VRCA’s Board of Directors
The governance of the VRCA is vested in a Board of 14 directors elected by the membership.
The Board’s composition reflects the majority of VRCA’s membership and includes representatives from three Divisions:
- General Contractors
- Trade Contractors
- Manufacturers, Suppliers and Professional Services Providers (e.g. lawyers, insurance companies, etc.)
Each Division has a Council comprising a Chair and two Vice Chairs. The Chair and 1st Vice Chair of each Division is appointed from the Board while the 2nd Vice Chair is appointed from the members of each Division.
2021/22 Board of Directors
At the association’s 55th Annual General Meeting on February 18, 2021, the membership elected the 2021/22 Board of Directors. At its first meeting following the Annual General Meeting, the Board of Directors elected its Officers, Division Chairs and Division 1st Vice Chairs as follows:
Officers
Richard Shipway
Syncra Construction Corp.
BCCA Board of Directors 2017 - present
COCA Board of Directors 2019 - present
VRCA Board of Directors 2016 - present
Finance and Audit committee 2018 - present
Governance and Nominations committee 2019 - present
GC Division (Vice chair/chair) 2015 - 2021
Education committee 2015 - 2018
Project Director at Syncra Construction, leading company operations on a range of ICI and residential projects. 35 years of professional experience as site labour, sub-trade, general contractor, client and consultant along with extensive association work. Passionate and successful at making a difference and bringing value based win/win solutions. Innovative, collaborative, strategic leader, industry promotor and mentor.
Craig Mitchell
Black Box Modular Solutions
Craig Mitchell is passionate about modular and off-site construction. He has spent the last decade in senior management roles in the permanent modular construction field working with clients in both the US and Canada. He is currently the Principal of his offsite construction consulting company - BlackBox Offsite Solutions Ltd. He has held board roles with both the Modular Building Institute (MBI) and has been a board member with the VRCA since 2017. He currently holds the role of Vice Chair of the Board of Directors, and was previously Secretary Treasurer, and Vice Chair of the M&S Division.
Will Pauga
Southwest Contracting Ltd.
I have been working in the construction industry long before I moved to Canada in 2003. In 2006 I started working at Southwest Contracting Ltd and in 2014, my partners and I took over the company that has been in business since 1972.
I became actively involved in the VRCA in 2017 because of a need to improve a system that isn’t working effectively. As a member of the Trade Contractor Council, I have met other business owners who were dealing with the same issues, in construction, that I was.
I have worked in most facets of construction, from the trenches all the way to the boardroom. It has been a challenging and satisfying career and I encourage all young people to choose construction as a successful career path.
General Contractors Division
Gary Hamata
JJM Construction Ltd.
Gary Hamata, VP Construction and Chief Operating Officer at JJM Construction Ltd. has worked in the marine construction, heavy construction and underground infrastructure, and deep foundations industries, for over 40 years. Gary has developed and directed teams of skilled professionals to deliver complex and challenging works and structures including: road and rail bridges, roadways, underground civil infrastructure and tunnels, deep foundation systems, and all associated works for the development and construction of marine structures ranging from marinas to large bulk and/or container marine terminals. Other marine works included floating concrete structures, marine outfalls, and projects requiring hydraulic and/or clamshell dredging, recovery of contaminated marine sediments, foreshore stabilization, sub marine ground improvement and the creation of compensative marine habitats. Through Gary’s career, he has worked for the owner, general contractor, sub-contractor, designer and regulatory agencies, which has helped him to gain an understanding of each of the stakeholders needs in the constructed project and to innovate solutions, on projects from coast to coast.
Gary was a founding member of the BC Marine & Pile Driving Contractors Safety Council and a Past President of the BC Marine and Pile Driving Contractors Association. Gary is also currently serving as a Director for the Association of BC Marine Industries and has also served as a Director of the ICBA, Merit Canada and the BC Association of Crane Safety. Gary’s involvement as a member of the VRCA goes back to early 1980’s spending many hours in the VRCA planroom and working with various committees.
Trade Contractors Division
Derek Fettback
Western Pacific Enterprises
Derek has more than 24 years of experience in the electrical construction industry. He joined Western Pacific in 1997 as an apprentice, commencing a progressive career managing a diverse set of commercial, industrial, and utilities projects. Currently, Derek is responsible for the Heavy Industrial and Utilities district as well as Western Pacific’s central estimating for projects between British Columbia and Manitoba. Derek currently serves on the VRCA Board, ECA Board as Vice Chair and WJETS Training Board.
