Meet our Governance Committee
APEX is governed by six core partners:
John Stroh
When John Stroh was hired to be the technology development officer for Alberta Innovates, he was helping build a company base in Mexico, living and Arizona, and commuted often to Medicine Hat to visit family. He’d already been in the plant production industry as operations manager for 27 years, so moving into a position to support and strengthen the innovative space in Alberta was fitting.
Stroh was born in Saskatchewan and raised in Medicine Hat and has always felt it was home being surrounded by family and friends. When he was offered the position with Alberta Innovates, he moved back to the Alberta city and would spend the next 11-plus years moving forward in the innovative entrepreneurial industry.
“We help them through, what we call, the commercialization pathway — what does their path to revenue and commercialization look like? We can really help accelerate that path by connecting them to programs and service providers who are better aligned for what they need at that time,” says Stroh. “We focus on the company to make sure we’re giving them the best service to help them move along as quickly as they can.”
The technology development advisor says many companies face the same challenges, whether their agriculture technology or the latest unmanned vehicle technology, or software. It all comes back to market and market fit and knowing if the product fills a gap and solves a problem for the customers.
Many days, Stroh will have over a handful of meetings following up with companies and working on grant applications to keep them moving forward and help them scale to be bigger and export outside of Alberta and Canada.
After Stroh graduated from the trades program at Medicine Hat College, he was very fortunate to then work with a company who invested in him to take additional educational training. His early years were spent in the trades, but the bulk of his career was in plant and operations management. It’s fulfilling for Stroh to share his experience and knowledge with business owners now, and to shorten their progress timeline and help guide them through the gaps.
“It’s rewarding working with a company, seeing progress, and helping them move along in their journey. It’s also nice to contribute in a small way to a company who would be successful anyway, but we help accelerate that path for them. It’s neat to see when they really take-off and they outgrow the programs,” says Stroh. “It’s always great to see someone ‘graduate’ out of your suite of services, because it means you’ve really moved them along. Of course, they do all the heavy lifting, but it’s nice to be a part of that growth.”
And he feels, while his knowledge is passed onto his clients, he is constantly learning from his colleagues from around the province. They all offer direction from diverse backgrounds, education, and experience. Stroh feels he gets to learn everyday, from what they do and their coaching styles, where it helps him be a better technology development advisor year after year.
“I can probably say, without a doubt, I’ve gained as much as I’ve given, certainly,” says Stroh.
Support and guidance he’s continued to do, with over 278 active files, and 5,000 intakes Alberta-wide in the last four years, Stroh and his province-wide colleagues work endlessly to point local innovative business owners to the correct educational and financial supports.
“We want to help companies develop new technology, and grow and scale right here in Alberta,” says Stroh.
Sean Blewett
Celebrating 15 years as General Manager of Community Futures Entre-Corp in 2022, Sean Blewett reminisces on proud moments and impactful programs, while looking brightly towards the future with a focus on collaboration.
He grew up and graduated with his bachelor in business in Australia, and then moved to downtown Sydney to work in the IT financial industry. He gained immense experience and knowledge that he would bring with him during his move to Medicine Hat in the mid-2000s.
He settled into the Community Futures Entre-Corp office space on fourth street in downtown Medicine Hat in 2007 and would spend years working with small businesses in the city, and eventually the region.
Southeast Alberta’s Regional Innovation Network, APEX Alberta, was created in 2012, and Community Futures Entre-Corp has been a network partner, with Blewett being a governance member, from the beginning.
“APEX Alberta is a network of service providers that have a shared vision of growing technology and innovation in Southeast Alberta,” says Blewett. “Whether you’re starting or growing your business, APEX Alberta is a local advisor that can put you on the right foot to move your product, company, or business forward.”
The team members from Community Futures Entre-Corp and APEX Alberta work in the same office. Community Futures Entre-Corp supports small businesses in Medicine Hat through funding, programs, training, and educating, so having the two organizations in one space invites a collaborative and forward-thinking mindset.
“The biggest thing is developing your team around you. It’s not just the people you work with. It’s also community partners and leaders and people who have the same outcomes and desires you wish to have. I’m a huge believer in collaboration and that the more we’re rowing in the same direction, the more we’re partnering, the more we can achieve together,” says Blewett.
The technology and innovation industry in Southeast Alberta is made up of entrepreneurs who are willing and determined to grow their business, and Blewett believes this to be a strong characteristic in the innovation sector, allowing APEX Alberta to be able to support a variety of passionate entrepreneurs across many industries.
“What makes me proud is the Regional Innovation Network is an example of developing an ecosystem to provide advice and support, and the results and momentum we have right now has put this region in a positive light, to help diversify and grow technology and innovation in our region,” says Blewett.
Mark Keller
Strong curiosity and the calling to support entrepreneurs and students in their journey to find success is how Mark Keller landed himself working with the Medicine Hat College and, for seven ongoing years, on the APEX Alberta board.
He finds the Medicine Hat region interesting — once you put on a new set of glasses, you see clearly what entrepreneurs are doing in the area and it’s inspiring. What people are accomplishing is an understated excellence, and support is readily available for those looking to continue growing.
“There’s an entire network of capacity in the province that is designed purely to support people achieve their personal and business goals. It’s impressive,” says Keller. “APEX is a portal to all these assets in Alberta, and they make it possible for people in the Medicine Hat region to achieve their dreams.”
