About CubicFarms

The CubicFarm Systems Corp. Strategic Advantage

The same group that developed Bevo Farms is the same group that have now developed CubicFarms Systems^TM. 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.

Our Team

You won’t find a stronger and more experienced team when it comes to vertical farming systems growing, development and implementation.

Dave Dinesen

CEO

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, and lives near Vancouver, BC.

Leo Benne

Chief Innovation Engineer

Leo gained advanced knowledge of modern horticultural methods at Rijks Middlebare Tuinbouw School in Holland. With extensive experience in the application of computer technology to the production of healthy, high-yield plants, he has been a key figure in the development of Bevo Agro. Leo oversees every stage of the company’s operations – from pre-sales to shipping.

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.

Jack Benne

Co-founder & Senior Advisor

A graduate of the Netherlands’ Agricultural College—designed, built and operated a 10,000 square metre greenhouse, one of Holland’s most successful operations. In 1987 he established Bevo Farms, forerunner of Bevo Agro Inc. Combining his traditional Dutch training with advanced technology, he made Bevo Agro North America’s leading supplier of propagated plants.

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. She has held a number of 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.

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.

Dean Drysdale

President of CubicFarm Capital Corp

Dean is a serial entrepreneur and has worked with approximately 10 young companies to develop their business plan, raise money, and sit on the board. He has a BA in economics at Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Quebec; an MBA at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France; and a PhD in organizational behavior at Cass Business School in London, England. He holds several accounting designations including the CPA –CGA, ACCA, and FAIA (academic) and is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute in the UK. A Professor of Business Management at Kwantlen Polytechnic University for over 20 years, Dean specializes inorganizational behavior.

Tommy McCarthy

Mechanical Design Engineer

Tommy moved to Canada in 2008 and has gained experience in a multitude of engineering disciplines, Tommy joined the CubicFarm team in Spring of 2017.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cork Institute of Technology and 3D modelling qualifications from City & Guilds. Tommy’s role includes capturing design concepts working with the head of research, modelling large scale farm layouts as per customers requests and working with Manufacturing to relay part & assembly drawings, design changes and new product specifications. Tommy lives in the lower mainland and spends much of his free time with family, playing soccer and keeping up to speed on new technology and advances in food production.

Gabriel Jefferies

Senior Research Grower

Gabriel has been involved in the Food and Agricultural industries for over 10 years, with a wide range of experiences in sustainable food production systems and food chemistry. He has a bachelor’s degree in Gastronomic Science and he completed his master’s degree in Food Culture Communications at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy. During these degrees he spent much of his time combining the theory with the practical side of hands on food production around the world.

Rylan Benne

Systems Installation Engineer

Rylan Benne has spent his entire life in and around the agricultural industry. He recently graduated from Trinity Western University with a BBA specializing in leadership and management. His education, coupled with the hands-on skills gained through work in the greenhouse industry makes him a valuable and versatile member of the CubicFarms team. Rylan is leading the installations of CubicFarms Systems and is also involved in research and development.

Andrei Ostermann

Sales Engineer

As Facilities Manager for Urban Barns Foods Inc. he set up and maintained the 16,000 square foot commercial Cubic Farming facility in Mirabel, QC. Prior to getting into indoor agriculture, he worked at High-Tech Assembly Systems as an Account Manager in a manufacturing environment.

Rubén Arias Pinazo

Chief Manufacturing Engineer

Rubén manages CubicFarm’s manufacturing in China as the Co-Owner of Agrigreen Manufacturing Ltd. He brings his extensive knowledge in engineering, technology and industry to CubicFarms. His background includes degrees in Industrial Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Scheduling from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain. He has worked for almost two decades in management, development, design, quality control, and industrial planning in Spain, Australia, and China.

Tim Ansley

Director of Marketing

A creative marketer, Tim joined BackCheck in 2003 and helped develop a start-up brand that became the largest background screening company in Canada and a leader in the UK. After a successful merger with a large US competitor, Tim assumed the role of Marketing Director for Sterling Infosystems, based out of New York. He worked closely with Sterling’s M&A division while they continued to blend brands, process, advertising and marketing strategies and campaigns.
After the sale to Goldman Sachs, Tim took on a new role with Mindfield in the Talent Acquisition industry leading the Marketing, Advertising, and overall brand management and strategy.
Currently, with a focus on strategy, creativity and process, Tim strives to help build the organization’s brand value through relevant design and messaging, combined with a strong technology backbone and a vision for growth.

Andrew Westlund

Senior Advisor

A passionate entrepreneur, Andrew has been in business for over 25 years. As President of the Westlund Group, he has diversified his businesses to span a number of industries. Over three years ago he founded Agency Media, one of Canada’s fastest growing digital agencies that uses the newest technology on the most captivating platforms. Focused on breaking through the noise, Andrew values shareable, story-first, video content. He believes the CubicFarm™ could revolutionize the growing industry and is excited to be a part of bringing this amazing technology to market. With a personal goal to learn one new thing every year, Andrew spends much of his spare time adventuring including flying helicopters, cycling and motorcycling.

Robyn Bate

Controller

Robyn is an energetic accounting professional with a background in financial policy and management. She came to CubicFarm Systems from BackCheck where for 14 years she assisted in establishing, maintaining and updating the financial policies and procedures while managing the international accounting department. Her contributions helped to grow the company from a start up status to the global industry leader in background checking, Sterling Talent Solutions.
Robyn’s experience in a fast-paced, growing corporate environment will help CubicFarms, through financial management and planning, support their business strategy and surpass their business growth goals.