Forestry Roundtable Member Biographies

Updated: June 30, 2008

Pat Bell,
B.C. Minister of Forests and Range, Chair

Pat Bell was appointed Minister of Forests and Range on June 23, 2008. Previously, he served as Minister of Agriculture and Lands and Minister of State for Mining.

Mr. Bell was elected to represent the riding of Prince George North in the 2001 election.

He has served on the Government Caucus Committee on Natural Resources and B.C. Task Force on Mining, and as chair of the Small Scale Salvage Review Committee. Mr. Bell has also served on the Legislative Select Standing Committees on Education and Crown Corporations.

Prior to becoming an MLA, Mr. Bell owned a trucking company and co-owned a logging company. He owns two Wendy's Restaurants in Prince George.

Dana Hayden was appointed Vice-Chair of the Working Roundtable on Forestry in February, 2008.  Prior to that she served as interim President and CEO, British Columbia Lottery Corporation.

Ms. Hayden was appointed Deputy Minister Strategic Policy, Natural Resources and the Economy, Office of the Premier on June 1, 2005.  She has also served as Deputy Minister and CEO of the Crown Agencies Secretariat; Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services for several Ministries in the BC Government; Vice President, Policy and Planning at Forest Renewal BC and Assistant Deputy Minister, International Trade. 

Ms. Hayden began her career with the BC Public Service in 1986 as an economist with the Ministry of Forests where she worked almost exclusively on the softwood lumber countervailing duty investigation.  She has also worked as an economist with the Canadian Forest Service in Newfoundland, and has several years experience as a forester in Alberta, Quebec, and Sweden.

Ms. Hayden has a B.Sc. in Forest Science, an M.Sc. in Economics and has completed the Canadian Securities course. In 2007 Dana was named as one of “Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women”.

John Cowan, Principal,
Osborne Group (formerly Weldwood and West Fraser)

A driven and proven manager and entrepreneur with broad experience in forest products, real estate development, and industrial associations.  Skills include change management, project management, strategic and operational planning, marketing to large retailers. Exceptional ability to lead groups in development and execution of targets, build and utilize required performance management tools, and manage sensitive change or start-up situations.

Frank Everitt, President
United Steel Workers Local 1-424

Frank Everitt is the President of United Steelworkers 1-424, formerly the IWA, in Prince George.  Early on, Frank worked as an employee of Weldwood Canada in Quesnel and for the past 29 years has held the position as the President of the Local Union, which covers all types of manufacturing in the forest industry.  Frank has been active in the union since 1971 and has held various leadership positions within the movement; including Trustee of the IWA Pension Plan, Quesnel Hospital Board, Labour Council, Board Member of the College of New Caledonia, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind committee as well as the Spruce Credit Union committee.

Mike Frazier, Mayor
Village of McBride

Mike Frazier is currently serving his third term as Mayor of the Village of McBride.  He was a Councillor for one term prior to becoming Mayor.  Mike is very proud to be a Director with the Fraser-Fort George Regional District, and to sit as a member of the NDI Regional Advisory Committee, and as well as being a member of the Northern Central Municipal Association (NCMA) Executive.  Mike was a founding member of the McBride Community Forest and continues to work closely with the board and staff of the McBride Community Forest Corporation (MCFC).

As well as Village activities and committees, he enjoys working for and living in a small town in rural B.C.  He is a dyed in the wool hunting and fishing fanatic, and appreciates McBride’s easy access to his favorite endeavours.

Mike moved from Dease Lake to McBride in 1990, and works as a Bridge Technician for the Ministry of Transportation.  He and Rebecca, his spouse of over 30 years, have two grown sons.

Mike Harkies, Vice President and General Manager, Solid Wood and Kraft Papers
Tolko Industries Ltd.

Mr. Harkies is a 1979 graduate of the Forest Resources Technology Program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.  After graduation, Mr. Harkies joined Tolko in the Woodlands Division and has progressed through the organization to his present position.  Mr. Harkies is experience in all aspects of the operations business.  As Vice-President and General Manager, Solid Wood & Kraft Papers, Mr. Harkies is not only responsible for all aspects of the Okanagan, Cariboo, High Level and Manitoba operations but also accountable for their overall direction.  Mr. Harkies is also responsible for the technology coordination of solid wood and Kraft papers.

