WE MEAN BUSINESS

Garry Brownrigg, B.A., M.S.
President & CEO

Garry Brownrigg is an accomplished high technology entrepreneur and executive. As Founder, Owner and Chief Internet Strategist for SohoPortal.com Inc. ('SohoPortal'), Garry provides small and medium sized companies looking to launch, re-engineer or integrate web-centric strategies with proven vehicles for success through the Company's product & service offerings. 

Before launching SohoPortal in 2001, Garry was co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Ottawa-based e-Learning start-up Learning-Portal.com, which was subsequently sold to Calian Technology (TSX: CTY) in 2000. While at Learning-Portal.com Mr. Brownrigg and his team architected, developed and deployed a strategic global Learning Management System (LMS) that supported learners in 14 different countries. 

Prior to forming Learning-Portal.com, Garry was the Director of Web Systems & User Programs for JetForm Corporation and was responsible for the start-up and eventual roll out of the company’s global web presence and user support programs. While at JetForm, Garry held earlier positions as Director, Training Development and Director of Performance Management.

Garry holds a Bachelor's of Arts degree (D.I.S.) in Business Administration & Law from Carleton University and a Masters of Science Degree (M.S.) in Instructional and Performance Technology from Boise State University. 

Garry is an active participant and supporter of numerous community initiatives, including his participation as Chairperson of the Cameron Smith Memorial Fund which recently won the Kanata Chamber of Commerce People's Choice Award for Community Support - Non Profit Organization of the Year (Kanata), as well as the Community Impact Award from the Kanata Minor Hockey Association.

Advisory Board

SohoPortal.com has formed an impressive advisory board, consisting of top-level executive professionals from privately owned high technology firms, partners of top legal firms and a range of small business owners.

Tom Hicks
Executive Director, Indigo Pacific Group

Tom's experience spans 27 years in the private sector, 14 of those as a technical consultant and the remainder as a co-founder, VP & CIO, and former product manager for JetForm Corporation (JetForm was later named Accelio which was subsequently purchased by Adobe). Tom's experience and skills are particularly strong in the leadership of people, technology product management, understanding and articulating requirements and solutions architecture.

Tom is an active participant and supporter of the local community and charities earning awards that include: the National Julia Award (1998), the Exceptional Leadership Award (from the Ottawa Chapter of the CCFF), a certificate of Merit from the Ottawa Police (1998) and a Community Builder Award from The United Way of Ottawa (2002).

Bruce Gregory
Founder/Partner at Calabogie Motorsports Park

Bruce is a serial entrepreneur and early stage investor across multiple industries. A founding investor and board member of BOLDStreet, he is also a Founder/Partner of Calabogie Motorsports Park. In addition to BOLDStreet, Bruce serves on the boards of Oz Optics and Emerald Health Information Systems where he is also a founding investor. 

Previously, Bruce was president and CEO of Extreme Packet Devices, Inc, a developer of semiconductors for high speed IP and ATM traffic management, until it was acquired by PMC-Sierra for $415 million in March 2000. After the acquisition, Bruce served as a vice president in the Carrier Switching Division of PMC. 

Bruce was Vice President of Technology at Cadabra Design Automation, an electronic automation company that was acquired by Numerical Technologies for $120 million. Bruce also served as Director of Engineering at LSI Logic Canada and began his career at Newbridge Microsystems in hardware design.

Randy Taylor
Partner, LaBarge Weinstein

Randy Taylor is a co-founding partner of LaBarge Weinstein LLP, a business law firm. Randy's practice focuses on corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions and technology-related transactions for clients ranging from emerging and public technology companies, venture capital investors and investment banks.

Randy's practice has involved private financings (including numerous venture capital financings, representing both issuers and venture capital investors), Canadian, US and cross-border public financings (including initial public offerings), TSE and Nasdaq stock exchange listings, public and private mergers & acquisitions (representing both targets and acquirors), reverse take-overs, corporate reorganizations, shareholders' arrangements, stock option and stock purchase plans, technology licensing, distribution and joint development arrangements and strategic alliances.

