CMC is pleased to announce the appointment of three new members to its Board of Directors. Martin Davies, Portofilo Manager with Brickburn Asset Management Inc., Dan Zilnik, President of Oil and Gas Sustainability Ltd., and Drew Thompson, Director of Corporate Services for the Law Society of Alberta, attended their first CMC board meeting in June.
Gordon Lambert, Chair of CMC Board, looks forward to working with the three new members. “I am thrilled with Drew, Martin and Dan joining our Board. They each bring unique backgrounds and perspectives and they are deeply committed to finding solutions to climate change. They also realize CMCRI plays a critical role within Canada and internationally to translate research to practice.”
Lambert noted the appointment of new members is timely as more countries shift toward low carbon economies. “As we look forward, the ambition and effort required to support Canada’s transition to a low carbon future will have to increase dramatically. Our Board and CMCRI are ideally positioned to support the journey,” he said.
Richard Adamson, CMC president, also welcomed the new appointees saying they increase the depth and range of expertise on the board, especially in the area of finance and corporate governance.
“Our three new members bring great energy, reach out with new ideas, and are active in the design-review process as we explore new business areas,” said Adamson.
These appointments bring the number of CMC board members to 13. Adamson notes that since CMC’s inception in 2010, there has been some turnover on the board. “We were a very different organization five years ago. These new members are not so much replacing those that are stepping away as adjusting the mix of members to reflect the more business-oriented, entrepreneurial culture and client base of CMC Research Institutes.”
For a complete list of current CMC Board members and their biographies click here.
Biographies of new appointees
Martin Davies
Portfolio Manager
Brickburn Asset Management Inc.
Martin Davies is Portfolio Manager, Managing Director, and Chief Compliance 
Officer with Brickburn Asset Management Inc., a Calgary-based investment firm with extensive expertise in the Canadian energy sector and capital markets. He is also a Co-Portfolio manager for individuals, family groups and financial institutions. Prior to joining Brickburn in 2004, Davies was a Senior Partner in Institutional Sales and Trading with Peters & Co. Limited for 22 years, and specialized in Canadian capital markets; specifically oil and natural gas, midstream, and oilfield service industries. Davies is a ten year member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) judicial panel hearings. From 1997 to 2004, he served as Chairman and member of the Alberta District Council of the Investment Dealers Association. Davies holds a BA (Honours) in Economics from the University of Calgary and is a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute.
Dan Zilnik
President
Oil & Gas Sustainability Ltd.
Dan Zilnik is the President of Oil and Gas Sustainability Ltd. He has 
extensive experience in helping leaders in the oil and gas and financial sectors make distinctive, lasting, and substantial improvements in sustainability performance, which strengthen the entire business. His specialties include strategy development and implementation, including helping a Fortune-500 listed oil company develop their global climate strategy and implement the strategy in Alberta at one of their oil production facilities.
As a certified negotiator he has worked extensively in socio-economic impact assessment and stakeholder engagement and supported projects in balancing the needs of project proponent and local community. Dan has a breadth of international experience including working across most of Canada, parts of the United States, Norway, Russia and the Middle East. Dan has an MSc in Environment and Economics from the London School of Economics and is a Harvard trained negotiator.
Drew Thomson
Director of Corporate Services
The Law Society of Alberta
Drew Thomson is currently the Director of Corporate Services for the Law Society of 
Alberta based in Calgary. The Law Society regulates the legal profession in the public interest in Alberta. He is also the Chief Financial Officer of the Law Society’s professional liability insurance program – the Alberta Lawyers Insurance Exchange. As a member of the Law Society’s Executive Leadership Team, Drew’s portfolio of responsibility includes accounting and finance, communications, records and information management and office services. Prior to joining the Law Society, he was Vice President of Business Development with the Certified Management Accountants of Alberta. Drew’s career experience includes senior financial management roles in radio and television broadcasting and the retail fashion clothing industry.
Drew’s community involvement includes serving as Vice Chair of the board of Goodwill Industries Alberta and recently appointed to the board of the Immigrant Access Fund.
Drew holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta and an MBA from Athabasca University. He is a CMA and a Fellow of the Society of Management Accountants of Canada.