Gary Mar was named President and CEO of the Foundation in April 2020. An accomplished and respected leader, Gary brings deep experience in government and business, and established expertise in CWF’s key policy areas in natural resources, trade and investment and human capital.

Prior to joining the CWF, Gary served as President and CEO of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC), the national trade association representing the service, supply and manufacturing sectors within the upstream petroleum industry.

Gary has broad experience in government having served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the Province of Alberta from 1993-2007. During his time as an elected official, Gary held several Cabinet portfolios – Community Development; Health and Wellness; Education; Environment; and International and Intergovernmental Relations.

Gary then served as the Official Representative (Minister-Counselor) of the Province of Alberta at the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C., from 2007 – 2011. He worked extensively with the Alberta energy sector on advocacy issues in Washington DC and many U.S. States. Gary next served as the Province of Alberta’s Representative in Asia from 2011 to 2015. He led the province’s strategic outreach efforts from his post in Hong Kong and worked with Alberta’s offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, and Taipei.

Following his government service, Gary was an independent consultant working for both Chinese and Canadian companies seeking assistance with trans Pacific trade and investment. In 2016, he co-founded Canadian Advantage Petroleum Corporation which has successfully purchased heavy oil in Alberta and sold it directly to refineries in China.

Gary has been appointed as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Alberta School of Business in Marketing, Business Economics and Law beginning July 1, 2020. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne Business School and is a public speaker at energy related conferences. In 2022, Gary was appointed a member and chair of the Council of the Alberta Order of Excellence.

Gary completed a Law degree at the University of Alberta and practiced criminal, civil, corporate, commercial and real estate law in Calgary prior to entering politics.

Graham Shantz served for over 25 years in Canada’s public service providing advice to Canadian governments, mainly on management of Canada’s relations with Asia. He has lived and worked for over 12 years in Asia, half of that in China. In Ottawa, Mr. Shantz has worked in senior management positions in Global Affairs Canada, the Department of Finance and the Privy Council Office. In 2000-2001 he served as Canada’s lead negotiator for Foreign Investment Protection Agreements (FIPAs) and in 1996-1997 served as deputy chief negotiator for the Canadian team during China’s WTO accession talks. Over the past decades, Mr. Shantz has been involved in numerous major bilateral visits between Canadian and Chinese leaders.

Mr. Shantz has served on the Board of Directors of the Asia Pacific Foundation (2013-2016) and on the Board of Directors of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (2006-2009). He served as Canada’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain (2009-2012) and ended his career in the public service in senior management positions in Global Affairs Canada’s Asia Branch.

A Mandarin speaker, Mr. Shantz’s pursued his interest in China while studying economics at Goshen College in Indiana. He holds an M.A. in International Affairs from Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. He also pursued language and economics studies in China, including at Beijing University and Xiamen University, under the Canada-China Scholars’ Exchange Program.

Sarah Kutulakos joined the CCBC in 2007 and has since revitalized CCBC’s role as Canada’s premier bilateral trade and investment organization. Ms. Kutulakos has re-centered the Council’s activities around providing business services, catalyzing business growth and activity, and advocating for stronger Sino-Canadian bilateral trade and investment. This has resulted in extensive public outreach activities, internal infrastructure improvements, the launch of new programs such as the Business Incubation Centre, and thriving member relations.

Prior to joining CCBC, Ms. Kutulakos worked for 11 years in marketing, product development, and management with a major multinational corporation, where she had multiple assignments involving China. Ms. Kutulakos managed worldwide product businesses that marketed to China and used China-based sources of supply. She was also involved in several projects requiring cooperation with the Chinese government. Ms. Kutulakos has led both established and start-up businesses within the context of a global corporation and has broad emerging market business experience, and has been involved in the Greater China region since the late 1980s when she lived and worked in Taiwan. There, she was the first non-Chinese employee of a local high-tech start-up firm, where she gained a deep understanding of Chinese business practices.

A fluent Mandarin speaker, Ms. Kutulakos’s interest in China began at the University of Wisconsin, where she studied Chinese, marketing, and international business. She holds an MBA in finance and operations from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. She frequently speaks on China issues, including marketing, trade, investment, and Canada-China relations.

