ABOUT
CORE VALUES
INTEGRITY
We will always do everything within our ability to honor our commitments. We do not take our commitments lightly. We want to earn your trust and respect.
GROWTH
We are committed to investing in our team, working with our clients to improve our offerings. We will embrace the opportunity to grow and improve the experiences of those who are growing with us.
INNOVATION
There are always ways to improve, adapt and integrate technology and know-how. We are committed to working with suppliers and contractors to offer the very best for our technology and strive for continued optimization.
COMPASSION
We will listen to our communities, our clients and our team. We will work together to understand the challenges and overcome them together. We will also ensure safety is a priority in our business and our projects.
DRIVE
Our drive for excellence is second to none. We will work to be great in what we do and how we do it.
In a circular economy, nothing is waste. WEST is committed to working towards achieving a circular economy.
OUR TEAM
Mathieu Gagnon
Founder, CEO
Mathieu is an entrepreneur with 20 years’ experience in the renewable technology space, and extensive expertise in energy system infrastructure, design, technology coupling, and project development. Mathieu is the driving force bringing WEST’s waste-to-energy technology into the circular economy.
Mathieu is a partner and co-founder of Gagnon Renewable Resources Inc. (“Gagnon”), a renewable energy design, construction and services company. Gagnon provides a wide range of clean energy and other circular economy technology solutions to customers across Canada and USA. Mathieu is responsible for project assessment/identification, procurement, logistics and finance.
Mathieu co-founded the Maclean’s Mountain 60MW Wind Farm on Manitoulin Island, where he was responsible for pre-project development, including: prospecting site management, technology identification; electrical infrastructure assessment; data collection and analysis; and commencement of the environmental assessment with their consultants prior to the sale of the project to Northland Power. Mathieu was also a co-founder of Windular Research and Technologies Inc. (“Windular”), a private corporation that developed and commercialized an innovative wind and solar tracking technology providing transformative clean energy solutions to the global telecommunications industry. With Windular, Mathieu was responsible for project assessment, design, procurement, logistics and accounting. Windular was subsequently acquired by EnerDynamic Hybrid Technologies Corp., in August 2021.
Mathieu’s vast project identification, development and management experience, and his strong accounting acumen, position WEST well for execution and scalability across numerous public and corporate clients. Mathieu enjoys many outdoor activities with family and friends and values the many benefits of WEST’s business model as a way of preserving nature and protecting the environment for future generations.
Rick Gagnon
Founder, President
Rick has been involved in the renewable energy space since long before it was ”fashionable” or essential. Rick brings 30+ years experience in renewable technology analysis, applications, research and development, project design and construction to WEST.
Rick’s expertise is in identifying and commercializing innovative and disruptive technologies to mitigate global problems and produce clean, renewable energy. This has been evident since Rick founded Gagnon Renewable Resources Inc. (“GRR”) almost 25 years ago providing project assessment, design construction and commissioning services across a wide range of renewable technologies and construction projects. In 2002 he was a very early adopter of wind energy when he founded the Maclean’s Mountain 60MW windfarm where he was responsible for project initiation, conceptualization, site and technology analysis, prior to selling the project to Northland Power. Thereafter Rick co-founded Windular Research and Technologies Inc. (“Windular”), an innovative micro wind and solar tracking technology application for the global telecommunications industry. At Windular, Rick designed, developed, commercialized and installed wind and solar tracking systems on telecom towers around the globe, thereby eliminating their dependence on costly, dirty diesel fuel. Windular counted Bell, Telenor, and Telefónica among its global clients. Windular was subsequently acquired by EnerDynamic Hybrid Technologies Corp., in August 2021.
Rick’s vast project construction, contractor management, budgetary construction, build-to-spec and cost experience bring much value to WEST.
Andrew M. Kain, LL.B.
Vice President of Investment & Strategy
Andrew (Andy) Kain is a lawyer by profession with 30+ years of extensive corporate, financial and international legal experience. He is the founder and principal of AMK Advisory Services, an M&A consultancy firm that provides strategic and structuring advice to public and private companies, boards, and investors around the globe, with an emphasis on the renewable energy and cannabis markets.
For 15 years, Andy was General Counsel to a US$5+ billion global hedge fund that operated a proprietary quantitative trading platform and managed a US$2+ billion fund of funds and private equity portfolio, where he worked with investment banks, brokerage houses, exchanges and regulatory bodies in capital markets around the globe.
In 2010, Andy moved his family back to Canada where he established his own practice providing general corporate, legal and advisory services to start-up and early stage companies in emerging industries. During this period, Andy co-founded Windular Research and Technologies Inc., a privately held corporation that developed and commercialized an innovative wind and solar tracking technology providing clean energy solutions to the global telecommunications industry. At Windular, Andy was responsible for developing strategic relationships, and formulating and executing the company’s business plan. Windular was acquired by EnerDynamic Hybrid Technologies Corp., in August, 2021.
Andy also spent 2 years in the public company environment where he was Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of Harvest One Cannabis Inc., a global cannabis company that developed and distributed innovative lifestyle and wellness products to consumers and patients in regulated markets around the world. At Harvest One Andy was responsible for executing the corporation’s strategic review and the divestiture of its non-core assets to position Harvest One as an asset-light cannabis-infused CPG company.
With his extensive legal, regulatory and capital markets experience, Andy provides his clients with a comprehensive portfolio of advisory services on all of their growth, M&A, investment, and strategic relationship decisions.
Mario Buszynski M.SC.
Advisor
Mario has over 40 years of environmental assessment experience with the provincial government, the former Ontario Hydro and the private sector. During this time, he has been involved directly (as a Project Manager) or indirectly (as a peer reviewer) on many large federal and provincial environmental assessment projects relating to energy, mining and waste management. Mr. Buszynski’s EA experience includes design of field programs, effects assessment and mitigation, public and stakeholder interaction, as well as managing large teams of multidisciplinary specialists
Mr. Buszynski has also been involved with securing operating permits and approvals for these projects. He has extensive experience as an environmental inspector and managing teams of environmental inspectors on large projects. Many of Mr. Buszynski’s projects have involved work as a peer review consultant for First Nations in their review of resource projects in Ontario. Examples include the review of Hydro One’s Waasagan Transmission Line, the Springpole Mine and the Marathon PGM project. He managed the environmental inspection program for the Aecon/Six Nations transmission line construction program near Caledonia.
Mr. Buszynski has been involved with International projects such as the Montana-Alberta Transmission Tie Line as well as a number of pipeline and electric transmission lines between Canada and the United States. He has performed numerous audits of energy-related facilities and has provided audit training to Environmental Protection Agency staff in Guyana. He has also been an expert witness before various government review boards in Canada and has presented papers at a number of international conferences.
Geoff Reiner
Advisor
For the past 12 years, Geoff has maintained senior leadership positions within a variety of sectors. Most notably, he spent four years in the energy sector with a firm that provided Energy as a Service. Here, he was pivotal in developing a business model that instantly became operationally scalable. He generated over $100M in new business revenue through long term energy contracts with both Fortune 500 companies as well as local, privately held SME’s. Geoff was pivotal in a series of capital raises to provide the necessary capital injection to advance the company toward their 5-year plan. He then worked with the internal project management team and external contractors to operationalize the business and have multiple installations across the country.