Our Board
Bruce Flexman
Board Director
Dedicated Community Volunteer
Bruce Flexman, CPA, FCA, P. ICD.D, is the former President & CEO of AdvantageBC, where he served between 2008 and 2014 and the former Canadian Managing Partner, Tax for KPMG where he managed a tax practice of more than 900 professionals across the country.
Bruce holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering from Queen’s University and a Master’s in Business Administration in Finance & Accounting from Cornell University.
He serves as Board Chair of AdvantageBC and Chair of Mothers Matter Centre in Vancouver, BC.
Anne Meyer
Vice Chair
SVP & CFO – Raymond James Ltd.
Anne Meyer is Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Raymond James Ltd. and is responsible for overseeing a full service brokerage finance and accounting operation, providing leadership and direction at the corporate level. Anne is responsible for providing financial and management reporting and operational planning and analysis as well as formulating and implementing tactical and strategic initiatives.
Anne brings extensive experience in the financial services sector to her role. Before joining Raymond James Ltd. in 2003 she was a Senior Manager with Grant Thornton where she specialized in the financial services sector. Besides receiving her chartered accounting (CA) designation, Anne completed the in depth tax course offered by the CICA and the certified investments and derivatives auditor (CIDA) designation.
Anne currently acts as Treasurer for the Raymond James Canada Foundation and as Chair of the Audit Committee and Executive Director of AdvantageBC.
Keegan Balcom
Board Director
Strategic Advisor – Climate Change
Keegan is a climate change strategist with a drive to improve the livability and sustainability of our communities.
They help clients meet their greenhouse gas emissions targets and address climate change resiliency challenges with systems thinking. Keegan has cross-disciplinary project experience in strategic emission planning, climate change adaptation, low-carbon design, economic feasibility, and project management; working with multiple levels of government, universities, developers, and utilities.
Keegan holds a B.Eng in civil engineering from McGill University and a Master of Resource and Environmental Management from Dalhousie University.
Justin Bull
Board Director
Leader & Faculty – UBC Sauder Sustainability & Ethics Group
Justin is a full-time lecturer at the Sauder School of Business, where he leads the Sustainability and Ethics Group. He is also the academic director of the Masters of Engineering Leadership and Masters of Health Leadership and Policy in the Faculty of Applied Science at UBC.
He is a committed board member with the economic development arm of the Tla’amin Nation, where he assists a modern Treaty Nation with their economic development strategy.
He earned a BA in International Relations (2005) and a PhD in Wood Science (2015) from the University of British Columbia, where his doctoral work focused on measuring and comparing the environmental footprints.
Melanie Clarance
Board Director
Venture Partner – Ocgrow Ventures
Melanie Clarance is an “impact investment” rainmaker, aligning her deep medical and scientific knowledge with specially curated venture capital/private equity companies focused primarily on transformative life sciences, biotech, medical devices, renewable energy and clean tech industries. Melanie holds a Bachelor of Science (Agr.), a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, the Canadian Investment Finance/Management designation (CIM) and is a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute.
Melanie is a strong advocate for AdvantageBC and its mission in promoting sustainable finance.
Roopa Davé
Board Director
Partner – Sustainability & Impact Services, KPMG in Canada
Having trained as an accountant, Roopa has focused her career on sustainability because she believes there is a role for business in addressing societal issues like climate change, equity and human rights. As a sustainability professional with over 15 years’ experience, Roopa works in a global setting helping clients understand and respond to their shifting environments effectively and profitably by helping to reduce risks, find opportunities and ultimately build more resilient and sustainable businesses.
In addition to publishing on sustainability-related topics, she is a regular speaker at industry events, a guest lecturer for sustainability, business and governance courses and a spokesperson for KPMG on sustainability & ESG matters generally. She is a member of the Canada Climate Law Initiative Advisory Committee, a founding Board Member of the Circular Mining Association.
Cindy David
Board Director
President – Cindy David Financial Group Ltd.
As President of Cindy David Financial Group Ltd., Cindy works with business owners in BC and retired or retiring clients, her firm provides tax-effective solutions and expertise, and tailors customized, personal financial planning services to meet the life goals of her clientele.
