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Tel: 403 441 6866

Laura Serena
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Tel: 604 408 6511

Aug 28/2006


Meet the Experts

Meet the Experts

Honourable Brendan Bell Government of the Northwest Territories MLA, Yellowknife South Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment

Brendan Bell was born August 17, 1971. He was educated at Sir John Franklin High School in Yellowknife, NWT. He obtained a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Calgary, and an MBA at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, UK. Brendan was first elected to the 14th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories on December 6, 1999. He was appointed Chair of Standing Committee on Social Programs, Chair of Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures, and Chair of Special Committee on Conflict Process. He also served as a member of both the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight and the Special Committee on the Review of the Official Languages Act. Brendan was acclaimed to the 15th Legislative Assembly in November 24, 2003. He was elected by Members to Cabinet and appointed Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development and Minister Responsible for the NWT Workers' Compensation Board. Brendan was appointed Minister of Justice on March 17, 2005 and Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment on April 1, 2005. He is also Chair of the Joint Cabinet-Accountability and Oversight Committee on the Mackenzie Pipeline Project and a Member of the Board of Management.

David Grindlay
Northwest Territories Tourism Executive Director

David Grindlay has been part of the tourism industry in the Northwest Territories since 1987 in various functions within and external to government, including product development, program delivery and marketing. He is also no stranger to the private sector in the North. David managed a successful big game hunting business in the Northwest Territories and spent two years on secondment as manager of Marketing Operations with the Department of Tourism in the Yukon. David assumed the position of Executive Director with Northwest Territories Tourism in 2002, prior to which, he was its Director of Marketing.

Peter Neugebauer
City of Yellowknife Director of Economic Development

Peter has been a resident of the Northwest Territories since 1981. In Ontario he received a Master of Arts degree in resource and economic planning from the University of Western Ontario, and worked as a planner in the provincial parks system before moving to Yellowknife. From 1981 to 1996 he held senior positions with the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, Government of the Northwest Territories. Early and often pioneering development work involved both present day NWT and Nunavut. Some activities included: Managing the Community Based Tourism Program that introduced tourism development to northern communities. This planning process identified opportunities and produced approaches which are the basis for much of today’s outdoor adventure tourism products. Representing GNWT interests in national park negotiations with the federal government, regional aboriginal organizations and local communities. Establishing Canadian Heritage Rivers in the NWT. Designing co-operative advertising campaigns in partnership with tourism operators. Working as a member of the team that brought ‘aurora viewing’ Japanese tourists to Yellowknife. Current responsibilities include the management of an opportunity portfolio that includes tourism, Diamond Capital of North America™ positioning, community partnerships, retention and recruitment, minerals, oil and gas development, and the Canadian Capital Cities Organization.

Mike Botha
Diamond Consultant

Mike Botha was born near Johannesburg in South Africa who started in the diamonds business with Van Zwam Brothers as an apprentice crossworker. He later worked in engineering and returned to the diamond industry to work with Krochmal and Cohen Diamond Cutting and later Mouw Diamond Cutting, where he was mentored by the world famous diamond expert David Du Plessis in fancy diamond polishing. Mike developed a system of trigonometric profiling of fancy diamonds. He also worked on the famous Premier Rose diamond and polished the third largest stone in the Premier Rose collection. He took part in the occupational standards development initiated by the department of Education Culture and Employment of the Government of the Northwest Territories. During the course of the occupational standards development he acted as the technical consultant and created the graphics for the standards. In 2001, he moved to Yellowknife to assume to develop a diamond polishing training facility for Aurora College. Mike also developed the curriculum and the Diamond Polishing Training Program for Aurora College and delivered the program. Mike has a passion for continued research to improve equipment that is designed to meet the demand for greater accuracy and higher profitability. He subsequently registered two patents in this regard and works on ways to speed up and clarify the complexities of the diamond polishing process. He recently introduced the students to ‘hands on’ 3D solid modeling.

Cathy McMurray
Director of Marketing and Jewellery Designer

Cathy leads the Polar Ice™ and Polar Bear Diamond™ Jewellery team based in Toronto under The Basal Group umbrella. Cathy’s expertise in high-quality product design and delivery, customer service and cost-effectiveness has been honed over 26 years in Canada’s retail and jewellery manufacturing sectors. Prior to joining The Basal Group in 2002, she built a solid foundation in all aspects of jewellery manufacturing and sales. She has moved progressively through a series of challenging and successful positions that have brought her to her current post. As the team leader for Polar Ice™ and Polar Bear Diamond™ jewellery in Toronto, she ensures that her customers receive the benefit of her expertise in not just mined, cut and polished Canadian diamonds, but a commitment to giving stellar marketing support to her customers. She is the past director of the Canadian Jewellers Association (CJA) and Jewellers Vigilance Canada (JVC).