SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts

Steve Giblin - President & Chief Executive Officer
Over 30 years in the hotel and hospitality industry. Steve possesses an extensive background in hotel operations, development and management. Before joining SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts in September 2009, he was President and COO of Dolce International. Prior to joining Dolce International, Steve served five years as President and Chief Executive Officer of Newmarket International, the developers of the hospitality industry's first Windows-based sales automation system.

Robb Walker - Senior Vice President - Operations
Over 25 years leading hotel and resort operations throughout North America. Prior to joining SilverBirch Hotels and Resorts, Robb assisted in leading the operations and re-organization of American Property Hospitality Management and prior to that as Regional Vice President for Dolce Hotels and Resorts based out of Aspen, Colorado and New York, New York. Previous operational oversight included executive-level assignments with Benchmark Hospitality in California and Hawaii and with Delta Hotels and Resorts in Canada.

David Philp - Senior Vice President - Investment and Portfolio Management
David started his career in various operational roles with Hyatt Hotels Corporation. Since then, he has worked for numerous hotel and resort development & consulting companies throughout the United States. Prior to joining SilverBirch, David served as Executive Vice President for a private investment firm where he provided oversight for the company’s acquisition and development functions for a collection of boutique hotel properties.

Christine Maassen - Senior Vice President - Human Resources
Christine brings a wealth of hospitality and human resources experience to the Silver Birch team. Most recently she served as Vice President of Human Resources for Gateway Casinos and Entertainment, a major gaming and casino operator in Western Canada. Formerly she was Executive Director of Human Resources for the Canadian Tourism Commission. Christine is passionately committed to creating healthy workplaces and to the development of sound organizational leadership and management capacity.

Michael Kreuger- Senior Vice President, Finance and Accounting
A Chartered Accountant (CA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Michael began his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP overseeing major projects across Canada and around the world. Michael joined SilverBirch after serving as the Vice President and Controller of The Forzani Group Ltd.,and was previously the Corporate Controller at Nike Canada Ltd.

David McQuinn - Vice President - Food & Beverage
25 years in Food & Beverage services with Hilton, Coast Hotels and Sheraton. Certified chef (CCC), former executive chef, corporate chef and Food & Beverage director.

Walid Salem - Vice President - Information Technology
Walid brings over 17 years of successful design and implementation of web and information technology solutions for numerous national and global organizations including Statistics Canada and most recently the Canadian Tourism Commission.

Brigitte Diem-Guy - Vice President - Sales & Marketing
Brigitte brings over 22 years of broad-based hospitality experience to the SilverBirch Sales & Marketing team. Her strategic approach and dynamic leadership has proven effective in driving results in sales, marketing, product development, operations and the successful re-positioning of hospitality corporations in the global market place.

Rachel Koller - Senior Director - National Sales & Strategic Accounts
Over 18 years of senior sales and marketing management in the hospitality industry including her own company representing independent resorts and hotels in western Canada and positions with Ramada.

Linda Pavan - Corporate Director - Human Resources
A Human Resources professional with 30 years of experience Linda joined SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts in 2011.  She brings proven skills and abilities in a wide range of human resources disciplines and specializes in Organizational Development. Linda has worked in industries such as public service, communications, retail and gaming.

Catherine Berardi - Director - Project Management, Design & Construction
Catherine's career has focused on hotel design and construction. Since 2005, Catherine has been planning and managing hotel refurbishment and renovations for leading hotel brands throughout Canada. Prior to that, she worked for seven years in the interior design industry specializing in hotel design for a variety of hotel owners and brands.

Charlene Polege - Corporate Director - Human Resources
A Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) who brings over 15 years of hospitality and human resources experience to the SilverBirch team. An operations focused HR practitioner with experience in both the public and private sectors providing a unique and well rounded perspective.

Herman Champagne - Corporate Director - Human Resources
With over 30 years of experience in various industries, Herman possesses a sound background as a Human Resources generalist with a significant specialization in labor relations. As such, he has been acting as Chief negotiator for many years and in various jurisdictions. Before joining SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts in October 2011, Herman worked for companies in oil & gas, manufacturing and communications industries to name a few.  Herman has also been appointed as an employer member of the Canadian Industrial Relations Board for a 2 year mandate.

Tom Boelhouwer - Director - Information Technology
Tom has over 21 years of experience in the Hospitality IT industry, starting with Relax Hotels & Resorts as an IT & application support person. He has gained extensive experience in Hotel operations and integration of systems, even some software development. Tom started with SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts 8 years ago in a Regional Systems Manager role and has advanced to his current Director position.

Tejash Chauhan - Director - Real Estate & Risk Management
Tejash has over 12 years of experience as an Engineering and Risk Management professional.  Prior to joining SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts in July of 2010, Tejash was a Vice President at Aon Risk Services in Vancouver, providing services to clients with complex insurance programs and risk profiles.  He specializes in the development of broad-based, proactive risk management practices including Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and Business Continuity Planning (BCP).

Linda Annandale - Director - Real Estate
A Certified Management Accountant with 14 years of experience in Hospitality and Real Estate industries, including Intrawest. With SilverBirch for over 10 years, positions held include Capital Controller, Manager Financial Planning and Director Operational Finance.

Gaétan Brunelle - Director - Revenue Management
Over 22 years in hotel operations, management and sales as well as corporate level positions. Prior to joining SilverBirch, Gaétan was Regional Director of Sales & Marketing for Ottawa and Montréal for Westmont Hospitality Group. Gaétan has also worked for CP Hotels and Delta Hotels.

Brad McRae - Director - Purchasing - Food & Beverage
20 years experience in Food & Beverage & Hospitality Industry. 14 years with restaurants and 6 years with hotels . Brad has been a director for 10 years. Member of PMAC (Purchasing Managers Association of Canada).

Doug Lake - Director - Internal Audit
28 years of domestic and international experience in the hospitality industry. Doug joined the company in 1997 as Corporate Operations Controller and since 2000 has been the Director of Internal Audit.

Jiri Rumlena - Corporate Controller
A Chartered Accountant with over 10 years experience. Prior to joining SilverBirch, Jiri spent 8 years with KPMG LLP in Vancouver and Europe providing audit, tax and corporate finance services to clients operating in real estate, hospitality, private equity and financial services industries. Jiri is responsible for financial management and reporting, tax compliance and treasury.

Ursula Ferraro - Director - Hotel Accounting Operations
Over 20 years of Senior Management experience in the hospitality industry. Positions have included Regional Controller and Hotel Controller with companies such as Four Seasons and Centennial Hotels.