Jack Heavenor, Managing Partner
Downie Timber Ltd.

Jack Heavenor is the CEO and Managing Partner of Downie Timber.  He has 38 years background in logging, forestry, sawmill plus product development and marketing.  Jack has been with Downie Timber for 20 years.

David Gandossi, Executive Vice-President, CFO and Secretary,
Mercer International (pulp and paper)

From August 2003 to present, David Gandossi has served as Executive Vice-President, CFO and Secretary at Mercer International Inc., a major market pulp producer with operations in Germany and Canada. Mercer serves customers in Europe, North America and Asia. Mr. Gandossi has been instrumental in the company’s rapid growth and evolution into a leading global supplier of high quality NBSK pulp. From June 2002 until August 2003, Mr. Gandossi was the CFO and Executive Vice-President of Formation Forest Products (a closely held corporation). Mr. Gandossi was CFO, Vice-President, Finance and Secretary of Pacifica Papers Inc., a 900,000 tonne per year North American specialty pulp and paper manufacturing company which was spun-off from MacMillan Bloedel Limited in 1998 and subsequently sold to Norske Skog in September 2001.From 1994 to 1998, Mr. Gandossi held the position of Controller and Treasurer with Harmac Pacific Inc., a Canadian pulp manufacturing company which, again, was spun off from MacMillan Bloedel and subsequently sold to Pope & Talbot in 1998. Mr. Gandossi is a chartered accountant certified in British Columbia, Canada in 1982. He has worked extensively with forest industry clients of Arthur Andersen and Price Waterhouse throughout the period prior to joining Harmac in 1994. From 2007 he has chaired the BC Pulp & Paper Task Force, a government, industry and labour effort that is mandated to identify measures to renew British Columbia’s pulp and paper industry.

Donald Hayes, President
Hayes Forest Services Limited

Donald P. Hayes is President and principal shareholder of Hayes Forest Services Limited, the largest independent forest service provider in British Columbia.  The Company’s services include forestry and engineering, full phase conventional and helicopter logging and all aspects of timberland management. 

Hayes is the third generation of his family involved in the forest industry.  His grand father was the founder of Hayes Manufacturing, which designed and built some of the first logging trucks in British Columbia. His parents were active logging contractors from 1957 until their retirement in 1989.

Donald P. Hayes’ involvement in logging started in his childhood with summers spent in various logging camps. His full time dedication to the family business started in 1985.Since then he has managed a series of acquisitions, growing the business and making Hayes the largest independent logging contractor in British Columbia.  In 1989, he became President of Hayes Forest Services Limited and controlling shareholder shortly afterwards. 

Hayes attended the University of British Columbia, receiving his Bachelor of Commerce in1982.  He was admitted into the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia in1985 and continues to maintain his designation as a Chartered Accountant.  Hayes is currently a Director of the Royal British Columbia Museum, a Director of British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. and the BC Ferry Authority and a member of the BC Government's Working Roundtable on Forestry. 

Hayes is Past Chairman of the Cowichan Valley Economic Development Commission, Past Chairman of the Associated Logging Congress, Past Vice-Chairman of the Truck Loggers Association, Past Director of Forest Renewal BC, Past Director of the Khowutzun Development Corporation and Past Director of the New Relationship Trust.  He has also held a number of other key positions in the forestry industry and community.

As well as operating the forestry interests, Hayes consults to various businesses including running the family retail and real estate operations.

Hayes was born in Duncan, British Columbia in 1960 and has four brothers and sisters, all of whom are involved in various aspects of the family business.  He lives in Victoria, British Columbia.

Bill Kordyban, President
Carrier Lumber Ltd.

