Executive | ||||
 President Ian Kelso |  Chair Mark Bishop |  Vice-Chair Lucie Lalumière |
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Founding President | ||||
Board Members | ||||
> Mark Bishop | Rogers OCAD Proximity Canada The Learning Edge GlassBOX Television Bedlam Games TransGaming Technologies | > Laura Jo Gunter > Mike Mays > Lucie Lalumière > Lydia Sani > Michael Schmalz > Gary Schwartz > Scott Simpson | Seneca College Silicon Knights Earth Rangers Redwood e-Learning Systems Digital Extremes Impact Mobile | |
 Mark Bishop Executive Producer / Partner marblemedia | As partner and co-founder of marblemedia Mark is responsible for
building strong relationships with broadcasters, content developers,
technology partners and investors. Mark plays a key role in developing
both television and interactive projects that tell unique stories
across multiple platforms. Recently at the 2008 CNMA’s Mark was named Producer of the Year and marblemedia was named Company of the Year, an honour shared with business partner Matt Hornburg. Mark is the Executive Producer of This is Emily Yeung and This is Daniel Cook (Treehouse, TVO), now both airing in over 85 countries including Playhouse Disney in the U.S, Germany and Japan, and ABC in Australia. This is Daniel Cook and This is Emily Yeung also have a DVD collection, a series of six books and a Juno nominated CD available at retail locations across North America. Mark is a creator of new marble projects such as: The Adrenaline Project (season 1 and 2), a high-energy, reality series for teens/tweens airing on YTV; Taste Buds a kids cooking and food adventure series on TVO and The Dating Guy, an interactive animation series coming to TELETOON’s The Detour 2009. Projects in development also include Waiting in the Wings, The Invasion and Camerahead (CBC). [Back to top] | |||
 Pary Bell Vice President, Product, Digital Media Rogers | Pary is newly positioned as the Vice President, Product, Digital Media
with Rogers Communciations. Formally, he was responsible for the
overall digital content strategy of all CanWest broadcasting properties
including Global Television, Food Network Canada, HGTV, E!, Showcase
and Slice as well as overseeing a talented team of directors, managers,
producers and designers. Prior to his role at CanWest Media, Pary was
the Director, Online Media for Alliance Atlantis Communications and
Senior Producer for Children’s and Youth Interactive at the Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation. Pary holds a Bachelor of Fine Art from the
Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver and received the
Canadian New Media Award as Graduate of the Year in 2002. [Back to top] | |||
| Sara Diamond is the President of the Ontario College of Art &
Design (OCAD), Canada’s “university of the imagination”. She holds a
PhD in Computer Science and degrees in new media theory and practice,
social history and communications from the United Kingdom and Canada. President Diamond is currently a member of the Ontario Ministry of Culture’s Minister’s Advisory Council on Arts & Culture, the Board of Directors of the Toronto Arts Council Foundation and of ORANO, Ontario’s high speed network. She is a founding member of CONCERT and the Chair of the OMDC funded Mobile Experience Innovation Centre. Diamond created and was Editor-in-Chief of www.horizonzero.ca, an on-line showcase for new media art and design, in collaboration with Heritage Canada. She provides media consulting to Heritage Canada, SSHRC, CFI, Industry Canada, CHRC and DFAIT, as well as international governments, institutions and agencies as diverse as China, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Finland, Australia, Brazil and the USA. [Back to top] | ||||
| At Proximity Canada, Collin is building the company’s social media
offering while assisting its clients in building their brand voice in
the evolving digital space. He leads a multi agency task force for
global social communications with Gillette, and develops social
strategies for the Mitsubishi Motors of Canada and Ontario Ministry of
Health accounts. Collin was also the lead strategist and account planner at Social Media Group working on the Ford Motor Company Global Communications account. There, he developed social media programs that included social media press releases (SMPRs), blogger outreach initiatives, enthusiast activation programs, social network programs and crisis management procedures laying the foundation for Ford’s ongoing social media efforts. [Back to top] | ||||
