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.
GLEN MONTGOMERY
Chief Technology Officer
Glen has over 30 years of experience in information technology within the private and public sectors, in both technical and management roles. He was the manager of IT infrastructure at the University of Northern British Columbia, where he worked in various IT roles since 2002. Glen holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science as well as many certifications in networking and cloud technologies, and administrative management.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Karla Torres
Executive Assistant
Karla provides administrative support for the CEO and management team and is our Vancouver office manager. She has a Bachelor of Law degree from Universidade FUMEC, a Master's in Business Administration degree from Centro Universitário UNA and a Certificate in Office Management. Karla has extensive experience working in the private sector in the areas of law, customer service, planning and analysis.
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.
Tom samplonius
Manager, Network
Tom is a veteran of the network service provider industry in Canada having worked at internet, network and telecom service providers for over 25 years. More recently, Tom was employed at Urban Communications, where he led a team that connected more than 100 new on-net buildings through Urban’s dark fibre network using a newly designed MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) network.
IVOR MACKAY
Manager, Cybersecurity
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.
