The CubicFarm Systems Corp. Strategic Advantage
The same group that developed Bevo Farms is the same group that have now developed CubicFarms SystemsTM. Few people on earth have grown more plants from seed than our Dutch born and trained founders at Bevo Farms. You can access that wealth of experience and expertise as a Cubic Farmer. The combination of our people, processes, and worldwide patented technology, set up our Cubic Farmers for success.
Our business partners, Bevo Agro, developed the patent pending Cubic Farming™ technology. One of North America’s largest propagation greenhouse operations, Bevo’s decades of growing experience has expanded into the next generation of growing technology with the CubicFarm™. When you become a Cubic Farmer, you have the support of Bevo’s world class growing experience.
At CubicFarm Systems Corp., our number one goal is the success of our partner farmers.
Executive Team
You won’t find a stronger and more experienced team when it comes to vertical farming systems growing, development and implementation.
Dave Dinesen
Chief Executive Officer
A seasoned CEO, Dave Dinesen founded his first venture, BackCheck, in 1997 and took it from start-up to the largest background screening company in Canada and a leader in the UK. With over 500 employees in three countries, BackCheck served over 15,000 corporate customers and screened millions of people in Canada and the UK. A successful sale and merger with a larger US competitor, Sterling Infosystems, completed in 2012. The merged business became Sterling BackCheck and Dave joined the New York executive committee and led the global business units for Canada, the UK, and Philippines. SterlingBackCheck was acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2015 and Dave left the organization and founded WideOcean Strategies Ltd. a boutique venture capital and consulting firm.
In late 2015, Dave was tapped to lead the CubicFarm Systems team as CEO and bring this revolutionary
technology to market globally.
CubicFarms is quickly becoming a global leader in the controlled environment agricultural vertical farming space. Dave serves on several for profit and non-profit boards.
Rodrigo Santana
President & Chief Operating Officer
Rodrigo is a senior executive with over 20 years of international managerial experience within global best-in-class technical services providers, with focus on financial and operational management, strategic growth planning and execution, engineering, project management and operational efficiency. Previously, he held several leadership roles on growth-oriented companies, such as Dow Agrosciences, SGS and Commercial Testing & Engineering, having conducted business in Europe, Africa, and the Americas. He has also co-founded and operated the cultivation of hydroponic lettuce at the beginning of his professional career.
Most recently, he has worked as Chief Operating Officer at Sacré-Davey Engineering, where he doubled the size of the company, through strategic business and corporate development as well as geographical expansion across North America. He has also coordinated the implementation of business systems and processes to support the company growth objectives.
Rodrigo has a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Engineering from the Federal University of Lavras, Brazil, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management from Chicago, US.
Jo-Ann Ostermann
Vice President
Jo-Ann is one of the few people in North America to have opened and operated a vertical farming operation on a commercial scale. As General Manager for Urban Barns Foods Inc. she led the team that opened the 16,000 square foot facility in Mirabel, QC. Her responsibilities included all aspects of farming operations including ensuring compliance and achieving certification with CanadaGAP food safety. She also conducted cultivar research which led to the expansion of lettuce offerings and development of the microgreen product line.
Prior to Urban Barns Foods, Jo-Ann was the Manager of Business and Technology at The City of Calgary, Roads Business Unit and VP Administration and Corporate Services at Robyn’s Transportation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing with distinction and an MBA from the University of Calgary.
At CubicFarms, Jo-Ann is responsible for overseeing global installations.
Dani Palahanova
Chief Financial Officer
Dani is an adaptable financial leader with a solid background in leading the finance and accounting functions of international companies listed on the TSX and NYSE. Dani has held several senior finance and management roles at successful mining and exploration companies including Asanko Gold Inc., and Auryn Resources Inc. Dani has been instrumental in the execution of numerous financings, RTOs, an IPO, business combinations and integration of acquired companies. Dani is a CPA, CGA, holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, and is an Executive MBA candidate at SFU, Beedie School of Business.
At CubicFarms, Dani is responsible for the overall financial strategy and direction, as well as human resources and compliance.
John de Jonge
Chief Design & Installation Officer
With a passion for manufacturing and the dairy industry, John DeJonge has been working to provide farmers with high-quality farming equipment since 1995 when he purchased his first company. Since then, John has been instrumental in establishing and scaling up multiple manufacturing facilities in China and North America. With his unique understanding of the Chinese culture and in-depth manufacturing expertise, John has become well known for bringing quality manufactured products to markets around the world.
Recently, John has been active throughout the world as a Dairy Design Consultant. In this time, he’s been instrumental in the design and development of large-scale dairies around the world and has partnered in the creation of the revolutionary Big-Box dairy design.
At CubicFarms, John is responsible for leading the engineering and installation team.
Board of Directors
Daniel Burns, Chairman
Daniel was the first certified director in British Columbia (ICD.D) and one of the first in Canada. Daniel is a member of the Law Society of BC and the Certified Professional Accountants of Ontario. He holds MBAs from University of Toronto and St Gallen, Switzerland. Daniel is well versed in public markets having created a capital pool company on the TSX venture exchange.
Dave Dinesen
Dave is an expert in global operations management and corporate client acquisition. Formerly the Chief Executive Officer of BackCheck, Dave grew the company from a small business based in Surrey, British Columbia to an industry leading company operating on three continents. Dave has been working to develop CubicFarms since 2015.
Dean Drysdale
Dean has extensive experience growing early-stage ventures into large international companies. Working in a variety of industries, Dean’s two most successful ventures were Carmanah Technologies and BackCheck. At BackCheck, Dean led the team as the Chief Financial Officer and in various board positions.
Leo Benne
Leo is currently Chief Growing Officer at Zenabis Global Inc. Leo gained advanced knowledge of modern horticultural methods at Rijks Middelbare Tuinbouwschool in Holland. Leo has been at the forefront of the development of the CubicFarms technology. Formerly the head of Bevo, Leo grew Bevo to become the leading plant propagator in North America.
John de Jonge
John is a seasoned agriculture and manufacturing executive. John first entered the agriculture industry in 1995 when he purchased Artex Barn Solutions. While at Artex, John oversaw the shift of manufacturing from Canada to China. As Chief Design & Installation Officer at CubicFarms, John is responsible for leading the engineering and installation team.
John Hoekstra
John is currently the Controller of Bevo Agro Inc. He joined Bevo in 2004, shortly after Bevo went public. Prior to joining Bevo, John worked as a Supply Chain Manager at Air Liquide Canada, and at Unitor Ships Service as Branch Manager. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CGA) and holds a Business Administration degree from Redeemer University
Michael McCarthy
Innovation is what Michael cultivates as Principal at McCarthy Pacific Group, consulting and advising on strategic business development, enhancing business to business marketing and enabling a culture of high performance. Michael has extensive leadership experience in the technology sector including TELUS, IBM, and Silicon Graphics where he aggressively grew the business while developing strong future leaders.