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Innovation & Acceleration
The Defence and Civilian Industrial sectors increasingly demand cutting-edge discovery, accelerated development, and rapid commercialization of advanced materials.
Our approach to material development accelerates the time to identify, optimize and produce novel materials. We do this through:
Defence materials protect people & property. Most new discoveries have civilian applications.
Industrial materials target higher performance & advanced capabilities.
Patronus brings together subject matter experts in the fields of material design, manufacturing, and commercialization, alongside deep research affiliations with the University of British Columbia, and active relationships with industrial contractors such as BAE Systems, Raytheon, and QinetiQ.
We believe that advanced materials have the potential to impact the safety, security, and quality of life for millions of people globally.
Our mission is to apply deep experience in the advanced materials sector in bringing cutting edge material science to all aspects of daily life. As well as providing services to industry that will allow them to advance rapidly while reducing cost, risk, and environmental impacts.
We aim to be a world leader in discovering, developing, and accelerating the use of these new materials.
We have highly developed relationships with key industry players, including:
R&D partner supplying core intellectual property and market insights
Advanced material research development partner and international armour alliance lead
Research funding partners under Canadian Industrial and Technological Benefits Program
Mr. Fichera is a strategically focused executive with extensive experience in technology and aerospace. His expertise is in driving profitable growth and efficient execution for individual projects and large business portfolios. His leadership roles have spanned product development, production, support, and internal services. Rick was a senior leader for a large multinational aerospace corporation. He led the financial functions for divisions with over $2B in annual revenue, in addition to managing operations, physical infrastructure, and capital deployment. He has worked closely with domestic and international customers, including US Government agencies. In addition to his 30 years of corporate experience, Rick is a founding partner in two companies focused on fostering the growth of entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses. Rick also serves as the Board Treasurer for an environmental nonprofit and advises small technology companies focused on sustainability. He holds an MBA from Seattle University.
Mr. Brodhurst brings over 25 years of professional aviation industry management services principally focused on the charter and leasing sectors. His career includes extensive operational and logistics oversight regarding the maintenance and refurbishment of fleet service aircraft. Subsequently he served for 10-years with Helios Global Technologies in the development and deployment of worker safety systems including the development of advanced protective materials. To-date, he has been instrumental in the progression of Patronus’ commercial efforts and propelling ongoing activities towards the continued development of protective materials and the advancement of related manufacturing technologies.
Mr. Urquhart is a chartered professional accountant with twenty years of experience working in public practice and industry. Mr. Urquhart operates his own public practice accounting firm offering chief financial officer and accounting services to TSX Venture Exchange listed companies in Vancouver. He has also served as director for some of his corporate clients. Mr. Urquhart began his career working as an audit accountant with Grant Thornton LLP, then later worked as a senior tax accountant with Lohn Caulder Chartered Accountants. Mr. Urquhart obtained his chartered accountant designation in 2001 and is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia. In 1995, Mr. Urquhart graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor degree of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering.
LTG (Ret.) Giles Hill was one of the most senior officers in the UK armed forces until his retirement in 2021 after 35-years of service. He has acted as an advisor to several commercial ventures and operated an international business consultancy. His highly distinguished 35-year military career culminated with his promotion to Lieutenant General. He has served operational tours in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan and has held multiple command and leadership positions including Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment and UK Special Forces Support Group, Commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade, General Officer Commanding 1st Armoured and 1st (United Kingdom) Division, Deputy Commander of the NATO Coalition and Senior British Representative (Afghanistan). He also holds the distinction of having served as Deputy Commanding General of the US 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. Within the UK Ministry of Defence, he has been Assistant Chief of Staff (MENA and Asia) and Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (strategy and global engagement). He was awarded the CBE in 2014, the CB in 2020 and the US Legion of Merit in 2021 for leadership and is the Honorary Colonel of the 4th Battalion, Parachute Regiment
Mr. Cronin served over 20 years in international diplomacy with the British Government with appointments across the Middle East, South Asia, Europe and North America spanning counter-terrorism, conflict resolution, trade and inward investment. Following a posting as Consul-General to Western Canada, Martin settled in British Columbia and joined the private sector, serving as CEO and Director of several private and public companies in the public safety and defence sectors, including Patriot One Technologies (PAT:TSX), before joining Syniad Innovations in 2021. He has also served as Honorary Colonel of a Canadian Army Reserve Regiment, Regional Director of the Canadian Forces Liaison Council, Advisory Board of the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission and Advisory Board of International Yacht Training Worldwide. Martin has a BA in International History and Politics with Economics from the University of Leeds.
Mr. McGinty worked as a senior risk manager for the University of British Columbia (UBC), as the COO of a Vancouver based tech start-up using Artificial Intelligence to analyse nanosatellite data for safety and security purposes, and as Chief of Staff to the CEO of a large publicly traded company. He worked for just over two years as the COO and Director of Business Development for a defence/dual use Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning software company before becoming CEO in June 2022. He was commissioned as an officer in the British Army from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and served a distinguished career beginning as a troop commander until a transition to helicopters led to leadership and operational roles in Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Along with an MSc in Corporate Management from Cranfield University (UK), he holds an MA in War Studies from Kings College, University of London. He went on to serve at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto, where he taught leadership, ethics, and planning to master’s degree students. On retirement from the British Army, he remained in Canada and continues to work as an Adjunct Professor of Leadership at UBC and continues to serve as a reserve Colonel for the Canadian Army.
Mr. Fichera is a strategically focused executive with extensive experience in technology and aerospace. His expertise is in driving profitable growth and efficient execution for individual projects and large business portfolios. His leadership roles have spanned product development, production, support, and internal services. Rick was a senior leader for a large multinational aerospace corporation. He led the financial functions for divisions with over $2B in annual revenue, in addition to managing operations, physical infrastructure, and capital deployment. He has worked closely with domestic and international customers, including US Government agencies. In addition to his 30 years of corporate experience, Rick is a founding partner in two companies focused on fostering the growth of entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses. Rick also serves as the Board Treasurer for an environmental nonprofit and advises small technology companies focused on sustainability. He holds an MBA from Seattle University.
Mr. Brodhurst brings over 25 years of professional aviation industry management services principally focused on the charter and leasing sectors. His career includes extensive operational and logistics oversight regarding the maintenance and refurbishment of fleet service aircraft. Subsequently he served for 10-years with Helios Global Technologies in the development and deployment of worker safety systems including the development of advanced protective materials. To-date, he has been instrumental in the progression of Patronus’ commercial efforts and propelling ongoing activities towards the continued development of protective materials and the advancement of related manufacturing technologies.
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