Alberta Enterprise Corporation Board Members

Paul G. Haggis, Chair
Paul Haggis was President and CEO of one of Canada’s leading pension funds, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS).  Paul restructured the organization and implemented dramatic operating and cultural change to lead OMERS to its best year ever in 2006.  Under his leadership, assets grew by $15.8 billion to $48 billion with value added of $2.8 billion. 

Paul has provided executive leadership in roles with organizations such as the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSPIB) and Metropolitan Life.  Paul was the head of Met Life’s non-insurance operations from 1990 to 1993.  As President and Chief Executive Officer for Alberta Treasury Branches (ATB) from 1996 to 2001, he led ATB to record profitability and market share growth.

Barry Heck, Vice Chair
Barry Heck is the President and Principal Partner of EL Merchant Capital, a private merchant capital, finance and M&A firm.  He was previously a senior executive of The Westaim Corporation (1997-2007) and served as President & CEO from 2003 to 2007. Barry was also Executive Chairman of Nucryst Pharmaceuticals, a leading medical nanotechnology company. Prior to joining Westaim, Barry practiced business and securities law from 1985 to 1996.

Barry's professional career is focused on the formation and growth of a wide range of technologies and businesses. Since 1985 he has been involved in numerous corporate initiatives, from small technology start-ups to large public corporations. Barry has an extensive range of experience in areas including finance and investing, private equity and venture capital transactions, executive leadership, M&A transactions, and technology start-ups and commercialization.

Brad Zumwalt
Brad Zumwalt has been growing technology companies for over 20 years and has been instrumental in leading technology companies such as Image Club Graphics, EyeWire.com, and Veer Incorporated. These companies have been successfully acquired by large industry leaders such as Adobe Systems, Getty Images and Corbis.

In 2000 Brad was a founding partner of Social Venture Partners Calgary, a unique non-profit funding partnership that combines a venture capital approach with local philanthropy. Brad has been recognized as one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40 honorees (1999), and with Calgary’s Generosity of Spirit Award (2001).  In 2006 Veer Incorporated was recognized as one of ‘Calgary’s Best Places to Work.

R. Geoffrey Browne
R. Geoffrey Browne has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry in Canada, the U.S and London, England.  He was head of private equity for Merrill Lynch Canada and he is a founder and Managing Partner of MWI & Partners, a private equity firm.

Prior to founding MWI, R. Geoffrey was a senior executive with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and CIBC Wood Gundy Inc. for over 20 years.  The last position he held at CIBC was Chief of Staff for CIBC World Markets. 

R. Geoffrey is active on numerous other corporate and not-for-profit Boards.  R. Geoffrey is one of three independent members of the Investment Review Committee of UBS Global Asset Management (Canada) Co.

Dr. Vicky J. Sharpe
Vicky Sharpe is President and CEO of Sustainable Development Technology Canada, a Government of Canada initiative whose mission is to build a sustainable development technology infrastructure in Canada. With over 25 years of experience in the energy industry, Dr. Sharpe has successfully integrated sustainable development into business practices. 

Vicky has served on numerous committees, in particular as an international advisor on sustainability issues; has represented the Canadian energy sector at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Forum; and has chaired both the National Advisory Board on Energy, Science and Technology, and the Board of Directors of Clean Air Canada Inc.

Vicky holds a B.Sc. Honours in Applied Biology from Bath University, UK, and a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Chemistry, as applied to water pollution control, from Trent University, UK.