Merlin Plastics Recycling.  1989 – ongoing

In 1989, I wrote the Business Plan for a plastics recycling startup, headcount of three and a facility of 3,000 square feet.

 I worked closely with the President of Merlin Plastics Recycling on issues of inventory management and turnover, safety, sales and service, funding and tax refund proposals, and strategic engagement with major resin producers.  I was put on retainer, and continue to provide assistance as requested.

That firm now has multiple plants in BC, Alberta, Washington, Oregon and California with hundreds of staff, holds multiple patents and produces FDA approved resin.

General Manager of Eshknam Cultural Management Services (Four First Nations JV).  2015-2021.  

Based on my extensive experience working with First Nations in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, I was invited to take on the role of General Manager of the Cultural Referrals business owned by Cooks Ferry Indian Band, Siska Indian Band, Nooaitch Indian Band and Coldwater Indian Band. 

My mandate was to review the organisation and its performance, and either close, maintain or expand the scale and scope of the organisation – I chose the last approach and turned around the financial and operational performance and obtained six straight clear opinions of the audited annual statements.

My work saw extensive involvement in ongoing Cultural and Environmental Referral work related to:

• Mining – exploration and operational applications and permits
• Forestry – harvesting, silviculture and road building
• Transmission Lines – Multiple Traditional Use Studies.
• Oil and gas lines – Traditional Use Studies.
• MOTI and roads – road repair and construction
• BC Hydro – transmission lines, pole repair and replacement
• Telus – tower placement

Led multiple Traditional Land Use and Knowledge studies related to mining, transmission lines and oil pipeline projects.  The largest of these projects had a budget approaching $750K.

I wrote the proposal and obtained $500K and then facilitated the Cultural Survival Area Project that involved eight Indigenous Communities from two separate Nations working together to draw up forestry management practices to protect Cultural Survival Areas which represent some of the most sensitive cultural and spiritual aspects of the Indigenous Communities involved.  Cultural Survival Areas involve three types of cultural features:

• Living Beings (Sasquatch and Little People)
• Things or places (Pit Houses, Sweat Houses, Pictographs, Gravesites
• Activities/Spiritual (some examples are Xa?Xa?, Ghosted, Spirted, Heal One Self, Puberty, Birth, Forbidden)

Key aspects of this land use planning included:

• Extensive cultural research and interviews with elders and knowledge keepers
• Learning and appreciating the cultural landscape context of all the CSAs
• Approaching the management of the CSA areas to facilitate contemporary Traditional Use and other activities – activity in the land is essential to monitor and manage
• Facilitating non-impacting or acceptably impacting forestry activities in the area
• Realizing that traditional/contemporary use would overlap with Sasquatch and Little People activities and planning accordingly.
• Focusing on forest practices that are operational, and able to involve a joint management approach by Indigenous Communities/FLNRO/Industry.

Bank of Nova Scotia, Commercial and Corporate Banking Specialist, BC, Canada.

Hired under the Commercial Officer Development (COD) Program that fast-tracked MBAs into banking management positions.  Started in commercial banking and promoted into corporate banking.

• Portfolio loans during banking career ranged from ten thousand dollars, to in excess $850 million, with largest portfolio approximately Cdn$1 billion dollars.
• Clients included governments, forestry companies, mining companies, Indian Bands, ship manufacturers, transport companies, stevedoring, truck manufacturers and distributors, a radio and television network, small businesses, car dealerships, ranchers, professionals, retail, and wholesale outlets.
• Held four Commercial Banking and one Corporate Banking positions while stationed in Vancouver and Prince George, BC.