WEtech Alliance is pleased to announce the appointment of its new Chair and Vice-Chair and the appointment of two new Directors and two new Advisors to the Board of Directors for 2021-2022. WEtech Alliance’s Board of Directors is composed of 11 directors, five ex-officio advisors including WEtech Alliance’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

Following the ratification at the Annual General Meeting on September 21st, 2021, Barry Leavitt was named Chair of the Board, replacing former Chair Larry Koscielski who remains on the board as ex-officio Past Chair.

Barry was appointed to the Board in September 2018. Barry Leavitt is the Director Corporate Operations and Innovation, ENWIN Utilities, and has an accomplished 35 year career in engineering and management within the tech, automotive and utility sectors.

“I would like to thank Larry Koscielski for his leadership, vision and commitment to advancing both WEtech as an organization and the tech industry as a whole and look forward to his continued engagement with WEtech Alliance,” said Barry Leavitt, Chair, WEtech Alliance Board of Directors. “It is an honour to accept this role as Chair for an organization that plays such a vital role in economic recovery and diversification. I am excited about the path WEtech is on, the team that has been assembled and the opportunity for WEtech to grow and expand the value it provides to its clients and the tech community as a whole. I look forward to working closely with the Board of Directors, Executive Team and staff to continue to execute on the goals outlined in the strategy plan.”

Also, effective September 21, 2021, Amy Martin was named Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors. Amy is the Head of Growth at OpenPhone, a high-growth tech startup that provides businesses and startups with cloud-based phone numbers, and has over a decade of experience working with such high growth tech companies such as Shopify.

“It is an honor to serve as Vice-Chair of WEtech’s Board and work with this outstanding group of industry leaders. WEtech continues to play an important role in the startup and tech ecosystem, and I am excited to be a part of the journey as the organization continues to grow. I look forward to serving and learning in the year ahead,” said Amy Martin, Vice-Chair, WEtech Alliance Board of Directors.

The mission of WEtech Alliance is to accelerate tech companies across a broad range of sectors and stages, while at the same time working with partners to champion the regional tech community and build up the tech talent pipeline.

Members of the WEtech Alliance team, Board of Directors and Advisors at WEtech’s virtual 2021 AGM held September 21st.

New appointments to the 2021 Board of Directors include:
• Claudius Thomas, CEO of Turaco Web International Group
• Wen Teoh, Director, EPICentre, University of Windsor (Appointed)

Two new ex-officio executives to serve as Advisors to the Board of Directors include:
• Patrick Thompson, Business Development Lead, Ettractive Inc. (Client Advisor)
• Spencer Briguglio, MSc Computer Science – AI Specialization Candidate, University of Windsor (Student Advisor)

Eleven other executives and ex-officio advisors currently serve on the WEtech Alliance Board of Directors:

• Barry Leavitt, Corporate Operations and Innovation, ENWIN Utilities (Chair)
• Amy Martin, Head of Growth, OpenPhone (Vice-Chair)
• Kit Moore, President, BluePrint CPAs (Treasurer)
• Larry Koscielski, VP, Process & Technology Development, CenterLine Windsor Ltd. (Past Chair)*
• Deborah Landers, COO, Operational Acceleration, Georgian Partners
• Hassan Farhat, IT Business Analyst, AlphaKOR Group
• Joe Markham, Senior Innovation Leader, Edison Financial
• Kulveer Virk, IT Professional
• James Marsh, Dean, Zekelman School of Business and Information Technology and School of Media, Arts and Design
• Stephen MacKenzie, President/CEO, Invest WindsorEssex
• Yvonne Pilon, President/CEO, WEtech Alliance*
• Paul Riser, Director, Detroit Urban Solution, TechTown Detroit (Cross-border Advisor)*

*indicates ex-officio position

“We are excited about the leadership that Barry, Amy and Directors will bring to the Board as we work together to shape the future of WEtech and the clients and communities we serve and move into the next decade of impact,” said Yvonne Pilon, CEO and President of WEtech Alliance. “At the same time, we extend our immense gratitude to the outgoing members who have helped guide our organization through an extraordinary period, as we strive to better serve clients and the tech community amid COVID-19.”

• Dr. Justine Taylor, Director, Stewardship and Sustainability, CropLife Canada
• Bill Johnson, Head of IT and Software Engineering, Scribendi Inc.
• Gaurav Kumar Singh, MBA Candidate, Harvard Business School
• Dr. Gokul Bhandari, Associate Professor of Information Systems, Odette School of Business
• Trevor Ramieri, Enactus St. Clair, St. Clair College (Student Advisor)

Please join us in congratulating our new Directors and Advisors, and thanking Dr. Taylor, Bill, Gaurav, Dr. Bhandari, and Trevor for their ongoing commitment and support to WEtech Alliance and our regional tech community.