Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors plays an important role in promoting our vision of healthy and safe workplaces across British Columbia and advocating for health and safety in the business community. The Manufacturing Safety Alliance of BC actively recruits new board members to fill openings as Directors’ terms end. New board members are appointed at our annual general meeting in May. We welcome applicants with the knowledge and experience to help us expand our services to support more BC manufacturers.

Monica Feregrino

Monica Feregrino

Vice President, Operations
MineSense Technologies

Monica Feregrino is an operations professional with 25 years’ experience. An Electrical Engineer with a Masters in Manufacturing Engineering, her career has involved managing complex business initiatives, including daily operations, operational excellence, manufacturing, capacity, capital planning, team management, quality, supply-chain selection, contractor hour management, vendor partnership, and resource rationalization. Having lived and worked in Mexico, the United States, and Canada, with frequent travel to Europe, Asia, and throughout North America for business, Monica brings a strong understanding of global business practices to her role as VP Operations at MineSense Technologies.

Monica has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Influential Women in Canadian Supply Chain by the Supply Chain Canada Association, and as a 2020 Top Immigrant in Supply Chain. Monica is a Registered Professional Engineer, Supply Chain Management Professional (SCMP), and Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification candidate. She also is a Board Director for the National board of Supply Chain Canada, advisory board
for Autometrics/GEOGEN and mentoring startup founders through the business development process and serves as a mentor for Engineers & Geoscientists British Columbia (EGBC) and the University of British Columbia’s Entrepreneurship Program.

Terry Holizki

Terri Holizki

Lawyer, Retired

A lawyer by profession, Terri was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1989. Terri has practiced law and has been the Chief Commissioner of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. She has also been the chair of the Board and the General Manager for the Saskatchewan Pension Plan.

Terri was the Industry Services Manager for manufacturing, young workers and the hospitality sector during her tenure at WorkSafeBC. In this position, Terri was a strong advocate for health and safety associations and helped support them successfully to deliver their visions. During her tenure at WorkSafeBC, she also identified and introduced partnerships between Prevention and non-WorkSafeBC entities.

Terri also assisted in the initial creation and funding of Make It Safe, a collaborative event providing occupational health education for the manufacturing sector between WorkSafeBC and the Manufacturing Safety Alliance of BC, which has evolved into an annual event series organized by the Alliance.

Lesli Bradley, Vice Chair

President
SunRype, a division of A. Lassonde

With over twenty-five years in industry and at the various levels of each organization she has worked with, Lesli has consistently maintained a strong belief that zero accidents are achievable. Lesli is currently the President of SunRype Products, an Okanagan-based company with 73 years of history.

Lesli was the Plant Manager and Vice President of Operations for nine years, responsible for all aspects of health and safety in the workplace. With a strong perspective on continuous improvement, Lesli provided focus and leadership in the implementation of behaviour-based safety as well as the journey towards OSSE certification. SunRype employs more than 300 people in Kelowna, running 3 shifts per day and has been certified for six years.

Lesli completed a Bachelor of Science in business management at the University of Phoenix. She also holds a Biological Food Science diploma from BCIT.

Mark Bunz

CEO
Dinoflex Group

As Dinoflex CEO, Mark provides leadership to engage and empower employees and increase customer interaction and satisfaction. He has created strategic brands for new channel access and created an environment that ensures all activities are aligned with the organization’s vision and core values, the most important being Safety Above All. His leadership has led to expanded operations and a continued focus on automation to improve efficiencies and create a safer work environment for the employees.

Before joining Dinoflex in March of 2013, Mark Bunz was the Director of Sales & Distribution for Zep Sales & Service and was instrumental in positioning Zep as a leader in the cleaning and sanitation industry in Canada. His varied career with Zep spanned almost thirty years—the last twenty in management and executive roles.

In the last five years of his tenure, he gained valuable experience in a changing business environment meeting the needs of stakeholders through the development and execution of distribution expansion opportunities, business consolidation, and non-traditional profitable growth strategies. Of all his accomplishments at Dinoflex, Mark is most proud of leading his organization through the OSSE certification process in 2018 and a successful GMP audit in 2021 as he continues to champion safety discussions in the workplace and in the community.

Keith Driver

Bakery Director
ARYTZA | La Brea Bakery | Otis Spunkmeyer | Oakrun Farm Bakery

Keith Driver has been the Bakery Director of the Burnaby Aryzta (Gourmet Baker) facility for two years. The Burnaby facility employs approximately 240 staff making baked goods for supermarkets and food service providers. (Starbucks is one of their biggest customers.)

