Board of Directors

Simon Pimstone, MD, PhD, FRCPC (Chair)
President and CEO, Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Simon Pimstone is founder, president and CEO of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., a life sciences company focused on developing innovative therapeutics based on clinically and genetically validated drug targets.
Simon serves as the Chair of the Providence Healthcare Research Trust, and as past-Chair and Director of Lifesciences BC. Simon has served as a consultant physician at the St. Paul’s Hospital Lipid Clinic in Vancouver, a Director of the AllerGEN National Centre of Excellence, an Advisory Member of the SFU Biotech MBA program, and as a Director and Vice-Chair of BIOTECanada.
Simon is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization. He has received the Top 40 under 40 from both Business in Vancouver and The Globe & Mail. Simon is the author of numerous peer-reviewed publications and is also a regular guest speaker at international scientific meetings and healthcare conferences.
Simon received his MD from the University of Cape Town. He is an internal medicine specialist with an interest in cardiovascular disease and obtained his PhD through the University of Amsterdam in cardiovascular genetics.

James Helliwell, MD
CEO, Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Eupraxia founder James Helliwell holds a medical degree from the University of British Columbia (UBC), and Fellowship Certification in Cardiac Anesthesiology and transplantation, and board certification in Perioperative Echocardiography. Prior to founding Eupraxia, he held a clinical practice at a quaternary academic cardiac center in St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver. He also served as Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
Dr. Helliwell has many granted patents to his name and successfully created a medical device, built a company around it and sold it to a large strategic partner. He has also been actively involved in other successful start-ups in the medical technology space. As a physician-entrepreneur with an active interest in medical and policy leadership, most recently the presidency of the provincial body guiding anesthesiology care in British Columbia. His leadership of Eupraxia is a natural extension, allowing use of his scientific and administrative knowledge to lead a progressive company dedicated to providing patients with precision delivery technology and innovative pharmacologic treatments to relieve suffering and improve lives.

John Montalbano, CFA
Principal, Tower Beach Capital Ltd.

Paul Geyer, PEng
CEO, Light Integra Technology

Michael Wilmink, MD
Chair, Dept of Orthopaedics, Banner Good Samaritan Hospital
Michael Wilmink is an orthopaedic surgeon and Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics at the Banner Good Samaritan Hospital, where he teaches orthopaedic residents and serves on the Board of Managers for the Orthopaedic Surgeons of North America (OSNA). Michael pioneered the muscle sparing anterior approach technique for hip replacements and he currently lectures and teaches this technique to surgeons across the United States.
Outside of the medical world, Michael was elected to be a Phoenix Thunderbird and is one of 55 business leaders in the community that run and operate the Waste Management Phoenix Open PGA Golf Tournament.
Michael completed his undergraduate education at UCLA in Physiological Sciences and was an All American Water Polo player for the UCLA as well as a member, and captain, of the Canadian National Water Polo Team for ten years. In 1993, Dr. Wilmink returned to Vancouver to complete his Medical Degree and Orthopaedic Surgical Residency.