William (Bill) M. Kordyban has been a resident of Prince George, B.C. since 1961.  Upon graduating from Duchess Park Secondary School in 1979, Bill attended the University of Alberta in Edmonton, where he earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1983.  Bill’s passion for flying led him to acquire his private pilot’s license during the summer of 1981.  After graduating, Bill began working full-time in the family business – Carrier Lumber Ltd.  Bill had the privilege of working alongside his late father and founder of Carrier Lumber Ltd., William Kordyban Sr., in developing large-scale modular sawmills, designing sawmill machinery, expanding the family business, and contributing to community projects.  After the passing of his father in 2000, Bill became the President of the Carrier Group of Companies.  Bill has served as a member of Rotary, and currently sits on the following boards:  West Chilcotin Forest Products Ltd., Cheslatta Forest Products Ltd., and the Council of Forest Industries.  Together with his wife Elizabeth and their two sons, Bill enjoys fishing, skiing, snowmobiling, waterskiing, playing squash and spending time together as a family.

Thomas Olsen, President
Triumph Timber

Thomas has a diverse background with a broad range of expertise in the coastal logging industry. He is an owner and president of Triumph Timber Ltd. and Olsen Management Group Inc., which has subsidiaries in logging, land development and marine transportation. In forestry he has led the development of forest practices in ecosystem-based management, variable-retention forest operations, and an innovative system of log production management.

Thomas serves as a director on the Coast Opportunities Fund Board. He has also been board member of the Truck Loggers Association since 1999 and is currently first vice president. He has participated in several multi-stakeholder processes such as the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management’s North Coast Land and Resource Management Plan.

Thomas has worked in cooperative ventures with First Nations communities to build sustainable infrastructure and ensure long-term employment for communities in B.C. He holds a Master of Business Administration in Executive Leadership.

Beverlee Park, Executive Vice President and CFO,
TimberWest

Bev Park has 22 years of experience in the Vancouver business community and is currently the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of TimberWest Forest Corp.  Bev has been the CFO of TimberWest for eight years.

TimberWest is a publicly-traded company listed on the TSX and is uniquely positioned as the largest owner of private timberlands in western Canada. 

Bev is responsible for the finance function at TimberWest including accounting, treasury, public company reporting and investor relations activities.  In addition, she has strategic responsibility for the operations including real estate and is responsible for information technology and human resources.

Prior to joining TimberWest, Bev spent six years at BC Hydro in various senior financial roles and prior to being with BC Hydro, she spent five years with KPMG in the Vancouver audit practice.

Bev completed her Masters of Business Administration degree from Simon Fraser University in 2002, attained her Chartered Accounting designation from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC in 1988, and graduated from McGill University in Montreal with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1985.  She is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC.

Bev serves on the Board of Directors of the British Columbia Transmission Corporation, where she has served since the inception of that Corporation in May 2003.  As an independent Crown corporation, BCTC is responsible for the planning, management and operation of the BC transmission assets.  Bev chaired the Audit Committee of the Board for three years, she is now a member of the Capital Review Committee as well as the Human Resources Committee.

Bev has been actively involved in several community organizations.  She is currently a member of the Vancouver Opera Board and the Vancouver Opera Foundation Board.  She was a member of the St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation Board for three years during the early stages of developing the financial plan for the Foundation where she chaired the Finance Committee.  Bev is also a member of the Audit, Finance and Investment Committee of the Vancouver YWCA.  She has been involved with the YWCA for many years, previously serving as a Board member for eight years and as President for two of those years.  Bev is a member of the 2008 Campaign Cabinet for the United Way of the Lower Mainland.

Conrad Pinette, Director
TimberWest

Conrad A. Pinette, of Vancouver, British Columbia, has served on the board since 2002. Mr. Pinette's work in the Canadian forest industry began 40 years ago as an owner and President of a family lumber business, Pinette & Therrien Mills Ltd. Mr. Pinette served as Executive Vice President, Tolko Industries Ltd. (2005), Executive Vice President, Riverside Forest Products Limited (2004) and served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Lignum Limited from January 1990 to April 2004. Mr. Pinette is Chairman and a director of Finning International Inc., a director of A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund, a director of Northgate Minerals Corporation and a past director of the British Columbia Business Council.

