Our
Management
Executive Chairman and Founder of Kognitiv; formerly Chairman and CEO of Descartes Systems Group (NASDAQ.DSGX, DSG.TO); co-founded Laurence Capital, which has invested in some of Canada’s greatest entrepreneurs; co-founded Communitech, a Waterloo regional technology hub; and was named to Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 at the age of 31.
Willem enjoys a career in digital technology innovation in global travel and logistics. His accomplishments include implementing the first deregulated airline service in Europe, pioneering the first intermodal global shipment tracking system using the Internet architecture as startup CEO. He was the COO of Descartes Systems Group. Willem is responsible for the design and implementation of Kognitiv’s strategy as CEO.
With over 20 years of experience in establishing and building businesses across Asia, Todd leads Kognitiv’s sales operations in Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Asia Pacific regions as EMEA & APAC President. Before joining Kognitiv, Todd was Asia Pacific CEO and Global CMO for Williams Lea Tag and has also held a number of executive roles in the consumer, design, information technology and outsourcing industries, including as Asia Pacific COO for British Telecom, Asia Pacific VP for Descartes Systems Group, Regional MD for Cott Corporation, and Asia Pacific CMO for Equinix. Todd is a Board member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and is a Founding Member of the Marketing Society in Asia.
As General Counsel and VP, Corporate Development, Adam is responsible for overseeing Kognitiv’s legal matters and the execution of strategic transactions, including acquisitions and key partnerships. Adam previously practiced corporate law at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, a top Canadian law firm specializing in complex transactions and mergers & acquisitions, corporate/commercial, financing and capital markets matters.
As CTO, Robert is responsible for overseeing the architecture, development, and delivery of the Kognitiv Collaborative Commerce Network. Robert previously was SVP, Enterprise Software, Architecture and Development at BlackBerry where he was instrumental in rebuilding its enterprise software portfolio. Throughout his career, he has focused on the realization of large scale network and SaaS software. He holds a Ph.D. in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo.
Max is the managing director of KogX, Kognitiv’s advanced R&D team, which is building collaborative commerce technologies. Previously, Max was CTO of ComQi Corporation, a leader in delivering in-store digital marketing and IoT solutions for global brands including Ford, Victoria’s Secret, Gap and H&M. Also, as a technology and management consultant, he worked with a broad range of enterprise customers in financial services, retail, transportation and logistics. Earlier in his career, Max co-founded Maptuit Corporation, a SaaS provider of location based and logistics solutions, since acquired by Verizon Telematics. He holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from the University of Guelph and is a Certified Management Consultant.
Our
Founder Team
Kognitiv Corporation is managed day-to-day by its group of founders. Over the course of the past few years, each founder merged their business with Kognitiv and also joined the Kognitiv management team. Their shared inspiration and entrepreneurial passion is what drives Kognitiv’s customer success.
Jonathan founded Travel Nation, one of Canada’s leading full service travel agencies. Before that he was the founder and CEO of iTravel2000, Canada’s largest and most successful online retail travel agency. Once a ‘top 40 under 40’ he worked in both North America and Europe and is a recognized leader in the travel industry. Jonathan is responsible for Kognitiv’s Travel Nation division.
Ashwin is the founder of Regatta Travel Solutions, which was the leading online booking solution for hotels and Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs). Ashwin started his career as a consultant with Accenture and PWC. Upon receiving his Masters of Management in Hospitality from Cornell University, he embarked on a seven year career with Sol Melia Hotels & Resorts where he became the Global VP of E-Commerce & Distribution. Ashwin manages Kognitiv’s Hospitality Division.
Avinash is the founder or Pervazive – a global machine learning company for networks. He is a seasoned technology entrepreneur; having started and managed four startups across three continents with two successful exits behind him. His doctoral work on machine vision for brain MRI is the foundation of our Machine Intelligence focus. Avinash is responsible for Kognitiv’s AI and machine learning design and operations.
Silvio is the co-founder of Travel Nation. Prior to that role he was the COO at Rogers Centre, Toronto’s largest sports and events venue. Silvio started his career as a commercial lawyer at McCarthy Tetrault, one of Canada’s largest law firms. Silvio holds responsibilities for the operations of Travel Nation within Kognitiv.
Klaus is the co-founder of Seekda, which develops booking solutions for the European hospitality industry. Educated as an electric engineer he put Seekda on the map of the European independent hotel industry. Klaus oversees the global hotel capacity network and eCommerce infrastructure.
Holger is the co-founder and CTO of Seekda. As an MSc in computer science at STI in Innsbruck, Austria, he pioneered the semantic network that currently underpins Kognitiv’s global hotel capacity network. Holger leads Kognitiv’s hospitality product engineering.
