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About us

Executive Team

Ian Christman, President & CEO

Ian is the President and CEO of the VSA appointed in December 2021.

Ian started his career with the VSA in February 2008 as the Deputy Registrar and Director of Licensing. In March 2012, Ian was appointed as Registrar and also became the Chief Legal Officer in 2020. Ian has advised on all operational matters at the VSA and been involved with strategic planning, budgeting and finance, human resources, government relations and stakeholder relations for over 13 years. Importantly, as Registrar, Ian has independently guided the administration of the legislation the VSA administers.

Prior to his career at the VSA, Ian was a lawyer in private practice in the areas of administrative law, commercial litigation including class actions, and employment law matters. Between the 1980โ€™s and the early 2000โ€™s, Ian worked in various capacities at Canadian Tire stores in Metro Vancouver. These included management and other roles in various service departments such as merchandising, parts, and warehousing. Since 2008, Ian has been a member of the USA-based National Association of Motor Vehicle Boards and Commissions and was its Vice President for several years.

In 2015, Ian obtained his Master of Business Administration from Royal Roads University with international studies in Grenoble, France. He has a law degree from the University of Alberta, a political science degree (international relations and trade) from Simon Fraser University, and a diploma in criminology from Douglas College.

Archana Singh, EVP Corporate Services & Risk

Archana is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience leading people and organizations. Archana’s current portfolio as an Executive Vice President, Corporate Services & Risk includes; Human Resources, Learning & Development, Marketing & Communication, Technology and Risk.

Archana’s career has crossed multiple continents, including India and Canada, and spanned various industries from Telecommunications to Floriculture. These organizations include Norsat International, Bloomstar Bouquet, Teldon Media Group, Reliance Infocomm, Fraserway RV, and Mantra Consulting. Throughout her journey, she has won many awards and accolades and is recognized for her transformational achievements.

Archana is a leader who thrives at stepping outside her comfort zone and is known for bringing clarity out of chaos.‘ As a forward-thinking leader who specializes in strategic and tactical planning, Archana consistently streamlines processes, simplifies complex ideas, and enables effective implementation. She is an incisive problem-solver with a unique talent for recognizing her teams’ needs and their needs individually, creating meaningful and life-long business relationships.

Archana’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Commerce with an Honors in Management, followed by an MBA in Business Administration with an Honours designation. She also carries a Project Management Certification from McMaster University.

Outside the office, Archana enjoys spending time with her family, reading books and swimming.

Sandeep Dade, Director of Finance

Sandeep Dade is currently the Director of Finance for the Vehicle Sales Authority of BC (VSA). Sandeep has a Bachelors in Business Administration (Accounting) and holds a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation. Prior to joining the VSA, Sandeep has worked in the finance, manufacturing, and service industry sectors. Sandeep joined the organization in September of 2020 and oversees the Finance department and all items related to budgeting, annual audit and investments. He is always looking at ways to streamline and modernize processes to increase efficiencies for the organization. Sandeep is the Executive Team sponsor on the Dashboard & Metric project which aims to make information more accessible, automate key metrics for the purpose of reporting to key stakeholders and increase transparency. Aside from his passion for numbers, Sandeep loves to watch sports and cheer on the Vancouver Canucks. He is also looking forward to traveling more in the post pandemic world.

Anna Gershkovich, Director of Consumer Services and Industry Standards

Annaโ€™s professional purpose statement is โ€˜Learn. Lead. Make a Difference.โ€™

Annaโ€™s current role with the VSA is Director of Consumer Services and Industry Standards. Anna has 15 years of experience at the VSA. Prior to promotion to a Director role in 2021, Anna managed the Consumer Services team and worked with the Motor Dealer Customer Compensation Fund Board supporting this administrative tribunal with claims adjudication, policy development and operations.

Anna has Masterโ€™s Honors degree in Teaching from a Pedagodical University in St. Petersburg, Russia, executive education certificates in leadership and operational excellence from UBC Sauder School of Business, and a Corporate Paralegal certificate from Vancouver Community College.

Anna has a proven record of successful customer service initiatives with emphasis on understanding the stakeholders needs, mapping processes, ensuring that teams are supported for successful delivery of services.

The synergy of Annaโ€™s education, leadership experience and passion for operational excellence makes her a leader known for the ability to identify opportunities for continuous improvement and ensure operational resilience โ€“ the ability to prevent, adapt, respond to, recover and learn from operational disruptions. Annaโ€™s approach to process improvement is that it needs to be purpose driven, planned with empathy and implemented collaboratively.

Patrick Poyner, Director of Investigations, Licensing, Legal Services & Privacy Officer

Pat is a lawyer and was called to the BC Bar in 1997. He joined the VSA in 2022 after previously serving as a hearings officer with the BC Financial Services Authority where he conducted quasi-judicial disciplinary hearings.

Prior to his work with the FSA, Pat was Senior Legal Counsel at the Real Estate Council of British Columbia where he provided legal advice on all aspects of their regulatory operations, engaging in strategic planning, budgeting and performance management as well as managing all applications to the Councilโ€™s Compensation Fund. During his tenure with the Real Estate Council, Pat also spent time as manager of the Compliance Department.

Prior to working at the FSA and the Real Estate Council, Pat was a partner in a North Vancouver law firm before starting his own firm in which he provided legal, mediation and arbitration services, most notably representing Indian Residential School Survivors in historic abuse claims for many years. He has earned the Chartered Arbitrator designation from the ADR Institute of Canada as well as the Certified In-House Counsel – Canada designation from Canadian Corporate Counsel Association and Rotman School of Management.

Pat has volunteered his time by sitting on various boards such as Baseball BC, the College of Dental Technicians of British Columbia and the British Columbia Arbitration and Mediation Institute and he has been an active youth sports coach in his community for many years.

Kenneth Affleck, Registrar

Ken recently retired as a Justice of the BC Supreme Court where he served for nine years.ย  More recently, Ken has been providing legal advice to various law firms seeking opinions; providing advice and adjudicating complaints for the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner of BC; and is a Commissioner under the Private Training Act.

Ken obtained both his Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts Degrees (Honours History) from UBC. Ken received the honorary title of King’s Counsel (QC) in 2008. The BC Government bestows the King’s Counsel title on lawyers who “demonstrate professional integrity, good character and excellence in the practice of Law”.

Before his appointment to the BC Supreme Court, Ken was one of the founders of Affleck Hira Burgoyne LLP, where he practiced law for nine years. Ken was also the managing partner at Macaulay McColl for 25 years. Ken has appeared as legal counsel in all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada. Ken’s legal practice and decisions as a judge span all major areas of the law, including constitutional and administrative law.

Ken served in the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve and was the Chair of the Bard on the Beach Theatre Society for 15 years.