Adam Timler
MBG Buildings Inc.
Fostering relationships and developing opportunities is Adam’s forte. As a natural networker he is diligent in working closely with trades and consultants, while collaborating with stakeholders to ensure successful construction projects and marketing campaigns. With integrity and ambition every step of the way, Adam leads by example and isn’t one to shy away from a challenge. As an outside-the-box thinker, he enjoys exploring the myriad of ways people, strategy, operations, and process improvement can help shape the future.
Adam currently works for a steel contractor that specializes in pre-engineered metal buildings, where he’s responsible for the overall bidding process and developing and coordinating turnkey projects. Through his tenacity and unwavering determination, Adam is focused on increasing MBG’s market position, while advocating for new building solutions and educating the market on alternate construction methods.
His entrepreneurial mindset was fostered through his undergrad, where he obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree and participated in several business case competitions. Prior to working in the construction industry, Adam established a career in banking and represented his country at an international level playing Rugby.
Mike Wallis
Flynn Canada Ltd.
Mike Wallis has nearly 20 years of experience in the construction industry covering all aspects of the construction life cycle. Mike has held positions in pre-construction and business development, as well as project management and now in a senior management role. Mike has been engaged with specialty trades throughout his career with a focus on building envelope specifically roofing, architectural cladding, and glazing.
Mike has consistently served his community and industry by volunteering his expertise. He has served as a board member of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association, Southern Interior Construction Association, and the International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants. Mike is a founding member of the VRCA u40 committee, a local network of young construction professionals. He has served as a coach and executive in both boys and girls minor hockey for over 20 years.
Mike is currently managing the wide-ranging Service Department in Vancouver for the Flynn Group of Companies. With 35 offices across Canada and the United States, Flynn is the preeminent commercial roofing, glazing, & cladding contractor in North America.
Manufacturers, Suppliers and Professional Services Providers Division
Norm Bajwa
Bartle & Gibson Company Ltd.
I have been in the industry for forty years and am a licensed tradesman. I started with Bartle & Gibson 32 years ago working my way up from an Account Manager, Branch Manager, Sales Manager, Regional Manager, Director of Operations to my current position of Senior VP Plumbing Sales. My passion today is bringing the next generation into our business and becoming their mentor and watching them grow in our industry. I serve on the Board for Bartle & Gibson and CIPH National.
Branden Kotyk
Victaulic
Branden Kotyk is the Division Manager (Western Canada) for Victaulic, a 101-year old industry leader in mechanical piping systems where he has held positions in his home of Vancouver, as well as Australia and the USA. He has been championing innovation in the construction industry for over 14 years, and brings the value of leading-edge technology, lean manufacturing processes, and offsite fabrication to key project stakeholders.
Branden is deeply engaged in our industry’s associations. He currently serves on the Canadian Construction Association’s Board of Directors and is an advisor to the CCA’s CONtact Mentorship Program for construction innovation. Locally, Branden has been active with the VRCA since his return to Vancouver in 2017. Proud presenting sponsors of the past three VRCA Construction Leadership Forums, you will find Branden and the broader Victaulic team at nearly every VRCA event, in support of our industry and its progress.
He looks forward to the opportunity to serve with the VRCA Board of Directors, leveraging experience in strategic planning, association governance, and change management as together we navigate these complex times and bring into reality our association’s exciting strategic goals.
Tim Sportschuetz
Sportschuetz & Company
Tim M. Sportschuetz is a general contractor turned construction lawyer. With over 7 years of on-the-ground experience in the B.C. construction industry and having completed several significant residential renovation projects himself, Tim has a unique industry background that can be developed only through years of on-site experience. Combined with his focused construction law and builders’ lien knowledge, Tim is especially well-equipped to protect the legal interests of your construction business.
Tim’s construction industry network is vast. He is a director of both the Vancouver Regional Construction Association and the British Columbia Construction Association, the largest construction associations in British Columbia and the collective voice of the construction industry in the province. He is also the British Columbia representative of the Canadian Construction Association’s National Advisory Council and an executive member of the British Columbia Construction Roundtable. From his municipal, provincial, and national board seats, Tim enjoys an unmatched understanding of the policies and pulse of the Canadian construction industry.
U40 Network
Brian Trann
Willscot
I've been working with the VRCA U40 committee for the past 5 years, and served on it's executive for the last 4. My time on the U40 executive culminated in serving as the chair of the U40 committee last year.