Our people provide the dynamism that drives our technological advances.


Management

Allan Yap, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Johann F. Tergesen, MBA, CA, President and Chief Operating Officer
Dorothy Law, BComm, LLB, Senior Vice President, Legal and Corporate Secretary
Jade Cheng, MBA, CA, Chief Financial Officer
Randy Willardsen, M.Sc., Senior Vice President, Process
Martin Schweizer, PhD, Vice President, Technical Development
Marina Mez, Director, Corporate Development


Allan Yap, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Yap has over 27 years experience in finance, investment and banking. Dr. Yap was the President and a director of Burcon Group Limited from June 1998 to July 2007, a private company which is involved in real estate and other investments. Dr. Yap obtained his Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Victoria in 2001. Dr. Yap is the Chairman of Hanny Holdings Limited, an executive director of Wing On Travel (Holdings) Limited and See Corporation Limited, all of which are companies whose shares are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of China Enterprises Limited, a company whose shares are traded on the OTC Securities Market in the United States. He is the executive chairman of PSC Corporation Ltd., Intraco Limited and Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd., all of which are companies whose shares are listed on the Singapore Exchange Limited. He is also the chairman of MRI Holdings Limited, a company whose shares are listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

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Johann F. Tergesen, MBA, CA, President and Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Tergesen is one of the founding shareholders of Burcon Capital Corp., which acquired B.M.W. Canola Inc., in October of 1999 and subsequently changed its name to Burcon NutraScience Corporation. Prior to his role as president and C.O.O. of Burcon NutraScience, Mr. Tergesen was vice president and treasurer of Burcon Properties Limited, a real estate development and ownership company with assets in excess of $3.0 billion. Mr. Tergesen has been with the Burcon group of companies since December of 1995. Prior to that, he was a manager in the corporate finance group of the Vancouver office of Coopers & Lybrand, Chartered Accountants. Mr. Tergesen holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Winnipeg and an M.B.A. from McGill University, and is a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

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Dorothy Law, BComm, LLB, Senior Vice President, Legal and Corporate Secretary

Ms. Law joined the Burcon group of companies in August 1997 and is also the Secretary and Corporate Counsel of Burcon Group Limited. Prior thereto, she was an associate at the law firm of Lang Michener LLP, practising primarily in the areas of securities and corporate law. Ms. Law was called to the British Columbia Bar and admitted as a member of the Law Society of British Columbia in August 1996. Ms. Law holds a Bachelor of Laws degree and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia. Ms. Law was also admitted as a solicitor of the High Court of Hong Kong in May 1999. She is a non-practising member of the Law Society Hong Kong.

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Jade Cheng, MBA, CA, Chief Financial Officer

Ms. Cheng has been with the Burcon group of companies since July 1995, holding various senior financial positions, including Vice-President, Group Audit and Corporate Secretary of BurCon Properties Limited until its merger with its controlled subsidiary, Oxford Properties Group Inc., in May 1998.Prior thereto, Ms. Cheng was a Manager with the General Practice group of the Vancouver office of Coopers & Lybrand, Chartered Accountants.Ms. Cheng holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of British Columbia and is a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

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Randy Willardsen, M.Sc., Senior Vice President, Process

Mr. Willardsen has over 26 years of experience in the fields of membrane filtration and food, dairy, and biotechnology processes.Mr. Willardsen was the founder of Separation Technology, Inc., a leading supplier of membrane-based purification equipment and related services to the food industry with particular emphasis on dairy and beverage applications.Mr. Willardsen was also co-founder of both Inprotech Corporation, a supplier of high quality whey proteins to the U.S. market, and BioPlex Nutrition, a nutritional supplement company focused on formulated protein supplements.With BioPlex, he served as technical director, and oversaw manufacturing of all products until the company was sold in 1999.

Most recently, Mr. Willardsen founded Gallo Protein, a partnership with Joseph Gallo Farms to produce highly purified whey protein isolates. Mr. Willardsen has worked with Burcon NutraScience Corporation since April of 2001, providing advisory services and technical reviews of the Company’s extraction technology.Mr. Willardsen holds a masters degree in Food Science and Nutrition from the University of Minnesota.

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Martin Schweizer, PhD, Vice President, Technical Development

Dr. Schweizer joined Burcon in May of 2002 as a process-engineering specialist. He relocated from Nancy, France, where he earned his doctorate at the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine, with an emphasis on the enzymatic hydrolysis of rapeseed proteins. Prior to his Ph.D. work, Dr. Schweizer studied chemical engineering at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, where he specialized in food process engineering and water technology. Since January of 2003, Dr. Schweizer has overseen Burcon’s research and development efforts at its Winnipeg Technical Center.

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Marina Mez, Director, Corporate Development

Ms. Mez brings 12 years of work experience in marketing, sales, research and analysis with investment banks JP Morgan and UBS in London and Frankfurt. As Associate Director & Deputy Head of the # 1 ranked European Corporate Access Team at UBS, Ms. Mez was responsible for corporate relationships with European blue chip companies, providing market intelligence and developing a comprehensive framework for UBS’ branded roadshow service. Most recently, she worked with Mackenzie Financial Services in Vancouver.

Ms. Mez holds a Bachelor in Logistics and Organization from the University of Ludwigshafen (Germany). In addition to her international business experience, she is fluent in English, German, Swiss German and French. Her energy and enthusiasm will be an asset to the Burcon team.

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Get to know Burcon's Team.


Our Team

Burcon’s employees at our Winnipeg Technical Center demonstrate professionalism and expertise in all of their activities and total commitment to our mission. The focus of our dedicated team: research innovation and discovery.