing at the seed, venture, and major exchange levels.

In his current position as President of Whitewater Composites Ltd. (marketed under the name of FormaShape – www.formashape.com), Mr. Jeffrey is focused on taking this manufacturing company to become the world leader in its area of expertise. With this objective as the goal, the Company is changing its culture to become a Lean Enterprise, is spending twice both the national and provincial averages on employee skills level training, is using some of the highest technology in its sector of operations, and is teaming with Okanagan College and both University of British Columbia campuses on research and development projects.

A solid member of the business community, Mr. Jeffrey holds or has held numerous board and association positions. Notably, while in Vancouver, he was a director of the Vancouver Board of Trade (VBT). At the VBT, Mr. Jeffrey was Chair of the Membership Committee, a member of the Special Committee on The Vancouver Airport Authority, Chair of the Communications Committee, and Co-Chair of The Regional Transportation Task Force. Mr. Jeffrey was also a Member of The Editorial Advisory Board of Business in Vancouver, a weekly business paper. Mr. Jeffrey is a past director of Napier Environmental Technologies Inc. in Vancouver and Chair of the Audit Committee, a past director of Avcorp Industries, past director of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC), past Chair of The Trade Council of the AIAC, past director of Aerospace North America, and past President of the Vancouver Chapters of both the Financial Executives Institute and the Institute of Internal Auditors. In addition, Mr. Jeffrey is a past Director of the Canuck Place Hospice Board where he served for eight years, including the positions of Treasurer, Chair of both the Governance and Audit Committees, and Vice Chairman. Canuck Place opened as North America's first free-standing children's hospice. To this day, Canuck Place remains the model for children's hospices in North America providing hospice care free of charge to children and their entire families and is regarded as one of the leading children’s hospices in the world.

Mr. Jeffrey is currently a member of the Okanagan Lean Enterprise Consortium; Chair of the Board of the British Columbia Division of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters; a member of the Manufacturing Advisory Committee of the B.C. Competition Council, the latter being established by the Premier of the province to conduct a comprehensive review of the province’s competitiveness on a sectoral and a regional basis; a director of Northern Sky Aircraft Inc.; Chair of the Steering Committee of the Okanagan Composite Manufacturers Group; and a Director of the American Composite Manufacturers Association.

Henry Czenczek P.Eng. - Engineering Manager

FormaShape™ & Whitewater Composites Ltd.

Henry CzenczekHenry Czenczek was appointed Engineering Manager of Whitewater Composites in 2005 and, continues this role in the Company's new division, FormaShape™. His key areas of responsibility are design engineering, manufacturing engineering and estimating.

As Engineering Manager, Henry's design team applies its skills and experience to developing new products for the Company. In addition, the design team also responds to specific requests from clients to develop individually tailored product solutions. Over the past five years, the design team has developed custom designed products for a number of leading companies including Canadian Tire, Scotiabank, and Husky Energy.

Before joining Whitewater Composites, Henry was a Project Engineer for Whitewater West Industries Ltd. based in Richmond, B.C. Whitewater West is the parent company of Whitewater Composites; it is also the world's largest manufacturer of fibreglass waterpark attractions. Henry was part of a large in-house team of project engineers that focus on the technical aspects of waterpark design and construction. Safety is a key issue, and Henry was responsible for designing the structural support system and foundations for waterslide complexes. He was also responsible for coordinating all engineering drawings for fabrication and construction submissions. During his three years with the company, Henry was involved in the construction of waterslide complexes all over the world, including developments at Universal Studios, Japan and Cyprus' Boomerango Waterslide.

Henry's career began in 1992 as a Structural Engineer for JGS Consultants Limited, an international engineering consulting company specializing in development, design and implementation of heavy industrial projects for the forest, oil and gas, mining and transportation industries.

In 1992, Henry earned a bachelor's degree in Applied Science from the University of British Columbia. Throughout his five years at the university, Henry was a member of the Varsity Ice Hockey team. Today, Henry pursues his passion for mountaineering as well as skiing, rock climbing, golf, and ice hockey. Originally from White Rock B.C., Henry now makes Kelowna his home, along with his wife, four daughters and family dog.

David W. Harper - Project Manager

FormaShape™ & Whitewater Composites Ltd.

David W. HarperDavid W. Harper joined Whitewater Composites in January 2003, as Project Manager reporting to the President. During his time with the Company, David has worked with internal teams and new clients on a number of new product development projects, relating to the use of architectural fibreglass for corporate brand image and architectural elements.

In October 2003, David was appointed to technical team leader responsible for design, drafting, process engineering. He was also made responsible for leading the Kaizen (Lean) team within the Company. Lean is a business performance improvement tool that focuses on enhancing quality, cost, delivery and people, and has been instrumental to streamlining FormaShape™'s production process.

David brings to Whitewater Composites and FormaShape™ over 16 years of marketing and brand image experience with Petro-Canada, Canada's Gas Station. Over the years, he held various positions within Petro-Canada relating to fuel sales, marketing, market and consumer research, brand management, asset management and supply operations for Western Canada pipelines and terminals. From 1991-1995, David worked with international exterior/interior design architects and senior brand management leaders to establish Petro-Canada's new gas station and convenience store image. In a further career advance, between 1995 and 1998, he was the key contact for Whitewater Composites and Petro-Canada as it related to the supply chain for Petro-Canada Retail Gas Station Image and brand identity. During that time the National Canopy Fascia Alliance was established, which placed Whitewater Composites as the sole partner in the supply of Petro-Canada's FRP fascia.

