Vancouver College Alumni Association

Prabhjeet (VC'96) and Ricky (VC'06) Bal will join us on the VCAA webinar to talk about their experience running one of the largest Crossdock, Freight Logistics & Trucking Companies in Greater Vancouver.

Guest: Prabhjeet Bal (VC'96)

Prabhjeet Singh Bal is CEO and COO of the Lotus Terminals Group of Companies, taking over from his father, the founder. He was a proud member of the Fighting Irish basketball and football teams. After graduating from Vancouver College, he attended the University of British Columbia and was an offensive lineman with the Thunderbirds football program. Prior to playing with the T-Birds, Prab was member of the Vancouver Trojans football organization.

After completing his bachelors’ program at UBC, Prab starting working part-time with his father in the family trucking business. After almost 20 years, Prab has expanded the family business into a multi-faceted transportation and logistics powerhouse. He leads the Lotus operation team and is head of strategic planning for the organization. Prab’s father started the business as one man and a truck in the 80s. Through his perseverance and Prab’s high energy and creativity, the company has grown to 100s of units headquartered at their custom-built state of the art facility in Cloverdale.

Prab has been a volunteer basketball and football coach since graduating from VC. He has been an assistant and head coach at VC, St. Joseph’s Elementary, St. Bernadette’s Elementary, White Rock Titans and Westside Warriors Football. Currently, Prab also serves on the board of the Warriors football organization. He is passionate about sports and fitness and has a skill of bringing the best out in his team, whether it be in the office or the gridiron. Prab lives in Vancouver and his two boys attend elementary school at Vancouver College.

VC Alumni Kevin Falcon (VC’81) is the Executive Vice President of Anthem Capital and was the Former Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier of BC. During his 12 years in government, Kevin held numerous senior Ministerial portfolios including Transportation & Infrastructure and Health. Kevin will talk to about about life before, during and after politics, what his current role entails at Anthem Capital and what's next for him.

Guest: Kevin Falcon (VC’81)

Kevin is the Executive Vice President of Anthem Capital where he works on the Capital side of the business, liaising with their equity and debt partners.

Anchoring the finance team for 4 years now, he is responsible for oversight of the financial side of Anthem’s real estate projects, as well as equity investments in a range of industry sectors. Not just a finance guy, Kevin also serves on numerous corporate and charity boards, and is passionate about societal issues such as homelessness. In his spare time, Kevin dons a full set of armour, mounts his mountain bike and bombs trails on Vancouver’s North Shore, Kamloops and Revelstoke.

VC Alumni Dr. Keiron McConnell (VC’86) is a Vancouver Police Officer and he will discuss how he got into policing, the challenges faced by Vancouver, the differences between Vancouver and other major metropolitan markets and the challenges today's police forces face.

Guest: Dr. Keiron McConnell

Dr. Keiron McConnell holds a Bachelor of General Studies Degree from the Open University of British Columbia, a Masters of Science Degree in Policing and Public Order Studies from the University of Leicester, a Diploma in Police Leadership from Dalhousie University and a Certificate in Public Sector Leadership from Royal Roads University. This academic achievement combined with 22 years of operational experience with a large Criminal Justice Agency provides a solid background for developing and teaching participants interested in Justice Studies. In addition, Keiron has worked for several other agencies in providing consulting services. These have included the Royal Saudi Arabian Police, Peoples Republic of China Police, British Superintendents Association, British Columbia Sheriffs, British Columbia Conservation Officers, and Simon Fraser University.

Keiron instructed at the Justice Institute of British Columbia Police Academy for 3 years in Professional Patrol Tactics and continues as a guest lecturer. In addition, he is a faculty member at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Royal Roads University and at Douglas College in the Criminology Program. Furthermore as a regular guest instructor of Simon Fraser University policing program, Keiron has an up to date understanding of current policing trends.

Keiron is the President of KMc Training Corp which provided increment course training to police officers.

Moreover, Keiron is a regular presenter on the topic of Bar Watch as a gang prevention, intervention, suppression program. He has presented to many police agencies, community groups and government across British Columbia and Canada.

Research interests include public disorder, gang prevention and intervention, routine activity theory, and police subculture theory.

Keiron is currently a Doctorate Candidate at the London Metropolitan University in London, England.

Moderator: Stephen Jagger

VC Alumni Mike Desjardins (VC’90) is a skilled leader and coach that helps other business owners and leaders develop the emotional intelligence and leadership capabilities they need to grow and thrive. Come learn more about how Mike helps some of the most successful companies thrive.

Guest: Mike Desjardins (VC’90)

At the heart of ViRTUS is our CEO, Mike. Mike is emotionally intelligent and driven. His core motivation is to make a difference in the lives of others. That is to say, his passion is creating positive change for his colleagues, clients, and community.

With a Bachelor of Commerce from UBC’s Sauder School of Business, a CPHR designation, and over two decades of experience transforming businesses, he is a master in the realm of strategy and leadership development. From entrepreneurial business to large public companies and public-sector organizations, Mike focuses on driving return on investment in every client engagement.

In June 2002, Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) invited Mike to become a member. After spending six years on the board, he served as President of the Vancouver Chapter. In January 2006, Mike was the recipient of the BIV Top 40 Under 40 Award. From 2010-2016, Mike sat on the board of directors for the Human Resource Management Association of BC (now CPHR BC). Since 2017, Mike has been a member of the Advisory Board of Robinson Group.

Mike focuses on strategy, growth, and vision for ViRTUS. Passionate about leveraging his team, he engages them all in co-creating ViRTUS’s future vision and determining their role in it. Above all, ViRTUS is his vehicle to empower leaders, both within the company and among our clients.

Come listen to VC Alumni Dax Dasilva talk about life after Vancouver College, founding & running a public tech company, the arts & much more

Guest: Dax Dasilva:

Dax Dasilva (VC'94) is the creative mind behind Lightspeed, Never Apart, and Age of Union. Founded in 2005, Lightspeed develops a cloud commerce platform used by retail and restaurant customers in over a hundred countries. The company’s mission is to bring cities and communities to life by powering independent business.

Lightspeed employs over 700 staff located in eight cities and has raised $292M USD from Accel Partners, iNovia Capital, Investissement Québec and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. The company went public in March 2019 on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol LSPD, becoming one of Canada’s top 10 technology IPOs.

In 2015 Dasilva also founded Never Apart, a cultural non-profit determined to bring about positive social change and unity through original programming with global reach and impact. Housed in Lightspeed’s former offices, Never Apart cultivates a diverse following and has welcomed thousands into its 12,000-square-foot space.

Helping entrepreneurs become leaders in their communities through Lightspeed’s technology and elevating artists through his work at Never Apart are fundamental to Dasilva’s philosophy. He fosters cultures of innovation, promotes diverse leadership, and values different viewpoints.

Come listen to VC Alumni Mike Parker (VC'89) talk about life in Silicon Valley, the media and advertising world pre and post COVID and his time at VC.

Guest:Mike Parker:

Come listen to VC Alumni Rob LeBlanc (Johannesburg) & Suneel Gokhale (Dubai) talk about their time at VC, living abroad and venture capital.

Guest: Rob LeBlanc:

Come listen to VC Alumni Peter Dyakowski interview fellow alumni Christian Covington about life after Vancouver College, the NFL and much more.

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Christian Covington