Dean Owen
BA
Dean Owen comes to the Suitcase Creative Board from an extensive and diverse background in design and advertising. From the mean streets of Toronto where Dean ran his own design shop to the flower-lined streets of Victoria at BBDO to the streets right here in Calgary at O&M, and now MGM Communications, Dean has seen it all. His vast experience together with his energy and enthusiasm make him an integral part of the Suitcase Creative Advisory Board.
Dean co-founded Elan Designs Inc. with classmate John Larsen in Toronto which led to early success creating advertising campaigns for high-profile clients like Labatts, Teac, Kyocera, American Express and Tilley Endurables. Elan Designs established itself as one of Toronto’s leading corporate design firms and retains that reputation today.
In 1990 Dean and his wife Stephanie moved to Victoria to start a family, but it wasn’t until an offer came from Ogilvy & Mather in Calgary that he was given the opportunity to experience the kind of projects that come with working for a large, international agency like Ogilvy. During his 5 years as Sr. Art Director Dean created print and broadcast campaigns for TELUS, TELUS Mobility, Canadian Airlines, Shell and a number of Calgary based businesses. He has recently accepted a position as Creative Director at MGM Communication’s head office in Saskatoon where he’ll be working on accounts such as SaskTel and SaskPower.
William J. Stoneman
P. Eng
Bill is currently the Development Engineer at EnCana. EnCana, with an enterprise value of approximately $30 billion, is one of the world's leading independent oil and gas companies, driven to be the industry's best-in-class benchmark in production cost, per-share growth and value creation.
Prior to working at EnCana, Bill was an executive at ProLift Technologies in Calgary, Canada. Bill offers Suitcase a realistic, educated approach to envisioning the future of the company; always challenging every business move with the question “why?”
Martin Park
Suitcase Business Dev. Advisor
Marty has owned and held senior level positions in the technology and hospitality industries prior to becoming the founder of Evolve Business Group Inc. Marty brings fourteen years of strategic management experience, sales and business coaching to the Evolve team and is the co-owner and operator of five successful businesses with operations in Canada and the US.
As an Action International business coach, Marty was awarded the 2002 Business Coach of the Year for North America at an international conference in New Zealand. Marty also received the National Award for the Coach of the Year two months later. Most recently Marty received the 2003 Award for Global Contribution to Action and the coaching profession. He is recognized internationally for his work developing both business coaches and their practices around the world, including Australia, The United States, The United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain. In addition to international recognition, Marty has been selected as one of Calgary’s Top 40 Business Professionals under 40 in 2004 by Calgary Inc. magazine. More recently, Marty was awarded the CYBF Canadian Mentor of the Year for 2005 in Toronto at their annual gala dinner.
Bryan Thomas
Fleishman-Hillard - Vice President
Bryan Thomas brings more than 20 years experience in marketing, public affairs, and strategic communications to his role as Vice President at Fleishman-Hillard Calgary.
The former president of Thomas Crncich & Partners of London, Ontario, Bryan gained a national reputation in the field of political, government, and public affairs advertising and communications as a strategist for the Reform Party of Canada, Canadian Alliance, PC Party of Ontario, Saskatchewan Party, Ontario Ministry of Health, and the Ontario Ministry of Education.
He also has significant experience as a strategist and spokesperson in dealing with stakeholder groups and municipal governments for clients such as London Hydro (crisis communications surrounding the spill of noxious substances into the Thames River), London Health Sciences Centre (merger communications and rationalization of health care facilities), taxpayer groups (lobbying government to reduce taxes), landlord associations (tenant rights and tax issues).
Among his private sector clients, Bryan worked for many years as a communications consultant with Big V Drug Stores, TSC Stores, and Avco Financial Services.
In 2001 Bryan moved to Calgary to join the White Iron Group, serving as General Manager of the Weblink division. He led the team that created the innovative and award winning Corner Gas website for CTV. Together with Eric Lowther, Bryan co-founded Voicelink Inc., a pioneer in the development of speech recognition systems.
Bryan has served as the Chair of the Board of the London (Ontario) Chamber of Commerce, President of the Digital Media Association of Alberta, Director of the London Health Sciences Centre, President of the Canadian Association of Professional Advertising Agencies, and a Co-chair of the National Communications Committee of the United Alternative. He is currently a Director of the Information and Communications Technologies Council of Alberta.
Originally from Ontario, Bryan has an undergraduate degree in theology, has done post graduate work in psychology, and is a former ordained minister.
However, one of Suitcase Interactive’s biggest endeavors is our very own "Project Smile" 
