Sector experience

Natural resources, First Nations, real estate and development

Career background

Various communications roles with clients mainly in the mining and natural gas sectors.

Education

BA (Hon) in Communications, SFU (Burnaby, B.C.); MA in International Relations, IBEI (Barcelona, Spain); Certificate in Public Relations, BCIT (Vancouver, B.C.)

Furthest flung city you’ve lived in?

A previous employer had me based in Budapest for six months and I completed my master’s degree in Barcelona. While living in Europe both times I took advantage of cheap flights and short distances and travelled extensively.

Favourite part of Peak life

Variety! One day is always different from the next.

Career highlight

Witnessing history being made at our client the Squamish Nation’s news conference celebrating the Federal Court of Appeal victory over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

Favourite BC pastime

Hiking! This past summer I hiked to the bottom of the West Lion (9.5-hour round-trip from Cypress). There was too much snow and I didn’t have gear to scramble the peak, but it was amazing to get so close to the iconic Lions!

Languages

Spanish (conversationally fluent)

Random fact

I log countless hours every month listening to audiobooks and podcasts. If I’m solo and driving, walking, running errands – I’m listening to something.

Specialties

Communications strategy; reputation and trust management; issues, crisis and change; training; media relations; social media management and governance; content development.

Sector experience

Newspaper reporter and editor; corporate communications, most recently national Director of Social and Media Relations for TELUS; PR consulting in sectors including real estate, aquaculture and food production, mining and resource development, biotech, technology and health care.

Education

BA in journalism.

Farthest flung city you’ve been to

Charlottetown, PEI, for the 1989 Scouts Canada Jamboree.

Favourite part of Peak life:

Collaborating with great clients.

Career highlight:

Taking on a New York hedge fund trying to disrupt TELUS’s merger of voting and non-voting shares into a single class in order to profit from short trades.

Favourite B.C. pastime:

Skiing, backpacking, camping with my Scout troop.

Favourite social media site:

LinkedIn.

Random fact:

I won third place in the Agassiz Fall Fair celebrity goat milking contest when I was editor of the local newspaper. The mayor and MLA beat me to the gold.

Sector experience

Government relations, Mining and Energy, Arts and entertainment

Career background

Prior to moving to Vancouver I worked as a public relations consultant in Perth, on the west coast of Australia. I predominantly worked with clients in government, corporate, arts and entertainment sectors.  My broad skills and knowledge base includes social media management, government relations, community engagement, event management, relationship management and media relations.

Education

Bachelor of Arts, Public Relations and Journalism – Curtin University

Career highlight

Part of the team that won The Australasian Consultancy of the Year at the 2015 Asia-Pacific SABRE Awards.

Favourite B.C past time

Exploring the city and B.C. in general.

Favourite social media site

Instagram

Furthest flung place you’ve lived? 

Australia

Languages

English

Random fact

Muay Thai enthusiast

Sector experience

Government, non-profit, social enterprise

Career background

Prior to joining Peak, I’ve had experience working in both international and local communications agencies. With an events heavy background, I’ve been involved with conferences such as the 2014 OMG Social Media conference; trade shows across the lower mainland; and the annual Rogers Santa Claus Parade.

Education

Bachelors of Arts (B.A.), Communication studies from Simon Fraser University

Volunteer experience

Currently, I am involved with the Canadian Public Relations Society of Vancouver.

Career highlight

Before any experience in the industry and while I was still a student, I tried to teach myself media relations by reading articles on Forbes and other business magazines. My first media hit was with Tammy Moyer on News1130’s morning show – a thrill that I’ve been chasing since!

Favourite part of Peak life

The supportive environment and team collaboration.

Favourite social media site

Snapchat

Furthest flung place you’ve lived? 

Melbourne, Australia

Languages

English, Cantonese

Random fact

One of my most memorable travel stories has to do with accidentally stepping on sea urchins in Thailand – it is probably the most physically painful experience I’ve had so far (trust me, it hurts!).

Sector experience

Predominantly in retail, music, ticketing and technology

Career background

I have spent much of my career working in communications agencies in London, account managing fully integrated campaigns and media pitching for five to 10 clients at any one point. Hallmark clients include Nokia/Microsoft Mobile, Canada Goose, Puma, Casio G-SHOCK, Amazon and Patagonia.

Education

Leeds Metropolitan University – BA Hons (2:1) Marketing and Public Relations

Volunteer experience

Working annually at fundraising events for Medical Detection Dogs (UK). A charity that trains dogs to detect changes in an individual’s personal odor triggered by their disease (Cancer, Diabetes and others).

If you were going to write an autobiography, what would it be called? 

