Demeure™ Appoints Don Tapscott to Its Board of Directors
Waterloo, Ontario (PRWEB) September 12, 2013 -- Demeure, a dynamic travel marketplace that is redefining the way vacation property owners and travelers share and discover unique, authentic travel experiences, today announced Don Tapscott, named one of the world’s most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50 in 2011, and authority on collaborative consumption, to its Board of Directors. Don joins John Bowey, Mark Rider, Peter Schwartz and Ken Teslia on Demeure’s full Board of Directors. The Board members were assembled for their expertise in their respective fields and will provide governance along with advisory guidance to Demeure’s core management team to help grow Demeure and shape the future of the company.
Board of Directors
Demeure’s Board of Directors bring tremendous skills and experience to the business and is comprised of:
• John Bowey, who brings strong financial acumen from a lengthy career in public accounting, culminating in his role as Chairman of Deloitte & Touche in Canada. Since his retirement from Deloitte, John has engaged with several community and corporate boards, including Board Chair of the Special Committee on Demutualization for Economical Insurance Company, Vice Chair Board of Governors at Wilfred Laurier University and Chair of the Audit Committee, and Special Committee Brick Brewing Company and Chair of the Advisory Board for Simpson Seeds. He is immediate past Board Chair of The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.
• Mark Rider, who is a pioneer in the travel industry in Canada. He is the founder of The Rider Travel Group, which he started in 1982. Focusing squarely on the needs of the corporate travel sector, he created a company that grew to over $600 million in billings by 1999. An active angel investor subsequent to the successful divestiture of The Rider Travel Group, he is now positioned to add value to high growth organizations in a widening range of markets, but with a particular interest in travel. He is also a Board member of the national Invest In Kids Foundation, the Executive Chairman of Timeplay Entertainment Inc., and sits on the Board of Intelligent Mechatronic Systems.
• Peter Schwartz who has over 20 years of diversified business accomplishments, particularly in technology, currently serving as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder at Demeure. He was instrumental in creating a patent-pending Marketplace Management System powering the transformation of the nascent online travel industry and successfully launched the Demeure Marketplace, which is now rapidly growing and creating significant value in the $170 billion online travel market. He was previously the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SaaS-based B2B logistics company, Descartes Systems Group Inc. taking the company public in 1997 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, then listed on the NASDAQ in 1998 with peak valuation of over $3 billion, with offices in 27 countries and employing 1000 people. He also founded private equity firm Laurence Capital Corporation managing over $150 million in equity with a particular focus on the travel, hospitality, financial services and real estate sectors.
• Don Tapscott who advises business and government leaders across the globe as one of the world’s leading authorities on collaborative consumption, innovation, media, and the economic and social impact of technology. He was named one of the world’s most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50 in 2011 and has authored or co-authored 15 widely read books, including Macrowikinomics: New Solutions for a Connected Planet and most recently Radical Openness: Four Unexpected Principles for Success, a TED Book. He offers valuable credibility to Demeure by endorsing the company’s technology and opportunity to enhance the travel market.
• Ken Teslia who holds significant financial expertise from a long and successful career on the sell-side of the capital markets industry. A former partner and director at GMP Securities LLP, he brings over 25 years of senior institutional capital markets and venture capital experience to the Board of Demeure. Previously, he served as a Director for Credit Suisse First Boston and Xtreme Labs. Currently, he is also the Chairman of the Board at Wellpoint Health Services and is a founding partner and director of Extreme Venture Partners.
“Our Board members as a whole have a vast breadth of skills and experience highly relevant to a growth company like Demeure particularly in the areas of technology, finance, travel, and governance,” said Peter Schwartz, Chairman of the Board and Demeure Chief Executive Officer. “The recent election of Don to our Board provides us with the opportunity to tap his extensive thought leadership on collaborative consumption and strengthen Demeure’s perspective on the sharing economy, a key topic for many types of businesses and industries today. It is insight, experience and perspective such as this that will bring tremendous value to Demeure, and we look forward to working collaboratively to enhance the Demeure marketplace for vacation property owners and travelers.”
About Demeure
Demeure operates a dynamic, multi-sided marketplace powered by its proprietary Marketplace Management System (MMS) where travel consumers and suppliers to the industry book authentic travel experiences, list properties, and trade in the market. Demeure’s patent-pending technology lets owners trade empty nights to purchase travel anywhere in Demeure’s curated portfolio of thousands of professionally hosted properties. This marketplace activity creates significant value for everyone by unlocking discounts of 35%-80% off. At the core of the marketplace is a platform that enables service professionals to tap into new sources of revenue. The platform is designed with the highest level of privacy to keep travelers and service providers in control of their data. Demeure was founded in 2009 in Waterloo, Canada with the aim of redefining the vacation rental, home exchange, and destination club industry.
For more information, visit http://www.demeure.com. Travel like you own the place™
Josie Cruz, +1 646-571-0192, [email protected]
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