Sandy was raised on a farm near Blyth Ontario before graduating with a Bachelor of Applied Science Degree (BASc) and Masters of Applied Science Degree (MASc) in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo. He started his professional career in 1984 with Polysar Inc., a Canadian rubber manufacturer. Over his 30 year career in the chemical and polymers industry, he worked in research and process, product development and market development before moving into Operations and General Management. Sandy had two international assignment, one in Germany and a second in Cincinnati USA. Sandy finished his corporate career as President and Managing Director responsible for Canadian Operations of Lanxess Canada.
Sandy is a proven Senior Executive with strategic planning and general operations management expertise gained in the polymer and chemistry industries. Results have been achieved through effective analysis of management processes, deep understanding of organizations, and quickly translating them to business opportunities. He is an innovative thinker, recognized for strong leadership, negotiation and relationship building skills. Experience includes P&L responsibility, R&D scale-up, Board of Directors membership and interaction with government at the federal, provincial and local level. Sandy has been recognized as a leader committed to Corporate Social Responsibility and environmental sustainability in Canada. Sandy is Executive Director of Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC), President and CEO of Sustainable Chemistry Alliance, Chairman of the Board of Governors at Lambton College, Chairman of the External Advisory Board for the Biorefinery Research Institute at Lakehead University and is also member of the Boards of BIOTECanada and Soy20/20.
Email: sandym@bincanada.ca
Originally from Newfoundland, Andrew studied business with a focus in marketing at Memorial University before moving to China to study Mandarin. There, he was an ESL teacher for 2 years, a marketing manager for a creative startup enterprise for over 3 years, and a marketing consultant for companies such as Edrington China who were trying to understand the realms of both traditional and digital marketing.
He has 5 languages under his belt as well as over 150 marketing certificates from worldwide corporations such as Facebook, Google, and Tencent. He has spent the last 3+ years of his life in pursuit of understanding worldwide marketing structures, platforms, and tactics.
Email: abyrne@bionb.org