Keith has lived and worked in Canada for 15 years. Prior to his move, he was in the US Marine Corps. Keith has participated in manufacturing safety at all levels ranging from front-line supervision to management to entire facility leadership. He has over 10 years of manufacturing leadership experience including leadership roles at three separate OSSE certified organizations.

Keith is a BC Safety Charter Signatory. He understands the business case for safety and what safety looks like and feels like to all members of an organization. This has allowed him to lead an effective shift in safety mindset by displaying accountability, “selling” the importance of safety initiatives to all parties up and down the organization, and making those initiatives something that is sustainable.

Keith holds a Business Diploma and is a Lean Six Sigma ASQ Green Belt.

David Fagen

Executive Director, Safety, Health and Environment
BC Ferries

David is Executive Director, Safety, Health and Environment at British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. BC Ferries has 47 terminals, 36 vessels, a ship repair facility, six maintenance yards, food and retail outlets, and transports more than 20 million passengers annually with the support of more than 5,000 hardworking employees. BC Ferries’ unique safety programs resulted in the globally recognized DuPont Safety award during David’s tenure and he continues to work to find creative was of engaging all levels of the organization in Safety and Environmental sustainability conversations.

David holds a Bachelor’s of Science from the United States Naval Academy and a MBA in Accounting and Finance from American Intercontinental University. He has a varied background of qualifications and experience including 21 years as a US Naval Officer, qualification as a gas turbine engineer, navigator of a nuclear warship, human resources designation, information technology, combat systems, ship building and certification as an International Safety Management designated person. Through all of David’s experiences, Safety has always been the one common thread and he recognizes everyone has a voice that must be heard to continuously improve safety.

Darren Gibson

Managing Partner
NKPG

Darren Gibson is the Managing Partner for the Burnaby office of Norgaard Kratofil Professional Group, a BC-based accounting firm providing accounting, taxation and advisory services for private companies, high net worth individuals and not-for-profit clients in Greater Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Previous to taking on his current position in 2018, Darren was a partner with one of the larger independent accounting firms in Vancouver.

Darren holds a Chartered Professional Accountant (Chartered Accountant) designation and has over 20 years of experience in public practice. He serves a diversified clientele but with a focus on some key industries including manufacturing and processing businesses, real estate developers and managers, and auto dealerships.

Amit Golan

VP, Operations-West
CKF Inc.

Amit has 22 years of senior manufacturing management experience in Plastics, Recycling, and Pulp Molding. He currently serves as the Plant Manager for CKF overseeing 350 employees in three Plants producing egg cartons and meat trays in Langley and Delta, BC

Under Amit’s leadership CKF has completed WorkSafeBC’s PACE program and achieved OSSE (COR) certification. He describes CKF as the most safety committed place he ever worked in. In 2020 the plants received several safety awards among them “Best Safety Record” and the “Most Improved Safety Record”.

Amit holds a B.A. in Economics and Accountancy and is CPA, ISR.

Andy McEachern

Andy McEachern

Senior Vice President
Peerless Limited

Andy McEachern is the Senior Vice President at Peerless Limited. He began his career in the defense industry in Ottawa as a Program Manager for military land vehicle projects before moving to BC in the mid-nineties. At Peerless, Andy has taken on the roles of Engineering Manager, General Manager overseeing and health and safety in the workplace and eventually Vice President with oversight of the operation. Peerless Limited is owned by Manac and is one of the largest employers in Penticton, producing over 500 heavy duty trailers per year.

Andy is passionate about health and safety and prides himself on turning around the company safety culture at Peerless transforming it into a model of excellence. The transformation required a complete reset of business processes and procedures as well as attitudes. He credits the achievements in health and safety culture and the successive years of company COR safety certification to listening to all employees and ensuring that everyone is fully engaged in the journey.

Andy holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering from Carleton University and has completed the Kellogg Executive Development Program at Northwestern University. He enjoys the study and application of lean methods and has been a member of the Okanagan Peer Mentoring Group for over 15 years.

Vince Sciamanna, Chair

President
The Garaventa Lift Group

Vince Sciamanna is the President of The Garaventa Lift Group an international company owned by Savaria, a Canadian public company. The Group specialises in the manufacture of home elevators, lifts for people with disabilities as well as stairlifts and compact elevators. Garaventa Lift employs 500 people around the world with just over 200 employees at their custom-built manufacturing location in Surrey.

