Board of Governors

BGEN D.M. (Darrell) Dean, CD

Chairman

Darrell Dean currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Governors of Commissionaires BC, contributing his extensive leadership experience to help ensure Commissionaires’ current operational and long term success. A member of the board since 2007, Darrell brings with him 42 years of distinguished service in the Canadian Armed Forces, serving a variety of command positions from second lieutenant to Brigadier General. As a youth, he began his military service in the Irish Fusiliers cadets (Vancouver Regiment) then with the Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians), the Royal Canadian Dragoons and the British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught’s Own). He has served in Palestine, done three tours in Germany, and was finally appointed as the Commander of the Canadian Defence Liaison Staff in London England.

Darrell was inducted into the Canadian Forces Sports Honor Roll for his achievements in Judo and holds a fifth degree black belt. He is a life member of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps Association, the current Chairman of the Board of the Langley Animal Protection Society and a life member of the Kodokan Judo Society of Japan.

Darrel is a graduate of the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College and the National Defence College.

CAPT. B.A.C. (Barry) Heselgrave

Immediate Past Chairman

Barry Heselgrave has served on the Board for more than 17 years. He brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge in the areas of strategic planning, leadership and change management, both nationally and globally. Barry’s career commenced with the Canadian Armed Forces in the early 1960s. After that he worked with IBM, Simon Fraser University, Crown Zellerbach Canada Ltd., Lecky Paper Ltd., Business Telecom Equipment and Russell & DuMoulin. Positions held included Sales, Systems and Computer Management, Director of Strategic Planning, General Manager, Chief Operating Officer and President.

In 1994, Barry formed his own consulting company and in 1996 was appointed President of Fraser Surrey Docks, a position he held for three years while providing management and consulting services to other successful organizations. Today, Barry provides consulting services in the areas of strategic planning, business start ups and business restructuring. He also serves on the Board of an engineering company.

Barry was awarded the Commissionaires Distinguished Service Medal in 2008.

A/Commissioner F.A. (Frank) Richter, CGA

Vice Chairman

Frank Richter has been a member of the Board since September 2007 and was appointed as a member of the Audit Committee. In June 2008 he became Vice Chairman. 

Frank is a former Chief Financial Officer and Director with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. As Assistant Commissioner, Frank was responsible for the administration of the RCMP's national budget, was a member of the RCMP Senior Executive Committee and provided corporate leadership in the areas of finance, procurement, contracting, real property and strategic planning. Frank is a Senior Advisor with RFP Solutions, an Ottawa-based company that provides public procurement services to government departments and agencies. He acts as an independent fairness monitor, overseeing the bid evaluation process on complex and/or high dollar value procurements to ensure that all bids are evaluated in a consistent, equitable and compliant manner.

Frank lives in Kelowna, BC where he is actively involved in a number of community volunteer activities, including the Okanagan College Foundation and the RCMP Veterans’ Association (Okanagan Division). Frank is also a Director of the RCMP Heritage Centre in Regina and participates in Canada Revenue Agency’s Community Volunteer Income Tax Program that completes tax returns at no cost for low income taxpayers.

COL. G.L. (Graham) Jenkins, CD

Board Member

Graham Jenkins was the first full-time Commandant/CEO for Commissionaires from 1985-1998. He later joined the Board and served as Chairman for five years. Graham continues to serve as a Board Member as well as serving on the National Executive Committee and co-chairing a National Task Force to improve co-operation between divisions for national business opportunities.

During Graham’s distinguished military career in the Regular Forces, he served in a variety of line and staff positions in such areas as Korea, Germany, England, Egypt and Syria. His appointments included command of CFS Alert on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island, Chief Signal Officer for the United Nations Emergency Force in the Middle East, and responsibility for the Analyst Section in the Directorate of Program Analysis in National Defence Headquarters. At the time of his retirement in 1980, he was Commander of 74 Communication Group in Vancouver, responsible for units and communications in BC, Alberta and the North. Upon leaving the Regular Forces, Graham continued his military service with the Militia. His final appointment was Deputy Commander, Pacific Militia Area, from which he retired in 1986.

Graham went on to an administrative position at UBC, followed by three years with Consultec Canada Ltd., one of the leading telecommunications consultants in BC at that time. He is also a former Vice Chair of the Canadian Society for Industrial Security for BC. Graham was recognized with the Commissionaires Distinguished Service Medal award in 1997.

LCDR. C.K (Chris) Haines, CD

Board Member

Chris Haines has served on the Board since 1992 and served as Chair from 1998 to 2000. Chris brings with him a wealth of experience in both the military and private sector. He joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1963 as an officer cadet and graduated from Royal Military College Kingston in 1968. After seven years with the fleet, primarily as a navigator and watchkeeping officer, he transferred to the Primary Reserve.

Chris graduated from Queen’s University Law School in 1978 and moved to Vancouver to practice law. He practices primarily in the area of secured transactions, advising Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada and other institutional lenders on matters relating to real and personal property secured financings.

Chris was awarded the Commissionaires Distinguished Service Medal in 1999 and recently received his 30 year member recognition pin from the Canadian Bar Association.

MGEN. S.T. (Stu) McDonald, CMM, CD

Board Member

Stuart has been a member of the Board since 2002, bringing with him diverse experience from his career in teaching and the military.

Stuart has served with the Canadian Forces for nearly 40 years. He currently serves as Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of 5 (BC) Field Artillery Regiment, RCA. His Reserve Army service included command of 15th Field Artillery Regiment (Vancouver) as well as Chief of Staff, Reserves in Land Force Headquarters. He was promoted to the rank of Major-General and appointed Chief of Reserves and Cadets at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa. He served in that position until his retirement in 2000. In 1999 he was invested as a Commander of the Order of Military Merit.