There and back again: An intrepid look into the soul of an English fella.

Career highlight

Landing a national primetime broadcast slot for my client by hijacking the viral sensation of the blue or gold dress debate.

Favourite part of Peak life

Bouncing ideas off my colleagues and seeing if it sticks or what comes back.

Favourite social media site

Instagram – it is experiencing such growth in the retail and brand sphere currently and also evolving influencer roles in the marketing mix.

Furthest flung place you’ve lived? 

London

Favourite B.C. pastime 

Skiing, climbing and enjoying the great outdoors.

Secret talent 

Flipping and catching beer mats in one movement – my record is 27.

Random fact

As a toddler I went wondering from a restaurant table in Spain – my parents found me sitting on Steffi Graf’s knee.

Sector experience

Investment banking, finance and private equity, technology, real estate, telecommunications, mining and natural resources, corporate and retail.

Career background

Prior to moving home to Vancouver and joining Peak, I spent 15 years in Asia, most recently as Head of Corporate Communications for Barclays, Asia Pacific. I started my career initially as a financial correspondent, before moving into banking, first on the trading desk at HSBC, and then joining what was then Barclays Capital in 2008.

Education

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Political Science and Government from Simon Fraser University

Career highlight

Joining Barclays only weeks after its purchase of Lehman Bros at the height of the Global Financial Crisis, and working to promote the firm as it was expanding its footprint of the business across Asia.

Favourite part of Peak life

The diversity. After 15 years working in finance it’s fantastic to work with such a wide array of clients from such different industries.

Favourite social media site

Twitter. The democratization of information has fundamentally changed the nature of how the world understands and views itself.

Furthest flung place you’ve lived? 

Tai Kok Tsui, Hong Kong

Random fact 

Was recognized in PR Week’s 2015 Power Book, which names that publication’s list of the most influential PR professionals around the world.

Sector experience

Arts and Culture, Non-profit organizations, Corporate

Career background

During university, I worked with multiple student associations on diverse cultural events. After that I was at the Alliance Française of Vancouver, where I worked in a communications and events coordination capacity.

Education

BA in Languages and Literatures and MA in Multilingual Communication from the Université de Louvain, MA in General Management from the Louvain School of Management

Volunteer experience

I currently volunteer for the Canadian Public Relations Society, the Alliance Française and the YMCA on their major annual fundraising event

Favourite part of Peak life

The people and the company’s culture. No matter how stressful work might be, a touch of humour is always present!

If you were to write an autobiography, what would it be called?

The day I decided to move to the other side of the world

Career highlight

While working at the Alliance Française of Vancouver, I organized a conference about Simone de Beauvoir and the history of feminism in France. A few days before the event I received a call from CBC Radio-Canada asking if I would like to be interviewed. The next morning I was in their studio speaking about my conference for the ‘Boulevard du Pacifique’ show.

Favourite B.C. pastime

Rollerblading on the Seawall around Stanley Park

Languages

French, English, Polish, Spanish

Secret Talent

Singing terribly, I sing so badly that my friends once bought me a ‘dislike’ stamp

Furthest flung place you’ve lived? 

Brussels, Galway, Madrid, Warsaw, pick your favourite!

Random fact

When I was travelling through Ireland, I met a gentleman carrying a big boar (a stuffed animal, not a real one). Marc (the boar) had his own Facebook page with pictures from all the places he has visited. I ended up on his Facebook page as a ‘boar travel companion’

Sector experience

Oil and Gas, Real Estate, Arts and Culture, Technology

Career background

Previously I have worked for various festivals and a museum in a communications capacity, as well as in corporate communications

Education

BA in Communications from the University of Calgary, Public Relations certificate from Simon Fraser University

Volunteer experience

I have volunteered for multiple years with UNICEF, The Calgary International Film Festival and Free the Children on its ‘We Day’ programs

Favourite part of Peak life

Definitely the people, and how open and supportive of an environment Peak is. That and bagel Wednesday!

Career highlight

Creating a speech and presentation with the VP of the Oil Company I used to work for on his keynote at a major conference. It was very exciting to see 800 people give a standing ovation at the end

Favourite B.C. pastime

Hiking, trying new restaurants and biking along the sea wall

Languages

English and French

Furthest flung place you’ve lived? 

Dehra Dun, India

Random fact

I once sat next to a nun on the plane and she gave me a piece of Mother Theresa’s dress for helping her translate her documents

Max is one of the elite cameramen in British Columbia.

For five years Max shot TV news for BCTV’s NewsHour, plus sports and current affairs programs. For more then 30 years, Max has worked as a freelance director of photography, focusing mainly on long and short form documentaries, corporate work, promotional videos, and commercials.