With a newly installed president and inaugural board of directors at the helm, Newmarket’s community-owned, ultra-high speed internet provider Envi is on track to propel the town to smart city status, officials say.
“Envi can offer businesses in Newmarket the best internet experience available,” president Gianni Creta said. “By joining, you can expect unparalleled speed, exceptional customer service, competitive pricing, and you will be investing in your community.”
A municipality that uses information and communication technologies, such as a fibre optic broadband network, to boost the quality and performance of its systems and services for residents can be designated a smart city.
Another example of a smart-city initiative would be a smart parking app that identifies available spaces for drivers so they don’t have to drive around the block looking for a spot.
Envi Network Ltd., the $5-million start-up data infrastructure company that is a standalone subsidiary of Newmarket-Tay Power Distribution, also has a mandate to reinvest profits back into the local community, including Tay Township, which owns seven per cent of the utility company.
The goal is to keep revenues local, reinvest in better technology, and focus on the local customer, Creta added.
Over the course of 2019, Envi has identified four key priorities that its leadership will focus on, including completing the build-out of the core network, collaborating with the Town of Newmarket and other partners to establish and define how Envi can support the town’s economic development priorities, build brand awareness, and sign up businesses to the new network as quickly as possible, Creta said.
“The foundation of our network has been built, but we are continuing to grow and enhance our network to provide the best possible infrastructure and solutions for our customers,” Creta said. “Envi was created to support economic development, help drive the local economy, increase access to online services, promote better social inclusion and improve community learning.”
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said Envi will be “crucial to building the town’s future business and economic growth”.
“The town and Envi will be working closely together to increase local business competitiveness, create jobs and support start-ups in Newmarket,” Taylor added.
The ability to provide ultra-high speed internet service at a reasonable cost that is consistent across the municipality is a competitive advantage that can be used to attract and retain businesses, town officials said at the time of Envi's launch in 2018.
The newly appointed Envi directors are scheduled to meet for the first time in March. They will serve an initial term of up to three years, with two potential subsequent terms. Their roles are part-time and based in Newmarket.
Envi would not reveal how directors will be compensated for their services, however, a spokesperson said those details will be finalized at the inaugural board meeting.
Meetings of the board of directors and its committees are typically held bi-monthly and scheduled a year in advance. Board members can expect to participate in an average of six board and four sub-committee meetings per year.
Meet Envi’s new president, and the four members of its first board of directors:
Gianni Creta, president
Creta brings extensive experience in the telecom industry to this new role and will be essential in building out the network while strategically collaborating with community partners.
He previously acted as the chief operating officer for Accelerated Connections (ACI) and was responsible for sales and operations across the companies and brands owned by ACI. Prior to that, he handled all operating activities of OneConnect, which was acquired by ACI in September 2016. OneConnect was originally founded under the Globalive Communications umbrella and as one of its original employees, Creta helped to launch OneConnect in 2003.
Over the years, Creta helped to develop strategy, expand product offerings, build partnerships and increase sales, all leading to positioning OneConnect as one of the largest independent providers of telecommunications services to the small and medium enterprise space in Canada.
Creta graduated from the University of Toronto computer engineering program and holds a bachelor of applied science and engineering.
Envi board members
Tony Van Bynen
A former three-consecutive-term mayor of the Town of Newmarket, Van Bynen has served as an elected representative for the town for the past 18 years. Prior to his work in public service, Van Bynen worked in the banking industry for more than 30 years at RBC.
In addition to his involvement on the Southlake Regional Health Centre Foundation philanthropy cabinet, Van Bynen is a member of the Newmarket Smart City Council and was a founding director of Oasis, a Centre for Bereavement and Healing, Smart Commute Central York, as well as a founding member of the Belinda’s Place women’s shelter.
Van Bynen has lived in Newmarket for more than 35 years with his wife, Roxanne. They have two daughters, Christine and Michelle, and five grandchildren.
Bob Kwapis
Ward 5 Councillor Kwapis represents the town on the Envi board. Prior to becoming an elected official, Kwapis focused on the telecommunications industry in Canada and in North America as an independent consultant.
His information and communication technology management expertise helped companies that were seeking to enter new markets. Kwapis also helped companies find efficiencies through implementation of broadband technologies through outsourcing and restructuring.
Kwapis is an expert at helping information and communication technology companies drive smart revenues through building, coaching and leading management teams. He has been a vice-president of sales and marketing at TELUS Communications for more than 11 years. He was a founding member for TELUS’ expansion into Ontario. In that role, he lead Canadawide enterprise sales groups as one national sales team and spearheaded various mergers and acquisitions initiatives.
Kwapis holds various certificates from the Ivey School of Business, Rotman School of Business, Ryerson University and Humber College of Technology.
Ian Collins
Over the past 25 years, Collins has held a number of senior management positions in the energy and telecommunications sectors. He is currently owner and president of Claremont Holdings Corp., a firm specializing in business strategy and management outsourcing for small and medium enterprises.
Collins’ roles include working with private equity organizations on mergers and acquisitions, as well as providing short-term senior leadership transition during substantial organizational change. He currently works with business owners and CEOs in an advisory role, helping to develop their leadership skills and management techniques through an organization called CEO Global Network.
Prior to this, Collins served as president of Atria Networks, a telecommunications provider where he was responsible for the strategic growth of the network operator through organic and acquisition of other telecommunications assets, successfully integrating them into one organization prior to its sale to Rogers for $425 million.
Collins is a professional engineer and has a bachelor of engineering degree in electrical engineering from McMaster University and a diploma in business administration from Wilfrid Laurier.
Jill Schatz
Schatz is currently on the board and is interim executive director for the Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC), a national organization of more than 30 independent Canadian telecommunications service providers. Over the past several decades, she has garnered extensive board, executive and corporate-commercial legal and regulatory experience working with various public, private and not-for-profit corporations, specifically within the telecommunications and IT sectors since 2000.
She served for eight years as general counsel and vice-president, law for Primus Telecommunications Canada Inc. three years as vice-president, law, general counsel and corporate secretary for Momentum Advanced Solutions Inc. (previously OnX Enterprise Solutions Inc), and four years as vice-president, law, general counsel and corporate secretary for Cybersurf Corp.
Schatz’s not-for-profit board roles include terms of president for the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association (CCCA) and the Canadian Mental Health Association, York Region.
She holds a juris doctorate from the University of Toronto Law School, an MBA with a finance major from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and a masters in law in international trade and competition law from Osgoode Hall Law School.
For more information about Envi, visit here.
