Cat's Track Catherine Brownlee

Welcome to Cat’s Track Episode 173, with guest Trevor Prentice.


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After nearly a decade of experience managing and advising on intellectual property (patents, licensing, commercial agreements, and more), Trevor founded The IP Link to help fill the gap between business and legal services by helping businesses more easily prioritize, manage, and monetize their intellectual property. Trevor has a BSc in Physics, a Masters in Aerospace Engineering, and a Certificate of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. In his spare time, Trevor sells speed cubes (better than Rubik’s cubes) online through Rocket Cubes and sends out a weekly newsletter called The Nerdy Parent with fun strategies for intelligent parents!

Welcome to Cat’s Track Episode 172, with guest Andy Mark.


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Andy Mark is an experienced finance professional having spent the last 16 years serving in various roles in the professional services and finance industries. Andy is currently the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of QV Investors, an independent, Calgary-based investment management firm where he is responsible for the financial, administration and compliance functions of the firm. He also assists in managing the day-to-day operations.


Andy graduated from the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Commerce with a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and obtained his Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant designation in 2007. He spent the first 12 years of his career providing assurance and accounting advisory services to publicly and privately held companies in the financial services, telecommunication and energy services industries in Canada and New Zealand. Prior to joining QV, Andy served as Controller of a publicly traded energy service company. Andy has also served as board and committee members on various not-for-profit organizations.

Welcome to Cat’s Track Episode 171, with guest Karina Birch.


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Karina Birch is co-owner and CEO of Rocky Mountain Soap Co. She and her husband Cam nurtured the company from its beginnings in 2000, as a small shop in Canmore to now 13 retail locations and a 17,000 square foot workshop. Rocky Mountain Soap creates small-batch beauty products using simple, natural and fresh ingredients. Building relationships with Canadian farmers to use high quality, healthy skin care ingredients in their recipes.


Karina spends her time directing Rocky’s strategy, product development and brand. Since their earliest days, she and Cam have focused on fostering a strong company culture that empowers people to ‘Give it a Go’, reminds them to ‘Be Kind’, and encourages ‘Positivitude’.


Rocky Mountain Soap has been included in the Profit 100 and Alberta Ventures ‘Fastest Growing Companies.’ Karina has been honored as an AWE ‘Celebration of Achievement’ recipient, female entrepreneur on the ‘W100’ list. She is a current member and past board member of Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) Calgary. She has also completed the Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management Program (OPM).

Welcome to Cat’s Track Episode 170, with guest Monique Simair.


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Monique has a passion for building things, usually unconventionally by sticking to her belief that we should figure out what works and not just keep repeating what is considered normal. Always at the forefront of business and systems innovation Dr. Simair has become recognized internationally as a disruptive technology innovator. A PhD biogeochemist by training, she graduated to an economy with few jobs and too many graduates. She formed her first company in 2010 without business training, taking a scientific approach of viewing business systems as biological organisms - living, evolving, and growing. From her unconventional approach several international biotechnology firsts have arisen, as well as new approaches to business sustainability that are now being adopted by others. Dr. Simair has been named by Profit Magazine as one of Canada’s future entrepreneurial leaders, to Chatelaine’s W100 women entrepreneurs, and was the youngest person ever appointed by the federal government to serve as an advisor through the science, technology, and innovation council of Canada. Monique is one of fewer than 2% of female entrepreneurs who have broken the million dollar annual revenue barrier and has done this twice now in the environmental tech sector.


For the past decade Dr. Simair has been revolutionizing water treatment around the world, resulting in her former company (Contango Strategies) being acquired in a multimillion dollar acquisition. Now she is tackling new business sustainability, environmental, and technical challenges with Maven Water & Environment, which she founded in 2019 and is a high growth enviro-tech company based in Saskatoon.

Welcome to Cat’s Track Episode 169, with guest Brad Field.


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Brad is currently President of BRC Group (Calgary) and BRC Coach & Transit (Las Vegas) a privately held heavy equipment repair and refurbishment organization. Over the last 25 years, Brad has built and sold a variety of businesses from different industries such as healthcare, fire suppression, heavy equipment and real estate.


A 2004 graduate of the MIT Entrepreneurial Master’s Program, nominated in 2008 as a “Leader of Tomorrow” by Business in Calgary Magazine and recipient of Rotary International “Paul Harris Fellowship”, Brad takes pride in giving back to the community through efforts such as board positions with Business for Calgary Kids and The Terminator Foundation. Through his time with Terminator Foundation, Brad has been transformed in the way he approaches the stigma around youth addiction and truly values any and all points of view that can support a positive dialogue.


Brad and his wife Sheryl, a healthcare professional have had the privilege to raise three wonderful children, Mitchell, Kyle and Haley in Calgary.

Welcome to Cat’s Track Episode 168, with guest Alanna Koch.


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A farmer, industry leader, long-time agriculture champion, former senior government executive and experienced corporate director, Alanna Koch is the Chair of the Board of the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan. She is a Board member for SeedMaster Manufacturing as well as the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame and is Chair of the CN Agricultural Advisory Council. She also works with farmers and the agriculture industry through her consulting company, KoHert Agri Inc. Prior to this, she served as Deputy Minister to Premier Brad Wall and Cabinet Secretary and was the Saskatchewan Deputy Minister of Agriculture for nine years. As one of the longest serving Agriculture Deputy Ministers in Saskatchewan and Canadian history, Alanna worked closely with farmers and industry and her priority was to build and maintain public trust in agriculture by focusing on science-based decision making and communicating the benefits of modern tools and technology. Her approach of values-based leadership provided her with the opportunity to meet and mentor young leaders. Alanna has been involved in the agriculture industry, both professionally and personally, for most of her life. Before joining government, she was President of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance and was a Director with Agricore United (a predecessor of Viterra), and Executive Director of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association. She was on the board of the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP), AVAC, the George Morris Centre at the University of Guelph and the Buffalo Plains School Division. The inaugural Extra Mile Award for Women in Agriculture was presented to her in 2018 for her contributions as a trailblazer and mentor. In 2015, she was recognized by the Regina YWCA with the Women of Distinction Award for excellence in Leadership and Management. In 2012, Alanna received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and in 2011, she was inducted into the Saskatchewan Agriculture Hall of Fame for her outstanding achievement in the sector. In 2005, her contributions to the agricultural industry and to her community were recognized when she received the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal. Alanna is a graduate of the Canadian Agriculture Lifetime Leadership program, holds a Chartered Director Designation from the Directors College and is an Honorary Life Member of the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists. Alanna and her husband, Gerry Hertz, farm at Edenwold, Saskatchewan. They have two grown daughters, Shayla and Keisha.