About Us

Joe Batty is a consultant, mentor and accountant with a specialty in new asset management. He has a long history in financial management and is a leading authority on structuring and financing knowledge rich companies.

Joe has held many corporate directorships and senior management positions, including three year tenure as CEO of a Canadian electronics group. During his tenure as VP of Finance at NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology), Joe’s interest and involvement in new products and technologies led to his spearheading a technology transfer liaison program between NAIT professional staff and industry. Two decades hence, the Liaison Program remains a vital source of innovation for Canadian companies.

With over 40 years of experience in finance and accounting, Mr. Batty demonstrates a proven track record of helping business – large and small – set up financial systems in support of their strategic goals and objectives.  The work Joe has done over the past many years has made him an authority on the identification, evaluation, valuation and (where appropriate) capitalization of “Intangible Assets”. His specialty is quite unique and rare. Every financial manager today needs to know and understand these principles: the success of their businesses depends on it.

Don has a passion for economics and business development.  He has worked in a variety of roles in education and economic development.  He served as a Director of the Alberta Congress Board for over 20 years and organized annual labour and economic conferences.

Don was appointed by Premier Klein to serve on the Alberta Economic Development Authority – a position he held for 12 years working with senior business people to advise government on building a strong and prosperous province from the mid-1990s until 2007.

Don continues to serve on various boards and committees including the Alberta Council of Technologies (www.abctech.ca).  Don is currently the Chair of a committee at ABCtech which is developing a “Tech Credit Union” and, as part of that effort, working with a specialized team to launch and operate TechInvest Alberta Inc. in order to facilitate financing of start-up technology companies in Alberta with an emphasis on developing intangible assets.

Don also has a deep passion in working with Indigenous groups and communities and, for over 20 years, has helped them develop business opportunities with Industry. He is an owner of Verigon Canada Ltd. (www.verigoncanada.com) which builds alliances and partnerships with and on behalf of Indigenous people.

Over the course of his career, Robert McGarvey has held a variety of senior management positions. Robert began his career as a petroleum geologist in the oil industry in Calgary, Canada, and went on to become the Managing Director of Merlin Consulting, a London UK-based geological and oil market consulting firm. Since returning from the United Kingdom, McGarvey has been the President of Negawatt International Inc, a Canadian electronics group and Head of Strategy for Beckett Advisors, a management consulting group based in Los Angeles, California.

Robert has been an Executive Committee Member of the UK-based Economic Research Council (ERC) since 1991 (www.ercouncil.org).  Founded in 1943 in London, the ERC investigates economic and political change and studies their impact on global business.

Robert is a graduate of the LSE (London School of Economics), where he did his post-graduate work in economics and international relations. McGarvey has degrees in physics and petroleum geology from the University of Alberta.

Ron Palfery has extensive business experience as a technology development, product development and product commercialization executive. Ron has successfully served as a Chairman, CEO and held senior management positions in a number of private sector mid to large-scale companies in Canada, the United States and Europe. Ron has previously served as the Chairman of Vireo Technologies Inc; Chairman of NxtGen Emission Controls Inc; Group President, Teleflex Industrial; President & CEO, Teleflex Canada; President & CEO GFI International; Sr. Vice President and General Manager, Avcorp Industries; Director of Operations, Avcorp Industries; Manager, Scientific Systems Engineering, McDonnell Douglas Corporation. In the public sector, Ron has served as the Chairman of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association and a director of the advisory board to the faculty of Commerce at the University of British Columbia. Ron holds a B Sc. from the University of British Columbia.

Ken Hein has achieved the esteemed Fellow Certified Management Consultant designation with 33 years of experience providing business development, complex consulting deliverables and managing project staff.  His in-depth expertise developed through a balanced mix of public and private sector consulting assignments including work with large private organizations, small start-up organizations, municipal & provincial governments, and First Nation groups.

Ken’s provides outcome-based client organization strategies, solutions and improvements. His approach is client-focused, forward thinking and business-oriented on both business and technology-based initiatives.  He has led teams, as well as provided support on many assignments including organization strategy, alignment of organization work to goals, business transformation, project management with risk management, and procurement solutions, advisory services supporting organizations bidding on procurement initiatives, fairness advisory/monitor advisory services.

Ken’s expertise also includes Strategic and Outcome Planning, Governance, Change Management, Process Design and Documentation, Coaching, Training, Facilitation. His consulting focus is aimed at assisting organizations improve performance, achieve business objectives, and manage opportunities and risk with an overarching goal of value creation.

Sharon MacLean believes we need entrepreneurs and industry leaders to thrive—and flourish—in our linked-up world.

As owner/publisher of a popular magazine for 21 years, Sharon’s editorial team covered business, the charitable sector, young entrepreneurs, and visionaries in technology. She was also an early adopter of digital media and transitioned the traditional magazine using social strategies.

Sharon’s professional life began in communications/marketing with the Government of Alberta before moving into fund development and  publishing. She sold the business in 2010 which led to her role as President of an investor-backed operation to create an online platform in the wellness space.

Today, Sharon is on the Board of Directors for RoadShowz and StreetSeenz and manages her company, WorldGate Media.

The native Albertan is a contributing author to the best-selling book, Build to Grow – 14 Thought Leaders Deliver Engagement Strategies for the C-Suite.  She also is a contributing blogger for the Certified Management Consultants of Canada on digital marketing strategies.

The veteran communicator won the 2019 Impact Award from the Universal Women’s Network, received the Global Television’s Women of Vision award, and nominated for the YMCA’s Woman of Distinction in business.