Supporting, Tech-Enabling, and Modernizing Canadian Public Healthcare Systems: Learn about our Public Sector Solutions
Supporting, Tech-Enabling, and Modernizing Canadian Public Healthcare Systems: Learn about our Public Sector Solutions
Over 3000 WELL Team Members are in the middle of the action, helping providers do what they do best – care for their patients.
From offering healthcare providers innovative technology and services designed to optimize care delivery to empowering patients to be proactive in their own care, WELL Team Members are making a positive difference in the markets we serve.
WELL’s mission is to improve health outcomes, and promoting the health and well-being of our team members is no exception
Healthcare professionals are facing unprecedented challenges to their health and well-being, and we believe we have to create a healthy workplace that ensures our WELL team members are safe and empowered.
Critical to creating a healthy workplace is fostering a culture of respect, where all team members feel valued, included, and supported.
Hamed Shahbazi
Founder, Chairman & CEO
Hamed has 25+ years of experience as a technology focused operator. In 1997, he founded TIO Networks (TSXV:TNC) a kiosk solution provider and transitioned it into a multi-channel payment solution provider, specializing
payment solution provider, specializing in bill payment and other financial services. In July of 2017, TIO Networks was acquired by PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) for CAD$304 million. Over his career, Hamed has gained extensive experience in strategic mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures, both as an operator (eg. TIO) and board member (eg. BBTV, WELL) with more than a dozen successful transactions.
Thomas Liston
CFA- Independent Director
Thomas has 20+ years of experience as a top ranked technology research analyst, working as a senior researcher for Yorkton Securities, Versant Partners, and Cantor Fitzgerald in Canada. Thomas is currently a managing
partner at Difference Capital Financial, an organization that provides debt and equity growth capital to mainly late-stage private companies with a focus on technology, media, and healthcare. He also sits on the board of Mogo Finance Technology Inc. (TSX: MOGO). He served as the director for QHR Technologies Inc. (TSX-V: QHR) which was sold to Loblaw Companies Limited (TSX: L) in the fall of 2016 for +$170M.
John Kim
Independent Director
John is a Toronto based businessman and award-winning Institutional investor for 25+ years with an extensive capital markets network. His investment focus has included companies from a variety of sectors,
including technology, healthcare, and resources at various stages of development, ranging from early start-ups to Fortune 1000 Companies. John has both public and private company board experience and has participated in the WELL’s prior financings with his own personal capital.
Ken Cawkell
Independent Director
Ken cofounded Cawkell Brodie LLP and has been a member of the BC Bar Association for thirty years. For 30+ years, he has been involved in various industries within public, private, and venture capital sectors. He is also a
founder of Neurodyn Life Sciences Inc., a private biotech company focused on developing natural based products to treat Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Tara McCarville
ICD.D – Independent Director
Tara brings 25+ years of experience in public and private sector healthcare to the WELL Board. As Principal of Brighton Group Health, she is an industry strategist, operator and advisor committed to building a better health system through innovation and transformation. Tara has led
multiple M&A, PMI, and value creation projects, as well as growth strategies and revenue diversification initiatives. Previously, Tara was Partner and the National Health Industries Leader for PwC Canada. She held executive roles with Trillium Health Partners and TELUS Health and is a former board member of OntarioMD, as well as several HealthTech companies. Â
Sybil Lau
Independent Director
Sybil Lau has 30 years of experience in both public and private investments. Born in Ottawa, Sybil received an undergraduate degree from Simon Fraser University. Sybil is a Director and on the Board of Directors of the Dalio
Family Office in Singapore and is a Director and Board Director for a Chinese hedge fund. Earlier in her career, Sybil had founded and operated a China focused global consulting firm in Guangzhou, was an investment manager at Credit Suisse, and a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs.
Hamed Shahbazi
Founder, Chairman & CEO
Hamed has 20+ years of experience as a technology focused operator. In 1997, he founded TIO Networks (TSXV:TNC) a kiosk solution provider and transitioned it into a multi-channel payment solution provider, specializing in bill payment and other financial services. In July of 2017, TIO Networks was acquired by PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) for CAD$304 million. Over his career, Hamed has gained extensive experience in strategic mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures, both as an operator (eg. TIO) and board member (eg. BBTV, WELL) with more than a dozen successful transactions.
