Sky Canoe Team

Dale George
Co-founder & C.T.O.

Dale George is a visionary inventor with over 40 years experience in aerospace design. He has worked on a wide range of projects with NASA, Ames Moffett, Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) and the FAA. Dale has logged thousands of hours flying manned and unmanned aircraft, and brings a lifetime of experience as a pilot to Sky Canoe. Dale has fond memories of flying Cargo to remote northern First Nations in Canada, and yearns for a future where these communities are plugged into and better served by global markets.

Ron McNamara
Chief Operating Officer

Ron McNamara Chief Operating Officer at Sky Canoe has over 20 years of experience in designing, building and piloting aircraft. An Entrepreneur himself, Ron brings not only his unrivaled depth of aviation knowledge but also his experience in leading teams and delivering practical operating solutions. Ron also has extensive qualifications in aircraft engines, structures and has personally serviced a wide variety of aircraft over his expansive career. Ron lives on the cutting edge and thrives off of prototyping design and pushing the boundaries of what aviation considers possible.

Jason Dudek, MSc
Chairperson

Prior to SkyCanoe Jason chaired the board and investment committee of one of Canada's most innovative and respected philanthropic foundations, the Catherine Donnelly Foundation. Holding an MSc from the London School of Economics (UK), he is also a visionary entrepreneur who believes in the power of business to solve urgent problems. In addition to his investment and foundation experience, Jason previously founded a number of successful ventures and is compelled by the potential of Sky Canoe to transform isolated communities in Canada's north and Sub-Saharan Africa.

John Rowinski
Director / Secretary

John is the CEO of Sky Canoe shareholder Noozhoo Nokiiyan LP, the economic development arm of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. Prior to joining NNLP in 2020, John practiced law for over 20 years, predominantly working with Indigenous clients in tackling a variety of legal issues. He is an experienced corporate director and leader. John, NNLP and MSIFN are excited about Sky Canoe's capacity to drastically improve the lives of remote communities in a manner that adheres to Indigenous values.

Frances Sanderson
First Nations Community Engagement

Frances Sanderson is the Executive Director at Nishnawbe Homes Inc. Her community involvement includes serving on numerous boards and committees, including the Toronto Aboriginal Affairs Committee, the George Brown Aboriginal Education Council, the Toronto Police Service Aboriginal Consultative Committee, and the Chief's Advisory Committee. Frances is an invaluable asset for Sky Canoe's work with First Nations communities, helping to ensure our business engagement is positive, culturally sensitive and generates real impact.

Samar Mezghanni, PhD
Sustainability

Samar Mezghanni, PhD, is a Tunisian Iraqi academic and activist, with two records in Guinness Book for World Records as the youngest writer in the world in 2000 and the youngest most prolific writer in the world in 2002. She is the first Tunisian woman to receive a PhD from the University of Cambridge in any field ever (in more than 800 years). Her literature work and activism regarding sustainability earned her several awards and an appointment from the United Nations as a UN Young Leader for the SDGs, and the BBC nominated her as one of the world's 100 most inspiring women. Samar brings Sky Canoe a deep vision of sustainability and impact.

Fidel Khouli, PhD
Research

Dr. Khouli is conducting research at the forefront of aeroservo-elasticity, stability and control of flexible airframes. He published several papers in prestigious engineering journals and proceedings of international conferences. He was part of the engineering team at Bombardier Aerospace that developed the world's most advanced business jet, the Global 7500. Fidel greatly strengthens Sky Canoe's design capacity and research acumen.

Desmond Wilson, CPA
Finance

Desmond is a Chartered Professional Accountant with over 40 years' experience in public accounting, banking and most recently, the not-for-profit sector. He spent many years working at the Toronto Dominion Bank following several years in public accounting with Price Waterhouse in Canada and Ireland. He was also involved for 15 years as CFO of the Catherine Donnelly Foundation, taking it from its establishment through the evolution of its innovative impact investment strategy. He is dedicated to high quality financial reporting, good governance and solid decision-making as needed to meet the challenges of our times.

