Brian Gihm

Experience

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  Canadian Haidong Gumdo Association

  Apr 2001 - May 2016

  Founder / Technical Director

  Brian provided education to martial art business school owners and enforced teaching quality standards in the member schools.• Provided education to more than 10 member schools dispersed throughout Canada to ensure that all locations provide standardized quality training to their customers.• Closely worked with the president to develop brand positioning and marketing strategies.

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  Butouken

  Jun 2004 - Jan 2013

  President

  Butouken was a small business that started with a very modest capital of $2,000 and became a 200k revenue business only after a few years. I was involved in all business aspects including website development, sales, marketing, product development, customer relations and supplier management. The business was converted to an incorporated business, MAS Art Products Inc. in 2013.

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  AECL

  Jun 2007 - Sept 2011

  Physics analyst

  As a junior engineer-in-training, I assisted the technical aspects of various new nuclear reactor development initiatives in the Advanced Reactor Development branch. I learned how to model, code and execute various nuclear physics programs such as WIMS-AECL, MCNP, DRAGON and RFSP, and how to analyze the calculation results.

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  AdGiggle Incorporated

  Jul 2008 - Aug 2010

  Co-founder / Treasurer

  Started a contest-based online site with two business partners to provide creative artists a website to make funny commercials and win cash prizes. I managed the website development to implement the design features. The process required business planning and implementation, and personal interactions with various levels of designers and programmers. I implemented marketing plan to generate more page views and users using social media to achieve 10,000 page views and 900 visitors in the first month after the launch. Show less

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  Candu Energy - Member of the SNC-Lavalin Group

  Sept 2011 - Aug 2012

  Engineering Physicist

  Brian worked in a skunkworks team as a technical staff to develop advanced nuclear power plants and fuel designs.• Fuel design work resulted in double-digit million-dollar service sales and IP loyalty for saving over $600 million for the client.• Received the prestigious “Award of Excellence” from Atomic Energy of Canada Limited for designing the advanced thorium nuclear reactor.

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  Hatch

  Sept 2012 - May 2017

  Brian delivered business, project and technology are consulting to the domestic and international private sector and government clients for capital project sizes ranging between 10 million dollars to 3 billion dollars. • Managed the entire project lifecycle starting from preparing a proposal, contracting, performing consulting work and delivery, change management, close-outs, invoicing and fee collection. • Managed project teams with sizes between 5 people to 20 people to deliver all projects on time and below budget, often under high time pressures. Show less Brian generated the business unit’s technology business and collaborated closely with other managers to manage the staff’s indirect and billing hours. • Generated over 20 million dollars service contracts in the last two years by identifying a new emerging advanced nuclear industry and engaging the potential customers early.• Published several high profile magazine and journal articles to position the company as the technical expert.• Served as Hatch’s science and technology (S&T) representative on a multi-party proposal team with over 10-million-dollar proposal work budget. The S&T section achieved the highest possible score. Show less

  • Nuclear Technologies Lead / Project Manager

    Feb 2014 - May 2017

  • General Management/Business Development

    Feb 2014 - May 2017

  • Technology Development and Due Diligence

    Sept 2012 - Feb 2014
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  MAS Art Products Inc.

  Jan 2013 - now

  Managing Director

  MAS Art Products Inc. is a specialized martial art equipment supply company. The company produces high-quality swords with high quality modern Japanese steel such as L6 using standardized engineering methods. Brian founded and grew the company to design, produce, and distribute special metal fencing equipment.• Contracted factories in South Korea and China and enforced engineering QA programs and standards to produce high-quality products. • Constructed a distribution network consisting of wholesalers and independent dealers across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Asia.• Implemented marketing strategies to build the brand as a high-end premium products brand. Show less

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  Global First Power

  Jun 2017 - Apr 2019

  Chief Operating Officer

  Global First Power is a start-up independent power producer specializing in project development, licensing, ownership and operation of small nuclear power plants to provide clean energy to remote industrial operations and residential settlements. As the chief operating officer of the company, Brian set up and operated corporate management and operational systems and functions including accounting, tax, HR and contractor management, commercial contracts, financial models, IT architecture, document management and market analysis, strategic positioning, communications, stakeholder engagement and commercial project gate cycle development.• Led multi-company teams to prepare the submission to Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ Invitation for SMR Demonstration and managed the due diligence process to pass the company for Stage 2 of the process. • Led multi-company teams to prepare and file a regulatory licence application to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for an SMR that marked the historic occasion that such application is filed for the first time in Canada. • Achieved over 50% operating cost savings through improvements in operational efficiencies. • Negotiated commercial agreements with a large utility partner, Ontario Power Generation, to secure their support.• Prepared the company’s business model and developed a comprehensive financial model that includes cost parameters that are generally not well understood by the industry. • Produced an annual market assessment report for the Board and investors.• Organized quarterly Board meetings and annual shareholder meetings and prepared the meeting materials as the Board Secretary.• Developed and implemented the communication and stakeholder engagement strategies. Coordinated with AECL, CNL, OPG, USNC and CNSC for public statements and announcement releases. Show less

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  CANDU Owners Group

  Aug 2019 - Nov 2020

  Strategic R&D Program Manager

  COG is an R&D and technology development and IP portfolio management company for the international nuclear industry based on CANDU technology. Brian managed its Strategic R&D Program (one of the largest programs in the company) with approximately 10 million dollars in the annual budget and with approx 80 technology projects in the portfolio. Brian worked with the utility members (LP equivalent in the private equity industry) to set the program strategy and develop the research portfolio. Brian managed the suppliers, monitors the project progresses and communicates the program statuses to the oversight body.The program metrics improved significantly during the tenure. The number of capital deployment rates improved almost 100% from the previous year; the number of overdue deliverables decreased by more than 50%, and all errors in the financial reporting were found and fixed. Show less

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  Hatch

  Nov 2020 - now

  Director, Nuclear Decommissioning and Waste Management