Stuart was also a secondary school teacher in North Vancouver for 34 years, participating in contract negotiations, curriculum development and sports coaching. He is the President of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for BC and the Yukon, and is a past President of the Royal Canadian Artillery Association.

LCOL E. J. (Ernie) Wesson, CD

Board Member

Ernie Wesson has served on the Board since 1997, including three terms as Vice Chairman, and brings with him diverse experience in the Canadian Army and the financial sector. 

Ernie joined the army in 1955 and graduated with Bachelor of Arts (Honors) degree from the University of Toronto in 1958. He served in various positions in the Canadian Army and NATO from 1959 to 1980, including instructor and course commander of Field Grade Officer training, Canadian Liaison Officer to the United States Marine Corps, and Senior Administrative Officer to the Canadian Forces Reserves in Vancouver.  In 1980, at the end of his distinguished career, Ernie decided to retire and become an investment advisor with a Vancouver brokerage firm.  In 1982, he enrolled in the Canadian Army Reserves and commanded an armored reconnaissance regiment in BC until his final retirement in 1989.

In 2001, Ernie retired from retail investment activities and in 2002, he was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal by the Lieutenant-Governor of BC for his community volunteer activities.  He currently holds a Board position with a Venture Capital mining company. He is also Past-President of RUSI Vancouver, Past-Chairman of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps Association Trust, and Treasurer of the British Columbia Regiment Trust. 

C. M. (Christopher) Davies

Board Member

Chris Davies has been a member of the Board since 2007, after a year as a "Friend of the Corps".  He is currently the Chair of the Board’s Investment Committee.

In his career in management consulting, Chris assisted a wide variety of organizations across Canada to recruit CEO's and heads of major functions. He provided consulting services covering job evaluation, executive compensation and organizational issues, including downsizing and outplacement services. Chris retired as Partner with the executive search firm Management Connections Incorporated in 2005. Prior to joining MCI in 1988 at its start-up, he was Partner in the national consulting firm Woods Gordon. During his earlier career, he was a Human Resources practitioner in government and industry in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and London (UK). Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from UBC. He later qualified as a Certified Management Consultant and is a Past President of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of BC.

Chris has been a board member and volunteer of numerous organizations, including the Vancouver Playhouse, the External Advisory Board to the Faculty of Business Administration at SFU, the Vancouver Planning Commission, and the Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services Citizens’ Advisory Committee, latterly as its Vice Chair. He was on of the Board of the Vancouver Club for eight years and was its President in 2004/05. He has been a member of the Vancouver Police Department’s Citizens’ Crime Watch for over 15 years. Since March 2007, he has been a volunteer reader for VoicePrint, Canada’s Broadcast Reading Service for the visually impaired.

S. J. (Sandra) Hentzen, CHRP

Board Member

Sandra Hentzen has served on the Board since September 2007. She is a human resources professional and holds a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation, the nationally recognized level of achievement within the field of human resources. She was awarded the BC Human Resources Management Association Award of Excellence for Leadership in 2008.

She currently holds the position of Vice President of Human Resources at TransLink. Most recently Sandra was the Vice President of Human Resources at Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC), TransLink’s largest operating subsidiary. Sandra had joined CMBC in 1995, advancing to the Vice President’s role in 2008. Sandra is a champion of ‘achieving success through our people’ and was instrumental in developing sound human resource strategies for CMBC, contributing to the company’s business success, and making them one of BC’s top employers for four years running. Key strategies executed by Sandra include a successful corporate wellness program, ongoing employee development and the implementation of workforce analytics. Sandra’s previous employment included City of Richmond, Telus (formerly BC Tel), Oshawa Foods, and Nabisco Brands.

Sandra’s volunteer work includes the Vancouver Whitecaps, Cocker Spaniel Rescue of BC, and Boys and Girls Club of BC to name a few.

W.A. (Wendy) King

Board Member

Wendy King has been a member of the Board since 2008 and brings with her legal and board governance expertise.

Wendy has been practising law for more than ten years, acting as in-house counsel for the last seven years for one of the world's largest forest products companies. In her current position as Senior Legal Counsel at Weyerhaeuser Company, her broad practice includes corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, employment law, litigation management, alternative dispute resolution, as well as environmental strategy. She works closely with senior management on corporate, legal, policy and strategic issues.  Prior to this, Wendy was in private practice as an international tax law specialist. 

Wendy has a particular interest in board governance and has participated as a director of many boards, currently sitting on the board of Via Rail Canada. Wendy is a certified Director with the Institute of Corporate Directors. She holds a Masters in International Tax Law and a Masters of Business Administration. 

LGEN JK (Jack) Dangerfield, CMM, MSC, CD

Board Member

Jack Dangerfield has been a member of the Board since early 2009 and brings with him  experience in long-range strategic development, resource allocation and operational planning, garnered from his accomplished and long career in the Canadian Forces.

Jack began his military career in 1955 when he joined the British Columbia Regiment, a unit of the Canadian Army (Militia), and subsequently the Regular Army where he served for thirty-eight years. He has commanded every level of armoured unit from troop to division, and served in two United Nations tours—the United Nations Emergency Force in Egypt, and the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan. Jack served for fifteen years in Europe with NATO forces, where for three years he was responsible for long range strategic planning and for the operational plans for NATO operations in Bosnia and Kosovo.

Retired from the Forces since 1995, Jack has dedicated his time to the leadership of the Okanagan Military Museum Society and of the Kelowna Museum Society, as well as serving as member of six military associations, including the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps Association. Jack is a graduate of the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College and the United States Army War College.