Governance
John-Peter's governance experience includes Chairing boards; board service includes Audit, HR and Compensation, Governance and Executive Search committees of NASDAQ, TSX and private companies.
Current and past private sector board memberships include: Executive Chair, Natura Naturals Holdings Inc.; Board Member NextGenID, Inc. of San Antonio, Texas. For the NextgenID group of companies, he also helped lead a restructuring and amalgamation, and provided management and business advice for predecessor companies.Chair and Board Member, MetroPhotonics Inc.; Chair and Board Member, Ashurst Technologies Inc. (TSE and NASDAQ); Compensation Committee Chair of Biosign (TSX-V) and others.
Non-private sector governance experience includes: Member, Advisory Board, Telfer School of Management (Ottawa University); Board Member, Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance; Board Member, Canadian Association of Management Consultants; Board Member, Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Ontario; Board Member and Treasurer, Ottawa Chamber Music Society; Chair of the FCMC Committee of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Ontario.
Healthcare governance experience includes: CEO and board member, Life Saving Therapies Network (LSTN); Member, Research Advisory Group, Canadian Partnership Against Cancer; Member, Cancer Care Advisory Committee of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation Board; Governance Project Committee of Patients Canada (Patients' Association of Canada), Advisor to Patients Canada.
Private Sector Advisory
John-Peter has served as CEO, board member and corporate advisor. He has been instrumental in building companies, restructuring them, putting in place sound governance and management teams and practices, developing and executing business strategy, commercializing products and executing appropriate business partnerships.
He is Executive Chair of Natura Naturals Holdings, a licenced cannabis producer.
He has managed or served as CEO of three boutique Exempt or Limited Market Dealers, all of which provided business advisory, restructuring and corporate finance services as well as access to investment capital.
He is a senior advisor to Sinclair Range Advisors: www.sinclairrange.com.
He has been a CEO or principal advisor to senior management of a number of early stage companies. One of these was MetroPhotonics Inc., a private optoelectronic components company. As co-founder, first CEO and Chair, in 1999 he raised ~C$75M+ in funding, developed its long range business plan, put senior management in place, built a world class manufacturing facility, assembled a blue chip independent board, proved the first prototype product, and found strategic partners and customers. He left management in 2002 but returned in 2004 as Executive Chair at the request of the Board of Directors. During this second tenure, new flagship products were brought to beta status from standstill; restructuring activities, cost reductions and new financing extended the life of the company by more than a year – and shareholders acquired an aggregate 15% interest in another company. It became clear, however, that market forces and company resources were not aligned. Accordingly, he managed an orderly dissolution of the company.
John-Peter has advised on sourcing hundreds of millions of dollars via private placement and PIPE for private and public companies in fields ranging from healthcare to technology to security systems.
He played a key role in the conception and early development of the labour-backed savings and investment vehicle that became the Working Ventures Fund, once one of Canada's largest sources of venture capital.
Private Sector Advisory (continued)
He has advised on Capital Pool Company (CPC) deals and a CPC fund structure.
He has started and managed community economic development corporations, developed other venture pools and trained entrepreneurs.
Serving as a negotiator/mediator, John-Peter was instrumental in brokering a number of deals, including a situation that increased the market cap of the company in question from C$3.5 million to C$300 million.
He has also worked in challenging restructuring situations, as key consultant, chief restructuring advisor and board member. These assignments have involved complicated equity and debt structures, intricate legal issues, rebuilding management, sourcing funds and negotiating complex commercial arrangements. He has been instrumental in a gamut of situations from true turnarounds, amalgamations, Chapter 11 (US) and Proposal (Canada) to orderly wind downs for public and private companies.
He has advised companies in healthcare, management consulting, financial services, mining, high tech and telecommunications.
Healthcare Reform and Patient Advisory / Advocacy
Founding Executive Director of LSTN (Life-Saving Therapies Network), a coalition of advocate groups and others dedicated to faster development of and access to better drug therapies for use in lethal diseases like cancer.
His book Journeys in Cancerland, with Lisa Newman, was published in 2012.
See also his patient volunteer work listed separately
Public Sector and Native Advisory
As principal advisor, he was instrumental in infrastructure renewals of the House of Commons, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Canadian Commercial Corporation, the Medical Research Council of Canada, the Immigration Refugee Board, Human Resources Development Canada, the International Development Research Council of Canada, CANMET and others.
He coordinated the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada comprehensive land claim, which was presented to the Canadian government in 1976. The ultimate result was the creation of Nunavut, Canada's newest territory. He also wrote a key opinion that influenced the delineation Nunavut's electoral boundaries; helped develop UNESCO's guidelines for conducting research in the North, which have important implications for resource exploitation in Nunavut; held a senior staff position at Inuit Silattuqsarvingat (Inuit Cultural Institute).
John-Peter has provided policy advice on issues ranging from job creation and economic development to native land claims.
Other Highlights
John-Peter has been a featured speaker at professional and business conferences in Canada, India, the USA, Africa and the former Soviet Union.
He has published research in peer reviewed scientific journals in the fields of healthcare regulatory reform, oncology, psychopharmacology and the behaviour of Killer Whales.
He has practiced as a family therapist and divorce mediator.
He has published articles and thought pieces in magazines on divorce mediation, life in Nunavut, dispute resolution, negotiation and employee incentive and stock option plans.
John-Peter is a co-founder and former president of Rochdale College.
He is a co-founder of the Blue Skies Music Festival.