Leadership Team
Bala Kathiresan
President & CEO
Bala has over 25 years of information systems and strategic leadership experience in the public and private sector. He has a solid track record in facilitating strategic vision, managing execution and achieving organizational excellence. Bala has successfully led the development of strategic alliances across a wide spectrum of stakeholders to enable a shared vision. He has served on various not-for-profit and public sector boards, and has chaired board committees including finance, audit and compensation committees. Bala holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree, an MBA and a certificate from the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Dean Crawford
Director, Shared Systems and Technology
Dean manages the development and operation of the shared systems and technologies portfolio. He works collaboratively with our member community to facilitate service development and define models for selecting and implementing services. Dean is a seasoned IT professional with over two decades of experience in higher education and technology. He holds a certificate as a project management professional.
Frances Fang
Executive Assistant
Frances is responsible for providing administrative support to the CEO and management team. She also oversees some of the accounting functions of BCNET and acts as the office manager. Frances has extensive experience in office administration and human resources in the not-for-profit and private sector. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Certificate in Accounting from BCIT.
Marilyn Hay
Manager, Network Engineering
Marilyn Hay is the BCNET Network Services Manager and responsible for the operation, development, and management of the province wide network serving the public post secondary education and research sectors. She successfully engages an expert core team of network professionals and peers in BCNET’s member universities to ensure collaborative and cohesive support across the province. Marilyn has 35 years experience in computing, network support, and management, ITIL Service Operations Certification, a Computing Technology Diploma from SAIT Calgary, and a B.Sc. in Computer Science from UBC.
Jeremy Jarvis
Chief Financial Officer
Jeremy directs all aspects of BCNET finances and is the chief financial spokesperson. He is also responsible for governance oversight of the Board of Directors and Committees. Jeremy is a chartered accountant who specializes in non-profit management, governance and accounting. He holds an MBA from SFU Beedie School of Business and has designations as a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Jeremy has been involved with BCNET since inception.
Tamara Klein
Manager, Communications
Tamara oversees the planning and development of communications and marketing strategies designed to increase awareness about BCNET projects, value, community and service offerings. She has over 20 years' experience in IT marketing and communications and has worked with some well-known, private sector start-ups. Tamara holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from the University of Winnipeg and a Diploma in Business Administration from Red River Community College.
clarence lee
Director, Client Services & Communications
Clarence manages client services, where he is responsible for the overall business and service objectives. From product development to service delivery, he oversees and manages the service needs of members, helping to identify the opportunities and solutions that address critical business and operational requirements. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from Simon Fraser University, as well as a Diploma in Commerce and Business Administration from Douglas College.
IVOR MACKAY
Manager, Information Technology
Ivor is responsible for fulfilling and planning the future of BCNET's internal IT needs. He facilitates cybersecurity collaboration and future service direction through the BCNET Cybersecurity and Identity Management Services Committee. Ivor has 24 years’ experience in management and 17 years as an IT professional. He began his IT career working at the world track and field games in Edmonton, where he led the rolling out and support of desktops and servers for the games. Following his work at the games, he worked in IT for CBC in Edmonton for 10 years. He moved from Edmonton to join Coast Mountain College (formerly known as Northwest Community College) as the director of IT. Ivor is a certified Barracuda Engineer.
GARRY SAGERT
Enterprise Resource Planning Project Lead
Garry's role is to build on the existing sector-wide ERP strategy for higher education in B.C., and identify opportunities to centrally coordinate services to be delivered or facilitated by BCNET. In his prior role as the Director of UVic Online Systems, Garry successfully led the delivery of $25M of strategic information systems and organizational change initiatives at the University of Victoria. Garry also holds an MSc in Computer Science and has made significant contributions to the field of dynamic graph algorithms.
Dennis Silva
Chief Procurement Officer
Dennis is the chief procurement officer of BCNETSource. He is responsible for collaborative sourcing, developing and guiding category strategies to help achieve savings and benefits for the sector. Dennis and his team focus on a variety of categories for the sector through master service arrangements. Prior to joining BCNET, Dennis was the director of payment and procurement services at UBC. He also held a procurement leadership role at Best Buy Canada.
