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At Best Startup Canada we track over 100,000 Canadian startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top British Columbia based VP’ operating in the Art space. If you think a VP’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.ca.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Bryant Pike
Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President of Corporate Development of Rainmaker Entertainment
Bryant Pike is charged with oversight of the company’s financial operations and regulatory reporting as a publicly traded company and shares responsibility for business development. Identifying strategic opportunities that support the company’s new business model are all part of his purview. Bryant began his career as a chartered accountant specializing in the financial services and entertainment industries with Ernst & Young, becoming Senior Manager and working with independent producers, distributors, and a majority of major US-based film studios operating in Canada. He also served as CFO for Insight Films, a private live action film studio in Vancouver. Bryant has hands on production experience, producing the independently packaged and financed original science fiction movie Chupacabra vs The Alamo for the Syfy channel. Recently named to the Board of the Whistler Film Festival, Bryant also holds the distinction of being named to Business in Vancouver’s list of “40 Under 40” before entering his 30s.
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About Rainmaker Entertainment: Rainmaker Entertainment is a CG animation studio creating unique CG animation styles using artist friendly tools.
Kim Wilder
Senior Vice President of Production & Operations of Rainmaker Entertainment
Kim Dent Wilder nurtures the creative artistry of the studio’s productions while overseeing and managing its growing film and television operations. She is also involved in identifying and developing new business opportunities, including the creation of new intellectual properties and partnering with rights holders of established branded properties, as well as ensuring efficiencies across all creative and technological production processes. Instrumental in bringing the company’s first feature film, Escape from Planet Earth, to fruition in 2013, Kim is currently engaged in the production of Ratchet & Clank and the development of Sly Cooper, hugely successful video game franchises for Sony PlayStation. Kim first came to the original Mainframe Entertainment in 1997 as a production manager, and went on to become producer of the Hasbro television series Beast Wars, among other numerous television series and direct-to-video titles. In 2005, she joined Nexon Publishing North America (NPNA), a Vancouver-based global online entertainment company where she managed the company’s global creative and production infrastructure. Kim returned to Rainmaker in 2009 in her current role. Over the past nearly 20 years, Kim’s production credits encompass many high-profile animation series including Hot Wheels (Mattel), Max Steel (Mattel), Weird-ohs, Inspector Gadget (DIC Entertainment), Stuart Little 3 (Sony), Popeye’s Voyage–The Quest for Pappy (King Features), The Spider-Man Animated Series (Sony and MTV), and more than twenty DVD features in the direct-to-DVD Barbie series (Mattel).
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About Rainmaker Entertainment: Rainmaker Entertainment is a CG animation studio creating unique CG animation styles using artist friendly tools.
Tara Kemes
Vice President of Culture & Talent of Rainmaker Entertainment
Tara Kemes is passionate about nurturing talent and encouraging people to follow their dreams. Charged with developing and implementing the studio’s overall recruiting strategy while also advising studio talent on career growth opportunities, Tara is often seen at industry job fairs and on school campuses, evangelizing the benefits of working in the unique culture that has come to define Rainmaker. Originally joining Mainframe Entertainment in 2002, Tara joined Relic Entertainment in 2006 as recruitment manager. She rejoined the new Rainmaker Entertainment as Manager of Talent Development in 2009, helping the company hire the crew for its first animated feature film, Escape from Planet Earth. A graduate of the University of British Columbia with a BA in Asian Studies and Japanese, Kemes moonlights as an instructor at the Vancouver Film School.
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About Rainmaker Entertainment: Rainmaker Entertainment is a CG animation studio creating unique CG animation styles using artist friendly tools.
Peter Koning
Vice President of Sales and Business Development of Simularity
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About Canada Leads, Entra Marketing, Simularity, Typo Assassin: Simularity provides AI-driven geospatial intelligence
Kenneth Conroy
VP of Data Science of Finn AI
Kenneth Conroy is the VP of Data Science at Finn AI.
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About Finn AI: Finn AI provides AI-powered conversational banking technology for personal banking and finance.
John Almond
Co-Founder & Vice President of Warranty Life
Communications and business experience – I have been involved in using technology for business communications for over 30 years. Began programming A/V presentations using first PC’s in school; joined first computer graphics design company in Canada after University; founded Alpha Visuals Inc. a computer graphic design company in Toronto 1985; was purchased by Genigraphics Corporation (division of GE) in 1987; Executive Producer, Genigraphics Corporation (Toronto – New York); Partner Vision Presentations Inc. – 1990 (Vancouver); founded Emerge Online one of Vancouver’s first web design firms in 1995; Principal, Ionysys Technology Corporation & President, New Media Consulting – 1999; Radiant Communications 2000; Graphically Speaking 2006. Specialties Internet Strategy; Usability testing; Information architecture; Ecommerce planning; Website development; Search engine optimization; Online marketing; Web analytics
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About Graphically Speaking, Warranty Life: Providing Usage-Based Mobile Device Insurance
Ron Smouter
VP Sales and Marketing of ThinkCX
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About ThinkCX: Social Intelligence for Call Centers
Kevin Ho
Co-Founder & VP, Business Development of Internuncio Technologies Inc.
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About Internuncio Technologies Inc.: A Crowdsourcing Control Center, Built for Developers
Kurt Pichler
VP Finance and Corporate Development of Viewpoint AI
An entrepreneur at heart, accomplished fundraiser and business strategist, he has 15 years of putting deals together, creating opportunities and getting them funded. He graduated in 2001 in international trade and business with an emphasis in logistics. Since then he used his contacts in Asia to source products for other companies or for his own projects. Then he was drawn to Fort McMurray during the time of the housing boom where he put together and raised $10M for a 26 house project. Then he got more involved with financing for both private and public companies. He has been a financial consultant to Chinese companies as those companies transition towards the stock market. After China, Kurt focused more on North American emerging technologies in primarily in the medical, pharmatech, digital media and fintech areas. He is always exploring new technologies and new market opportunities as they emerge. He is currently a cofounder and VP Corporate Development for Viewpoint AI Inc., an A.I. powered decision software company that combines the best of human and machine intelligence, amplifying human skill levels.
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About Viewpoint AI: Viewpoint is an AI powered decision software company that combines the best of human and machine intelligence amplifying human skill levels.
Adi Kabazo
VP, Marketing & Alliances of Plasmatic Technologies Inc.
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About Plasmatic Technologies Inc.: Empowering service providers and their customers to benefit from the Connected Home through whole-home insights and mobile experiences.
Adi Kabazo
VP, Marketing & Alliances of Plasmatic Technologies Inc.
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About Plasmatic Technologies Inc.: Empowering service providers and their customers to benefit from the Connected Home through whole-home insights and mobile experiences.
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