Meet the People Behind pVelocity's
Profitability & Cost Simulation Software
pVelocity Board
Derek Smyth, Chairman of the Board
In his role as Managing Director of OMERS Ventures, Derek Smyth is responsible for leading investment activities in the North American market focusing on high-growth companies in the technology, media, and telecommunications sectors. Prior to joining OMERS Ventures, Derek co-managed two VC funds in his role as Partner at Edgestone Capital Partners. Smyth previously held the position of COO at Ironside Technologies, where he was responsible for the overall direction of global business development, marketing, sales operations and product development. As COO, Smyth grew the business from start-up phase to a $50M multi-national organization, and a team of 14 to 240, while raising $72M in private equity. Before that, he held a number of positions with Bay Networks Canada and Radius Inc. He has his B.A. (Commerce and Economics) from the University of Toronto, and completed the Enterprise Program for Growing Companies (EPGC) at Stanford University.
Dale deFreitas, Chief Executive Officer
deFreitas joined pVelocity from SEEC, an insurance software developer. Prior to that, he held the roles of Vice President Finance and Chief Administrative Officer at Ironside Technologies Inc., a leading provider of electronic commerce software, as well as Controller of Bay Networks Canada. deFreitas brings over 18 years of experience in technology industry finance to his role.
Laura Lenz, Director
Lenz joined EdgeStone Capital Partners in 2004. Previously, she was an Associate in Investment Banking at BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., working on corporate finance and advisory transactions with communications and technology companies. During this time, Lenz also worked in BMO Nesbitt Burns' private equity divisions, including BMO Halyard Partners and BMO Equity Partners. She holds an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario (Dean's Honor List).
W. B. (Bill) Lipsin, Director
W. B. (Bill) Lipsin was Corporate Senior Vice President of Global Channels for CA, responsible for the strategy and P&L of CA's Indirect Channels business. Bill has 30 years of IT industry experience. Previously, he was senior vice president and general manager for CA's Western area, responsible for expanding relationships with CA customers and business partners in the thirteen Western states. Prior to joining CA in 2005, Bill served as president and CEO of SEEC, an enterprise software and services vendor. Before that, he was president and CEO of Ironside Technologies, which he helped grow from start-up to a global, industry-leading enterprise software vendor. Earlier, Bill served as general manager of Bay Networks Canada and senior vice president of services and marketing for Crowntek, the largest Canadian desktop and network reseller/systems integrator. Bill also held several key management positions with IBM, working in the company's sales, channel and marketing organizations.
Mark Miller, Director
Miller joined Constellation Software Inc. in 1996. He currently divides his time between responsibilities as the Chief Executive Officer of Trapeze Operating Group and Friedman Corporation, as Chief Operating Officer at CSI, and as a member of the Board of Directors of Emerging Information Systems Inc., a private software company headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba.. Miller received a B.Sc. in Statistics and a B.Sc. in Mathematics from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. In addition, he has attended the Executive Marketing Program at the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario.
David Thomas, Director
Thomas has over 25 years experience in the software technology industry including sales & marketing, operations and business development. As a software entrepreneur, he founded Omnego Inc. an enterprise white-label mobile app platform. Prior to Omnego, he was the founder and CEO of Triversity Inc., the leading POS software company in North America for 15 years. After SAP acquired Triversity in 2005, he became SVP Retail and Global Head of POS. Thomas holds a degree from the University of Waterloo in Mathematics and Computer Science.
Kevin Young, Director
Throughout his career, Young has led a number of businesses to achieve superior profitable growth. Recently, he was President of Unisync Group Limited, a turnkey designer, manufacturer and distributor of employee uniforms sold to Canada's largest retailers, quick service restaurants, industrial companies and grocery chains. Previously, Young held a number of progressively senior roles with Indalex, a manufacturer of customized extruded aluminum components sold to OEMs across North America. He was President of Indalex's Western Region, a $250 million division of the company, and was instrumental in building the business from $375 million in revenues to $1.5 billion. Kevin holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of business at the University of Western Ontario.
pVelocity Leadership Team
Dale deFreitas, Chief Executive Officer
deFreitas joined pVelocity from SEEC, an insurance software developer. Prior to that, he held the roles of Vice President Finance and Chief Administrative Officer at Ironside Technologies Inc., a leading provider of electronic commerce software, as well as Controller of Bay Networks Canada. deFreitas brings over 18 years of experience in technology industry finance to his role.
Kang Lu, Chief Technology Officer
Since the 1990s, Lu has held progressively senior product development roles. He was instrumental in product formulation and development processes at both Farelogix and Ironside. He was also the Chief Architect of Core Technologies at i2 Technologies, creators of supply chain management solutions. Lu has a Bachelor of Applied Science degree from the University of Toronto.
Peter Villeneuve, Vice President Business Development
Villeneuve has spent a cumulative 17 years helping clients deliver on their supply chain initiatives, providing project management, subject matter consulting and implementation assistance to many of the world’s leading companies. He has held positions with Deloitte Consulting, SAP and i2 technologies, and has worked extensively in industries including manufacturing, healthcare, telecommunications, mining & metals, utilities, & public sector. Villeneuve is a Professional Engineer and a Certified Management Consultant.
Rod Stobo, Director of Product Marketing
Prior to joining pVelocity, Stobo led his own B2B marketing agency for 9 years delivering strategic and tactical marketing programs for tech clients like Sun Microsystems, CapGemini, Kaseya, and KiSP Inc., and non-tech like Canada Lands Company, TSSA, and G&K Services. His 16 year IT marketing career has served leading clients that include Entrust Technologies, Rational Software, Intuit Canada, and Ericsson.