Working with both the Medicine Hat College and on the APEX Alberta board, Keller meets people in all stages of their entrepreneurship journey. Sharing the available assets to people with dreams and ambitions, Keller’s role is to be a part of the stewardship of that availability and encourage entrepreneurs to dive in.
“People have aspirations to do interesting and cool things on the tech side. They don’t need to move away to achieve those goals. APEX makes it possible for people to pursue their future here. I’m glad we sustain the purpose of the organization and continue to make it available,” he says.
After high school, Keller became qualified as a commercial pilot. He’d then find his high interest in writing and graduate from the journalism program at SAIT in Calgary. His curiosity and communication skills transferred into public relations and corporate communication, leading him into the post-secondary sector. In over 30 years, he’s worked with four different post-secondary institutions.
“It’s the discovery of the depth and scope of support that is available to a person who wants to grow and create an enterprise in the tech centre. I am aware of a few enterprises in the Medicine Hat region that have grown to essentially compete in North America, if not world scale. It is possible for entrepreneurs here,” says the board member.
Overall, Keller has learned there are people who know the answers and are willing to support. If someone is worried about having an idea and doesn't know what to do with it, APEX Alberta can help.
“I like to see our role as the supporting cast. People came looking for advice and support, with passion and a vision for what they want to accomplish, and all they really needed was help along the way. They were prepared to undertake it, and they have found it really rewarding,” says Keller.
Mitchell Iwaasa
With a father who owned a business all his life, Mitchell Iwaasa was born into entrepreneurship and surrounded by innovation. He moved to the big city from Brooks to attend the University of Calgary and graduate with his business degree, before moving back home to work alongside his family at Iwaasa Industries, a commercial printing and sign company.
“I wore many hats, as local family business owners do. I was everything and anything from bookkeeper, labourer, manager and everything else in between,” says Iwaasa.
As family members grew older, they closed its doors. When Iwaasa saw the role for Economic Development Officer with Brooks Newell Region, he saw it as a nice fit with his business background. He applied and accepted the position in 2021 and became a governance board member for APEX Alberta in 2022.
“My father had a business for over 50 years, and I worked with him for over 25 years in the business. Right now, I’m helping support businesses from the other side of the table. With my background, I am able to understand what business owners’ needs are,” says Iwaasa.
He’s learned more about the work APEX Alberta does, and how they connect innovative entrepreneurs to programs, advice, and services to further support and accelerate them on their business journey.
“These entrepreneurs can start off fairly small, and innovation networks like APEX Alberta can help people take their idea to the next level. It’s the most inspiring thing. It doesn’t have to be a big grand plan. It can be a smaller idea that flourishes given the right atmosphere for it to happen,” says Iwaasa.
Brooks Newell Region Innovation Network will launch and will open an avenue for entrepreneurs in the area to connect and find support. The team hopes they can identify people who work in the innovation space, who can finally start their business ventures.
“It’s been nice to see the broad range of programs and opportunities that are available to entrepreneurs. Especially in the innovation sector, a lot of people don’t realize they’re innovators. They just think they’re trying something new. APEX Alberta is a way of helping them realize what they are and what they can do,” he says.
Iwaasa likes that innovation brings all types of opportunities to diversify the economy. He says there is an entrepreneurial spirit in the province and region, where people are trying to find new ideas and come up with creative ways to change how we do business, “And innovation is a great tool for that.”
The collaborative mindset that APEX Alberta has with the work they do is important. Economic development officers, employment services, post-secondary education, and the team at APEX Alberta all work together to create a hub for bringing resources together and giving people access to the services they need.
Susan Rowsell
Susan Rowsell moved to Medicine Hat 18 years ago when she accepted a position with Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), and she joined the APEX Alberta governance committee in 2022.
DRDC is one of the major science and technology innovation organizations in the region, so those industries are already part of her day to day work. Being on the board, while embedded in science and technology innovation, helps Rowsell to expand her knowledge in what’s going on outside of defence.
“What is being done on the innovation side on the provincial, regional, and local levels is really interesting and not something I get to see often. Learning about the diversity of innovation that’s happening in our small corner of the province, there’s some really amazing things going on,” says Rowsell.
Science, technology and innovation are such complex spaces already, so having networks like APEX Alberta allows people to receive help on navigating that system. Rowsell says it’s important having resources like this, to help innovators flush out their ideas, grow their businesses, and build partnerships.
“It’s important to take the burden off individual innovators, so they can focus on what they’re doing and lean on those around them more to strengthen what they're doing. There are innovators who are playing on a national and global stage in Southeast Alberta, which really is a big deal,” she says.
The innovators are responding to a local need and saw the opportunity to expand that beyond the boundaries of the city or community they live in. Rowsell says innovators have the courage to work to grow bigger and impact the region, province, and beyond. And the pace at which innovators work is what fascinates Rowsell.
“Everything is so fast-paced now and watching companies keep up and evolve with it is interesting. I do appreciate that others are able to be agile, and I hope that I can learn from that and bring it into my own work environment,” she says.
Rowsell is a microbiologist by training and now manages a team of scientists who conduct research for the Department of National Defence at DRDC. Being on the APEX Alberta governance committee gives Rowsell better situational awareness of innovation in the region.
“There is so much going on that people are not aware of. We really see just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to science and technology. If you get connected to the right people, a whole new world opens up,” says Rowsell.
