Burnaby Board of Trade Welcomes New Chair and Board Members at 106th AGM

Burnaby, BC – Today at its 106th Annual General Meeting, the Burnaby Board of Trade welcomed its new Chair, as well as elected a new slate of Board Directors. Replacing previous Board Chair Dr. Catherine Aczel Boivie is Frank Bassett, Senior Director – Facilities, Real Estate, and Corporate Services for Electronic Arts (EA), a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Bassett will take the helm of the Board for a two year term.

A dual U.S./Canadian citizen, Bassett was born in Macon, Georgia and holds Bachelor of Arts degree from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He began his operations career with Hyatt Hotels and Resorts in 1987. Over an almost 20 year tenure at Hyatt, he fulfilled a variety of management roles, spanning 12 hotels and resorts throughout North America. He joined EA in 2004, where he manages EA’s real estate portfolio and facilities/corporate services operations at the company’s five locations in Canada.

Bassett has volunteered with numerous organizations over the years, most recently as a Board Director with Family Services of Greater Vancouver (2011 – 2016), and in addition to the Burnaby Board of Trade Board, currently serves on the Board of Canadian United Memorial Church.

Paul Holden, President and CEO of the Burnaby Board of Trade says, “We are thrilled to have Frank lead our board for the next two years. Frank’s commitment, experience and insights offered as board member and Chair of the Environmental Sustainability Committee have been instrumental in some of the successes we have experienced. We very much look forward to working under his leadership.”

The BBOT also welcomes Andrew Scott, (BC International Commercial Arbitration Centre) as Vice Chair, and new Board Directors, Lee-Ann Garnett, (City of Burnaby), Trista Humfries, (KPMG LLP) and Raj Sharma (BC Hydro.) The Annual General Meeting also featured a keynote address from SFU President Andrew Petter who made the case that B.C.’s best energy resource is not in the ground, but in its people, and that its most productive investment opportunity is in world-class post-secondary education and cutting-edge university research.