Dave Porter, First Nations Summit
Kaska Nation

Mr. Porter is a member of the Kaska Nation whose traditional territory covers a large part of north-eastern British Columbia and south-eastern Yukon. His career includes journalism, politics, communications and extensive public service on behalf of aboriginal organizations as well as public governments in the Yukon, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Porter spent the first seven years of his life on a trapline near Good Hope Lake, B.C. His education included Lower Post Indian Residential School, F.H. Collins Secondary School in Whitehorse, Confederation College in Thunder Bay and Pre-Law at the University of British Columbia.

Mr. Porter was founding Chairman of Northern Native Broadcasting, Yukon and was elected as Vice-Chair of the Council for Yukon Indians through two terms (1978-1982), holding several portfolios including Land Claims, Housing and Economic Development.

In 1982, Mr. Porter was elected to the Yukon Legislature and upon re-election in 1985 he served as Deputy Premier. He has also served as Minister of Renewable Resources, Tourism, Heritage and Culture, and Minister Responsible for Constitutional Devolution.

After leaving the Legislature, Mr. Porter was named Executive Director of the Yukon Human Rights Commission, then Deputy Minister of Culture and Communications for the Government of the Northwest Territories.

In the 1990’s Mr. Porter served as Assistant Deputy Minister of Aboriginal Affairs for the British Columbia government. He later led the Fur Industry European Lobby on behalf of the Governments of Canada and the United States.

Mr. Porter was also the first Oil and Gas Commissioner in British Columbia, where he strived to build an open environment that would bring various interests in the province to a common table.

In 2002, Mr. Porter was elected Chair of the Kaska Dena Council, with a special commitment to preserve Kaska culture and create greater opportunity for Kaska youth.

Mr. Porter was elected to the three member political executive of the First Nations Summit, the Summit Task Group, in June 2004. The Task Group is authorized by the Summit to carry out specifically mandated tasks on issues related to treaty negotiations in British Columbia. The First Nations Summit, which is comprised of a majority of First Nations and Tribal Councils in B.C., provides a Roundtable for First Nations in British Columbia to address issues related to Treaty negotiations as well as other issues of common concern.

Chief Lynda Price
Ulkatcho First Nation

Chief Lynda Carol (Holte) Price was born in Bella Coola and raised on a ranch near her home community of Anahim Lake.   Her mother, Teresa Holte, raised her in the traditional culture of her ancestors from the Carrier/Nuxalk First Nation and taught her the importance of the seasonal round, hunting and sustenance gathering.

Lynda’s political career began in 1990 where she served for 8 years as councilor for the Ulkatcho First Nation with the education portfolio.  Lynda was instrumental in building the Band’s school and childcare center.  She went on to serve for 10 years as a School Trustee for School District #27 and was appointed as co-chair of the BC School Trustee Associations First Nations Education Committee where she supported the Minister’s efforts to target funding for First Nations language, culture and support programs.

In the capacity of President of West Chilcotin Forest Products and working with the Board of Directors, she successfully restructured the company to make it more profitable. On the provincial level, Lynda has played a pivotal role in response to the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic. She sat on the initial MPB working group, which organized a province-wide plan, and served as Vice President of the First Nations Forestry Council.

Currently the elected chief of the Ulkatcho Nation, Lynda served 3 years as Director for the Carrier Chilcotin Tribal Council and most recently was appointed to the BC First Nations Leadership Council to implement the New Relationship and Transformative Change Accord.

Lynda is currently completing an undergraduate degree with a double major in First Nations studies and Political Science at the University of Northern British Columbia.

Lynda’s proudest achievement is raising her two beautiful children, Carey (20) (Montreal Canadiens’ Goalie) and Kayla (16) (grade 11 student/actress/soccer athlete).  Without the love and encouragement of her close friends, family and Creator she would not have the strength or courage to continue on her political journey.

Daryl Swetlishoff, Senior Managing Director, Head of Research
Raymond James Ltd.

Daryl Swetlishoff is a Senior Managing Director at Raymond James Ltd.  As Head of Research, he is responsible for all facets of the firm's Canadian equity research product. In addition to his management responsibilities, he is also well-respected as an equity analyst; consistently ranked by institutional investor surveys as one of the top analysts covering the global paper & forest products industry.