| Danny Dowhal has 25 years of experience in information design and new media development. He has architected, designed, and managed the development of hundreds of interactive digital media projects, including web sites, videos, interactive disks and CD-ROMs, touchscreen kiosks, and virtual learning environments. Danny initially studied Industrial Engineering at Ryerson University (née Polytechnic) then worked for several years developing and maintaining software for the Academic Computing department. He ultimately re-entered the student population to earn a degree in Journalism, and also served for a year as editor-in-chief of The Eyeopener, the school newspaper. Afterwards Danny joined IBM's Toronto Software Laboratory, becoming a development manager, planner, and researcher, as well as a digital media and usability guru. His accomplishments there included founding the New Media Lab, coordinating research projects with Ontario universities, and launching an in-house Master’s program. In 1991 Danny co-founded The Learning Edge Corporation with his two brothers, assuming the role of Director, Interactive and Imagineering, as well as Chief Operating Officer. The company develops eLearning and eContent offerings, both for-hire and as independent producers, and has included among its clients the Hockey Hall of Fame, Ontario Science Centre, IBM, TVOntario, Esso, the Toronto Stock Exchange, Celestica, and Seneca College. Danny regularly lectures and presents on a variety of subjects related to eLearning and digital media, and from 1998 to 2003 was the senior instructor in the Webmaster Program at Seneca College, also participating in a number of pilot web-based training programs. For the past two years Danny has served as Chairman of Interactive Ontario’s eLearning Committee. [Back to top] | |||
| Jeffrey Elliott is the founder of GlassBOX Television and creator of
its first multiplatform channel BITE TV. As Co-CEO, Jeffrey directly
manages BITE TV and all GlassBOX production and content operations, in
addition to leading the Company’s commitment to investing and
supporting emerging talent, a key driver of GlassBOX’s multi-platform
content strategy. Jeffrey is also responsible for all sales and
marketing initiatives for the Company. Jeffrey has over twenty-five years of strategic and creative experience in broadcasting, production, Internet, radio and print. His vision for BITE TV, garnered the 2007 International Interactive Emmy for Best Interactive Channel, and the 2006 Canadian New Media Award for Excellence in Cross-Platform. [Back to top] | ||||
| Trevor brings seven years of game industry experience to the Bedlam
team. Prior to joining Bedlam, he built the video game practice at the
law firm Goodmans LLP and Goodmans Venture Group, where he advised
developers, publishers and the investment community on licensing, game
development and financing. He currently sits on the business committee
of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). Trevor
received his Honours BA from Queen's University and his LLB from the
University of Western Ontario. [Back to top] | |||
| Vikas Gupta is the CEO & President of TransGaming Technologies (TSX-V: TNG), a leading developer of software portability for the multi-billion dollar electronic entertainment industry. TransGaming's products allow the rapid deployment of triple A video games content across multiple platforms without the need for traditionally arduous and expensive redevelopment. The company’s clients include some of the largest game developers and publishers in the world ranging from EA, Ubisoft, THQ, Turner Broadcasting, just to name a few. Prior to joining TransGaming, Vikas was the founder and President of InterLogic Systems, a telephony consulting and systems integration firm dedicated to delivering innovative and creative enterprise solutions to Fortune 1000 clients in the areas of Computer Telephony Integration, Interactive Voice Response Systems, and fax processing systems. InterLogic was acquired by Prima Telematic and Vikas served as President of Prima Canada and Executive Vice President of Prima Telematic.
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| Laura Jo Gunter has 15 years in the high technology and entertainment
industries. She is currently Seneca College’s Dean of Information Arts
& Technology, and is a co-founder and C.E.O of Condition30 Inc., an
interactive software and content company. Ms. Gunter’s previous
positions include Vice- President, Creative, Technical and Community
for User Friendly Media, Vice-President, Programming, Special Projects
and Industry Partnerships for the Vancouver Film School, Executive
Director and former Board member of New Media BC, and Director, Applied
Sciences Continuing Education at Simon Fraser University. Ms. Gunter
has an MBA from Queen’s University and a Bachelor of Journalism from
Carleton University. [Back to top] | |||
 Mike Mays VP Finance Silicon Knights | Mike is experienced with businesses in rapid growth situations, where
hands on knowledge of capital markets, cash management, and
implementation of internal controls is essential. Prior to joining
Silicon Knights, Mike had over 18 years of professional experience as a
CFO/Vice-President, Corporate Controller and Supervising Senior at KPMG
Boston. Other positions that Mike has held over the years include;
Principal – CTS Partners & VP Finance/CFO – Control Delivery
Systems Inc out of Boston MA. He holds his CMA and attended the
University of Windsor, graduating with Honors in Business
Administration (HBA).