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, David graduated from the University of Manitoba with a degree in Engineering in 1985. He moved to Kelowna with his wife and two children in the fall of 2001. David is an active volunteer in the local community and President of the North Glenmore Elementary School Parent Advisory / School Planning Council and enjoys the outdoor adventures the Okanagan Valley offers.

Greg Hawkins - Controller

FormaShape™ & Whitewater Composites Ltd.

Greg HawkinsGreg Hawkins is one of the more recent additions to the Whitewater Composites management team. Appointed to the role of Controller in 2005, Greg is responsible for accounting and finance functions within the Company as well as administration.

A Certified Management Accountant with more than 24 years of accounting and finance experience, Greg is responsible for accountability at all levels of the Company and the development of criteria and reports to measure progress to the goals set. These goals are an integral part of the successful execution of the Company's Business Plan. The position of Controller plays an integral role in the Company achieving its objectives, with the focus on sound financial and management reporting, quality, efficiency, cost reduction, innovation and continuous improvement.

Greg has held a number of senior financial positions with successful companies in British Columbia. Prior to joining Whitewater Composites, Greg was Senior Treasurer, responsible for treasury, planning, insurance, and consolidation for Riverside Forest Products Limited, a manufacturer of softwood products for the construction industry. Greg has also been Controller for Gordon Latham Limited, a plumbing and heating company based in Vancouver, as well as for International Paper Canada Incorporated, the Canadian operation of a global businesses specializing in paper and paper distribution, packaging and forest products.

Greg obtained his Associate in Arts and Science in business management – accounting and finance in 1981, followed by his Certified Management Accounting designation in 1986. He remains an active member in the Society of Management Accountants of British Columbia, assisting with identifying standards and examination criteria.

Greg moved to Kelowna from Vancouver, British Columbia eight years ago. He is married with two children and enjoys skiing, martial arts, water skiing, wakeboarding, golf, hiking and the Okanagan lifestyle.

John Christie - Manufacturing Engineering Manager

FormaShape™ & Whitewater Composites Ltd.

John ChristieJohn Christie became a member of the FormaShape management team in February 2007. As Manufacturing Engineering Manager, John heads up the Manufacturing Engineering Department, and oversees a number of key process and chemical engineering staff. John is also responsible for the development of more efficient manufacturing processes, and the adoption of new technologies to further streamline production and reduce costs and wastage.

John has a degree in Mechanical Engineering gained at Kettering University, as well as an MBA from UBC in Vancouver. On graduation he joined General Motors, a company with whom he would spend the next 39 years of his career, culminating in his position as Manager of Service and Parts Operations (SPO) Engineering Canada, and winner of General Motor's 2004 President's Award. John joined FormaShape from his previous employer where he was Vice President and General Manager. John is an active member of the local business and academic community, and sits on the Advisory Committee for the Engineering Faculty of UBC Okanagan. He is also a member and director of the Okanagan Science & Technology Council based in Kelowna.

John relocated to Kelowna in 2006, with his wife Elizabeth and two children. In his spare time, John enjoys many outdoor activities including running, ocean kayaking, skiing, mountain biking and camping. He is also interested in home renovations, landscaping and travel. John holds several volunteer and executive positions with local charities as well as community and sporting organizations.

Bren Steele - Director of Marketing & Sales

FormaShape™ & Whitewater Composites Ltd.

Bren Steele Bren Steele joined Whitewater Composites Ltd. and FormaShape in March 2007, when he was appointed to the position of Director of Marketing & Sales. As Director of Marketing & Sales, Bren is responsible for planning, implementing and managing the Company's integrated marketing and sales programs, activities and initiatives. Bren also manages all strategic, operational, fiscal, and administrative aspects of the Marketing & Sales Department, and oversees and coordinates the activities of employees within the Department. Most significantly, Bren will play a key role in FormaShape's plans to expand its already successful 3D architectural designs solution into new markets.

Bren brings to FormaShape a wealth of marketing, sales and business development expertise. Since graduating with a degree in Commerce from the University of Calgary in 1990, Bren has held positions with Fortune 500 companies in Ontario and Western Canada. During this time, he has represented some of the most respected and recognized global brands in healthcare and petroleum, including Johnson & Johnson, Parke-Davis Abbot Labs, Aventis, BASF and Chevron. Bren's outstanding performance and continued professional development in the marketing and sales functions of these companies, has been acknowledged with awards, promotions and special assignments to business advisory boards, industry associations and community leadership roles.

Darren Bassett - Operations Manager

FormaShape™ & Whitewater Composites Ltd.

Darren BassettDarren Bassett has been a member of the team at Whitewater Composites Ltd. since 1990 and was appointed Operations Manager in May 2006. As Operations Manager, Darren is responsible for overseeing production staff, maintenance, purchasing, scheduling, and shipping. Darren is also responsible for the implementation of Lean manufacturing practices. Lean is a business performance improvement tool that focuses on enhancing quality, cost, delivery and people, and has been instrumental to streamlining FormaShape™'s production process.

During his 16 years with Whitewater Composites Ltd., Darren has been instrumental in the transition from a traditional manufacturing facility to a world class Lean Organization. He started his career on the shop floor in 1990, and advanced through the Company to his current position of Operations Manager.

Darren's family moved to Kelowna in 1982. He has since started his own family, and spends his spare time coaching his son and daughter in various sports including golf, baseball and hockey. Darren also enjoys camping and fishing.

 

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