Board of Directors
Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival is a professional, not-for-profit theatre company governed by the B.C. Societies Act. Our Board of Directors is made up of a group of community volunteers recruited for their special knowledge and expertise in many areas. It is with our Board’s skill and commitment that we are able to support the continued success of our Festival.
Our Board of Directors
| President: | John McCulloch |
| Vice President: | Shona McGlashan |
| Treasurer: | Andrew Bianchini |
| Secretary: | Ainslie Hurd |
| Directors:
|
Rebecca Catley |
| Mark Fancourt-Smith | |
| Lynda Farmer | |
| Glenn Ives | |
| James Kitamura | |
| Derral Moriyama | |
| Stephen Ng | |
| Marian Ngo | |
| Gord Plottel | |
| Kam Raman | |
| Arv Sooch |
Biographies
John McCulloch – President
John McCulloch was until 2011 Managing Partner of the oneworld airline alliance, which he joined at the establishment of their global headquarters in Vancouver in June 2000. Prior to this he worked in London for HSBC as Head of Group Marketing, and before that spent 15 years with the Swire Group based out of Hong Kong and Japan, working primarily in the airline industry with Cathay Pacific Airways. He has a law degree from Cambridge University and has lived or worked in most countries in the Asia Pacific region, travelling extensively particularly for his work with oneworld and in aviation consulting. He runs his own consulting and business advisory business based in Vancouver and works in various sectors related to the travel industry. He also volunteers his time in various board positions, mainly in the not-for-profit sector, with a focus on the developmental disabilities community
Shona McGlashan – Vice President
Shona McGlashan fell in love with the theatre and Shakespeare during her teens, and briefly interned at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. Originally from the UK, when she moved to Vancouver she was thrilled to discover Bard on the Beach on her doorstep – and is equally excited to serve on Bard’s board of directors. Shona is the principal at McGlashan Consulting Inc., helping leaders make better decisions and reach better outcomes in governance, workplace mental health, and equity, diversity & inclusion. Shona lives in Kitsilano with her husband and two teenagers.
Andrew Bianchini, CPA, CA – Treasurer
Andrew Bianchini joined the Bard Finance Committee in 2021 and was elected to the Board of Directors in 2022. Andrew is the Senior Vice President Finance of Polygon Homes Ltd., one of Vancouver’s leading homebuilders, where he is responsible for overseeing all accounting, tax, finance and insurance matters. Andrew is a Chartered Professional Accountant, a CFA charter holder, and received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from The University of British Columbia. In addition to their support of Bard, Andrew and his wife Sarah are also long-time supporters of the BC Cancer Foundation. In his spare time Andrew enjoys road cycling and spending time with Sarah and their two children.
Ainslie Hurd – Secretary
Ainslie Hurd is a lawyer in the in-house legal team at Newmont Corporation, based in Vancouver. Prior to joining Newmont, Ainslie practiced in business law at McCarthy Tétrault LLP, where she maintained a corporate and commercial legal practice, advising clients with respect to mergers and acquisitions, securities law, corporate finance and corporate governance. Ainslie has a deep passion for the arts. Before commencing her legal career, she was a performer immersed in the classical music and musical theatre scenes in the Lower Mainland, leading her to complete a Bachelor of Music at the University of British Columbia. Ainslie has been an avid Bard on the Beach supporter for many years, enjoying numerous productions with her family at the tents in Vanier Park and participating in Bard on the Beach Young Shakespearean workshops as a young thespian. In her spare time, Ainslie sings opera and plays piano. She can also be seen on the tennis courts in Stanley Park or throwing the odd rock at the local curling rink. Ainslie is delighted to be on the Board of Directors of Bard on the Beach.
Rebecca Catley – Director
Rebecca Catley is president of RC Communication Strategy Ltd. She was previously QuadReal Property Group’s Vice President, Corporate Communications, responsible for developing and leading that company’s communication program in support of its global strategy. Prior to joining QuadReal, Rebecca held senior positions that involved corporate mergers, international events and major asset acquisitions in North America. One of the many compelling reasons behind Rebecca’s enthusiasm for Bard dates back to a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, when her then-teenaged son said “Mum, why didn’t you tell me that Shakespeare rocks!?” Bard has been a family tradition ever since.
