Board of Directors
The FPWR Canada board is comprised of parents of people with PWS as well as comunity professionals. The FPWR Canada board has a ‘fundraising’ board policy, which means that each board members commits to a target of raising $10,000. The current list of FPWR Canada board members are:
President & Chairman | Vice-President | Treasurer | Board Members
PRESIDENT & CHAIRMAN
Keegan Johnson
Keegan Johnson is the President and Co-Founder of Ethoca (www.ethoca.com), a privately held company which acts as the centre of a community of online companies working together to share order experiences and stop fraudsters dead in their tracks without blocking good orders. Prior to founding Ethoca, Keegan spent more than 8 years in the Internet integration and ASP industry, successfully leading CryptoLogic Inc.’s technical and business integration with a number of blue-chip companies. As Project Manager, Keegan was responsible for rolling out and providing direction for new multi-million dollar Marketing and Customer Service product lines.
Keegan is also the founding President and Chairman of the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research Canada (www.fpwr.ca) and the Vice President of the FPWR USA. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science with a minor in Physics from McMaster University. At McMaster, Keegan was a captain and an OUAA All-star with the Marauders Men’s basketball team. Keegan currently lives in Mississauga, with his wife Tanya. He is a proud father to Denzel and Dante (pws).
VICE-PRESIDENT
Zdravko Crne
Zdravko Crne is the Vice President of IT & Communications at Mulvey & Banani International Inc. He is a consulting engineer responsible for design and engineering of network and communications infrastructures for large scale construction projects across Canada and internationally. Zdravko obtained his electrical and computer engineering degree from the University of Waterloo in 1988. After graduation, Zdravko became involved with various industry organizations such as BICSI, CSA and EIA/TIA and participated in the development of various industry standards documents.
Zdravko lives in Toronto with his wife Pat and daughters Sera and Serena. He is the also the Vice President of the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research Canada and takes an active interest in PWS research. His younger daughter Sera was born with PWS in 2006.
BOARD MEMBERS
Mark Giroux
Mark Giroux is Marketing Manager with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Health. In his current role he is responsible for the planning, development, and execution of professional marketing strategies across a number of OTC brands. In addition to this, he works on various medical business development projects.
Prior to working in the Consumer division, Mark worked in pharmaceutical sales with GSK for ten years. His last five years were spent in specialty hospital sales working closely with Respirologists and Internal Medicine physicians on promotional, scientific, and other joint partnership opportunities.
In 2010, Mark graduated with his MBA from the University of Leicester and prior to that received his degree in Communications from Wilfrid Laurier University. He also attended Fanshawe College and graduated as a Paramedic.
Mark and his wife Shannon currently live in Burlington and have two sons. Aside from the responsibilities of parenthood, together they run an online Proofreading and Translation business and are active members on the planning committee for the annual Guelph Gala, which is another fundraising event in support of PWS research.
Peter Evans
A Senior executive with over 35 years of international managerial experience in the financial industry.
SVP with the Canadian branch of a large American bank and its legacy entities. A member of the global senior management Treasury team, responsible for all treasury functions of asset and liability management, capital and liquidity requirements, and regulatory compliance. Responsible for establishing and developing brokerage offices in Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and New York for a major London brokerage house.
Actively involved in the Greater Toronto community, serving as a member of the Management Board of the Toronto Zoo (Vice-Chair) and the Toronto Zoo Foundation (Chair). Interim CEO of the Toronto Zoo (2009-2010)
Also provided leadership in the area of sustainable development though a regional projects recognized by the United Nation Centres of Expertise program.
Peter is married with two married sons and four grandchildren and currently serves on corporate and charitable boards
Mark Bagatto
Mark Bagatto is the National Account Manager for Hallmark Canada, where he has had a variety of sales and account management positions since joining Hallmark in 2001. Mark has been a sales professional since 1996 with expertise in retail, marketing and package goods. Mark is an honours graduate of the Sheridan College Business program and is currently working towards his MBA at York University’s Schulich School of Business. Mark’s wife Rosa is also involved in FPWR as part of the One Small Step Committee and live in Mississauga with their daughter Madeline.
Mike Henry
Mike Henry is Managing Director and Head of Channel Strategy at Scotiabank, where he has held a variety of executive positions since joining the Bank in 1996. Mike has worked in financial services since 1989 and has expertise in retail banking, sales management, wealth management, marketing and strategy development. In addition, Mike holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business. Mike’s current and former corporate directorships include Scotia Cassels Investment Counsel, Integra Capital Financial Corporation and the Interac Association. Outside of work, Mike has been a fundraiser for Bloorview MacMillan Children’s Centre and has sat on the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement of Central Ontario. Mike, his wife and their three children live in Mississauga.
Andre Edelbrock
Andre Edelbrock is the Chief Executive Officer (Co-Founder), Executive Director of Ethoca. He is a leading expert in online payment systems, risk, fraud and product management. Before joining Ethoca in 2005, Edelbrock headed the department responsible for all international e-cash services and operations at CryptoLogic, one of the world’s largest e-gaming software and e-cash service providers. Edelbrock also spent two years with Procuron, an Internet B2B marketplace start-up founded by Bell Canada, CIBC, Scotiabank and Desjardins, where he played a key role in strategy, development and sales. Earlier in his career, he served as a management consultant at the Canadian offices of Deloitte Consulting and IBM. Edelbrock holds an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo.
Tad Gacich
Tad Gacich is the President and Owner of Gacich Financial Inc., which he considers a one stop shop for financial planning. He is an entrepreneur at heart and helps the “little guy” manage risk, save taxes and accumulate wealth for a secure future. Born and raised in Toronto, Tad attended McMaster University and obtained his B.A/Bsc. While at McMaster Tad started a window washing business and sold it when he graduated in 1986 for $5,000. Tad went on to the University of Ottawa where he obtained his law degree. In 1991, Tad joined London Life which launched his career as a financial advisor. Tad has obtained his designations of Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant and Certified Financial Planner. Today, he works in Aurora and is active with The Aurora Optimist Club and Chamber of Commerce. He lives in Newmarket with his wife, Lynn and their children, Nicole and Connor.