Martin Cauchon has had a distinguished career. First elected as a Member of Parliament in October 1993, he has held many positions in the Government of Canada. He has served as Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec), Minister of National Revenue, and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. In 2013, he was an official candidate in the leadership race of the Liberal Party of Canada. From 2015 to 2019, he was also a shareholder and Executive Chairman of Groupe Capitales Médias, which gave him a better understanding of the challenges facing the print media in a digital world.

Martin Cauchon’s unparalleled experience in government and the private sector has given him a deep understanding of a wide range of issues. As counsel at DS Lawyers Canada, he advises companies on the various issues facing the knowledge economy and the globalization of markets, taking into account geopolitical factors. Mr. Cauchon also facilitates the creation of partnerships at the provincial, national, and international levels.

Having established relationships with several counterparts in China, Martin Cauchon has acquired a good knowledge of that market, which allows him to intervene in projects that are related to the Canada-China relationship.

After obtaining a law degree from the University of Ottawa, Mr. Cauchon became a member of the Quebec Bar in 1985 and completed a master degree in International Business Law in 1991, at the University of Exeter, in England. He was the 2004 recipient of the Equality Forum’s International Role Model Award. In 2015, he received the honorary distinction of “Advocatus emeritus” and “Le Mérite” from the Quebec Bar. He is also Vice Chair, Board of Directors of the Canada China Business Council and President of its Quebec Chapter. He also serves on the board of directors of several companies.

Jeff Nankivell joined APF Canada as President and CEO on September 7, 2021.

Prior to this, he had a 33-year career in Canada’s Foreign Service. He held various positions at the Canadian International Development Agency between 1988 and 2008, working on programs related to China, Russia, strategic policy, and international financial institutions. A fluent Mandarin speaker, he was posted three times to Canada’s embassy in Beijing – in the development assistance section 1991-95 and 2000-04, and as Deputy Head of Mission 2008-11.

From 2011 to 2016, Jeff served in Ottawa/Gatineau as Director General responsible for Canada’s official development assistance programs across Asia, first with the Canadian International Development Agency and then with Global Affairs Canada. In 2016 he was appointed Consul General of Canada in Hong Kong and Macao, serving in Hong Kong until May 2021.

Jeff holds a Master’s degree in political sociology from the London School of Economics, BA in international relations from the University of Toronto and Université Laval, and certificate (one-year program) in Chinese language and culture from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Gordon Houlden is Director Emeritus of the China Institute, Professor of Political Science and Adjunct Professor of the Alberta School of Business at the University of Alberta.

Professor Houlden served in the Canadian Foreign Service for 32 years, with seven overseas postings. Twenty-two of his thirty-two years in the Canadian Foreign Service were spent working on Chinese economic, trade and political affairs for the Government of Canada including five postings in China. He also served at Canadian Embassies in Havana and Warsaw. His last assignment before joining the University of Alberta in 2008 was as Director General of the East Asian Bureau of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, responsible for Greater China, Japan, the Koreas and Mongolia.

Under Professor Houlden’s leadership, the China Institute focused on contemporary China studies, with an emphasis on Canada’s trade, investment and bilateral relations with the PRC, as well as regional security issues, including maritime issues involving the Canadian Artic and the South China Sea. He has for a decade taught China courses for Canada’s foreign ministry – Global Affairs Canada.

侯秉东现任职于加拿大阿尔伯塔大学，是该校中国学院荣誉院长、担任政治系教授及阿尔 伯塔商学院客座教授。

侯秉东教授曾在加拿大外交部工作 32 年，先后在 7 个海外国家和地区从事外交工作。在 他一生的外交生涯中，有 23 年的时间是在与中国的经济、贸易和政治打交道，并曾被加 拿大外交部派往中国 5 次。他也曾在加拿大驻哈瓦那大使馆及加拿大驻华沙大使馆工作。 在加入加拿大阿尔伯塔大学的 2008 年之前，他在加拿大外交部担任东亚司司长一职，负 责加拿大在大中国区、日本、朝鲜、韩国和蒙古的外交事务。

在侯秉东教授的带领之下，中国学院致力于当代中国研究，尤其侧重于中加贸易、投资、 双边关系及区域安全方面的研究。区域安全方面的研究涵盖了加拿大北极海域和中国南海 方面的海洋安全研究。在过去的 10 年里，他在加拿大外交部教授中国课程。