Dr. Michael Frankel
Chief Medical Officer
Michael is a graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, completing his internship at Addington Hospital in Durban, South Africa. He came to Canada in 1990, where he initially worked as a general practitioner in Northern Manitoba. He moved to Vancouver in 1991 and worked as a clinical assistant in Pediatric Oncology at BC Children’s Hospital. Since 1992, Dr. Frankel has worked as a general practitioner in the Lower Mainland. He owns and operates a portfolio of successful primary healthcare facilities, and he continues to be a practicing physician.
Iain Paterson
Chief Information Security Officer
Iain is a Cyber Security veteran with more than 16 years of experience in Information Security. He has designed and run security operations programs in enterprise-scale banking, healthcare, and government organizations.  Iain joined Cycura in 2015. Shortly after WELL’s August 2020 acquisition of Cycura, he became the company’s Managing Director and CEO, leading both Offensive Security and Incident Response teams. Iain has spoken as a thought leader at Healthtech and Cyber Security conferences globally. Iain currently sits on the RCMP Cyber Crime working committee, and the Halifax Forum “Peace with Women Fellowship” selection committee. Iain holds industry designations from ISC2, SABSA, and ISACA and an MBA from Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada.Â
Eva Fong
Chief Financial Officer
Eva has 20+ years of experience which includes Fortune 500 public company management, M&A, corporate strategy development, risk and compliance, and finance and business shared services programs. She has held senior leadership positions in various high-tech sectors including PayPal, TIO Networks, SAP, and 360networks where she led business units and built best-in-class corporate culture. Eva is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CGA) in Canada and holds a fellowship at the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (FCCA) in the UK. She also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality Management from Florida International University.
Shane Sabatino
Chief People Officer
Prior to joining WELL, Shane served as President, TELUS Employer Solutions & Vice President TELUS Health Public Sector Canada over a period of five years. Before that Shane was Senior Vice-President of Human Resources at The Brick where he served over 7,000 team members from over 250 storefronts. Shane also spent close to a decade in an internal HR capacity at TELUS prior to joining the Brick.
Chris Ericksen
Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Marketing
Chris has over 20 years of experience in technology with a focus on business development, sales, and marketing. From January 2001, until it was acquired by PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) in 2017, he served as TIO Networks Corp’s (TSXV:TNC) SVP of business development, then its EVP for POS Payments, and finally as its Chief Revenue Officer responsible for leading the company’s sales and business development teams.
Chris has extensive design and marketing experience. He founded Ericksen Design Group, a marketing and design company which he operated for 8 years. Chris’ experience extends beyond business development, sales, and marketing into business management, product development, and M&A as a previous member of TIO Networks’ core management team and current member of WELL’s senior management team.
Amir Javidan
Chief Operating Officer
Amir has 15+ years of experience as a technology and operations executive involved in 2 successful exits. Amir was most recently the COO for TIO Networks (acquired by PayPal for $304M), and previously at Avigilon where he helped scale the business from a stealth mode startup to a public company with a market cap of > $1 billion (revenue grew to $100M+ in 5 years). He holds a Computer Engineering degree from the University of British Columbia.
Jay Kreger
CEO WELL Health USA/CRH Medical
Jay Kreger, previously CEO of CRH Medical Corp, serves as Chief Executive Officer of WELL Health USA.
Joining CRH in July 2016, Jay Kreger developed the anesthesia management team, growing CRH’s best-in-class anesthesia service and seamlessly integrating acquired practices into the CRH Anesthesia platform.
Before CRH, Jay Kreger was VP of Development for the Ambulatory Surgery Division of Hospital Corporation of America (HCA).
At HCA, Jay was responsible for expanding their network to +130 ASCs through acquisitions and partnerships.
Previously, Jay has also provided business development and operations advisory services to physicians and healthcare companies and provided strategic direction and performance management for regional ASC operations for several large US healthcare companies.
With over 25 years of diversified experience in Business Development and Operations, Jay Kreger is the driving force behind this new chapter at WELL Health USA.
Brian Levinkind
Senior Vice President of Corporate Development
Brian has 20+ years of both public and private experience as a chartered accountant (now CPA). Brian has been involved in the planning, structuring, and implementation of numerous financings, mergers, acquisitions, and corporate reorganizations. He was a former equity partner at Grant Thornton LLP in Canada, specializing in tax and mergers and acquisitions, and he has also held management positions at HSBC and KPMG. Brian has extensive experience as a chief financial officer in both the healthcare and clean energy sectors.