VANCOUVER – Two new members were welcomed to the British Columbia Progress Board today by Gerry Martin, the Board's chair.

"I join the other Board members in welcoming Cindy Chan and Marvin Friesen to the BC Progress Board," Martin said. "Their depth of experience and understanding of British Columbia's economy will be invaluable to our work."

Cindy Chan is the co-founder and CEO of InfoSpec Systems Inc., a software development company specializing in point-of-sale systems for the hospitality and retail industries. InfoSpec has a client base throughout Canada, the United States, China and Southeast Asia.

Ms. Chan was the recipient of the 2003 Ethel Tibbits Business Woman of the Year, the 2005 BC New Canadian Entrepreneur, and the 2006 Chinese Woman Outstanding Achievement Award. She was a board member of the Business Development Bank of Canada from August 2005 to 2008. She was also Co-Chair of the International Business Committee of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and Chair of the Diversity Fundraising Committee of the Canadian Cancer Society (BC and Yukon).

Marvin Friesen is the Chief Executive Officer of Friesen Group of Companies, a family business that operates a feed manufacturing business, poultry and poultry breeding farms and hatcheries in British Columbia and Oregon. He is a Director of the Northwest Poultry Council, a member of the BC Turkey Marketing Board Industry Advisory Committee, and a Director for the Canadian Hatchery Federation on the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency board.

Mr. Friesen previously served as a Director for the Pacific Egg and Poultry Association in Sacramento, California, a member of the BC Egg Producers Industry Advisory Committee, and a Director of the BC Feed Industry Association, BC Egg Producers Association, and the BC Hatching Egg Producers Association.

The BC Progress Board was established in 2001 to track changes in the economic performance and social wellbeing of British Columbia. The Board consists of up to 18 business executives and academic leaders from around the province. The Board has two mandates:

• measure and benchmark British Columbia's performance over time, and relative to other jurisdictions, in order to determine if BC's competitiveness and quality of life are improving;
• advise the Premier on strategies, policies and actions that could enhance BC's economic and social wellbeing regardless of whether government, business or individual actions are required.

More information about the BC Progress Board is available at: http://www.bcprogressboard.com/.