MEET VELOMETRO
Our mission is to provide people with human-powered vehicles that parallel automobile functionality for urban use. We build modern, lightweight, and thoughtfully-designed electric-assist personal transportation that takes the best features from both bicycles and automobiles. For users, we provide easy, low-cost access through shared fleets. Our vision is to make our urban sharing service Veemo the leading personal transportation alternative to automobiles in urban centres around the globe.
TEAM AND ADVISORS
VeloMetro was founded by a team of passionate change-makers focused on improving urban mobility.
Kody Baker, P.Eng., MBA
Founder
CEO
Kody is an experienced technology manager and entrepreneur with a strong vision for technology trends. With a broad range of deep experience in engineering and project management with high-tech companies, he has successfully brought several cleantech products to market. A beer-league hockey player in his spare time, Kody also enjoys exploring new local craft beers to share with the office.
John Stonier, CPA, CA
Founder
CFO
John is a seasoned public and private sector entrepreneur with extensive experience in dynamic growth companies. His background is in electric vehicles, high tech, renewable energy and telecom/internet sectors. John, a long standing EV evangelist, built his own electric car before they were in showrooms. He has a fervent interest in business economics and current affairs. When he has time, John relishes travel, fine food and art, history and heritage buildings.
Jonathan Faille, EIT
Founder
Lead Mechanical Engineer
Jonathan brings his creative and innovative engineering approach to the team, with his resume boasting a number of wild projects. The craziest one being a 50-foot mechanical reincarnation of a prehistoric snake that can slither around. He’s also a huge fan of the Herbie movies, having converted a Volkswagen Beetle to be the first electric car to drive across Canada.
Sean Boyd, P.Eng.
Founder
Lead Electrical Engineer
Sean has extensive experience working on electric and hybrid-electric vehicle technologies, including traction batteries for the Fisker Karma prototype. When he’s not busy working on electric vehicles, Sean can be found pursuing his passion for photography, hockey, and motorcycles.
Sandra Phillips, PMP, MA
Advisor
Sandra is passionate about mobility, innovation, and the shared economy. She has been turning executive vision into reality for over 15 years and has a track record of successfully launching startup ventures and their operations. She was responsible for introducing car2go to the Canadian market and launching EVO for BCAA.
She is a certified PMP, has a MA from University of Zurich and also holds a Business Administration Diploma.
Christian Tacit, P.Eng., MBA
Barrister & Solicitor
Chair, Board of Directors
Chris is a lawyer and governance consultant. He serves on the board of VeloMetro, and an Internet exchange point. He also serves on the Advisory Council of an Internet multi-stakeholder organization. He has held previous board positions in other organizations, including a major hospital and other not-for-profit and business organizations.
He has an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Waterloo, as well as an LLB and MBA from the University of Ottawa. Prior to practicing law, he held a variety of engineering and management positions, including a senior executive position in a publicly traded company. He is the founder of Tacit Law, a boutique law firm specializing in technology, business and not-for-profit law.
Dale Brubacher-Cressman
Director
A Systems Design Engineering degree from the University of Waterloo led Dale to a 17 year career with Research In Motion (now Blackberry) as Director of Product Development. From early stage startup to roughly 4,000 employees, 4 million BlackBerry subscribers, and $1.5B in annual revenues, Dale was a key contributor to RIM's ascendance to global tech giant.
Since leaving RIM in 2005, Dale has led a successful solar energy development firm and been an angel investor and board member for several tech startups. His passion for technology and sustainability are evident in the firms he invests in and in his volunteer pursuits.
Tanya Paz
Advisor
Tanya provides her expertise in sustainable transportation planning and carsharing to VeloMetro.
With 16 years in sustainable transportation, she is considered one of the world's leading experts in carsharing. She worked with Modo in Vancouver for 13 years, and has consulted for carsharing companies and municipalities in Canada, the USA, and Australia on strategic planning, marketing, communications, governance, operations, and business development.
Jim Derbyshire
Advisor
Jim has international entrepreneurial experience including 18 years of CEO experience and a track record of growing innovative, leading-edge startups using bootstrap, Angel, and Angel/VC backed business models. Jim has raised over $100M of funding and been involved in several acquisitions, managing three.
He has a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Kingston University in the UK, is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the I.E.T., participated in I.E.E.E. and E.T.S.I. standards groups and has several granted patents.
Ian Hand
Advisor
Ian is the managing director for the VentureLabs multi-institutional technology accelerator partnership and associate director of Simon Fraser University's Innovation Office.
He has extensive experience as repeat entrepreneur, investor, director, and advisor. He has served as a managing partner at private investment firms and is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of BC, the Institute of Corporate Directors, the Canadian Association of Business Incubation, and the National Business Incubator Association.
Matt Ellis
Advisor
Matt provides business process and system architecture design support in implementing VeloMetro's operational systems.
He has 25 years of experience designing and providing advanced information management systems to leading corporations and government agencies in Canada. Most recently, he has provided services to Human Resources and Skill Development Canada (HRSDC) and Elections Canada.
PARTNERS AND ASSOCIATIONS
VeloMetro is pleased to be partnered with the following programs and associations.
National Research Council Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP)
NRC-IRAP is Canada's premier innovation assistance program for small and medium-sized enterprises. It is a vital component of the NRC, a cornerstone in Canada's innovation system, regarded world-wide as one of the best programs of its kind.
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
NSERC aims to make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators for the benefit of all Canadians. The agency supports university students in their advanced studies, promotes and supports discovery research, and fosters innovation by encouraging Canadian companies to participate and invest in postsecondary research projects.
Autodesk Cleantech Partner Program
Cleantech innovators are creating solutions to solve the world's epic challenges. To support their work, the Autodesk Cleantech Partner Program provides qualified companies with up to US$150,000 worth of Digital Prototyping software. VeloMetro has been accepted into the Autodesk Cleantech Partner Program.
The Carsharing Association represents carsharing organizations interested in improving the credibility, quality of service and public knowledge of the carsharing industry. The goal of the association is to provide a respected authority and unified industry voice in order to support its members, their constituents and the communities in which they operate.
VentureLabs is a world-class business accelerator program delivered by Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria, the British Columbia Institute of Technology and the Emily Carr University of Art + Design, in partnership with the BC Innovation Council and other partners. The VentureLabs program is a structured venture growth program led by experienced Executives-in-Residence.
Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium
CUTRIC supports industry-academic collaborations in the development of next-generation technologies for Canadian transportation systems. They aim to drive forward innovation in transportation across Canada, leading to job growth, economic development and significant GHG reductions.