PEI BioAlliance Staff
Rory Francis | Chief Executive Officer
TELEPHONE 902-367-4402 | rory@peibioalliance.com
Rory Francis has 30 years experience in professional, management and leadership roles in the public and private sectors. As an experienced senior executive, Mr. Francis has led transformative change in several public sector organizations encompassing economic and social policy, programs and services.
Mr. Francis is a native of Prince Edward Island. He earned a BSc in geology and chemistry from Mount Allison University and an MSc in Hydrogeology from the University of Waterloo.
Since 2004 he has been CEO of the Prince Edward Island BioAlliance, a not-for-profit network of bioscience businesses, academic and research organizations, and government agencies. The role of the BioAlliance is to facilitate the growth and development of the province’s emerging bioscience cluster, working with industry, researchers, and government partners to establish the next generation of the Prince Edward Island economy.
From 1991 to 2003 Mr. Francis held Deputy Minister positions in several provincial government departments, including Environment; Agriculture and Forestry; Fisheries and Aquaculture; and Health and Social Services.
Mr. Francis is a member of the Canadian BioAccord and serves as a Board member with the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce, the PEI AgriFood Alliance Inc. PEI Institute for Human Health Research, the Regional Advisory Board of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC-Atlantic), and is President of the Eastern Canada Oilseeds Development Alliance. He chairs the Advisory Board for the Culinary Institute of Canada’s Technology Access Centre. In 2008-09 he co-chaired The Commission on the Future of Agriculture and AgriFood in Prince Edward Island.
Mr. Francis is an avid naturalist and is active in community work. He resides in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island with his wife Ann. Their three children have left the nest.
Rory Francis
Chief Executive Officer
rory@peibioalliance.com
Gordon Dixon | Chief Financial Officer
Gordon has been a Professional Accountant for over 30 years. He started his career and received his designation with the Grant Thornton team. He worked with various industry partners (public companies, entrepreneurs, not for profits and municipalities) while he was with Grant Thornton. After his time at Grant Thornton Gordon has led various sized finance teams in organizations of the salmon aquaculture, bakery, university research and media industries.
He has always been a partner with all co-workers and has worked on large projects including accounting and operation system updates, product launch and redevelopment, company purchases & sale and capital project management. Gordon is excited to work with the BioAlliance team to continue to provide the best services for the Bioscience Cluster.
Gordon received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Mount Allison University and obtained his Professional Accounting Designation while working in Nova Scotia.
Gordon was born and raised on PEI and has worked/lived in New Glasgow, NS; St Stephen, NB and Halifax, NS before returning to PEI.
Gordon Dixon
Chief Financial Officer
gordon@peibioalliance.com
Jason Cleaversmith | Executive Director, Incubation and Infrastructure
Jason is no stranger to the PEI Bioscience Cluster community and has an extensive network both nationally and internationally. Most recently he was VP Health and Nutrition for the Center for Aquaculture Technologies and General Manager of Canadian Operations. He has also served as Managing Director of AKVA Group Scotland, Director of Operations and Business Development at the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Center, and Head of Novartis Aqua Health in PEI overseeing manufacturing and R&D. He was also an industry expert with HATCH Blue, an innovative aquaculture accelerator supporting a cohort of 13 technology companies on three different continents.
Previously, Jason led the bioscience portfolio on behalf of the Government of Prince Edward Island as Senior Investment Manager. He currently sits on the Board of the University of Prince Edward Islands technology transfer office (Synapse) and on the Innovate UK Animal Sector Advisory Board.
Jason is a graduate of Edinburgh University in Scotland, majoring in natural sciences followed by a PhD in Marine Geochemistry. He also completed an Executive MBA with the University of Glasgow, where he gained a Distinction.
Jason Cleaversmith
ED, Incubation and Infrastructure
jason@peibioalliance.com
Bobbi Jo Walker
Director, Marketing and Communications
bobbijo@peibioalliance.com
Bobbi Jo Walker
Director, Marketing and Communications
bobbijo@peibioalliance.com
Vivian Beer | Manager, HR Strategy
Vivian Beer has worked on several projects for the Prince Edward Island BioAlliance over the past eight years, including the VetHealth Global Conference and the Biotechnology & Human Health Symposium. Most recently, she has taken on management of the PEI Bioscience Cluster HR Strategy, which supports successful recruitment in the PEI bioscience sector through targeted outreach efforts to build key networks and track sector growth.
Vivian has over 15 years experience working in senior management and operating her own marketing company. Projects have included international business development, HR planning, market research, sales/marketing management, events organization, business-to-business partnering programs and digital media marketing.
Vivian has a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Public Administration Diploma from the University of Prince Edward Island. She is a published writer and photographer and is actively involved in community work. Vivian is part of a professional affiliation that tracks marketing, technology and communications trends.
Vivian Beer
Manager, HR Strategy
vivian@peibioalliance.com
Eddie Francis | Business Development Associate
As an intern in the Emergence Incubator, Eddie has been a member of the PEI BioAlliance team since 2015.
Eddie manages relations with existing and prospective clients and assists with the pre-incubation process, admission process and establishing service contracts. He also provides support to the Emergence Mentorship Program and actively participates in the recruitment of companies to the Emergence Incubator.
Eddie has a B.Sc and a M.Sc in Molecular and Cellular Biology from UPEI where his research focused on inhibiting early stage cancer progression pathways. Eddie has spent the last 15 years in the private sector in early stage companies as an owner, operator and project manager.
Eddie Francis
Business Development Associate
edward@peibioalliance.com
Kelli Corcoran | Manager, Corporate Services
As a strong leader who has coordinated change management efforts regularly within her career, Kelli is an excellent communicator who builds strong relationships with both internal and external resources to facilitate effective change. Her long-term career in the tourism sector has supported her ability to make data-driven decisions, she is a strategic problem solver who can think on her feet, and she understands the value of processes and procedures to create effective organizations.
Kelli holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of New Brunswick and has worked in management roles in the tourism and hospitality sector for over 15 years.
Kelli Corcoran
Manager, Corporate Services
kelli@peibioalliance.com
Dr. Don Ridley | Mentor-in-Residence, PEI BioAlliance
Don Ridley obtained a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Guelph, followed by an NRC industrial post doc with the Swiss multinational Ciba-Geigy. He subsequently joined that company as a research scientist. He had a 23-year career with Ciba-Geigy with progressively senior research, product development, marketing and management positions culminating as Managing Director for Ciba-Geigy S.E. Asia based in Singapore. After the merger of Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy to form Novartis, Don returned to North America and joined CanTox US Inc., a scientific and regulatory consulting firm, as Managing Director and Senior Scientific Consultant a position he held until he retired in 2004. He returned to Canada and settled in Prince Edward Island. He occupies his retirement as VP Business Development of Nautilus Bioscience Canada Inc. as well as assisting the PEI BioAlliance in supporting the bioscience cluster on PEI.
Dr. Don Ridley
Mentor-in-Residence
don@peibioalliance.com