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Innovation, Trade and Rural Development
August 31, 2011

Board Appointments Announced for Research & Development Corporation

The Honourable Susan Sullivan, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, today announced appointments to the Research & Development Corporation’s (RDC) Board of Directors.

“These individuals bring considerable depth of professional experience, scientific and research expertise, and new perspectives and contributions to RDC,” said Minister Sullivan. “I commend the members for offering their time and energy. With these new appointments, RDC will build on its achievements, fuelling innovation and creating economic growth and prosperity in Newfoundland and Labrador.”

Jackie Sheppard, a prominent energy expert, Rhodes Scholar and leading businesswoman originally from St. John’s, has been re-appointed as chair. Ms. Sheppard is retired as Executive Vice-President, Corporate and Legal, and Corporate Secretary of Talisman Energy Inc.

Alan Brown, former Vice-President, East Coast Canada, Suncor Energy Inc., has been re-appointed to the board and will serve as vice-chair.

Other members announced today include:

Glenn Janes, Chief Executive Officer of the RDC is a non-voting member of the board of directors.

RDC is governed by a Board of Directors, which is responsible for ensuring accountability and transparency of its programs, priority-setting, and management of project funding. Board members were selected based on their knowledge and sector-specific expertise in areas relevant to local industry and the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador.

“The calibre and composition of our board is truly world-class and outstanding,” said Mr. Janes. “This is an exciting time for Newfoundland and Labrador and we are proud to have such a strong and competent board at our helm. These individuals will help guide RDC as we work to enhance R&D capacity and excellence throughout this province.”

The RDC is a provincial Crown corporation responsible for improving Newfoundland and Labrador’s R&D performance. It works with R&D stakeholders including business, academia and government agencies and departments. For more information about RDC, visit www.researchnl.com.

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Media contacts:

Scott Barfoot
Director of Communications
Department of Innovation, Trade and
Rural Development
709-729-4570
scottbarfoot@gov.nl.ca
Jeff Green
Manager, Marketing & Communications
Research & Development Corporation
709-758-0973, 691-8892
jeffsgreen@researchnl.com

BACKGROUNDER
Biographical Information

Jacqueline (Jackie) Sheppard, Q.C., M.A., L.L.B., B.A.
Jackie Sheppard is a Rhodes Scholar and prominent businesswoman originally from St. John's. Ms. Sheppard recently retired as Executive Vice-President, Corporate and Legal, and Corporate Secretary of Talisman Energy Inc., having joined Talisman in 1993. She holds a B.A. from Memorial University, a B.A. and M.A. from Oxford University, and an L.L.B. from McGill University. She brings extensive knowledge of the energy sector and corporate governance to RDC's Board of Directors.

Alan Brown, M.Sc., B.Sc., P.Eng.
Alan Brown has served as Vice-President, East Coast Canada with Suncor Energy Inc. (formerly Petro-Canada) where he was responsible for managing the company's east coast exploration and production business. Prior to joining Suncor, Mr. Brown held a number of senior management positions during his 21 years with ExxonMobil with his most recent appointments including United Kingdom Operations Manager, Chairman of ExxonMobil's United Kingdom Pension Trust and Co-Chairman of the United Kingdom Oil and Gas Industry Safety Forum. He also worked for some years with the British National Oil Corporation and with the international engineering consultancy, Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick.

Gary Dinn, P. Eng.
Gary Dinn is Vice-President of PanGeo Subsea, an innovator of 3D and 4D acoustic technology and is past-chair Newfoundland and Labrador's pre-eminent ocean technology cluster, OceansAdvance. Mr. Dinn co-founded Rutter Technologies in 1998 and served as a board member until his departure in 2005. Mr. Dinn has been active with the Standards Council of Canada.

Terry-Lynn Young, Ph.D., M.Sc., B.Sc. (Hon.)
Dr. Terry-Lynn Young is a Canadian Institutes of Health Research-Regional Partnership Program New Investigator and one of the key team members of the provincial genetics team behind the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Human Genetics. Dr. Young is a molecular geneticist leading current gene discovery projects that include cardiovascular disease, deafness, blindness and other genetic disorders through population-based recruitment of multiplex families.

Hege Rognø, M. Eng.
Hege Rognø is Vice President, Offshore Upstream for Statoil Canada Ltd., where she is accountable for leading the development and execution of the company’s east coast Canada business strategy. Ms. Rognø joined Statoil in 1984 and has held positions of increasing responsibility within the areas of petech/production, exploration, research and business development. She joined Statoil Canada as Vice President Offshore Upstream in 2009. Ms. Rognø earned a Master of Petroleum Engineering degree with a specialty in Geophysics from the University of Natural Sciences (Norway) in 1983. She is a member of the PRAC (Petroleum Research Atlantic Canada) Board of Directors.

Laurier L. Schramm, Ph.D., B.Sc.(Hon.), P.Chem., C. Dir., FCIC
Dr. Laurier Schramm is the President and CEO of the Saskatchewan Research Council. He has previously served as Vice President (Energy) of the Alberta Research Council, President and CEO of the Petroleum Recovery Institute, and as a senior scientist in industrial process research at Syncrude Canada Ltd. He is a co-founder and Board Chair of Innoventures Canada Inc., is a Director of Innovation Saskatchewan Inc., and has served on the boards of directors, executive/management committees, or advisory boards of numerous other organizations.

Brian Veitch, Dr. Tech., P. Eng.
Dr. Brian Veitch is an internationally recognized expert on marine transport, offshore safety, and in the testing and evaluation of advanced ocean technologies. He completed his B.Eng. and M.Eng. in ocean engineering and naval architecture at Memorial University, and earned his Licentiate and Doctorate degrees from Helsinki University of Technology in Finland where he specialized in cold ocean engineering. He joined Memorial’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science in 1998 and is currently its Associate Dean, Research. Dr. Veitch is a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers and the Royal Institution of Naval Architects.

Non-voting board member:

Glenn Janes, M.Sc., MBA, B.Sc.
Glenn Janes is the CEO of the Research & Development Corporation. He is a Rhodes Scholar and holds a Masters degree in Environmental Change and Management, and a Masters degree in Business Administration, both from Oxford University. He completed a Bachelor of Science in chemistry at Yale University. Mr. Janes has held a range of progressively senior positions with companies involved in research, development and technology commercialization processes, including most recently, Imperial Innovations Group plc in London, England.

2011 08 31                                   4:10 p.m.

 
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