Randy is a 1993 graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School and a 1987 graduate of Harvard University (Economics). Prior to co-founding LaBarge Weinstein LLP with Paul LaBarge, Debbie Weinstein and Lawrence Weinstein, Randy was a member of the Ottawa office of Blake, Cassels & Graydon, where he practised in the Business Law Group.

John B. Kelly
Partner, Enable Business Advisors

John Kelly is a Partner with Enable Business Advisors and a principal at Reid Eddison Inc., a technology mentoring company.

From 1995 to 1999, Kelly was the President and Chief Executive Officer of JetForm Corporation. JetForm is a global leader in providing E-Process software solutions (TSE listed).

Throughout his career, Kelly has been an innovator and has held a number of senior executive positions in the Canadian technology sector. Kelly founded and was Chief Executive Officer of Why Interactive, Canada's first interactive multimedia development company. He was a founder and Chief Executive at both Computer Innovation Distributors Inc. (which later became EDS Innovations, and now NexInnovations) and Nabu Network Corporation, a pioneering cable-based software and information distributor. Kelly was also a founder of SHL Systemhouse Ltd. (since acquired by EDS), where he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from its inception in 1974 until 1980.

In 1997, Kelly won two significant awards: he was recognized as High Technology Citizen of the Year for the City of Ottawa and also as Master Entrepreneur of the Year for the province of Ontario. In 1998, he also won the Ottawa Business Journal's poll for Most Respected CEO for the City of Ottawa. In 1999, he won the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI) Civic Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In November 2000, Kelly received the Outstanding Volunteer Fund Raiser Award from the Ottawa Chapter of the NSFRE (National Society of Fund Raising Executives). That same year, Kelly received the Mentor of the Year Award from the Province of Newfoundland. In May 2001, Kelly was chosen Ottawa's Business Man of the Year for 2001 by the Consumers' Choice Award and Market Facts Canada.

Kelly holds an honors law degree from the University of Ottawa and an honors B.B.A. degree (Finance) from Iona College in New Rochelle, New York. He also holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa. Kelly is past Chair of the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA). He is past Chair of Innovators Alliance, an advisory council to the Government of Ontario with members representing Ontario's fastest growing companies.

He also serves on the Boards of a number of private and public companies including AutoSkill International Inc. (Chair, Ottawa), Calian Technologies (TSE listed, Ottawa), 3D Visit Inc. (Cdn. exchange listed, Ottawa), impatica.com inc. (Ottawa), Queensway-Carleton Hospital Foundation (Chair, Ottawa), Community Foundation of Ottawa, Ottawa Senators Foundation, United Way/Centraide Ottawa, CATA Alliance, Cisco Ottawa Advisory Board, Dean's Council of the University of Ottawa (Chair), Board of Governors of the University of Ottawa, Advisory Board of Leadership Ottawa, Board of Governors of Ashbury College (Ottawa), eReadingPlus (Chair, Ottawa), Ottawa Lynx Advisory Board. He is last year's Co-Chair of the I.T./Software Cluster for the Region of Ottawa and was Chair of the Year 2000 United Way/Centraide Campaign for Ottawa-Carleton. He is Co-Chair of La Cité collégiale's 2001-2002 Fund-Raising Campaign and was Honorary Chair of the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life 2001. Kelly was Chair of the Infrastructure Working Group of Industry Canada's National Broadband Task Force. He also serves on the Boards of Paradata Systems Inc. (Chair, Vancouver), Burntsand Inc. (TSE listed, Vancouver), Protexis (Chair, Vancouver), Operation ONLINE Inc. (St. John's), INNOVA Multimedia Ltd. (St. John's), Global Wireless Vision Congress in Sept. 2001 (Chair, St. John's), Advisory Board of Memorial University's Chair in Youth-Focused Technological Entrepreneurship (St. John's), NexInnovations (Chair, Toronto), Oasis Technology Ltd. (Toronto), InSystems Technologies Inc. (Toronto).

Kelly is married and has 5 children.