Fund Manager

Grant J. Kook

Grant J. Kook is President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Westcap Mgt. Ltd. Mr. Kook is also President and Chief Executive Officer of Golden Opportunities Fund, Saskatchewan’s premiere Labour-sponsored Investment Fund with more than 20,000 retail shareholders and is also President and Chief Executive Officer of Cheung On, an international investor syndicated fund he co-founded in 1989. Mr. Kook has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ramada Hotels since 1992. Mr. Kook has served as independent trustee on the Board of several First Nations Trusts in Saskatchewan, was Keynote speaker at the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Venture Capital Conference and the Indigenous Tourism Expo in 2003, and has been asked to participate as industry expert in round table discussions in Ottawa exploring the opportunity for development of national Aboriginal Venture Capital Fund. Mr. Kook was appointed the Chairman of the Board of Directors for SaskTel in February 2008. He was voted one of Saskatchewan's Men of Influence by Saskatchewan Business Magazine in March 2008 and is a recipient of the Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan. Mr. Kook also sits or has sat on the boards of a number of private and publicly traded companies, the Hong Kong Canada Business Association, Agwest Biotech, and is a member of the World Entrepreneurs Organization as well as a past member of the Minister's Advisory Council on Information Technology. He is currently a director of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA), the Children's Health and Hospital Foundation, past Vice President of the 2004 Nokia Brier, Vice President of Sponsorship for the 2006 Vanier Cup and 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships.

Douglas W. Banzet

Douglas W. Banzet is Chief Operating Officer and a director of Westcap Mgt. Ltd. Mr. Banzet is also the Chief Financial Officer and a director of Golden Opportunities Fund. Mr. Banzet has been Director of Finance of Cheung On since 1995. From March 1993 to June 1995, Mr. Banzet was an independent management consultant to a variety of small and medium-sized Saskatchewan businesses. Prior to March 1993, Mr. Banzet held various senior management positions with a number of large Canadian trust companies. Mr. Banzet has over thirty-five years experience in the financial service and asset management fields. His experience includes investment valuations of both private and public businesses, feasibility analysis, risk assessment, commercial loan financing, administration, budgeting, planning and management of large commercial loan portfolios. Mr. Banzet also serves as a director of a number of private Canadian companies involved in life sciences, oil and gas exploration, biotech, value added processing, health care, manufacturing and agriculture.

Robert Connoly

Robert Connoly is Chief Financial Officer of Westcap Mgt. Ltd. Mr. Connoly has more than 16 years of investment management experience with expertise in real estate investment analysis and market research. Prior to joining the Manager in 2003, Mr. Connoly was with Boston Development Corp. from 1996 to 2003 and Summit Development Group from 1992 to 1994 where he identified and evaluated real estate acquisition opportunities. Mr. Connoly has a strong financial background and his experience includes advising TCU Financial Group from 1994 to 1996 to manage the availability of capital funds and the identification of appropriate market instruments for investment. Mr. Connoly's background in financial management also includes the assurance of compliance with regulatory boards. Mr. Connoly holds a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation, and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. He is a member of the Society of Management Accountants of Saskatchewan, the CFA Institute, and the CFA Society of Saskatchewan. Mr. Connoly serves as a director of a number of private Saskatchewan companies involved in value added processing and real estate development.

Wanda Hunchak

Wanda Hunchak is Vice President with Westcap Mgt. Ltd. Ms. Hunchak has more than a decade of experience investing in Saskatchewan business opportunities. Prior to joining the Manager in 2003, Ms. Hunchak was the manager of client services within the chartered banking system from 1996 to 1998 and a manager of a commercial credit portfolio from 1998 to 2001. In 2001 she joined Saskatchewan Opportunities Corporation (SOCO) as a venture capital investment analyst and later that year became a senior management consultant with one of Canada's largest agricultural consulting firms. Ms. Hunchak has worked extensively with Aboriginal communities in Saskatchewan and across Canada providing business financing and assessing the effectiveness and impact of business programs. Ms. Hunchak holds a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, and is a member of the Society of Management Accountants of Saskatchewan, the CFA Institute, and the CFA Society of Saskatchewan.

Jamie B. Schwitzer

Mr. Schwitzer has nearly 15 years of investment management experience during which he has developed and implemented rigorous and detailed due diligence processes applicable to a wide range of sectors and investment instruments. Prior to joining the Manager, from 2007, Mr. Schwitzer was a partner with Victoria Park Capital, a private equity firm managing a $400-million-plus portfolio of investments. From 2000 – 2007, Mr. Schwitzer was an investment manager with Crown Capital Partners, a specialty finance company involved in subordinated debt, mezzanine and equity financings across life science, manufacturing, retail and oil and gas sectors. His background also includes managing money market and fixed income investments, public equities, currency trading and asset/liability management with Crown Life Insurance Company. Mr. Schwitzer holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Saskatchewan.

Ulrich Felbermayr

Ulrich Felbermayr is a Senior Investment Manager with Westcap Mgt. Ltd. Mr. Felbermayr has significant experience with venture capital investments in Saskatchewan. He joined the Westcap team in 2003 from Crown Investments Corporation (CIC) where he worked as Senior Investment Manager since 2001. From 1998 to 2001 Mr. Felbermayr was with Saskatchewan Opportunities Corporation (SOCO) in the role of Senior Investment Manager. Mr. Felbermayr worked as a Chartered Accountant for more than 13 years and owned his own accounting firm in Austria. In addition, Mr. Felbermayr has experience in the banking sector in the area of private and commercial lending. Mr. Felbermayr also serves on the board of directors of a number of private western Canadian businesses involved in biotech, manufacturing and value added processing.

