Directors/Management

The GreenAngel Energy team is made up of four seasoned professional entrepreneurs who have strong connections to and are completely immersed in the technology sector.

Michael C. Volker – President, CEO and Director
Mike is a registered professional engineer in the Province of BC and holds a Master of Science degree (1974) from the University of Waterloo. He has been immersed in the technology sector since starting his first company shortly after finishing his undergraduate studies of Waterloo University. Founded in 1973 with one of GreenAngel’s other directors, Alan Werenko, Volker-Craig Ltd. was a computer terminals company that was successfully sold in 1981 for a considerable profit. Since then, Mike has been active in various early-stage businesses as a founder, investor, director, and officer. He was the first Chairman of Shad International in 1980. In 1987 he founded RDM Corporation (TSX:RC), formerly Mindflight Corporation) and served as chairman and CEO from 1991 to 1996. In 1988, Mike moved to British Columbia to serve as the first full-time Executive Director from 1988 to 1991, and Chairman from 2001 to 2003 of the BC Advanced Systems Institute, an organization dedicated to technology development and technology transfer. From 1996 to 2001, he was Chairman of the Vancouver Enterprise Forum. Early 2000 he founded and continues to manage the Vancouver Technology Angel Network (VANTEC). Currently he is President and Founder of WUTIF Capital (VCC) Inc. – the Western Universities Technology Innovation Fund and a Director of Simon Fraser University's Industry Liaison Office. Mike is very active on the B.C. high tech scene, serving on non-profit boards of New Ventures BC and the Canadian Listed Companies Association and public company boards of Plutonic Power Corporation (TSX:PCC), GraphOn Corporation (OTC:GOJO), and Angelwest Capital Corp. (TSXV:AWC.P), as well as various private company boards. He also frequently writes and speaks on management and technology issues and is active as a member of various charitable and educational boards.

Bruce A. Schmidt – CFO and Director
Bruce provides consulting services in the life-sciences sector focusing on issues surrounding intellectual property, knowledge translation, strategic planning, business development and early stage life-sciences companies. Previously positions include CEO of a Vancouver based biotech company focused on the treatment of cancer and diseases of the central nervous system, founding director of Genome British Columbia, past Chair of Life Sciences B.C. (B.C. Biotech) and the B.C. Nanotechnology Alliance. He is currently a Director and CEO of GenomeDx Biosciences Inc. and a Director of the BC Mental Health Foundation.

Robert de Wit – Director
Bob de Wit is a Vancouver based investor, mentor, director and consultant to growth-stage technology companies. He expresses his passion for entrepreneurship as Executive Director of New Ventures BC, Director of GreenAngel Energy Corp, and as an active member of the VANTEC angel network and the WUTIF angel fund. Annually, he mentors or reviews the best of the new technology ventures coming out of British Columbia each year. As a frequent speaker on entrepreneurship, Bob draws upon his executive experience in corporate development (M&A strategy and execution), corporate finance (raising equity capital) and competitive market intelligence to audiences ranging from entrepreneurial CEOs, angel investors to graduate students. Holding degrees in marketing (BBA) and economics (MA) from Simon Fraser University, Bob has built his fifteen year career around starting or nurturing technology start-ups. In addition to working for companies, he has consulted to Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia and the University of California at Los Angeles where he has worked with university faculty members to develop effective technology commercialization strategies. Bob is happily married and is the proud father of one daughter. His personal interests include playing golf, recreational running and following professional sports, particularly hockey.
More: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobdewit

Alan Werenko – Director
Alan is a registered professional engineer in the Province of Ontario and holds a Master of Applied Science degree (1974) from the University of Waterloo. He began his entrepreneurial business career in 1974 as a partner to Mike Volker in Volker-Craig Ltd., a computer terminals company. His role as VP Marketing took the Company from $35 thousand in sales to $7 million worldwide in twenty countries in 1981, when it was sold to a TSE public company for $7 million. In 1984, he re-purchased the firm and took it private as Volker-Craig Technologies Ltd. and was its President until 1988 when it was purchased by Erni-Compro AG of Switzerland. He continued to manage its Canadian and International Marketing operations including research and development and offshore manufacturing of computer products until 1990. In 1988 he developed a High Technology Business Centre in Waterloo and owned and managed it until its sale in 2004. Since 1978, Alan has worked extensively in Taiwan and Korea developing and marketing products to these countries as well as to Japan and Hong Kong. Currently he provides consulting, coaching and mentoring services to many executives and entrepreneurs involved in BC high tech companies. He is a Term Professor at the Okanagan College Business School and lectures on Personal Success Strategies and Professional Selling. He is an active member of the Vancouver and Okanagan Angel Networks, the Okanagan Science and Technology Council OSTEC, and New Ventures BC. Since 2006 he has been a jury member for the New Ventures final jury rounds where the winners are selected each September in Vancouver. In 2007 he was on an International Jury for judging the Masters in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MIE) Practicum Presentations at the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) in Abu Dhabi.

Ron W. Steeper - VP Management Services
Ron Steeper is a Vancouver based Entrepreneur and Business Consultant. As President/CEO of 4 successful businesses (including 2 exits) Ron was provided with a wealth of knowledge and experience related to the success of company development. Ron co-founded and developed one of the world’s first public Internet broadcasting facilities which led to the development of Internet broadcasting software and the establishment of a several of ‘netcasting’ facilities. Over the past 20 years Ron has helped the development and growth of numerous companies in his consulting role by offering services in business planning/strategy, business development, marketing and program/project management. Client engagements have been international in nature, have involved all sizes of business from start-up business planning to BC hydro and ICBC and have included several public companies. Ron is the former President of the Board of Directors for the British Columbia Coalition for Safer Communities and has been a Business Mentor for the Telus New Ventures Capital Competition for 2 years. Mr. Steeper holds an M.B.A. in Executive Management from Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC. He also has a degree in Business Marketing from Fanshawe College in London, Ontario and has completed the Systems Architecture and Lifecycle Design program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ron is an avid motorcycle traveler, golfer and enjoys spending weekends on the Sunshine Coast of BC working on the family recreational property