Vince was born in Switzerland and grew up speaking several languages. He holds a degree in Civil Engineering and began his career as a project engineer for a Swiss bridge component manufacturer. Vince left the Alps in 1999 and moved to the Rockies to join Garaventa Lift as the director of business development. In 2018 he took over the global lead of Garaventa Lift and regularly travels between Canada, the USA, and Europe.

Away from work, Vince is involved with the Swiss Canadian Chamber of Commerce and volunteers his time supporting several local community and charity events.

Michael Simone

Michael Simone

President
Puratos Canada

Michael attributes his passion for food and manufacturing to his early years spent growing up in a bakery. He has more than twenty years of professional experience leading Distribution (logistics) and Warehouse Teams and transforming mindsets and culture to achieve health and safety excellence and build high-performance teams. He is currently serving as President of Puratos Canada, a global food manufacturer with locations in more than 100 countries. Puratos is committed to health and safety as its number one goal. Michael has held many positions within the company including field sales, management, and leadership. He is currently responsible for the Canadian business, which has 200+ employees and two manufacturing sites in Chilliwack, British Columbia, and Mississauga, Ontario.

Although Michael has not served on a board previously, he feels his skillset, experience, and passion for employee development, health and safety, and high-performance teams make him an excellent candidate. If successful, he is eager to learn from the Board and share his knowledge and experiences with both the Board and his extensive international business network. Michael’s vision for Puratos Canada is to be the safest and best place to work and grow in Canada. He would be honored to be on the Alliance Board, as it would help him continue to develop his knowledge around health and safety while sharing his experiences, resources, and connections.

Ken Smith

Director of Operations
Gambrinus

Ken Smith worked as a consultant in the IT sector for nearly two decades before joining Gambrinus Malting in 2013. The only industrial malting house in British Columbia, Gambrinus is known globally for its quality malt and customer service. Ken’s role allows him to combine his background in technology with food manufacturing. He has spent most of his career modernizing operations, working closely with management to adapt processes to the needs of a rapidly changing workforce. He believes safety should be every company’s highest priority and is committed to the physical and mental health of every employee, contractor, or visitor to the job site.

Ken started JSOK Trucking Ltd. in 2015 and still serves as its Director of Operations. He is a passionate and enthusiastic business leader with a decade of board experience and is currently serving as the treasurer for Organics BC, secretary for Pacific Agriculture Certification Society (PACS), board member on the Regional Advisory Council for Okanagan College, and trustee for Eagle Rock Water District.

While his educational background is in Computer Information Systems and Business Operations, Ken has a strong financial background and experience in IT, governance, branding, strategic planning, ED development, and compensation and performance reviews. He is skilled in a range of technologies and has earned various professional certifications, including Preventative Controls Qualified Individual, Confined Space and Vertical Rescue, Mental Health and Occupational First Aid, Contractor Safety, and Food Safety (ISO and Organic).

Garnet Zimmerman

Principal
GZ Mediation Inc.

Garnet Zimmerman has spent 35 years working in labour relations. He began as a Business Agent working his way up to 16 years as President of Teamsters Union local 31 and International Representative and Vice President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters for eight years.

Garnet has run his own company GZ Mediation since 2009. He has negotiated collective bargaining agreements in many different industries including manufacturing. He is an advocate for labour and understands the importance of health and safety for both the employer and employee.

Garnet sat as a director on a large national health benefits plan. In addition, he has served for 20 years as a trustee on a provincial as well as a national pension plan. He has completed courses in trustee management: plan governance and due diligence, collective bargaining, federal and provincial labor codes, and women’s issues. He is a certified Employee Benefits specialist and has achieved his Advanced Trust Management Standards certification.

Lisa McGuire

CEO
Manufacturing Safety Alliance of BC

As CEO, Lisa is responsible for all fiduciary, management and governance issues as well as the day-to-day operations of the Manufacturing Safety Alliance of BC.

Lisa’s educational background includes a diverse Agricultural Science education through the University of Saskatchewan and University of British Columbia with recognition on the Deans honour roll. She achieved her Occupational Health & Safety certification ‘with honours’ through the BC Institute of Technology and received her external safety auditor’s certification through the Alberta Association for Safety Partnerships. Lisa obtained her professional safety designation through the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals in 2004.

Lisa served ten years in the poultry industry in food safety and cost process analysis positions with the latter six years in charge of the Occupational Safety Program of a poultry operation. In 2007 she led the task of securing support from the food industry to establish the Manufacturing Safety Alliance of BC (originally FIOSA) in 2007 and was appointed Executive Director then CEO. The organization has since expanded to serve members within the general manufacturing industry. She is one of the founders of the BC Food Processors Association which was originally composed of safety and human resource professionals.

Board of Directors