"I like that dPoint develops materials and products that make a difference in the world and improve the way people live."
As one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40, James Dean is a true entrepreneur who enjoys the thrill of developing new products, identifying interesting business opportunities and then applying his experience to turn innovative ideas into reality.
James Dean was first bitten with the entrepreneurial bug during his exposure to the fuel cell industry in 1998 when he moved to Vancouver from Toronto to run KPMG's consulting practice and landed Ballard Power Systems as a client. This series of events led James to be involved in the success of three different companies in the years that followed. In April of 2001 he and business partner David Chapman, joined Greenlight Power Technologies, a fuel cell test equipment company. They refocused the organization, moved it to Vancouver, grew sales from $3.3-million to $27-million and then sold the company in January 2003 to its closest rival, Hydrogenics Corporation.
Good things happen when preparedness meets opportunity.
It was in 2004 when James took his passion for clean energy and began dPoint Technologies after he saw an opportunity to provide the fuel cell market with a compact, low cost humidification technology. Since signing license agreements for the original technology from Ballard, James has led his team to evolve the design and materials to meet a growing demand for high efficient Energy Recovery Ventilation Cores for the building HVAC industry.
As a strong community supporter, James believes in giving back and is an active member in Social Venture Partners, where he and fellow entrepreneurs support Starworks Packaging and Assembly who provide manufacturing and assembly employment for people with mental disabilities.
James has an MBA from the University of Western Ontario, a BASc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Waterloo and enjoys spending time with his wife and two beautiful children at their island cabin; which James designed and built.
As a recipient of the lifetime achievement award from the BC Technology Industry Association, James Topham built his career with a passion for helping technology companies grow; and dPoint is no exception.
In 2008, James joined the dPoint team as Chief Financial Officer and also serves as financial advisor and director for three other cleantech companies in the lower mainland. Prior to dPoint, James played a key role in developing KPMG's Vancouver technology practice from 1988 to 2008 where he served over 100 private and public companies, managed over 25 clients through mergers and acquisitions and performed 10 initial public offerings in Canada and the US. Clients included Creo Products, Sierra Wireless, Westport Innovations, BC Lottery Corporation as well as a large number of start-up small to medium size tech companies.
As founder and active member, James continues to be involved on the Board of the BC Cleantech CEO Alliance, a group of CEO's of leading cleantech organizations in Vancouver and also on the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC and Chair of BC Social Venture Partners (BCSVP). James founded BCSVP, which is a not for profit group of business executives pioneering a new model of giving to include both time and money. To date, the group has raised and distributed over $4 million to small innovative charities.
James has a B.Comm Honors from the University of Saskatchewan and graduated as the Most Distinguished Graduate from the College of Commerce. He is also a Chartered Accountant, loves to cook and is building a guest cabin on Bowen Island.
Brian Roth joined the dPoint team originally as a consultant in early 2006, evaluating opportunities to expand the use of its membrane technology beyond the Fuel Cell industry. Results from the evaluation, led dPoint into the Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) market and since that time, Brian has directed the ERV business unit in developing ERV Core products and manufacturing methods, making initial sales and establishing relationships with key customers throughout North America. Brian is also responsible for creating proposals that resulted in dPoint receiving more than $2 million in government grants to fund ERV Core development and demonstration. Prior to dPoint, Brian spent several years as a Project Manager and Engineer in the automotive market with Ford Motor Company in Windsor, Ontario.
Brian completed his MBA from the University of British Columbia and is a registered Professional Engineer with the Association of Professional Engineers & Geoscientists of British Columbia. He enjoys spending time training for triathlons throughout the year with his wife and exploring the wineries of the Okanagan Valley.
Ryan Huizing manages the Research & Development for dPoint's polymer membrane used in its fuel cell and energy recovery ventilator products. Upon being introduced to dPoint in 2005, Ryan took the opportunity to pursue a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering in conjunction with the University of Waterloo and dPoint. In the spring of 2007, Ryan completed a Master's thesis, titled "Design and Membrane Selection for Gas to Gas Humidifiers for Fuel Cell Applications" and made the move to live and work in Vancouver, full time.
Prior to working at dPoint, Ryan completed research on hydrogen fuel cell stacks, humidifiers, and novel fuel cell plate materials while working at DuPont Canada's laboratories in Kingston, Ontario. Ryan holds a Master of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, a Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering Chemistry from Queen's University and in his free time enjoys snowboarding, live music, chess, and cooking.
Kevin Marban is responsible for implementing new systems and automation to increase the capacity of dPoint's ERV manufacturing line; and also develops production strategies to enhance manufacturing efficiencies and decrease costs. Prior to joining dPoint full time in 2008, Kevin began as an intern where he was inspired by the company's drive for innovation and the development of energy saving technologies.
Kevin has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia, is an EIT member of the Association of Professional Engineers & Geoscientists of BC and plans to pursue an MBA degree.
As an avid outdoorsman, Kevin enjoys skiing local mountains in the winter and sailing the BC coast in summer.
As the product manager of the dPoint Fuel Cell Humidifier, David Kadylak began his journey into fuel cell technology and alternative power after watching an inspiring documentary on Geoffrey Ballard, founder of Ballard Power Systems.
David started as mechanical designer and continues to lead development of dPoint's next generation of humidifier products while managing manufacturing as the fuel cell division grows. David brings significant injection molding and machine design experience and previously worked with a local high tech company in the field of MEMS/nanotechnology.
David recently completed his Maters of Applied Science at UBC while working with dPoint. He originally graduated from the Mechanical Engineering Program 'summa cum laude' at the University of Waterloo where he received the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering Gold Medal. David is an avid cyclist and celebrates three published journal articles and one joint patent application.
Harris Lee oversees the manufacturing of FuelCell humidifiers at dPoint where he leads the production team, focusing on quality and manufacturing efficiency improvements. Significant achievements include the development of a new lower costproduction method called the"encapsulated design" and the recent set up of a humidifier production line that increased capacity from 70 to 1000 units per month.
In 2007, Harris arrived in Vancouver from South Korea through the Gastown Business College to learn English and gain Canadian work experience. He started at dPoint as an intern and as a result of his hard work he was hired, full-time.
Harris studied Mechanical Engineering at In-Cheon University in South Korea, worked as a tank platoon leader for Republic of Korea Army and in his spare time can be found discovering the beauty of British Columbia.