Andrew Katz has a BA Honours in Social Communications and a Business Certificate from the University of Ottawa. In his early career he helped with sales, marketing and strategizing with the Royal Canadian Mint (incl. in Germany, Switzerland and Austria). Then he worked as financial advisor for a major life insurance company, and next as a consulting facilitator helping medical associations tackle complex issues including product and organizational development, marketing and strategic planning.

Challenged by multiple sclerosis, he organized rallies in ten cities across Canada that helped push federal research into MS treatments – always with hope. An avid DIY craftsman, he contrives and builds assistive devices for himself and other mobility-challenged people.

Rebecca Cooney, MBA Université du Québec à Montréal, and Fellowship from the Institute of Canadian Bankers with award for outstanding academic achievement. She worked at Export Development Canada (EDC) for 16 years, as Underwriting Manager-Transportation and IT, Financial Services Manager-Small Businessfinancial, product development and strategy-Insurance Center of Expertise. Clients included small exporters throughout Canada as well as mammoth engineering/manufacturing firms. A principal in several project teams, she was in charge of identifying and developing new products and new business strategies – an example being the Foreign Exchange Guarantee, a working capital product for Canadian exporters.

Struck by MS, she founded and managed her own social action group and website to promote research into new treatments, and was invited to testify at the House of Commons. With over 11 years of volunteer experience at the MS Society, Ottawa, she was the Chair of the Education Committee and now facilitates a support group, keeping her abreast of the daily tribulations of people living with various disabilities… and sparking her KPC inventions.

Robert Platts, B.Sc. Civil Eng. (UNB), SM (MIT) 1957; P. Eng. R&D is Bob’s work and hobby, at first in housing, low-rise and high-rise: housing production, performance, problem-solving; new materials, components, systems, test methods. First helping build the housing R&D program at NRC Canada, he then pushed ahead to found Scanada Consultants Limited, 1968-1997 – the pioneer engineering firm in this field. He devised bond testing devices for fiber-plastic composites while helping develop and test stressed skin/structural sandwich panel systems, and helped reach award-winning breakthroughs in both analyzing and controlling heat and moisture flows and problems in the building envelope, with more inventions for testing, metering, modeling.

Robert worked with major builders, manufacturers and govt. groups throughout North America (incl. high Arctic), UK, Scandinavia, Netherlands, Eastern Europe, Japan and the Caribbean. Following Scanada, further Caribbean work sparked his inventions in affordable “hurricane hardeners” for existing houses. Finally, and still happily, he works with his KPC Capability founder-partners on inventing, prototyping and testing assistive devices.