Chapter Board

Felicity Withington, Chair of the Vancouver Chapter, is an international tax professional with 17 years of experience.  Felicity has a combined undergraduate degree in Commerce and Law, a Masters in Taxation and has been a CMA since 2009.  Her professional career includes 10 years of Big 4 tax experience working as a Senior Manager in International Tax and Tax Reporting as well as developing and leading a number of in-house tax teams for multi-jurisdictional public and private corporations in various industries including real estate, leisure industry and mining.

She currently heads the Canadian in-house tax team for Walter Energy Western Coal.

Felicity has been involved in volunteer organizations, in an executive capacity since being President of the Sports Council at her University in Tasmania, Australia in 1994.  Roles have ranged from sporting, community gardening and most recently the Vancouver Chapter of the CMA BC.  Felicity has a keen interest in mentor activities both in a formal and informal sense; she won the Vancouver Board of Trade – Leaders of Tomorrow, Mentor of the Year award in 2009.  She is a keen skier who is a certified instructor for able and disabled skiers, loves gardening, and reading about world events.

Brian Moist, CMA is the coordinator of our Professional Development and Networking events in the Fraser Valley.  Brian has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Manitoba and has had his CMA designation since 1983.

Brian has extensive experience in the Financial Services industry in executive roles with TD Bank, National Bank of Canada and Business Development Bank of Canada.

Since 2004 Brian has being building a business with Edward Jones Investments in Surrey BC.  Brian has recently being admitted as a partner in Edward Jones.

Brian and his wife Leila have 4 adult children and 3 grandchildren.  Hobbies include travel, and working out regularly.

Amy Sohi has recently joined the CMA Vancouver Chapter in March 2011. Amy’s education background includes completing her Bachelor of Administration Degree in 2003  and earning the CMA designation in 2008. After completing her degree and working for a few years, Amy pursued with the CMA designation. She has been working in the accounting field for approximately six years which includes working in the Health, Forestry and Banking industries. Currently she is  working as a Finance Analyst for the Fraser Health Authority.  She finds working in the health care quite  exciting as changes are happening everyday making the learning experience exciting and the work is rewarding as it contributes to the overall care of patients.

Karl Dhillon, CMA is the Director of Networking  for the CMA Vancouver Chapter and has volunteered his time for the last few years. He  currently serves as the Business Manager for the First Nations Fisheries Council of BC providing business and financial expertise.  Prior to joining the First Nations Fisheries Council, he served as the Chief Financial Officer for the Musqueam Indian Band, a prominent First Nations government in the Lower Mainland and played an active role in the development of the community and management of its financial resources. A career highlight included the Musqueam Indian Band’s participation as one of the four host nations in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

 

During his CMA career of approximately 20 years, he has held titles including CFO, controller, treasurer and financial analyst working for a diverse and reputable group of companies including the Oppenheimer Group, Shato Holdings, ICL Services (a division of the White Spot Group), and the Polybottle Group. Karl is a seasoned CMA and has developed solid financial skills as a result of having worked in a variety of industries.

Over the years, Karl has also been active with committee involvement. With previous employers he has participated in the Finance, Audit, Economic Development, Strategic, Pension and Health and Safety Committees. He has also provided financial consulting support to organizations in the air freight service and transportation industries. To maintain a healthy balanced lifestyle, Karl also plays an active role at home with his wife and two children.

 

Emilia Panakova, CMA is the Treasurer of the Vancouver CMA Chapter. Emilia is the Financial Corporate Controller for Webnames.ca (www.webnames.ca), Canada’s original domain registrar and a leading Internet Services company. Emilia has been with Webnames.ca since its inception in 2000, providing strategic financial planning, financial analysis, management, and accounting services.  In her role at Webnames.ca, she is active in all areas of the business and works closely with the management team, the development team as well as the board of directors.  Emilia also works closely with other information technology organizations, providing advice and financial services to UBC Research Enterprises, Tasktop Technologies Incorporation and BC Bioenergy Network Association.  In her downtime, Emilia enjoys travelling with her daughter and is actively involved in many outdoor activities, including running, hiking and skiing.

Laura Thomas serves as the Vice-Chair for the CMA Vancouver Chapter.  She  has an Economics degree from Simon Fraser University and was designated as a CMA in 2010.

Laura is the Director of Finance & Administration for Care Pest & Wildlife Control in Burnaby where she utilizes her CMA daily.  Her professional career started in Transfer Pricing at KPMG and progressed to a strategic planning role for Simon Fraser University prior to joining Care.

Laura has a strong sense of community having been a volunteer with various organizations over the past 10 years including the adjudication of Board Reports in 2011!  Laura also enjoys leisure activities including a weekly volleyball game and learning to ski in the winter and golf in the summer.

 

Derek Johnson, Director of Online Communities for the CMA Vancouver Chapter, is a Student Financial Planner at the Art Institute of Vancouver.  After obtaining his Bachelors Degree in Economics from the University of Victoria he traveled througout Asia, South East Asia and Oceania.  After returning to Vancouver he enrolled in and successfully completed the CMA program and obtained his designation in 2010.   He has been a volunteer with CMA Vancouver since January 2011.

Thus far, Derek has spent his professional career in the private sector.  After cutting his teeth in the Canadian Mutual fund industry with one of the largest mutual fund providers in Canada he made the jump to the private education sector.  He has experience in leading teams in both capacities and always ensures that the job is done.  He brings strong leadership and interpersonal skills to both his professional and volunteer roles.

Derek currently manages the chapter’s online content and is constantly looking for new ways to engage with our members.

Derek is always on the go and enjoys long distance running, playing baseball, cooking, spending time with friends and family and enjoying everything that Vancouver has to offer.