The following are brief career profiles of each member of Averna's Board of Directors. All of the directors other than Mr. Pilon, president and chief executive officer, and Mr. Maltais, vice president of sales and marketing, are non-employee directors and qualify as independent under the criteria established by major Canadian and U.S. Exchanges.

Pascal Pilon, President and CEO

Mr. Pilon has served as a director of Averna since its inception in 1999. He is a veteran in real-time computerized systems. He co-founded Averna after holding executive positions at Informission Group and ATS Aerospace.

He won the Entrepreneur of the Year Arista Award in 2005, and was nominated for the Ernst & Young Technology Entrepreneur of the Year Award in both 2005 and 2006.

Mr. Pilon holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the École Polytechnique de Montreal and an MBA from HEC Montreal. He is an active director of the Société d’Investissement Jeunesse, a non-profit organization that supports young entrepreneurs in their quest for startup funding. He is also a member of the Technology Committee for the Chambre de Commerce de Montreal.

Richard Maltais, Secretary and Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Mr. Maltais has been one of Averna’s directors since it was founded in 1999. He is a seasoned expert in test engineering, and has nurtured longstanding relationships with leading instrument vendors. He co-founded Averna after serving as the Business Unit Manager of test and measurement solutions for the Informission Group. Prior to that, Mr. Maltais worked for Paramax, where he was involved in the development of military technology.

Mr. Maltais holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.

Jean-François Grou

Mr. Grou has served as a director of Averna since 2003. He is the current president and COO of 20-20 Technologies Inc. (TSX:TWT), where he has been in charge of its worldwide operations and business activities since 1999. Prior to that, he was vice president of European Operations at LGS Group Inc., a Canadian IT consulting and systems integration firm. 

Mr. Grou holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in finance from HEC Montreal.

Pierre Brunet

Mr. Brunet has served as a director of Averna since 2005. He worked for the Banque de Développement du Canada from 1975 to 1983 before joining Desjardins Capital de Risque, where he has been active for 20 years. He has held several executive positions and has focused his investments in the technology sector. In 2003, he founded Capital Équinox, a consulting firm supporting technology entrepreneurs in their quest for VC funding.

Mr. Brunet has been an integral part of over $500 million worth of investments. He has been instrumental in numerous M&A, sales, and IPO initiatives. He is a member of the Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec, the Association des MBA du Québec, and of Réseau Capital, of which he is also a director.

Mr. Brunet holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the École Polytechnique de Montreal and an MBA from HEC Montreal.

William Wignall

Mr. Wignall has been one of Averna’s directors since 2006. He has acquired more than twelve years of experience heading technology companies in the global marketplace. Most recently, he has been the president and CEO of Electronics Workbench, a high-tech firm based in Toronto, Canada. Prior to that, he held General Management responsibilities at telecom companies Telezone and Broadband Networks Inc. 

Mr. Wignall sits on or chairs multiple Boards of Directors in the technology and not-for-profit sectors, where he implements his strong “people first” beliefs. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s electrical engineering program and of Stanford University’s Executive Program for Growing Companies, and is a member of the highly respected international organization YPO. 

François Provost

Mr. Provost has served as a director of Averna since 2005. He brings more than twenty-five years of expertise in manufacturing IT consulting to the board. Mr. Provost is well-known as the founder of Keops Technologies, which he established in 1982 to offer products, services, and solutions to the then-emerging field of Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). He built a 130-person strong company based in Montreal, with satellite offices in Ottawa (Canada), Pittsburgh (USA) and Johannesburg (South Africa), before selling it to Air Liquide in 2000.