Kognitiv Spark Welcomes New Members to the Board of Directors
Kognitiv Spark is pleased to welcome three new members to its Board of Directors. Joining Yan Simard, CEO at Kognitiv Spark, and Ryan Groom, CTO and Co-Founder of Kognitiv Spark, will be Jean Champagne, David Wayner, and Bill Yost.
“We are delighted to have Jean, David, and Bill join the Kognitiv Spark Board of Directors,” said Simard. “These three individuals bring with them a substantial pedigree of experience leading to success and, as our own company continues its upwards trajectory of growth and innovation, the timing to welcome them couldn’t be more perfectly suited.”
Jean Champagne
As the newly appointed Chairperson, Mr. Champagne adds another board position to his roster as he is currently active with two other privately held companies, in addition to holding the professional designation of Chartered Director. He has been active for more than 40 years in the information technology industry and has held several leadership roles with companies such as Xerox, Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE), Nortel Networks, Avestor Sagemcom, and XMedius. He has been in global leadership roles since 1995 and was based in Europe for a number of years.
His last active corporate role was as President and CEO of XMedius Solutions, a company majority owned by StoneCalibre. XMedius specialized in the development and commercialization of enterprise software solutions designed for the secure exchange of files and in unified communications. The company’s strong performance earned him the honour of being one of three finalists for the “Investissement Quebec 2017 CEO of the Year” award. XMedius was acquired by Open Text on March 9, 2020.
Jean has also been mentoring and coaching young emerging technology companies since 2001 and he is currently active in the MentorConnect Montreal program, which is licensed from MIT Venture Mentoring Service, one of the most powerful engines of innovation and entrepreneurship in the tech world.
David Wagner
Mr. Wagner, who joins the board as Director, has built a career as a leader in every role he has occupied over the last 45 years. He has held senior management positions in large corporate organizations and has also provided leadership in the start-up ICT and energy sectors. In every role, he has grown the organization successfully by listening to his customer and using his can-do attitude and drive to find a “win/win” solution acceptable to all.
As the President and CEO of Atlantic Hydrogen Inc. (AHI), David has led the organization through multiple rounds of raising capital from private investors and strategic partners who support AHI’s vision of addressing climate change with technology solutions like the CarbonSaver. Under his leadership, AHI has raised $50mm from private and public sources including Emera, Shell, EnCana and from both federal and provincial governments.
Mr. Wagner was the CEO of Unisys Canada, a subsidiary of Unisys Corporation for six years. Each year under his leadership the company achieved its’ assigned financial goals and objectives. He successfully built a strong management team by setting the example of focusing on the customer.
Mr. Wagner has served on the Board of Directors of both not-for-profit and for-profit organizations as a Director and Chairman. He has completed governance training programs from the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Bill Yost
Also joining the Board as Director, is Mr. Yost. Being a Senior Investment Manager at Foresight Group, Bill leads investments into high-growth technology companies. He has degrees in Physics, Electrical Engineering, and Financial Risk Management. He’s held engineering roles at large technology companies such as Sony and Corning and was the founder of two hardware start-ups. Bill has spent the last twenty years raising or deploying venture capital on both sides of the Atlantic.
About Kognitiv Spark
Established in 2016, Kognitiv Spark is a global tech company and Microsoft MRPP gold partner recognized for its competency in the secure, reliable, and network agnostic applications of Mixed Reality (MR) in industrial environments.
Its flagship product, RemoteSpark™, is a user-focused MR performance support tool designed with field workers in mind. It combines the physical and digital worlds by creating a hands-free, supportive environment for workers to instantly access 2D and 3D holographic assets to support task completion, operational efficiency, training, and digital transformation efforts in an independent and autonomous manner.
RemoteSpark also equips workers with the power to establish a low-bandwidth, secure video and audio call with subject experts should extra assistance be required, all while being supported by a robust security infrastructure.
Kognitiv Spark’s mission is to help workforces achieve more, operate with confidence, and solve issues quickly, safely, and accurately, the first time, every time. They support a global footprint of clients and partners operating in manufacturing, defence, marine, energy, and multiple other industrial sectors.
For more information visit www.kognitivspark.com
Media Contact
Kim Holland
Director of Marketing, Kognitiv Spark
kim@kognitivspark.com
506.429.5263