Management
John Demco - Co-Founder
John Demco conceived the .CA top-level domain and is a Director of Webnames.ca. Up until 2006, he was the manager of Computing Facilities at the Department of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia where John administered the .CA registry on a volunteer basis from 1987 to December 2000.
John has served on the Board of BCNET and is a founding member of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) Board of Directors. John was honoured with the 2006 Canadian New Media Lifetime Achievement award and along with Cybele Negris, Matthew Lane and Stephen Smith, a finalist for Ernst & Young's 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for Information Technology in the Pacific Region.
Other awards include the University of Alberta Alumni Honour Award (2003), CANARIE IWAY Award for Community Service (2001), BCNET Advanced Network Builder Award (2001) and recognition by the Prime Minister as a founder and builder of the Canadian Internet (1997). John was instrumental in setting up one of Canada's first Internet connections, in 1988.
Stephen Smith - Co-Founder & CEO
Stephen has over twenty years of experience in information technology as a programmer, project manager, and technology licensing manager. He has been involved in company start-ups, financing, management and acquisitions.
Stephen co-founded Webnames.ca in 2000 where he continues to serve as CEO and Chair of the Board. Stephen also founded Flintbox in 2003 which became an international resource used by technology transfer professionals to commercialize university research. Flintbox was sold to Wellspring International in 2010.
Stephen was a co founder of New Media BC, was a finalist in the Ernst & Young's 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for Information Technology in the Pacific Region, was a recipient of Business in Vancouver`s Top 40 Under 40 Award for Outstanding Achievement (2005) and received an exceptional innovation award from CIPA in 2007.
Stephen serves on the board of Paragon Testing Enterprises and is a board observer at Tasktop Technologies. He is active with CYBF (www.cybf.ca) and has acted as a mentor and judge to new entrepreneurs in the New Ventures BC Program since 2006.
Cybele Negris - Co-Founder & President
Cybele Negris is a founding partner and President of Webnames.ca. Cybele has diverse experience in both management and operations, including prior directorships and officer positions in several public and private companies.
Before Webnames.ca, Cybele ran her own management consultancy, working closely with crown corporations and private companies. Cybele has been a recipient of numerous awards: Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women (2011), Business in Vancouver's Influential Women in Business Award (2010), PROFIT W100 - Canada's Top Women Entrepreneurs, (2004 to 2011), Finalist, YWCA Women of Distinction (2006), Finalist, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Pacific (2005); and Business in Vancouver’s Top 40 Under 40 (2003).
Cybele is Vice-Chair of the Board of Small Business BC (www.smallbusinessbc.ca). She also serves on the Board of the Small Business Roundtable of British Columbia chaired by Pat Bell, Minister of Jobs Tourism and Innovation (www.smallbusinessroundtable.ca). She is also on the Board of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs (www.fwe.ca), and served as Chair of the FWE e-series Program (entrepreneurial training for high growth businesses) for the past few years. She was on the Board of the Vancouver Economic Development Commission (www.vancouvereconomic.com) until the end of 2010. Cybele chairs the Vancouver Canary Derby (www.canaryderby.com) and acts as a judge for the Small Business BC Successful You Awards (www.successfulyou.ca), Profit Magazine's Innovations@Word Contest (www.innovationsatwork.ca) and Business in Vancouver's Influential Women in Business Awards (www.biv.com/iwib/index.asp). She was past President of Wired Woman Vancouver (www.wiredwoman.com), a not-for-profit organization providing education, networking and mentorship to women in the technology sector.
Cybele speaks at over a dozen entrepreneurship and technology conferences or events each year.
Matthew Lane - Co-Founder & CTO
Matthew Lane is a founding partner and Chief Technical Officer of Webnames.ca. Matthew has twenty years of experience in media and technology fields relating to corporate communications, broadcast, new media and web technologies.
Founder and President of RIPE, a Vancouver based custom software development firm recently named one of Canada's fastest growing companies by PROFIT 100 magazine, Matthew also oversees systems development for Webnames.ca. He has worked with many blue chip clients in Europe and North America including Volvo, BBC, Nynex Cable Communications, ICI, Madame Tussaud's Group and Unilever. In 2005, Matthew was a finalist alongside John Demco, Stephen Smith and Cybele Negris for Ernst & Young's 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for Information Technology in the Pacific Region.
