Our Team

Kelly Edmison, LL.B., President

Mr. Edmison is President and CEO of Pender, which he founded in 2002. Mr. Edmison overseas all business activities of Pender's fund management and venture capital businesses. His focus is to build a leading west coast mutual fund company, offering forward-thinking, value-based products which generate outstanding returns.

Prior to founding Pender, Mr. Edmison practiced law for over 20 years, with much of his time focused on representing BC-based technology companies.

For the last 15 years he has been a director and officer for a number of successful companies in a variety of sectors, including technology, products and services, and healthcare. He is currently Chairman of Icron Technologies Inc. (TSX-V:IT) and IP Applications Corp. (TSX-V:IPX) and a director of Radiant Communications Inc. (TSX-V:RCN) and the British Columbia Technology Industry Association.

Mr. Edmison has a BA in Economics from the University of Toronto and a law degree from Queen's University.

David Barr, CFA, Chief Investment Officer and Compliance Officer

Mr. Barr is Portfolio Manager for Pender Growth Fund and Pender Small Cap Opportunity Fund. He has managed Pender Growth Fund since its inception in 2003. In 2000, Mr. Barr became the Investment Manager at FutureFund and remained with the Fund, becoming Portfolio Manager, when it was transferred to Pender and renamed Pender Growth Fund.

Mr. Barr manages the overall investment strategy for Pender establishing the rigorous investment criteria and valuation thresholds used to assess all potential investments. He identifies companies in the "Pender Value Zone" - a sweet spot in the market where Pender believes promising businesses with significant growth potential are overlooked and undervalued.

Mr. Barr holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of British Columbia and an MBA (Finance & Strategic Management) from the Schulich School of Business at York University. He earned his CFA designation in 2003 and is a member of the CFA Institute and is on the Board of Directors for CFA Vancouver.

Don Campbell, LL.B., Director

Mr. Campbell has been practicing law in Winnipeg since 1990 and focuses his practice on advising clients in the advisory and mutual fund business.

From 2002 to 2003 he was the National Director of Compliance for IQON Financial Inc., a 400 advisor mutual fund dealer based in Winnipeg and was Legal Counsel, Compliance, with Assante Asset Management Ltd. from 2000 to 2002.

Mr. Campbell has a law degree from the University of Manitoba. He is a founding member of the Compliance Officers' Forum of Manitoba.

Michael Cheung, CA, MBA, Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Cheung joined Pender in February 2009 and was appointed Chief Financial Officer in April 2009.

Prior to Pender, Mr. Cheung was an Audit and Assurance Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP before joining RBC Capital Markets as an investment banker.

Mr. Cheung is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Russ Wigle, B.Comm, Western Regional Sales Manager

Mr. Wigle joined Pender in September 2009. He is one of the original Pender sales team members, having joined the company in 2003 to launch Pender Growth Fund. His aim is to work closely with advisors to help them to meet the tax planning and investment goals of their clients.

Mr. Wigle has been a Regional Sales Manager with Sentry Select and Franklin Templeton Investments, as well as running his own financial planning practice from 1995-1999.

Mr. Wigle has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia and has completed his Canadian Securities Course and his Professional Financial Planning designation.

Andrew Mitchell, CFA, Regional Sales Manager, Ontario

Mr. Mitchell joined Pender in May 2009 to manage the sales operation in Ontario.

Prior to joining Pender, Mr. Mitchell worked for over 10 years in a series of senior sales capacities for Canadian and international mutual fund and asset management companies. This broad based experience has given him an expansive insight into many facets of the investment market place. Most recently, with Mulvihill Capital Management, he was responsible for sales,service and support of financial advisors in Ontario and Eastern Canada.

Mr. Mitchell has a BA in Statistics from the University of Western Ontario and earned his CFA designation in 1999.

Rachelle Hodgson, Sales Manager

Miss Hodgson returned to Pender in January 2008, having begun her career at Pender Growth Fund during its first year of business. She specializes in delivering marketable sales strategies and solutions for advisors to use with their clients.

Miss Hodgson has worked as Regional Sales Manager, Western Canada for Desjardins Financial Security. Prior to joining the financial industry she developed and delivered curriculum to at-risk, inner-city youth in Toronto.

Miss Hodgson holds an Hons. BA from the University of Toronto and a B.Ed from York University.

Shahrouz Younesi, CFA, Inside Sales Associate

Mr. Younesi joined Pender's sales team in October 2009.

Mr. Younesi has been in the investment industry since 2000, and prior to joining Pender was a Financial Planner with RBC. Before that he was an Inside Sales Representative with Dynamic Funds. He also worked at TD Mutual Funds as a Client Service Representative.

Following the completion of his Business Degree at Simon Fraser University, Mr. Younesi went on to earn his CFA designation in 2005.

Eric Tse, Inside Sales Associate

Mr. Tse joined Pender in November 2009 as an Inside Sales Associate.

Mr. Tse moved from TD Canada Trust, where he was a Senior Account Manager. Prior to that he worked at Wellington West as an Associate Advisor and CIBC Wood Gundy as a Sales Assistant.

He graduated from UBC with a degree in Economics and Political Science. He has taken a number of investment courses and is studying for more.

Melanie Moore, Fund Marketing Manager

Mrs. Moore joined Pender in June 2006 to market Pender's suite of funds to its network of investment advisors.

Mrs. Moore has 14 years of marketing experience both in Canada and the UK. Prior to Pender, Mrs. Moore was the Corporate Marketing Manager for TIR Systems Ltd, a Vancouver-based LED-lighting company, since acquired by Philips. She has also worked in a variety of roles for British Airways and British Telecom.

Mrs. Moore has a BA (Hons) in Archaeology from Durham University, England and a Professional Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Sarah Creighton, Manager of Administration

Ms. Creighton joined Pender in June 2006 and has been managing all administrative functions since October 2006. As well as managing the Pender office she handles certain areas of customer service for Pender's funds.

Prior to Pender, Ms. Creighton was the Office Manager for a local import-export business.

Ms. Creighton has a certificate in Legal Administration and has completed a number of accounting and business administration courses.