Presidents of the four post-secondary institutions at the Great Northern Way Campus (GNWC) today announced the appointments of a new Board of Directors and President.
GNWC is owned by the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, the Emily Carr University of Art + Design and the British Columbia Institute of Technology. The campus is situated on 18.5 acres of land on the False Creek Flats that was donated by Finning International, Inc. to the four institutions in 2001.
The Board of Directors will be chaired by Jamie Bruce, partner of investment banking firm Capital West Partners, who brings more than 25 years of financial experience and extensive leadership experience on corporate, non-profit and public sector boards.
GNWC’s new President, Matthew Carter, joins GNWC from UBC Properties Trust, where he served as Vice President. Carter has an extensive background in real estate finance and development. At UBC Properties Trust he led initiatives to advance UBC’s vision to build a sustainable, mixed use community while creating significant endowment for research and learning.
Carter notes that the majority of the board comes from the business community, thus providing the shareholder institutions an independent voice in advising on future directions for GNWC.
Carter and Bruce are joined on the new GNWC Board of Directors by:
- Chris Golding, Vice-President, Learning and Technology, BCIT
- Andrew Grant, President, PCI Group
- Patricia Hibbitts, Vice-President, Finance and Administration, SFU
- Jake Kerr, Chancellor, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, and Chair and CEO of Lignum Ltd
- J. Eric Martin, Vice President Development, BOSA Developments
- David Podmore, President and CEO, Concert Properties
- W. Wesley Pue, Vice Provost, Academic Resources, UBC
- Tamara Vrooman, CEO of VanCity
Carter said the new Board and President will guide GNWC to achieve its vision of creating a vibrant and sustainable community that attracts innovative businesses and academic programs in a collaborative, innovative environment. GNWC is home to the Centre for Digital Media, which offers a Masters of Digital Media degree for which students get to collaborate with the world’s entertainment and computer games industry leaders.