After spending more than 25 years in the travel industry Andy co-founded Digital Trip in 2007 with the aim of offering a comprehensive set of online tools to empower travel companies large and small, enabling them to compete and become more effective in the crowded online travel market place.
Darren graduated with an Honours degree in Software Engineering from Sheffield Hallam University and has spent the last 16 years developing industry leading travel technology solutions. As a Digital Trip co-founder Darren has been instrumental in building the core eVolve CMS platform and developing the booking engine that handles hundreds of millions of live transactions between clients and suppliers.
Garry is co-founder of CTS, the leading provider of fulfilment for outsourced travel bookings and brands. Garry has spent an illustrious 30 years in the travel industry from his roots in the high street to the corporate world holding senior positions at Airtours and Manchester Airport before embracing his entrepreneurial spirit and founding Au logistics and then CTS. Garry is a respected business leader and believes in the power of relationship building through honesty and integrity. Within the Kognitiv Corporation, Garry is responsible for client management and the operational integration of new business on a global basis.
Lindsey is co-founder of CTS and having spent more than 25 years in the travel industry is recognised for being instrumental in the successful growth of the Virtual Call Centre model for blue chip brands. Focusing on delivering exceptional seamless sales and service levels through highly trained, knowledgeable, multi-lingual customer contact operations across the UK and Europe. Lindsey will be responsible for Kognitiv’s Contact Centres on a Global basis offering a 24/7 operation covering a multitude of languages.
Global Sales Leadership
David is a hospitality and travel executive with more than 28 years in the industry with such notable companies as SiteMinder, Pegasus Solutions (Utell), Birch Street Systems, RateGain and Sceptre Hospitality Resources (SHR). At Kognitiv, David is focused on Business Development for the global hospitality industry.
Upon graduating with an Honours degree in Business from Brunel University, Cressida joined lastminute.com as part of their travel team. From that beginning, she has enjoyed success over the last 15 years in the online travel world, leading Sales and Commercial teams with UK household brands. She joins Kognitiv to manage sales for the UK and Europe after her success as a Senior Director at Expedia involved in new business sales for EMEA.
Bernadette joins Kognitiv with over 22 years of international sales and operational experience within the hospitality sector working for such notable companies as the Luxury Hotels Group, Pegasus Solutions, Smith Travel Research (STR Global), and Deloitte. As a result, she possesses in-depth knowledge about hotels, market and performance trends, and business intelligence. At Kognitiv, Bernadette is responsible for the success of EMEA Sales and Marketing operations for the independent businesses within the Kognitiv network.
Board of Directors
Executive Chairman and Founder of Kognitiv; formerly Chairman and CEO of Descartes Systems Group (NASDAQ.DSGX, DSG.TO); co-founded Laurence Capital, which has invested in some of Canada’s greatest entrepreneurs; co-founded Communitech, a Waterloo regional technology hub; and was named to Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 at the age of 31.
John is Chairman Emeritus of Deloitte LLP and previously served as the Tax Practice Leader and Regional Managing Partner for South Western Ontario. In addition to his Canadian responsibilities, John was a member of the global Board of Deloitte and the global governance and audit committees. John also serves as Chairman of the Board of Economical Insurance Company, Chairman of the Board of Governors of Wilfrid Laurier University, and is a former Chairman of the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.
With a focus on the needs of the corporate travel sector, Mark Rider founded The Rider Travel Group in 1982. The company grew from modest billings of $1 million to over $600 million in 1999. Since the successful divestiture of The Rider Group, Mark has been an active angel investor, sits on the board of Waterloo-based Intelligent Mechatronic System, and is the Executive Chairman of Timeplay Entertainment Inc.
Rick is a Managing Director at Kensington Capital Partners. In addition to serving on multiple boards, Rick is the Co-Chair of the Canadian Innovation Exchange, and a member of the Small and Medium Enterprise Committee (SMEC) established by the Ontario Securities Commission. Rick served as the President and Chair of CVCA – Canada’s Venture Capital and Private Equity Association from 2005 – 2012. Previously, Rick was a founding partner of Brightspark Ventures, Managing Director of Goodmans Venture Group and led the Technology Business Group at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. Rick holds a B.A. (Computer Science) from Dartmouth College and an LL.B. from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law.
Mark is President and CEO of Radar Capital, a private investment firm focused on making growth equity investments. Prior to that Mark spent over 15 years in the finance industry, more than a decade of which was dedicated to investment banking. Before Radar, Mark focused on servicing Canadian private equity firms with Macquarie Capital Markets Canada. During his co-chairmanship as a Board Member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto, Mark chaired The Big Night Out, an annual charity gala event that raised over $1.2M. Mark holds an MBA from the Ivey Business School at Western University, and a BSc. in math and economics from the University of Alberta. He is also a CFA Charterholder.