Success for Beedie alumni at BCTIA awards

Beedie School of Business alumni enjoyed success at the BC Technology Industry Association (BCTIA) 2016 Technology Impact Awards (TIAs).

Alumni and corporate partners of the  School won in six of the nine categories at the ceremony, held on June 7 at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

Digital gift card supplier Buyatab, founded by BBA alumnus Matias Marquez, won the Excellence in Product Innovation category. Since founding Buyatab in 2011 while he was still studying at the Beedie School of Business, Marquez has grown the organization into a world leader, with a global client list that includes Fairmont, Four Season, Cineplex, Whole Foods Market, and Winners.

Traction on Demand, founded by BBA alumnus Greg Malpass, took home the Community Engagement award. A leading consulting and cloud software development company, Traction on Demand was founded by Malpass in 2006, and employs more than 130 people. Its clients include organizations such as Telus, Great Canadian Heli-Skiing, and Standard Register.

The Most Promising Technology award went to Ronin8, of which Beedie Executive MBA alumnus Peter Holgate is founder and CEO. The organization seeks to leave a positive legacy through leading global standards in e-waste recycling by recovering and re-using 100 percent of the materials contained in electronics.

First place in the Adoption of Technology category was shared by ResponseTek a cloud-based CEM software provider, and Westminster Savings Credit Union, both of which have Beedie connections. MOT MBA alumnus Gord Elder is Vice President of Products and Technology at ResponseTek, while BBA alumnus Gavin Toy is President and CEO of Westminster Savings Credit Union.

The Community Engagement award went to multinational media and technology company Left, of which MBA alumnus Josh Viner is Head of Partnerships. The organization has holdings in mobile and Internet-based businesses and has generated success through innovative methods of exploiting the value of domain names.

The Company of the Year award was presented to cloud solutions organization Global Relay, which helps companies manage, control, and profit from their email and other communications data. CEO Warren Roy has been a frequent guest speaker in a number of Beedie classes.

In addition, Beedie associate professor Elicia Maine was shortlisted for the Person of the Year award. The shortlisting honours her significant contributions to the BC technology sector, which include spearheading the Beedie School’s new Graduate Certificate in Science and Technology Commercialization program, of which she is the academic director.

The TIAs are the longest running and largest technology awards program in BC. Each year the awards celebrate the people, companies, and innovative technology that comprise BC’s technology sector.