Experts

Daniel Mirkovic

President + CEO | BCom, MBA

After 16 years in progressively senior positions in the insurance industry, Daniel co-founded Square One. The company is the only true online home insurance provider in North America. And, the company offers the only home insurance policy that can be personalized to the needs of individual customers.

Prior to starting Square One, Daniel was vice president of the insurance and travel divisions at the British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA). Under his leadership, BCAA was recognized by JD Power and Associates as having the highest in customer satisfaction among all home insurance providers in Canada. BCAA was also recognized for having one of the most profitable and successful insurance operations in Canada.

Daniel has a bachelor of commerce and a master of business administration, both from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. He holds a Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker designation and a general insurance license level 3 in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. Daniel is the nominee for our corporate agency license.

Learn more about Daniel

Rena Novotny

Complex Loss Manager | MA, CRM, CIP

After being a staff adjuster and junior examiner, Rena started her 23 year career as an independent adjuster where she specialized in complex property, liability and special risk loss. As a branch manager, Rena hired, trained, mentored and coached several adjusters. She continues part-time post graduate studies in neuro-psychology and traumatization, learning how both may impact the insured’s engagement on catastrophic claims. Rena has earned her MA (Conflict Analysis and Management), CRM, CIP, and holds a level 3 adjusting license.

Learn more about Rena

Rebecca Awram

Mortgage Advisor, Seniors Lending Centre

As a Mortgage Advisor at Seniors Lending Centre, Rebecca Awram’s non-cookie-cutter mortgage approach asks the right questions, figures out her client’s needs, and matches these needs to the appropriate lender. Rebecca is a member of the Mortgage Brokers Association of British Columbia. This professional association seeks to expand the knowledge and relationships of its members beyond the content of the UBC exam requirements by providing ongoing educational and networking opportunities. Rebecca loves to keep up to date by subscribing to numerous industry journals and trade publications that she reads and finds extremely helpful when providing service to her clients. Rebecca has over 15 years of experience as a licensed broker.

George Baral

HVAC Content & Technical Advisor, Furnaceprices.ca

George Baral earned an MBA after a masters’ degree in chemistry. He had been actively inspecting and evaluating heating and air conditioning systems for almost 35 years before retiring from that business. He obtained a California general contractor’s license to start a company focusing on energy-efficient construction. This led him to study HVAC systems in more depth, as one of the ways to achieve substantial energy reductions. In the course of these studies, he became certified as a LEED AP and earned a NATE (North American Technical Excellence) certification, which provides advanced training for HVAC technicians. Edison Electric offered many courses on energy efficiency in HVAC systems, which he attended. He designed and installed efficient residential systems before turning operations over to a partner.

George currently works with FurnacePrices.ca as a content advisor and editor, with a particular focus on ensuring technical accuracy and thoroughness.

Henri Belisle

President, TQ Construction Ltd.

Henri Belisle is the President of TQ Construction, a family operated business founded over 35 years ago by his father Ralph Belisle. Henri is a Red Seal Carpenter trained at BCIT and is continually seeking to deepen his understanding of residential construction. As a kid, Henri worked alongside his family in construction and developed an affinity for the design-build sector. While overseeing the day-to-day operations of the business, Henri is also 2nd Vice Chair of the Homebuilders Association Vancouver (HAVAN) Board of Directors, Vice-Chair of HAVAN RenoCouncil and Past-Chair of HAVAN U-40 Committee.

Connor Griffiths

CEO, Lifty Life Vacation Rentals

Connor Griffiths is a well-known expert within the vacation rental industry. He is both the CEO of the vacation rental management company Lifty Life Vacation Rentals and Head of Content for the industry-leading vacation rental software Hostaway.com. Connor has a 7-year background in the industry starting as an Airbnb host and the revenue manager for the channel manager Jetstream Solutions. He holds a BBA at Kwantlen University.

Lifty Life manages vacation rentals in all of BC and Alberta’s top tourism markets including Whistler, Canmore, Tofino, and Kelowna. Additionally, Connor is an Airbnb Super Host and VRBO Premier Host.

Matt Hope

COO, FindEnergy.com

Matt is a co-founder and the COO of FindEnergy.com, which empowers consumers by providing data about where their energy comes from and the true price of that energy in relation to neighbouring areas. To build FindEnergy.com, Matt spent almost three years making sense of convoluted energy data that various government agencies collect. This has led to a wide understanding of electricity, solar and natural gas data in North America and beyond, enabling him to provide expert evaluations of energy-related data being used on the web.

Arthur Kavanagh

Owner, Kato Electrical Inc.

Arthur has been a natural leader since the age of 18. During his first year of electrical construction, he was given the opportunity to lead a crew of electricians in the construction of a 7-story low-rise concrete building. At the completion of the project, coupled with a 4-year apprenticeship, Arthur moved away from inner city construction sensing bigger opportunities in Northern Alberta. Within 2 years, he had overseen crews of up to 60 electricians.

He later settled back home again in Vancouver to open his own premiere electrical contracting company: Kato Electrical Inc. The foundational pillars being: highest quality contracting services and materials, superior installations and an energizing work environment.