Cindy was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women of 2020 by Women’s Executive Network (WXN), in the “BMO Entrepreneurs” category. Cindy David Financial Group Ltd. was also selected as a finalist in the 15th Annual STEP Private Client Awards in the Boutique Firm of the Year category. As one of only two Canadian finalists this year, The STEP Private Client Awards are seen as the hallmark of quality within the private client industry.
CHRISTOPHER GIMPEL
Board Director
Partner, Tax – Deloitte
Chris is a member of Deloitte’s Business Tax group serving organizations in startup phase to large multinational organizations. A chartered professional accountant with over 25 years of public and private practice experience. He has served on the board of Advantage BC since 2007.
Chris is a leading member of Deloitte’s National IFRS Tax Accounting team and a subject matter expert in tax accounting matters. He serves as Treasurer for the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia and sits on their board of directors. A member of the Canadian Tax Foundation that has presented at the BC tax conference on several occasions.
He is a member of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association’s tax committee working with industry to address tax matters impacting its members.
Colin Hansen
Board Director
Founding Partner – Image Group
Colin served 17 years a member of BC’s Legislature during which he held various cabinet positions including Deputy Premier, Minister of Finance and Minister of Health.
After public life, Colin served for five years as the President of AdvantageBC. He has since re-established his pre-politics role as Founding Partner of Image Group Inc, BC’s largest promotional products firm.
He serves on several other not-for-profit boards including Chair of the Fraser Basin Council, Honourary Governor of the Vancouver Foundation, Jack Austin School of Asia Pacific Business Studies at SFU, the China Council at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the Canada-Japan Society of BC. He is also the past chair of the Board of the Transportation Investment Corporation.
John Henderson
Board Director
Managing Director – The Pacific Rim Group
Mr. Henderson has over 40 years’ experience primarily as an entrepreneur, creating and guiding successful business ventures. A Chartered Professional Accountant, Mr. Henderson has extensive experience doing business in Hong Kong, China and North America.
Mr. Henderson is active in the community having served as Mayor of Sechelt from 2011 to 2014, Director of BC Ferries (one of the largest passenger ferry operations in the world), Director of AdvantageBC (formerly International Financial Centre of BC), Chair of the Sechelt Chamber of Commerce and co-founder of the Sunshine Coast Electric Vehicle Association.
In 1997, Mr. Henderson was recognized for his contributions to the community by being elected a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia, the first time this award has been granted to a recipient living outside of Canada. He was also awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for service to his community in 2012.
Ross McDonald
Board Director
Principal – Wiser Together
Ross McDonald is a purposeful and progressive financial services executive. Fuelled by a consultative mindset, Ross is a proactive driver of strategic growth, organizational transformation and regulatory stabilization.
Industry experience includes credit unions; financial regulation; treasury / fixed income derivatives; wholesale banking; wealth management; corporate & investment banking; and external audit.
Functional experience includes senior positions in corporate strategy; mergers; finance; risk management; and ‘middle office’. In recent years, Ross’s work focused on remedial turnaround work in credit unions under elevated regulatory scrutiny.
Rita Mezei
Board Director
Executive Director – Canadian Centre for Healthcare Facilities
Rita is a proven strategic thinker in building programs to achieve intended outcomes in the areas of public health policy, the environment.
Strengths in building collaborative networks from building national non-profit associations, advocacy to developing consensus on technical health issues with government, consumers and businesses. Identifying and developing strategic networks to further business growth. Seeing projects through to completion to achieve results.
Rita obtained a Masters of Science in Urban Planning an the University of Toronto, a B. A (Hons) in political Science at McMaster University and has been working as an independent consultant for 10 years.
Dalbir Rai
Board Director
President – Dalbir S. Rai Inc.
Dalbir is a former Senior Tax Partner at EY, Vancouver. Throughout his career, Dalbir has supported the next generation of tax professionals, making remarkable contributions to the lives of many new Canadians through his mentorship of accounting professionals from other countries.
A respected subject-matter expert, speaker and author, Dalbir has presented on tax topics with the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, Canadian Tax Foundation, and Pacific Business and Law Institute.
Dalbir began giving back in 1983. He currently serves as a board director with AdvantageBC,. As a director and chair with the Richmond Hospital Foundation (2004-2012), he was instrumental in raising funds to purchase a suite of MRI machines. He has also volunteered with the Rotary Club of Richmond Sunrise for over two decades.
