Vancouver, CANADA – May 5, 2020 — Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre announced today the appointment of two new members to the organization’s Board of Directors, effective May 6th, 2020.
Joining the board are John W. Tak and Beth Loughney. These appointments bring Foresight’s total board membership to six.
“We are excited to welcome John and Beth to our Board of Directors. They bring decades of leadership in key areas including clean technology, strategic planning and scale up that are vital to our future growth” said Jeanette Jackson, Foresight CEO. “John and Beth’s support and expertise will bring energy to our board, strengthening our commitment to grow Canada’s cleantech ecosystem and support the global transition to a green economy.“
“Since founding Foresight in 2013, we’ve seen a growing sophistication in the board of directors. This expansion of the Board greatly increases the depth of our combined multinational, government, and entrepreneurial experience” said Keith Gillard, Board Chair, Foresight CAC “I’m confident Foresight’s Board will accelerate our growth and increase the success of our many client companies.”
John W. Tak:
John is a cleantech consultant advising the federal government and acts as strategic advisor to the Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre on the development of a B.C. Cleantech Cluster Strategy.
John was CEO of the Canadian Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Association (CHFCA) and prior to that managed Mitsubishi Canada’s multi-million dollar specialty chemicals business based out of Vancouver. He also worked in Tokyo for five years as the Senior Representative for the BC Trade and Development Corporation. John started his career working for Magna International at the corporate head office and opened Magna’s first office in Tokyo. Magna is Canada’s largest automotive parts company.
John also serves as Vice President & Board member of the Canada Japan Society of British Columbia (CJSBC). He has served on the Advisory Board of the National Research Council’s Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation and as a member of the Board of Governors of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
Beth Loughney:
Beth Loughney's career has spanned three decades in start-ups in 3D graphics for Hollywood, multi-billion dollar international firms, and even a stint keeping the world safe from nuclear annihilation. She has over 25 years' executive management in large and small companies and actively consults with entrepreneurs in areas such as cleantech and AI/machine learning. Her most recent focus has been on change management and market expansion strategies taking into account international security and macroeconomics as factors in business decision making. Founder and executive chair of Zorroa, an AI/machine learning software company based in California, she is also an Executive-in-Residence at the Foresight Cleantech Accelerator in Vancouver.
Until May 2005, Beth was the founder and General Manager of NVIDIA Corporation’s Entertainment division. She was CEO of Exluna and headed Strategic Marketing at Open TV during the largest IPO of 1999. Before transitioning to the commercial sector, Beth was a program manager with the US Government’s Cooperative Threat Reduction program to dismantle the former Soviet Union’s nuclear weapons stockpile. She has been with Foresight since its founding working with companies in hydrogen as a service, upcycling waste into fuel and building materials, and a specialty in software solutions.
Beth has an M.A. in National Security Policy Studies and a B.A. in Asian Studies, both from the George Washington University.
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For more information, please contact:
Astrid Nunez
604-358-5079
About Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre
Foresight is Western Canada’s Cleantech Innovation Centre which supports the identification and validation of cleantech opportunities and the successful commercialization of solutions. We bring together industry, government, academia and technologists to innovate and enable a responsible, more sustainable tomorrow. Find out more at www.foresightcac.com and follow on Twitter @ForesightCAC.
