Meet The
groHERE Team
groHERE is proud to have a world-class multidisciplinary team of experts that share the same passion for merging technology with agriculture. We bring expertise across fields of engineering, energy, plant science, biology, nutrition, and food safety, to the development of our Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) vertical farms.
Executive Team
David has more than 25 years of experience working with high growth companies to build teams that accomplish dreams. This means turning strategy into results.Prior to joining groHERE, first as a director and then as CEO, David has worked with companies in hydrogen electrolysis, software and insurance over the past 4 years. The goal was to build world class management teams to achieve high growth. The results were positive with two of the companies successfully capitalizing the business with oversubscribed private placements and then going public.Dave’s role is to build a high performance leadership team that will uncover obstacles, overcome constraints, develop strategic plans and execute to achieve results.
Gord has been an entrepreneur for the past 27 years, being involved through ownership with several startup companies both in energy services and E&P companies. His most recent company grew from start up to 350 employees in 4 years. Gord brings extensive experience in M&A and operations to the team most recently being involved in the reorganization at the board level of a Calgary SaaS company.
Dmytro is an agricultural specialist with over 25 years of progressive leadership and technical experience. His core areas of expertise are Horticulture, Plant Breeding, Seed Production, Agronomy, Crop Science, and Agricultural Business.
Dmytro has managed Agricultural Research and Cultivation Programs of multiple crops in both Europe and North America. He holds process improvement certifications such as Lean Enterprise Practitioner and Six-Sigma Black Belt. In addition to numerous publications and patents under his name, his experience spans across multi-disciplinary projects and people management, innovations, and multi-million dollar improvements. Dmytro is a Professional Agrologist, registered with Alberta Institute of Agrologists.
Jo brings a significant amount of experience developing scalable business processes. Her experience is battle-tested and her business acumen, diligence and candid communication style have proven effective in successfully managing complex and explosive growth both domestically and internationally.
Along with her Commerce degree, Jo has certifications as a human resource professional (CPHR) and has completed the Director Education Program earning her an ICD.D. This mix of education and experience gives her broad-based connections to all business functions. She also acts as groHERE’s corporate secretary.
Shlok is an engineering graduate of the University of Alberta with multi-faceted experience in both technical and business arenas. Mr. Srivastava has spearheaded several innovative projects that optimize the energy resources available through the retrofitting of commercial buildings with legacy oil and gas assets. His technical work encompasses HVAC design, building energy audits and assessments, and database development and data analytics. Shlok has developed acumen bringing various stakeholders such as industry, government, and regulatory bodies together for addressing local issues of food and energy security. Shlok lives in Edmonton, Alberta, and enjoys reading entrepreneurial books and outdoor recreational activities.
James is a specialist in all technical aspects of irrigation, fertilization and building management. He has 20 years of experience in a variety of forms of engineering, operations, and design. His career spans across various locations in Canada, Australia, and United Arab Emirates where he has been managing and leading installations in mechanical, electrical, and plumbing scope of work. James has now been back in Canada for the past 4 years and resides in Sherwood Park, Alberta with his family.
Board of Directors
Bob is an entrepreneur, CEO, company director and angel investor. Bob started his first successful business 40 years ago, leading a technical consultancy within the upstream Oil & Gas sector. His broad business practice includes decades in leadership roles, P&L responsibility, international expansion, and M&A (buy and sell side.) Bob has acted as a director of an Educational Trust, and a medical sector charity, and has served on various industry boards and society committees. He acts as a mentor to newcomer geoscientists to Canada and advises undergraduate students in classes in entrepreneurial thinking at the University of Calgary. Bob currently serves as an independent director for an international environmental consultancy. He serves as an Advisory Board member and/or investor in a diverse number of start-ups in various sectors and geographies. This has included the oil & gas, home care, automotive, AI/machine learning software, leadership consultants, and travel products manufacturing sectors, and within the consumer and business loyalty rewards segment.
Bob is married with 3 older children, is a professional geoscientist, and graduated in 2011 with an International Executive MBA from IE Business School, Madrid, and is a member in good standing of the Institute of Corporate Directors with the ICD.D designation.
A professional engineer, Kim is the founder and CEO of Alberta WaterSMART, a services organization committed to improving water management through better technologies and practices. WaterSMART has been widely recognized for its work in collaborative watershed management and contributions to key issues of flood and drought management.
Kim has been recognized with the YWCA Women of Distinction award, the Global Woman of Vision award, the Distinguished Service Award and the Alumni Achievement Award from Queen’s University, the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Alberta Centennial Medal. In 2007, Kim was named as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women, and in 2012 she was named Business Woman of the Year in Calgary by the Consumers Choice Awards. In 2015 she was awarded the SCI Canada Medal and was recognized by the Alberta Science and Technology Foundation for Outstanding Contribution to the Alberta Science and Technology Community. Kim is a Member of the Order of Canada and in 2016 received an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Queen’s University.
Danny Hay is the Chief Financial Officer of Field Safe Solutions. Mr. Hay’s previous positions included roles as an officer and director of TSX and TSX-v listed companies. Most recently he was the CFO of an alternative energy company that sold at a 160% premium to the market price on the TSX. Mr. Hay has also completed numerous M&A transactions ranging from $15 million to $150 million and is on the Board of Directors of the Calgary Foothills Soccer Club. He is a Chartered Accountant and holds a BComm from the University of Calgary.
Richard (Rick) is CEO and owner of Stamp Seeds Ltd. Based in the center of the irrigation infrastructure located in Enchant Alberta. As a first-generation farmer, along with his wife Marian, they founded Stamp Farms in 1978.
Today, along with their three sons and their wives, manage and operate all aspects of their farming and business operations, complimented with a year-round staff of over 15 individuals growing to 25+ to round out their team during the cropping season. All acres are planted and focused entirely on “Pedigreed Seed” with the growing, processing, retail sales, seed treating, with the marketing and shipment of production carried out year-round to their 1500+ customers.
Located in both the Bow River Irrigation District (BRID) and the Eastern Irrigation District (EID) they manage close to 9,000 acres of land located in four communities, planting over 5500 irrigated and 1500 dryland acres of intense crop production. Consisting of a wide variety of wheat, durum, barley, beans, peas, flax, quinoa, Hy-Bred canola, Hy-Bred rye. Breeder and select seed production are the basics of their production which are then carried out in subsequent years to Foundation, Registered and Certified seed sales.
Perry is a seasoned executive with 36 years of experience in technical, operational and business leadership. During his 20 year tenue with a major multinational energy exploration and production company, Perry held various operational, asset management & functional leadership positions with business unit and global responsibility for engineering, technology, talent management, operational excellence and continuous improvement. Mr. Berkenpas has global experience traveling to work locations in Canada, US, Norway, UK, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, and brings a diverse perspective of integrating food solutions with local energy production. Perry has a proven track record in leading multi-functional teams with a focus on the creation and management of new ventures. Mr. Berkenpas lives near Calgary, Alberta with his wife and 3 adult children.