Our presenters

Amir Bonakdar, PhD, PE is a business development manager for Fyfe company in Southern California. He has a Master’s degree in structural engineering from the University of Tehran (2006) and a Ph.D. from Arizona State University (2010). After graduation, Amir served as an instructor and researcher at the university, related to concrete and composite material testing, characterization, and modeling. Prior to Fyfe, Amir served as the BD manager for Euclid Chemical and was involved in specifying concrete technology and concrete repair for hundreds of projects in the US and internationally. He is the current chair of ACI 544 (fiber-reinforced concrete), a voting member of ACI 360 (design of slabs on the ground), and an associate member of ACI 440 (fiber-reinforced polymer). 

Andrea is a Certified Executive Coach with an MBA, the host of the Ambition Theory Podcast, a Forbes contributor, and a top-rated speaker. She is passionate about coaching women in AEC to develop themselves, set leadership goals and get results. Andrea has coached and trained over 1,000 construction professionals.

As a Canadian Lean and IPD pioneer, Art has consulted with a variety of Canadian and Provincial Governments including several Infrastructure and NGOs, and present at many Industries related industry workshops across North America.   

Art is the 2018 recipient of General Contractor of the Year for his ongoing efforts to improve the Construction industry in Canada. He is a founding board member of the Lean Construction Institute (Canada), sits on several lean organizations including the CCDC task force who created the CCDC 30 IPD Agreement, and is among the first to be certified to instruct of LCI/AGC lean construction education in Canada.   

Having managed large-scale, multi-phased construction projects, Art is highly experienced in coordinating and facilitating high-performance teams.  His lean IPD journey combines his existing construction industry knowledge with his acquired Lean and IPD skills. Since 2010, Art has been involved with many lean and IPD projects across North America. 

A leading Canadian architect and considered a visionary in his field, Bill has 40 years of experience in architecture, overseeing the design and construction of over 750 buildings worldwide. 

Bill’s accomplishments include the University of Calgary’s Taylor Family Digital Library; National Music Centre, Calgary; Calgary Courts Centre; Guangzhou Planetarium, China; Alder Planetarium, Chicago, Illinois; Grande Prairie Library and Art Gallery, Red Deer Performing Arts Centre and Simon Fraser University Trottier Observatory.  As a Senior Principal at Kasian, he leads the delivery of architectural, strategic planning (master planning and programming), and interior planning and urban planning services.

A dedicated construction professional with over 40 years of experience in the Alberta marketplace. Bob has recently retired from Graham Construction where he was Vice-President, Prairies. He developed and led a regional team of construction groups in Western Canada, focused on performance and client satisfaction. His prior experience includes leadership roles at Ledcor and PCL with an extensive list of major projects as project manager and executive-in-charge. He was also part of a significant team executing major projects in Alberta’s Oil and Gas market by developing strategic initiatives.

Bob has an excellent reputation for building teams, motivating staff, and overcoming challenges in the delivery of construction projects. He has developed strong personal relationships throughout all facets of the industry including Clients, Consultants, and Trades. Bob is past Chair of the Calgary Construction Association and Alberta Construction Association and was on the Board and Executive of the Canadian Construction Association, as well as chair of national construction industry organizations, focused on BIM and Lean Construction

Brad Stevenson is Unitech Construction Management’s Chief Operating Officer. He has been with Unitech for 15 years in a number of different roles including operations, finance, human resources, safety, business development, and information technology. Brad has the overall responsibility for integrating all of Unitech’s Construction Management divisions into one cohesive unit. He has been responsible for integrating Unitech’s systems, processes, and procedures, with a focus on team collaboration, into how Unitech does business day to day. He monitors and assists all personnel to ensure everyone in the company is living our core values of being client-goal-driven, collaborative, concise, firm, fair, and fun through our collaborative construction-proven process.

Brian Soutar is a professional engineer and professional quantity surveyor with over 40 years of project management, procurement, design, contract management, estimating, and quantity surveying experience. He has worked on commercial, institutional, industrial, mining, transportation, water development, and multi-family residential projects in Canada, the US, the UK, and Africa. Half of his career has been in the private sector, where he has worked for construction companies in project manager, estimator, and construction superintendent roles; for design firms in project manager and branch manager roles; and for developers in project manager roles. In the public sector, he has held cost manager, project manager, director of major capital projects, and executive director positions. He led four portfolios for Alberta Infrastructure: procurement, the Project Management Office, cost management, and capital planning. Brian believes passionately in collaboration and has served on many multi-sector teams, including as chair of the Institute for BIM in Canada, and the Canadian Construction Document Committee’s task force to create the standard contract for Integrated Project Delivery.

Byng specializes in obtaining approvals for major projects in the industrial, natural resources, and infrastructure sectors. Byng has been using his extensive experience to help clients de-risk large-scale projects at early stages to allow for construction. Previously, Byng was with Woodfibre LNG Limited as the company’s first North American employee. During the development stages of the project, Byng led the project locally as Country Manager. Byng concurrently served five years as Chairman of Ridley Terminals Inc. a Canadian government-owned bulk export terminal in Prince Rupert, BC. Some of the recent highlights of Byng’s work include:

• Obtained federal, provincial, and indigenous approval of the 2.1 mtpa Woodfibre LNG project.
• Negotiated and helped Squamish Nation implement the first-ever indigenous environmental assessment process in Canada.
• Negotiated the first-ever agreements between operating mines and First Nations in British Columbia including agreements with five first nations at two separate projects.
• Led the corporate affairs and indigenous consultation processes leading to the 2012 reopening of the Huckleberry Mine in northern British Columbia.
• Led the Northwest Powerline Coalition, a coalition of companies, Indigenous groups, and individuals that successfully worked with the BC Government to build the Northwest Transmission line along Highway 37 –thereby opening the region to mining and power projects.
• Chaired Ridley Terminals Inc. during the Federal Crown Corporation’s negotiations with Altagas that led to the building of a 1.2 mtpa liquified propane export facility in Prince Rupert—the first hydrocarbon export facility on the west coast in decades.
• Directly negotiated numerous indigenous economic benefits and related agreements.

Currently, he sits on the BC Assembly of First Nations-BC Business Council “Champion’s Table,” a body dedicated to breaking new ground in economic reconciliation. Byng continues to be involved in innovative efforts at First Nations economic reconciliation. Prior to his corporate career, Byng obtained political and government experience working for Members of Parliament, MLAs, and Senators. He has served on the board of directors of the BC Business Council, the Vimy Ridge Foundation, Geoscience BC, Canada Place Corporation, Initiatives Prince George, and other organizations. In 2012 Byng received the Queen Elizabeth II, Diamond Jubilee Medal, for volunteerism. Byng holds an MSc. Econ. from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, an MBA from the University of Cambridge (Jesus College), and a BA from the University of Victoria. On the weekends, he plays old boys rugby and studies Spanish (Competency A2/B1).

Chad is the President of Integrity Design Studios Inc. Chad is a "Georgie" award-winning designer and has been designing commercial, industrial, and high-end residential construction projects for over twenty years. He received his AScT in Building Science at BCIT and graduated with honours and an award resulting from a design competition.

Chad joined the Applied Science Technologist Association in January of 1995. He is an experienced trainer that has taught technical drafting and AutoCAD 3D (BIM) at a University level. Chad also holds a residential builders license.