Bill Burgess

Mr. Burgess has more than 23 years of financial management experience which includes experience with companies in a large variety of sectors and all sizes; from large public companies to smaller owner-managed businesses. Prior to joining the Manager in 2008, Mr. Burgess was employed as a Controller with three different organizations as well as providing consulting services from 2001 to 2008. Mr. Burgess has over 16 years public practice experience with both a large national firm and a local Saskatchewan firm. Mr. Burgess was a partner with the firm of Orr & Company (predecessor to Virtus Group LLP) for 9 years. Mr. Burgess has dealt with all areas of public practice including extensive experience in taxation, both corporate and personal. Mr. Burgess holds a Chartered Accountant (CA) designation and is a member of the Institutes of Chartered Accountants of both Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Tyler Bradley

Tyler Bradley is an Investment Analyst with Westcap Mgt. Ltd. Mr. Bradley has 9 years of experience in venture capital and corporate finance in start-up and growth stage companies. Prior to joining the Westcap team in 2007, Mr. Bradley was an Investment Analyst for a seed-stage investment fund from 2005 to 2007, where he was responsible for new investments and portfolio management. Between 2001 and 2005, Mr. Bradley worked in various corporate finance roles with start-up and growth-stage companies. Mr. Bradley received his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Saskatchewan and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) candidate. Mr. Bradley is an active member and Director for the Saskatchewan Young Professionals & Entrepreneurs.

Raeleen Meketiuk

Raeleen Meketiuk is the Communications Director with Westcap Mgt. Ltd. Ms. Meketiuk is responsible for the development, management and implementation of various community and shareholder initiatives. She also provides continual support to the Investment Manager's and other members of the team. Ms. Meketiuk received her Bachelor of Commerce Degree with distinction from the University of Saskatchewan.

Brenda Gessner

Ms. Gessner has been with Westcap Mgt. Ltd. since its inception and is responsible for the overall administrative management of the office of the President as well as the lead liaison with the Fund's Board of Directors and sub-committees. Ms. Gessner has over 20 years of office management and administrative experience in the financial and information technology sectors.

Christine Culbert

Ms. Culbert started her career in the finance industry in 1998. Prior to joining the Fund, Ms. Culbert was with Rice Financial, where she held 2 positions within the company. Ms. Culbert was an Advisor Relations Manager for Saskatchewan and the western part of Manitoba as well as the Regional Compliance Officer for Saskatchewan. Ms. Culbert is responsible for creating, establishing and maintaining relationships with registered representatives in respect to the Fund. She also provides regular updates of the Fund and creates overall awareness to the registered representatives and their client bases through presentations and seminars.

Laural DeBusschere

Ms. DeBusschere holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance with great distinction from the University of Saskatchewan.  Before joining the manager, she was employed as a Consultant with Banda Marketing Group, where she gained experience assisting companies in making strategic business decisions.  She participates in organizations and events such as SYPE and Saskatoon’s Urban Playground community development group and is active in the Fund’s community involvement.

Ms. DeBusschere provides support to senior management, assisting with financial analysis and due diligence for the Fund’s investments.  She is also involved in client relations, fielding requests from shareholders and financial advisors.

Beth Guillou

Ms. Guillou holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Saskatchewan. Prior to joining the team she spent over 2 years gaining investment related experience in the mutual fund industry with a focus on Administration as well as Compliance.

Ms. Guillou is responsible for client relations, fielding requests from shareholders and financial advisors as well as office administration. In addition to this, she also provides ongoing support to the senior investment team mainly focusing on the financial aspect of operations.

Westcap's Business Ready Investment Development Gateway (BRIDG) Program

Vern Bachiu

Vern Bachiu is a member of Westcap's Business Ready Investment Development Gateway (BRIDG) program. BRIDG has been established to assist First Nations and Métis communities to establish development corporations with the goal of creating community wealth. BRIDG helps communities establish good governance in these corporations and helps equip them with the business infrastructure and capacity with which to undertake business developments and investment. Vern has over 30 years of experience working with First Nations - 20 years with the Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC) and 10 years with the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies. While with MLTC, Vern was a senior member of the team that established successful business investments in forestry, aviation, hospitality, and other sectors. Vern has been a director of West Wind Aviation, MLTC Northern Trucking, Polar Oil, Meadow Lake OSB, and MLTC-Ceres Fertilizer. He subscribes to the nation building approach identified by the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development as an appropriate approach to First Nations and Metis communities developing good governance. Vern has a Master of Education degree from the University of Saskatchewan.

Julie Wriston

Julie Ann Wriston joined the BRIDG team in August 2009, and is the communications conduit between BRIDG and First Nation and Métis communities. Julie brings a high degree of communications and consultation experience and expertise to the BRIDG team. A graduate of the SIAST Business Communications program with distinction, and a psychology major from the University of Saskatchewan, Julie's primary responsibility is to ensure that all critical information, direction and reporting are shared at the "speed of business". Julie is the lead for all event planning, time management for the BRIDG team, and facilitates in partnership development with the nine BRIDG communities, potential investors and industry leaders. As the former Director of Communications for the Métis Nation – Saskatchewan, Julie is experienced in strategic planning and has gained a high degree of understanding of effective governance structures and the importance of information sharing and inclusion at the community level. Julie is dedicated to the BRIDG program and is a strong believer in developing business and prosperity throughout the First Nation and Métis community, leading to positive growth for all of Saskatchewan.