Prior to joining Raymond James, Mr. Swetlishoff practiced corporate finance at a major accounting firm and was an economist with the B.C. Ministry of Forests.  Mr. Swetlishoff holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation as well as Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in economics from the University of Victoria.

Derek Thompson, Associate Professor
Royal Roads University

Derek has over 30 years of experience with the Government of British Columbia. His work concentrated primarily on parks planning and land use management and policy development.

Currently, he is an Associate Professor at Royal Roads University teaching a graduate course in Governance and Management for Sustainability; member of the Joint Initiative between the Government of Canada and Central Party School of the Peoples Republic of China to develop the capacity for sustainability decision making in the Government of PRC; external advisor to the Auditor General of Canada and, separately; to the Federal Minister of Environment; Senior External Advisor to WWF Canada.

Derek has served as Commissioner of the Environmental Assessment Commission for Skytrain in Vancouver, as provincial Deputy Minister for Environment, Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Chair of the Federal/Provincial Environment Deputies Committee and has taught environmental studies at the University of Victoria.

Ron Cantelon, MLA Nanaimo Parksville

Mr. Cantelon was elected on May 17, 2005 in the riding of Nanaimo-Parksville.

Ron first entered political life as a city councillor for the City of Nanaimo in 1999.  He has also acted as Chair of the Nanaimo Conference Centre Advisory Committee, Chair of the Downtown Nanaimo Partnership, Director of the Nanaimo Regional District Board and President of the Port Theatre from 1994 to 1999.

Ron has won several awards including Tourism Nanaimo’s Citizen of the Year 1999, Re/Max manager of the year for Western Canada in 1999 and was one of the 125 notable citizens for Nanaimo’s 125th anniversary.

Blair Lekstrom, MLA Peace River South

Blair Lekstrom was first elected in the 2001 provincial general election in the riding of Peace River South, and was re-elected for a second term in the 2005 general election.

Blair currently serves as the Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Development.

Previously, Blair chaired the Legislative Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services (2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006) and served on the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts, the Agriculture Policy Development Committee, the Legislative Review Committee and the Government Caucus Committee on the Economy. In the past he has also served as the Chair of the Legislative Committee to review the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the BC Offshore Oil and Gas Committee. He has been a member of the Select Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, the Select Standing Committee on Health, the Northern Caucus Committee, the Cabinet Committee on Agenda & Priorities, and the Legislative Committee on the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.

Before becoming an MLA, Blair was serving his second term as Mayor of the City of Dawson Creek. He was first elected mayor in 1996, after serving for three years as a councillor.

Ex-officio members

Doug Konkin, Deputy Minister
Ministry of Forests and Range

Doug Konkin was appointed Deputy Minister, Ministry of Forests in 2003.  At that time he also was appointed the Chair of the Board of Directors for Forestry Innovation Investment, Ltd.  The Ministry was later re-named the Ministry of Forests and Range.

Doug has been in government service for over 27 years.  He has three daughters and what gets him to work every morning is the possibility of making things better for staff or the public.

He has a Bachelor of Science in Forestry Degree from the University of Alberta and a Forest Resource Diploma from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.  He liked the climate in Southern B.C. better than Edmonton and has lived in Victoria for many years.

Larry Pedersen, Deputy Minister
Ministry of Agriculture and Lands

Larry Pedersen is a lifetime resident of B.C. and has lived and worked in many regions of the Province over the last 33 years of his career.  In 1975 he received his Bachelor of Science in Forestry from the University of British Columbia.  He has worked in a variety of positions in government and the private sector.

From 1994 to 2004, Larry held the position of Chief Forester of the Province.  This position gave him a strong background in public administration.  Larry has developed strong interests in sustainability and has a healthy respect for managing to the triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental interests.  In 2005 he was given the Distinguished Forester's award by the Association of BC Forest Professionals. 

In June 2005 Larry was appointed Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands.

He is proudly married to Debbie and they have 3 sons.  He loves to sing and is a founding member of the Arbutus Singers choir in Victoria.