Management Team
Keith Ippel, President & Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Ippel is a team leader who thrives on the innovative and global nature of the software
industry. In his previous position as Director of Operations and Customer Care at Infowave
Software, he led the wireless deployment of a company-wide CRM system. He also led the
Customer Care team through the first sales of services to partners, partner sub-contracting
agreements, and the implementation of an up-sell strategy to existing customers. Mr. Ippel
has also worked as a Project Manager for R.C. Purdy Chocolates Ltd., and as a Project Manager
with KPMG LLP PeopleSoft Practice.
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Dr. David Baar, Founder & Chief Technical Officer
Dr. David Baar, Ph.D. (Physics), M.Sc. (Eng.), founded Lat49 Media Inc, and by extension, Lat49 Media Inc.,
out of his research interests in software for numerical modeling and image processing.
The company's visionary, Dr. Baar
has built a team of leading experts in information visualization to develop the company's
technology. Dr. Baar's doctoral thesis is in the quantum magnetic properties of superconductors
and his post-doctoral work included research in the numerical modeling of complex experiments
and materials. He has also worked on image processing software for analyzing data from the
Landsat satellites.
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Tiffany Chester, Director of Marketing & Business Development
Ms. Chester brings 13 years of sales and marketing experience to her role at Lat49. Prior to joining Lat49, Tiffany worked for HollyWords Publicity Inc. and provided marketing public
relations services to film and television clients in Vancouver and Los Angeles. Her creativity
and writing skills helped build the success of the company and earned her recognition as one
of the top 50 "movers and shakers" of the BC film industry. Tiffany began her career marketing
the services of healthcare recruitment companies to potential clients in countries around the world.
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Wayne Fraser, Operations Manager
Lat49 welcomes Wayne Fraser as its new Operations Manager. With over 12
years of management experience in the technology sector, Wayne brings his
dedication to customer service and systems design to the Lat49 team. Having
held senior positions in Operations, IT, and Service Delivery in large
companies and start-ups, Wayne has a range of experience that fits Lat49's
strategic direction. Wayne's education ranges from Operations Management
diploma from BCIT to a graduate degree from Royal Roads University. In his
spare time Wayne enjoys assisting fundraisers, charities, and coaching his
children's soccer and baseball teams.
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Board of Directors
Dr. David Baar
Dr. David Baar, Ph.D. (Physics), M.Sc. (Eng.), is the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) and founder of Lat49 Media Inc. His research interests in software for numerical modeling and image processing led to the formation of Lat49. Visionary and pragmatic, Dr. Baar has built a team of leading experts in information visualization to develop the company's technology. Dr. Baar completed his graduate research at Queen's University in 1990 with a doctoral thesis in the quantum magnetic properties of superconductors. His post-doctoral work included research at ISTEC in Tokyo, at the University of British Columbia, and at Stanford University. One of the core components of this research was the numerical modeling of complex experiments and materials. He has also worked on image processing software for analyzing data from the Landsat satellites, and numerous other software and research projects. In parallel with his interests in a wide variety of technologies and research areas, Dr. Baar is involved in numerous recreational pursuits such as windsurfing, rock climbing, cross-country skiing, hiking, and photography.
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Haig Farris
In 1972, Haig Farris was one of the co-founding members and partners of the Ventures West Management group of venture capital funds, now the largest venture capital pool in western Canada. His venture management experience includes finding, financing and developing high-technology startups and corporate turn-around opportunities. Since 1990, he has been President of Fractal Capital Corp., a private venture capital company financing high technology start-ups and resource service technology companies. Since 1992, Mr. Farris has also been an Adjunct professor of the University of British Columbia, teaching a course on entrepreneurship and the financing and managing of high-technology companies to graduate engineering, science and MBA students. Mr. Farris holds a Bachelor of Arts (Economics & English) and an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University of British Columbia as well as a Law Degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
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John McEwen
John McEwen is a co-founder of Discovery Capital, and a Director of the BC Discovery Fund (VCC) Inc. He has worked with nearly 200 technology companies, and serves on several Investee Company Boards. He spearheaded corporate finance initiatives for companies such as Sierra Wireless Inc. and Circon Systems Corp., accelerating their development by attracting key corporate and additional venture capital backing. He is well known in the B.C. technology community as past Operations Chair of the Vancouver Enterprise Forum. Prior to co-founding Discovery Capital, he worked with IBM Canada Ltd. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia.
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