Our Leadership

Our Leadership

Board Advisors

Don Fairbairn
Lead Advisor

Don has over 35 years of infrastructure development and financing experience. He has held leadership positions in the development, implementation, operation and governance of transportation, electricity generation and transmission, water and wastewater treatment and accommodation projects. He has led acquisitions on behalf of corporate and pension fund investors and led the creation of Streetohome, a successful non-profit initiative to develop supportive housing in the City of Vancouver. He has governance experience in public, non-profit and private sector organizations. He chaired the Victoria Wastewater Treatment Project Board, the Transportation Investment Corporation and Vancouver Community College. Don is the Board Chair of Houle Electric Ltd. and is an Advisory Board Member of NorLand Limited.

 

Bob McQuarrie, CPA, CA
Advisor Emeritus

Bob has been involved with NorLand since 1989 and has served as a Director, Vice President and Secretary. Bob is a Chartered Accountant with more than 40 years of experience in all aspects of financial management, including strategic planning, financial controls and acquisitions, Bob joined Innovex Equities Corporation in 1986, as its first employee, and has assisted in its acquisitions since that date, including the original acquisition of NorLand in 1989 on behalf of its shareholders.

 

Tim Doucette, CPA, CA
Advisor

Tim served as NorLand's CFO from 2002-2021 and as Executive Vice President from 2016 to 2023. Tim was responsible for company finances including acquisitions, corporate strategy, partner relations, treasury activities, tax planning and accounting. He has been involved in numerous construction industry organizations and was the Chair of the BC Construction Association Group Benefits Plan. Tim was also a Director of the Road Builders and Heavy Construction Safety Network. Prior to joining NorLand, Tim served as CFO for the Jim Pattison Group's Out of Home Media Division, Canada's largest outdoor advertising company.

Anibal R. Valente, P. Eng
Advisor

Anibal holds a UBC Civil Engineering degree and has extensive knowledge in the construction industry. He spent 38 years working for Canada’s largest general construction firm, PCL Construction Group, starting as a field engineer on Vancouver area sites and gradually taking on more responsibility. In the late 1990’s, Anibal’s responsibilities grew to managing all the operations in Saskatchewan and then eventually relocating back to Vancouver as Vice President and District Manager. In this role, Anibal established company records in new work volumes and profits in PCL’s operations in BC and the Yukon. Anibal has been very involved with construction industry related boards having chaired the Saskatchewan Construction Association (SCA), the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA), the BC Construction Association (BCCA) and the Canadian Construction Association (CCA). In 2013, Anibal was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal designated for Canadians demonstrating outstanding service in the construction industry.

Eric Andrew, FCPA, FCA, MA
Advisor

Eric is the Chair, CEO and a Partner of Alder Bay Equity Partners, a Vancouver based private investment fund. Eric is a hands-on business advisor who helps management, boards, and owners of privately owned businesses succeed by developing better business strategies and understanding and responding to the challenges and risks they face. Eric has over 40 years of business and financial experience with many families and their businesses during his tenure at PwC including a term as the global leader of the Private & Entrepreneurial practice and the Chair of PwC Canada. Eric is a Board member of OpenRoad Auto Group and has served as the Chair of the Advisory Board of Nature’s Path Foods.

Liz Chan, CPA, CA
Advisor

Liz has worked with the Chairman and the NorLand Board since 2015 and has over 25 years of experience in financial and regulatory roles. Liz articled at KPMG where she obtained the CPA, CA designation and completed the In-Depth Tax program. She has worked in public practice in the areas of audit, tax and Canadian SOX consulting, and in a variety of industries including retail, mining and biotech, as well as for the BC Securities Commission. Prior to joining Innovex Equities Corporation in 2015, she was the Director of Ethics at CPABC where she was instrumental in developing the investigations department and program when the three largest accounting bodies in BC merged to form CPABC, representing approximately 30,000 accountants at the time. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from UBC and brings a breadth of financial and corporate governance experience to NorLand as a Board Advisor.

Spencer Gudewill
Junior Advisor

Spencer is a co-founder and the CEO of Strong Haulers, a social venture startup that uses data to make symptoms predictable for people living with chronic health conditions, such as post-concussion syndrome, which Spencer has lived with since late-2019. Spencer has worked in a variety of roles both in and outside of NorLand, including in business development & partnerships, corporate development & strategic planning, board engagement, finance, and social impact planning. He has global experience with work stints in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, the U.K. and Colombia. Prior to becoming an Advisor, Spencer’s most recent role at NorLand was Manager of Corporate Development & Strategy where he worked closely with the CEO, Dave Reynolds. Spencer has a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen's University.