Please join us in welcoming four incoming members to InBC’s Board of Directors. Heather Conradi, Natascha Kiernan, Dr. Carol Liao and Dr. Daniel Muzyka will be commencing their positions on September 1, 2024. These incoming members bring a variety of experience and expertise in areas such as governance, legal and investment. We are also pleased to announce the appointment of existing member Suzanne Trottier as Board Chair.
InBC’s nine-member Board of Directors is comprised of two members appointed from public service and the remaining as representatives from industry, finance, academia and other areas of leadership in the province. Their breadth of experience and knowledge are invaluable to our team as we advance our mandate to invest in a more prosperous, sustainable and inclusive future for British Columbia.
We also thank our departing Board Directors for all their advice and oversight of InBC during their terms.
“I’m pleased to welcome Heather Conradi, Natascha Kiernan, Dr. Carol Liao and Dr. Daniel Muzyka onto the board of directors at InBC, and congratulate Suzanne Trottier on moving into the role of board chair. InBC plays an important role in the growth and development of our provincial economy, and the tremendous range of experience each brings to the board will contribute to the strong leadership and financial stewardship demonstrated by InBC.”
– Honourable Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation
Heather Conradi was the Director of Impact Investing at Vancity where she led private market fund investing initiatives. Heather has a deep background sourcing, structuring and managing complex financings across a wide variety of industry sectors. She has worked with start-up technology and life science companies, social enterprises, environmentally focused firms and multi-sectoral venture capital funds, through the provision of capital and as a Board Director and member of Limited Partner Advisory Committees. Heather has also been involved with many community organizations including serving as the Director and Investment Committee Member of the Co-operators Community Funds, Treasurer and Director of Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland, Director of the Vancouver Enterprise Forum and mentor to the McConnell Solutions Finance Accelerator. Heather holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Queens University, an MBA from the University of British Columbia and the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.
“I am honoured to be able to serve on InBC’s board and contribute my experience in impact investing and advising start-up companies to support the corporation’s important work backing B.C. businesses, growing the economy and creating positive impacts for British Columbians.”
– Heather Conradi
Natascha Kiernan is a lawyer, independent director and strategic advisor. She currently serves as the Vice Chair of the BC Energy Regulator and as an independent director of Soma Gold Corp. (TSXV: Soma), Empress Royalty Corp. (TSXV: EMPR) and Green Impact Partners. She also serves on the Project Selection Committee for Cycle 6 of Canada’s Digital Supercluster. Natascha has extensive experience with chairing public company committees, including governance, compensation and ESG committees, and with serving on audit committees. Her legal background includes advising on some of the world’s largest and most complex infrastructure and energy projects, including renewable energy and cleantech projects. She also has experience serving on the boards of several non-profit charitable and educational organizations and she currently serves as a Regional Ambassador for Women Get on Board, an organization whose purpose is to promote women in leadership positions.
“I am honoured to be joining the board of InBC Investment Corp. It is exciting to have the opportunity to support growing B.C. companies and venture funds, while focusing on InBC’s triple bottom line mandate of people, planet and profit.”
– Natascha Kiernan
Dr. Carol Liao is Associate Professor at the UBC Allard School of Law and the UBC Sauder Distinguished Fellow of the Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics at the UBC Sauder School of Business. She is Chair and Principal Co-Investigator of the Canada Climate Law Initiative, a national research centre advancing director knowledge on the latest in climate science, climate risk disclosures and fiduciary obligations. She is internationally recognized for her expertise in corporate law and sustainability, climate governance, ESG and EDI, and has widely published in these fields. Dr. Liao is a director of the Canadian Foundation for Governance Research at the Institute of Corporate Directors, YWCA Metro Vancouver and the Pacific Canada Heritage Centre – Museum of Migration Society. She also sits on the Advisory Committee of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers BC, the Advisory Council of BCBusiness, and the Solicitors’ Legal Opinions Committee of BC. Prior to academia, Dr. Liao was a senior lawyer in the New York Mergers & Acquisitions Group of an international law firm, where she represented private and public multinational corporations in a variety of transactional and governance matters.
“I am deeply honoured to serve on the board of InBC and support its objectives of accelerating climate action, advancing reconciliation, elevating inclusive communities and investing in the future for the betterment of our province — we must be committed on the path to net-zero emissions in B.C.”
– Dr. Carol Liao
Dr. Daniel Muzyka is Dean Emeritus of the UBC Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. He has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Conference Board of Canada and as Vice-President and Chair of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). He was previously the Dean and the RBC Financial Group Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Sauder School of Business at UBC, as well as the Dean of the Faculty of Management at UBC Okanagan. Dr. Muzyka has been a board member and consultant to several other business and not-for-profit organizations, including as Vice Chair and a public director of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), the Vancouver Board of Trade (Past Chair), Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), New Ventures BC and the European Venture Capital Association. Dr. Muzyka also chaired the NSERC Expert Advisory Committee on Partnerships and Innovation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Astrophysics from Williams College, a Master of Business Administration in Corporate Strategy from the Wharton School and a Doctor of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.