The INETCO leadership team

See bio above.

See bio above.

Mercedes De Luca is a technology leader who creates digital experiences that delight customers of public corporations and start ups. She excels at bringing the startup innovation mindset to large corporate environments. She has held roles as CEO, CIO, COO, CTO and GM. Currently, De Luca is VP & CIO of Pebble Beach Company. Prior to that, she served as Chief Operating Officer for Basecamp, a SaaS workplace collaboration platform.

De Luca was Vice President and General Manager for Sears Holdings Corporation’s ecommerce business. There, she devised a strategy to double the business within three years. After creating the plan and presenting it to Sears’ external public board, De Luca recruited and led the team that executed the plan, which resulted in revenue growth from $250 million to $500 million within three years. Prior to that, she was CEO and Chief Technology Officer of venture-backed MyShape, which was at the forefront of using machine learning and big data analytics to personalize the online shopping experience.

De Luca joined MyShape from Yahoo!, where she established the company’s first global information technology team and was Yahoo’s first female VP in its technology organization. She led Yahoo’s global information technology team of more than 400 professionals, in more than 20 countries. As the company grew to $6.4B, De Luca also achieved a 95 percent satisfaction rating from Yahoo’s 15,000 employees.

De Luca serves on the Board of Directors for INETCO and Athena Alliance, and she has been a guest speaker for Girls in Tech, WITI, and other STEM organizations.

A graduate of Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science, De Luca majored in computer science, earning her Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. She started her career as a software specialist, earned her MBA from Santa Clara University, and holds a California teaching credential in computer science and related technologies.

Keith Spencer is a partner with the law firm of Fasken Martineau and is the Chair of the Vancouver office’s Securities and Technology Practice Group. Keith’s clients range from start-up to mature private technology companies. Keith was previously in-house counsel to the Vancouver-based Wireless Data Group of Motorola, Inc., where he had overall responsibility for its legal affairs.

Keith has lectured in the area of technology and intellectual property law at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law and at various continuing legal education and information technology industry conferences. He has also authored articles in the areas of computer and information technology, outsourcing, e-commerce, and intellectual property law.

Keith is a member of various boards and advisory boards for a significant number of early stage and emerging technology companies and technology industry associations, including Elastic Path Software, INETCO Systems, dPoint Technologies, TalentClick, Envisio Solutions, the BC Technology Industry Association, Vancouver Enterprise Forum, TiE (Charter Member), and the BC Science Fair Foundation. Keith was previously a member of the Board of Directors of BuildDirect of Layer 7 Technologies (acquired by CA) and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dyaptive Systems (acquired by JDSU).

Michael Tasooji has more than 30 years of hands on experience in the IT industry.  He recently served as EVP and CIO of Quiksilver Inc., a $2B global leader in action sports inspired apparel and footwear, where he established and spearheaded execution of a 3 year plan to establish the foundation for global business operations. He is currently an IT strategy consultant on assignment with a leading outdoor/sports apparel and footwear company in Portland, Oregon.

Prior to Quiksilver Inc., Michael spent 5 years at Gap Inc. as EVP and CIO.  Gap Inc. revenue at the time was $15B with products available for purchase in more than 90 countries worldwide through about 3,100 company-operated stores, more than 300 franchise stores, and e-commerce sites.  As a member of the senior management team, Michael was responsible for overhauling the company’s Information Technology landscape in support of plans to significantly improve margin, reduce SG&A, and increase global sales through international expansion and e-commerce.

Michael also spent 12 years at the Walt Disney Company. As the Global CIO, Michael lead execution of a strategy to rationalize IT services and corresponding investments among Disney business units, segments, and corporate shared services. This effort resulted in over $200m in annualized efficiencies within IT, globally. During his time as CIO of Disney Theme Parks & Resorts, Michael and his team developed and implemented innovative transformational technologies, such as FastPass, and developed the blueprint technology architecture for guest-centric Theme Parks & Resorts sales and operations.

Since 2008, Michael has served on the board of several startups, including Runa Inc. (e-commerce technology) and Arges Inc. (medical devices) both of which were acquired after successfully bringing products to market. Currently, Michael is on the Board of Directors for INETCO Systems Limited, Acceptto Inc., and Sparo Corporation.

Michael obtained his undergraduate degree and his MBA from the University of Southern California. He served on the Corporate Advisory Board of University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and CIO advisory board for Oracle Corporation.

Tony Rautava is an Investment Associate with over 15 years of experience working with investment funds in the areas of operations, financial reporting, compliance, client service and fund product development. Tony is currently an Investment Associate at PenderFund Capital Management.

As an Investment Associate, Tony serves on boards of portfolio companies managed by PenderFund Capital Management. Tony previously served as an Investment Manager & Chief Compliance Offer at GrowthWorks Capital for 15 years. He is also actively involved in the technology and venture capital community of Vancouver, where he serves as a director of the Vancouver Entrepreneurs Forum (VEF).

Tony holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration with a specialization in Finance from Trinity Western University and has completed several industry related courses, including the Partners, Directors & Officers course and the Chief Compliance Officers Qualifying Exam.

Dr. Michael Blackstock, PhD, is a veteran technology leader specializing in enterprise middleware for wireless and pervasive computing. Michael is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Media and Graphics Interdisciplinary Centre (MAGIC) at the University of British Columbia and CTO of Sense Tecnic Systems Inc. developing web-based platforms for sensing and sustainability.