Mark Fancourt-Smith – Director
Mark Fancourt-Smith is a lawyer who practices commercial litigation with Lawson Lundell LLP in Vancouver. His areas of specialization include intellectual property disputes, claims for breach of confidence, fraud and fiduciary disputes, and disputes in the mining, wine, and entertainment industries. He also specializes in matters involving injunctive relief in a variety of contexts including preservation of contested property or evidence, and matters involving civil disobedience. Previously, Mark sat on the Executive of the Vancouver Bar Association from 2011 to 2016, serving as President in 2015. He is an adjunct professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law, teaching Civil Procedure. Mark is married with two young children, and lives in Kitsilano. In his spare time, he enjoys skiing and road biking, and is a keen photographer. Mark joined the Board in 2019 and currently sits on the Governance and the Resource Development Committees.
Lynda Farmer – Director
Lynda Farmer, OBC: Joining the Board of Bard on the Beach marks a high-light in my life-long love of theatre. While obtaining an undergraduate degree in Theatre from the University of BC clearly demonstrated this strong early affection, following university my career path took me in different directions. Working roles in the non-profit and public sectors focused on communication and marketing, board and volunteer development and project-based campaigns. Throughout the years I have also sought ways to connect with organizations on local, provincial and national levels which provided me with opportunities to serve on various boards and immerse myself in a number of capital campaign initiatives. Recent volunteer highlights have included serving as Chair of Camosun College and Chair of the Governance and HR Committee of the BC Cancer Foundation. In 2019 my husband, Murray Farmer, and I humbly accepted a jointly awarded Order of British Columbia in recognition of our mutual dedication to supporting community-based organizations, post-secondary education, cancer care and research and the performing arts.
Glenn Ives – Director
Glenn Ives currently serves as a corporate director on Kinross Gold Corporation, Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. and Nervgen Pharma Corp. Glenn was a senior partner at Deloitte Canada from 1999 to 2020. He served as Chair for two four-year terms ending in 2018 and during this time was a member of Deloitte’s Global Board of Directors, Global Governance Committee, and chaired the Global Risk Committee. Glenn led Deloitte’s mining sector in North and South America. He spent over a decade working for publicly listed mining companies, becoming Director and Chief Financial Officer at Vengold in 1993. He has served on the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation Board for nine years (Chair from 2016 to 2018), is Chair of the University of Waterloo School of Accounting & Finance Advisory Board, a Director of the Canadian Nature Museum Foundation, and Treasurer of the West Vancouver United Church. Glenn is married to Katherine and has four children. He lives in West Vancouver.
James Kitamura – Director
James Kitamura is the Regional President for BC & Yukon Region for BMO Bank of Montreal. He leads the Personal Banking Teams to deliver on exceptional customer experiences, guidance, and advice to support all their customers Make Real Financial Progress. He has over 30 years in Banking Leadership and Experience. He holds his MBA from the University of Athabasca, and a BA from Simon Fraser University. He is a Board Member for the Joint Task Force Pacific Advisory Council on Diversity with the Canadian Armed Forces, Campaign Cabinet Member for United Way British Columbia, and prior a Board Member with The Arts Club Theatre Company. He is a proud father to two daughters who are building on their future careers. He is passionate about People, Leadership, Culture, and Diversity.
Derral Moriyama – Director
Derral Moriyama is President of Moriyama Consulting Inc. A retired executive from BMO Financial Group, Derral previously held positions of Senior Vice-President, Business Development, Western Canada, and Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking in British Columbia. During his tenure with the Bank, Derral held a number of senior positions in Commercial and Corporate Banking, Natural Resource Account Management, Risk Management and Retail Banking. Prior to his move to BC, Derral was Senior Vice-President, Business Banking responsible for strategic development and sales and service for the Canadian small business and mid-market area, including diversified industries, agriculture, succession planning and industry programs for the Canadian market. Derral has an MBA from the University of Toronto and completed the Executive Development Programs at the Banff School of Management and the Kellogg School of Business in Chicago. He sits on numerous boards and committees in the Vancouver Region including as a director, Board of Trustees and Chair of Finance, Capital and Audit committees at the National Arts Centre, Chair of Canadian Forces Liaison Council Pacific Region, Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of 39 Signals Regiment in BC, Past Chair of Northstar Trade Finance, RCMP Commanding Officer’s Diversity Council, Founding member and Treasurer of the BC, Football Hall of Fame, Past-Chair of The Vancouver Aquarium, Co-Chair of the First West Theatre Capital Campaign for The Arts Club Theatre and Bard on The Beach, The Nikkei Society of Vancouver, Past board member of the New Car Dealers Association of BC, Chairman’s Advisory Committee for the 2014 Grey Cup and plays an advisory role to several other organizations.