John Ireland, MBA
Extractives / Marketing

John is the president of Upfront Analysis and was CleanTech Open's 2019 mentor of the year. He has extensive networks and a background in Oil & Gas, which is a key market segment for us. Sky Canoe had the great luck of having John as our mentor during the CleanTech Open, and as a result he has gained a deep understanding of our business. As we grow, advisors like John are our first line of strength for filling out staff and executive positions, and we are excited to explore the future together.

Tamba Pallalay
West Africa Regional Manager

Holding degrees from Sierra Leone's Institute of Advanced Management and Technology and Institute of Business Studies and Administration, Tamba Palallay has over 20 years of experience working with vulnerable rural populations in Sierra Leone. He worked with the International Federation Of Red Cross to save lives during Sierra Leone's recent Ebola outbreak, and shares our Company's passion for addressing the logistical isolation of remote communities. Tamba leads Sky Canoe's research and development work in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

Jack Grecco
Technology & Business

Jack Greco is a co-founder of ACV Auctions, an online auction dealer platform, last valued at $1.5Bn and raised over $296M from leading investors such as Bessemer Venture Partners, Bain Capital, Fidelity, and many others. He is an angel investor, mentor, and advisor to many startups in upstate New York, including 3AM Innovations, Evoke Healthy Foods, and SPATCHED. He is also an LP in several funds, the executive director of Techstars Buffalo, and the founder of One Link Ventures, a company that builds enterprise software solutions for its clients. As a member of Sky Canoe's advisory board, Jack brings invaluable insights into the financing and commercialization of game-changing technologies to our Company.

Lisa George, MBA
Corporate Strategy & HR

Lisa has been in the retail management sector for over 25 years with companies such as Disney, IBM and Union Energy. She specializes in developing and translating business strategies into logical, measurable objectives that are easy to understand. Her reputation to effectively maintain an engaged problem solving, innovative, customer centric culture consistently results in long term sustainable and profitable growth. Lisa is an IBM Certified Management Consultant and holds a Masters of Business Administration from University of Fredericton, Sandermoen School of Business.

Gowling
WLG

Gowling WLG is an international, sector-focused law firm with more than 1,400 legal professionals in 18 cities around the world. They are considered Canada's top patent law firm. WLG can trace its roots back to 1730, when Lawrence Graham became one of the first law firms to register in the City of London. Wragge & Co was founded in 1834. Since then, both have established themselves as major UK firms before embarking on international growth. Wragge & Co opened offices in Germany and China in 2008, a full service office in Paris in 2010 and in Dubai in 2011. Lawrence Graham opened its first overseas office in 2003 in Monaco, followed by Dubai, Singapore and Moscow (the latter by joint venture).Gowling WLG is repeatedly recognised as a top employer, and committed to diversity, inclusion and innovation.

University of Makeni,
Sierra Leone

The University of Makeni (UNIMAK), one of Sierra Leone's top-ranked universities, places social development at the heart of everything it does. UNIMAK has made great efforts to develop academic programmes that are rooted in the everyday reality of contemporary Africa. UNIMAK aspires to be a world class university with excellence in education, research and public engagement where sustainable peace and social justice transcend boundaries. Sky Canoe and UNIMAK are collaborating in Sierra Leone to establish and test Sky Canoe's revolution technology in one of the most relevant - and physically demanding - markets in the world.

Carleton
University

Situated on unceded Algonquin territory beside the historic Rideau Canal, an official UNESCO World Heritage Site, Carleton University was founded by the community in 1942. Carleton strives for innovation in research, teaching and learning. Its location in Ottawa, Canada's capital, connects the university to the world. Carleton is one of Canada's top aerospace universities, and is working with Sky Canoe on systems integration and software.

Canadian Hydrogen and
Fuel Cell Association

As the world shifts to sustainable solutions to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the CHFCA's aim is to advance the commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in Canada and overseas.

The CHFCA represent companies, academia and research agencies in Canada's world-leading hydrogen and fuel cell sector, as well as international automotive manufacturers developing and deploying fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in Canada.

Diversity Development
Network of Canada (DDNC)

The Diversity Development Network of Canada (DDNC) was created after founder Marlene Conway Diels saw a growing need for collaboration with all stakeholders after significant discussion amongst these groups. By creating relationships and maintaining sustainable projects, DDNC aims to leverage resources to directly increase diverse peoples' access, entry and advancement in Canadian Industries to fill current and future highly skilled employment gaps.

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