Mike Kelly

Realtor, Mike Kelly Real Estate

Mike Kelly offers a fresh approach to the Toronto real estate market. His background as a firefighter makes him a uniquely dedicated team player with strong communication skills. As someone who is no stranger to working under pressure, Mike works hard for his clients while always maintaining a relaxed, low-stress environment. He builds trust with his clients through open and honest lines of communication. Mike’s clients applaud his patience, dedication and ability to provide an enjoyable experience whether you are a first-time homebuyer or seller.

Jackie Kloosterboer

Owner, Survive It

Jackie Kloosterboer runs a speaking business called Survive It. As a disaster preparedness expert, Jackie facilitates upwards of 100 Preparedness Workshops annually to individuals and groups, working with them to prepare for whatever disaster comes their way.

The media frequently interviews Jackie on the importance of disaster preparedness. Her book “My Earthquake Preparedness Guide” is the definitive book full of tips and suggestions to help you prepare for disaster.

Jackie is the recipient of the Queens Jubilee Award and the Northwest Preparedness Society – Award of Excellence recognizing outstanding dedication in providing Emergency Support Services and Disaster Preparedness Education.

Jeanie Lentz

Co-owner, Lentz Wastewater Management, Inc.

Jeanie Lentz is co-owner of Lentz Wastewater Management, Inc. She and her husband, Jarrid, are the third generation of the Lentz family to provide wastewater solutions for the Greater Piedmont area. She’s passionate about educating homeowners and business owners about how to keep their systems operating properly and she offers expert advice about best systems for specific situations, proper care, and maintenance, dealing with septic and sewer system blockage, troubleshooting, repair, replacement, and excavation. Jeanie received her master’s degree from East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., USA.

Nina Knudsen

Managing Director Hello Rent Team, Royal LePage Sussex

Nina Knudsen started her journey in property management out of a love of customer service. She felt she should take the personal level of her service and translate it into an opportunity to change the attitude of renting in BC. With 12 years of property management experience under her belt, having 100% referral-based success, and being welcomed to the incredible team at Royal LePage Sussex, Nina knew that she could bring her experience to the company’s Property Management division, Hello Rent, and grow an amazing team. This approach would allow property managers, as independent contractors, to become personally invested with all their owners and tenants. It would ensure the highest level of service and protection for the owner’s investment property and the peace of mind for tenants to enjoy their home as if it were their own.

Jasmine Mainguy-Seers

Moving Concierge, MovingWaldo

Jasmine has been a moving concierge for MovingWaldo for many years now. During this time, she helped people throughout Canada with the organization of their moves. Among other things, she helps them do their change of address, find movers, find a new Internet service provider, and overall allows a well-organized move, hassle free.

As a moving concierge service, MovingWaldo has an extended network of movers, truck rental companies, Internet service providers, insurance carriers, and more that allows them to find the best options for their users.

Jil McIntosh

Auto writer

Jil McIntosh has been writing professionally about cars for much longer than she cares to remember, on a wide variety of subjects including new-car reviews, automotive history, vehicle technology, industry news, and feature stories for such publications as Driving.ca, AutoTrader.ca, Automotive News Canada, Old Autos, Toronto Star Wheels, and more. A member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), she has won numerous awards for her writing, including Automotive Journalist of the Year. She is also an old-car enthusiast who owns two 1940s vehicles.

Jason Plante

Operations Manager, Priority Appliance Service Ltd.

Jason Plante is the Operations Manager for Priority Appliance Service Ltd., British Columbia’s leading appliance servicer for high-end brands. In this role, Jason Plante manages a team of dedicated staff and technicians who pride themselves on delivering the highest technical and customer service standards in the industry. Prior to joining Priority, Jason Plante developed years of experience in logistics, process improvement, and data analytics and helped build a successful financial technology company from 18 to over 200 employees, before being acquired by PayPal.

Chuck Roydhouse

President, Chimney Safety Institute of America

Chuck Roydhouse is a retired professional firefighter, owner of Clean Sweep of Anne Arundel County, and President of CSIA (Chimney Safety Institute of America). He has a degree in Fire Science & Safety from Shepherd University and 25 years of experience as a career firefighter. Chuck has been serving the chimney industry for 30 years as a CSIA Master Chimney Sweep and provides expertise to homeowners seeking safe and efficient home heating appliance use. The result is lower energy costs and a smaller environmental impact, creating a win-win scenario.

Dave Smythe

CEO, Out Of This World Plumbing

Dave is the CEO of Out Of This World Plumbing, and a bronze medal winner during his apprenticeship at the Ontario Skills competition. He has over 20 years of experience in the plumbing trade, is a certified home inspector, as well as a gas and water well technician. Dave has also been privileged to speak at the Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors national conference on 2 occasions.

Mike Sutton

Owner, French Drain Man Canada

Mike Sutton is the owner of French Drain Man Canada. French Drain Man Canada has been building de-watering systems in Canada since 2019 for both residential and commercial builds, and is the distributor of French Drain Man Products manufactured in the US. French Drain Man products are proprietary in nature, designed to move water fast and efficiently when systems are constructed properly. The US company founder, Robert Sherwood, designed the signature product, High Octane weeping tile, after 30 years in the industry.