Stephen Ng – Director
Steve is an avid fan of the performing arts and Bard means a great deal to him for three main reasons: it has become a special annual tradition to enjoy with his mom, the efforts to promote accessibility of the performing arts across cultural, generational, political and socio-economic make-ups, and the intimate linkage between the beautiful grounds of the event and traditional storytelling on the unceded-ancestral Coast Salish lands. Steve is a director with TELUS Health, passionate about revolutionizing access to healthcare and was previously with Deloitte Consulting and UBC, as well as serving on the boards of the Canadian Cancer Society (BC/Yukon) and the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario. He holds BSc, MSc and MBA degrees from UBC and the Schulich School of Business (York) and is published twice in one of the most highly regarded globally peer-reviewed chemistry journals. Steve loves swimming, road-cycling, running, snowboarding, backcountry camping and guitars.
Marian Ngo – Director
Marian has been an avid fan of great works of prose and verse since she was a child and in serving on the Bard Board, she looks to do her part in supporting the ongoing Vancouver tradition of Bard on the Beach. She believes in promoting the relevancy and wonderfulness of Shakespeare’s timeless works for future generations, in ways that are specific to the changing times. Marian is an independent consultant who works to find innovative and progressive approaches in the field of government relations – both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. Adaptable to constantly changing environments, but never losing track of the objectives, she hones in on rationales for processes – if the status quo does not allow for needs to be addressed, she works with all parties to develop a partnership and plan that does. Prior to this, she worked in both industry and in various government ministries in Ottawa. In her spare time, Marian enjoys reading and exploring the world of imagination with her young daughter, Elizabeth.
Gord Plottel – Director
Gord Plottel is a retired lawyer, having practiced commercial litigation and insolvency law for thirty-three years as a partner of a national law firm. He was involved in his firm’s corporate governance, chairing its Conflicts and Professional Staff Committee, sitting on its Risk Management Committee, acting as its local general counsel and as a director of its charitable foundation. As a former national team athlete, Gord has volunteered extensively in the sport sector, having chaired Sport BC, served as a director of Field Hockey Canada, served as representative counsel for the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada and sat on a 2010 Olympic Legacies Now Grant Review Committee. He was also chair of a Vancouver Community Association and was appointed co-chair of a Vancouver Park Board Task Force. He is currently a director of Sport For Life, on the Governance Committee of Commonwealth Sport Canada and a director of the BC Memorial Society. A Vancouver native, Gord has been a community member of the Bard Infrastructure Committee since 2021, and he and his family are lifelong Shakespeare and Bard fans.
Kam Raman – Director
Kam Raman is currently the Vice President, RBC Commercial Financial Services specializing in Public Sector, Non-Profit and Business Professional Services in British Columbia. She began her career in the credit union system and brings over 25 years of progressive experience in senior leadership roles. Kam joined RBC in March 2020 as a Senior Leadership Intern and quickly became BC’s first Director, Diversity and Inclusion. In this assignment, she has accelerated and deepened BC’s Diversity and Inclusion portfolio and journey. Kam was instrumental in driving a culture of inclusion as she led a series of Employee Listening Circles, established a National Indigenous Advisory Council and partnered with the Community Marketing team to identify key sponsorship engagement activities. Kam is passionate about community and serves on the boards for BGC Canada and DiverseCity Community Resources Society and is a Finance and Audit committee member with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC. She has been active with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade where she chaired the Communications Committee with the Women’s Leadership Council. She has also served as a Public Director with the BC Real Estate Association and as co-Chair with Minerva’s ‘Learning to Lead’ program focused on advancing women in the workplace. She obtained her MBA from Queens University, is certified in Executive Lean Leadership and achieved her ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.Throughout, she has been consistently recognized for her business acumen, communication, collaboration, and leadership abilities. She has always been committed to fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion for clients, employees, and the community.
Arv Sooch – Director
Arv Sooch is an avid supporter of the arts and Bard on the Beach. His love for Shakespeare was ignited many moons and harvests ago by a dear English Literature teacher at Churchill High School. He currently works with Nicola Wealth in the capacity of business development, where he is primarily involved with families and their conversations around the creation and preservation of wealth. Having had diverse life experiences and careers, including being a pharmacist, a flight attendant with Air Canada, and a dentist, Arv embraces a growth mindset and is passionate about being a life-long learner. He concurrently serves as a Director on the Boards of the Pacific Oral Health Society and the Indo-Canadian Dental Association. The most important role in Arv’s life is serving as a VP in his household, where he and the President, his wife, Sevena, are busy with running the business of three teenagers (four if you include the dog).