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Lucie Lalumière VP, Interactive Earth Ranger | Lucie Lalumière joined Earth Rangers in 2008 as Vice President
Interactive, where she leads the organization's new online
initiatives. Previously, Ms. Lalumière was Vice President and General
Manager Interactive at Corus Entertainment, where she was in charge of
Corus Television's interactive properties and developed new business
opportunities. She spearheaded a number of initiatives including the
positioning of YTV.com as a leader in youth content as well as the
creation of an innovative network of virtual worlds for kids. With
fifteen years of experience in the interactive industry, Ms. Lalumière
has held a number of strategic positions. She was Executive Director
of New Media at Radio-Canada, where she was responsible for new media
partnerships and ventures including the award-winning Radio-Canada.ca.
Ms. Lalumière holds an undergraduate degree in Management of Information Systems from Université de Sherbrooke and an MBA from McGill University, completed at New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program. | |||
| Lydia Sani has spent over 20 years in the corporate communications
industry since graduating from Concordia University’s Communications
Faculty. Her early career featured positions at Du Pont in their
internal training group and later at Ogilvy & Mather in their
communications division. In 1988 Lydia founded Invisions Productions.
Since that time she has guided the company to its current position as
one of the pre-eminent players in the Canadian communications
industry. She started up Redwood e-Learning Systems in 2003
specifically to address the online learning market. With a sole focus
on training, Redwood’s mission is to advance skills through a new level
of e-learning by having learners engage with immersive environments and
social media. Lydia is on the board of CeLEA, the Canadian e-Learning
Enterprise Alliance and IO’s E-Learning Committee. She has presented
many papers on soft skills E-learning and other high performance
learning initiatives. [Back to top] | ||||
| Michael Schmalz has been working at Digital Extremes for three and a half years as the Chief Financial Officer. During that time, Michael has been responsible for various business development activities including working with government and other game industry leaders to develop programs to help promote the video game industry and helping the company manage its growth and internal transformation to a "next-gen" company. Prior to joining Digital Extremes, Michael worked as an engineering consultant for a firm he helped to establish in 1999.
He is also a co-founder of the Achimota Centre for Children with Autism, a charitable organization that provides specialized treatment for autistic children. He holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business and a masters degree in engineering science from the University of Western Ontario. He is a Certified Management Accountant and a Licensed Professional Engineer and is also a member of the Game Developers Association of Ontario. He is married to Julia and has two children, Rachel and Jacob, ages 9 and 10. | |||
 Gary Schwartz President & CEO Impact Mobile | Gary Schwartz founded Impact Mobile in 2002 having worked in the IT and
telecommunications industry for over 20 years. Over the past eight
years, Gary has played a leadership role in the mobile industry,
running the first cross-carrier short code campaign in North America.
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 Scott Simpson CEO bitHeads / Headgames / playbrains | In 1995, Scott Simpson co-founded Ottawa-based bitHeads (www.bitheads.com), a behind-the-scenes product development partner to some of the world's most respected companies, including RIM, IBM, HP, Cryptologic, Adscape Media (now Google) and hundreds of others. In 2007, Scott drove the strategy to expand bitHeads' game business through the creation of the HeadGames (www.playheadgames.com) division and the establishment of Playbrains (www.playbrains.com). HeadGames provides game development outsourcing services to studios and game middleware providers. In 2008, Playbrains secured a major licensing agreement with American Greetings and a distribution agreement with Microsoft's Xbox LIVE Arcade platform for the 2009 release of "Madballs in...Babo:Invasion", a fast-paced, multi-player combat game. With these successes and other efforts, HeadGames and Playbrains are leading the charge to develop Ottawa as an international centre of game development excellence. In 2001, Scott led bitHeads to successfully incubate the founding of Natural Convergence Inc., a successful VoIP product company. He has mentored many other start-up companies and was the founding sponsor of the Ottawa Wireless Cluster (OWC), the Ottawa e-business Cluster (EBC) and the Ottawa Angel Alliance (OAA). While obtaining his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (Honors) degree from the University of New Brunswick, Scott is a past recipient of the Ottawa Forty-under-forty award, recognizing his business and community accomplishments. He is an active member in several professional associations including the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI), International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA). Known for his keen insight and sense of humor, Scott is a sought-after speaker for game and software industry events. [Back to top] | |||
Secretary
WELCOME INTERACTIVE ONTARIO'S NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS – ELECTIONS TOOK PLACE ON JANUARY 26, 2010 AT OUR ANNUAL & SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING
Thank you for your ongoing support, and your contribution to our growth and for helping us play a strong and vital role representing your interests at both the provincial and federal levels.