Previously, Michael was a co-founder and CTO of Colligo Networks, Inc., a leading provider of peer-to-peer wireless productivity software designed for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth ™ enabled notebooks, Tablet PCs, and handhelds. Before founding Colligo, Michael was the Vice President of Research and Development for Infowave Software, Inc., a global provider of software that connects enterprise applications to wireless devices. In 1994, he was hailed as one of the top ’40 under 40′ young entrepreneurs in British Columbia.

Michael holds a Bachelors of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of British Columbia, a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Simon Fraser University, and a PhD in Computer Science from UBC.

Lonny McLean is an experienced and energetic business executive focused on business growth strategy. Lonny has more than 20 years of experience in the technology sector, with a primary focus on software and internet technologies. Lonny has a proven background in building early stage companies, as well as growth strategies for more mature organizations.

Lonny has played key roles in multiple early stage company successes, such as Supernet, Onyx Software, and Layer 7 Technologies. He held a territory growth role for Microsoft where he focused on large account strategies and executive relationship building with some of Microsoft’s top accounts. This combined experience provides Lonny with a unique blend of skills which he applies to companies of all stages.

Building teams, fundraising, charting strategy, and growing revenue are Lonny’s core strengths. He was the founding CEO and top sales executive for Layer 7 Technologies for more than 8 years, during which time the company was recognized as the BC Technology Industry Start-up of the Year, Company of the Year, and by Deloitte as one of the fastest growing technology companies in North America. This revenue growth and company strategy was key in the successful sale of Layer 7 to CA Technologies in 2013.

From the time of his initial Ph.D. thesis in Theoretical Physics, to his current role at Recon Instruments, Mario has been determining how to address complex technical problems that demand innovative, high-performance computing solutions. Prior to Recon Instruments, Mario was CTO at LightHaus VCI, overseeing all aspects of technology innovation and product engineering.

Mario was also VP of Engineering at Spectrum Signal Processing, where he was responsible for hardware and software development of wireless software-defined radio products and high-density VoIP products. Mario received his Bachelor of Science degree from Binghamton University and both his Master of Science and his Ph.D. in Physics from Purdue University.

Sal Visca is a principal consultant for Software CTO Inc., a consultancy providing technology strategy and architecture advisory services.  Currently, he serves as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Elastic Path Software after several years as CTO for SAP’s Technology Development division and CTO at Business Objects prior to the acquisition by SAP.  Previously, Sal was the CTO and Co-President of Infowave Software, as well as being with IBM for 12 years where he was a Software Development Executive for e-business solutions.

Sal has a proven track record for developing product and technology roadmaps, understanding emerging markets and technologies, conceiving, designing, testing, and bringing to market new customer-oriented products and solutions. Sal has over 23 years of intensive software development experience with specific emphasis on creating long-term product and technology strategies.

Frank Fanzilli is a highly respected Corporate Director and Advisor to both public and private technology companies around the world. Frank has extensive experience in the financial industry, having spent 20 years as Managing Director and Global Chief Information Officer at Credit Suisse and Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB). Furthermore, Frank has over 15 years of experience in the software industry, acting primarily as an advisor to early and late stage software companies. Frank currently acts as a Corporate Director for EnterpriseDB, SugarmCRM, iboss Cybersecurity, and CommVault (CVLT), as well serving as an advisor for INETCO Systems Limited.

Previously, Frank has served as a board member on quite a few notable companies, including Calypso Technology (acquired by a PE consortium in 2016), where Frank was Lead Director for 12 years; 1010Data (Acquired by Advance/Newhouse in 2016); Interwoven (acquired by Autonomy), where he was Chairman of the Board; as well as PeopleSoft (acquired by Oracle) and Avaya (acquired by a PE consortium). Frank also serves as an advisor to a number of Venture firms and independent software companies.

Frank is one of the longest serving independent directors for the non-profit technology trade association, The Linux Foundation, where he is also Chairman of the Audit Committee. It is through Frank’s work at The Linux Foundation that he is able to help promote, provide, and accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption around the world.

Chloe Morrow is a highly respected software product leader with over 20 years of experience driving product management, development and project management teams to deliver high quality online products and services. In 2018 she was named one of BC’s Most Influential Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Chloe is currently Head of Operations for the Player Network at Electronic Arts.

Previously, Chloe was SVP of Product Management at Vision Critical Communications, overseeing the development of an industry leading customer intelligence platform used by major brands worldwide. Before joining Vision Critical, she was VP of Product Development at Central 1 Credit Union where she was responsible for leading a team of over 130 members.

Chloe holds a Bachelor’s of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia and a MSAT certificate from Simon Fraser University.

Dallas Pretty has more than 20 years of senior management and corporate finance experience, focused primarily in the technology sector within both public and private companies. While Dallas previously served as CFO at INETCO, he currently provides consultancy CFO and advisory services for both public and private companies across a wide range of industries.

Dallas has extensive experience supervising finances, operations and process improvement for rapidly growing public and private companies. He has been involved in mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings and has managed both internal and external reporting requirements.

Over the years, Dallas has also held senior finance roles at mimik technology, Unity Wireless, Meridex Software and Sideware Systems. Before leaving public practice, Dallas was a Manager in the Audit and Advisory Services group at KPMG where he worked with a portfolio of public and private companies.

Dallas holds a Chartered Accountant (CA) designation and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University.