Board of Directors

Meet the Board Members of Topicus.com Inc. and Topicus.com Coop.

Topicus.com Inc. (Canada)

Jane Holden

Director

 

Ms. Holden has over 30 years’ experience leading large multi-disciplinary teams to deliver complex information technology-based initiatives across a number of industry verticals, including financial services, government, retail, higher education, and scientific research. Most recently she was Executive Director, Special Projects at Canada Health Infoway, an independent corporation funded by the Government of Canada to accelerate the development, adoption and effective use of digital health solutions to improve the health of all Canadians. Ms. Holden is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and holds an Honours Bachelor’s degree in History from McGill University.

Donna Parr

Director

 

 

Ms. Parr has significant experience in venture and private equity investing and corporate finance working for Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, Canada Pension Plan, and several other institutional investors. Ms. Parr has served on 35 boards of private companies primarily on behalf of institutional investors and several as an Independent Corporate Director, including a term as a director of CSI from 1995 to 2003. Ms. Parr is currently a Managing Partner at Cross-Border Impact Ventures, the President of Crimson Capital and has been with Crimson Capital since 2009. Ms. Parr holds an MBA from York University and Masters and Honours degrees from the University of Toronto in International Relations. 

 

Alex Macdonald

Director

 

 

Mr. Macdonald has over 30 years of investment management experience. He is currently the Chief Investment Officer at TruVest Capital. Mr. Macdonald’s previous positions include President of Laketon Investment Management, Executive Vice President of Canadian Investments at Manulife Financial Corporation and Chief Investment Officer at OPTrust (OPSEU Pension Fund). He is a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder and holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business and an Honours Bachelors degree in Economics from Queen’s University. 

 

John Billowits

Director

 

Mr. Billowits joined CSI in 2003 as the Chief Financial Officer of the Jonas Operating Group of CSI. Mr. Billowits was the Chief Executive Officer of the Vela Operating Group of CSI until August 2020 and is currently a director and chairman of the Board of CSI. Prior to assuming this role, he held numerous positions within CSI, including Chief Financial Officer of CSI and President of Jonas’ Club Division. Prior to joining CSI, Mr. Billowits held a number of roles with Bain & Company, Dell Computers and PwC. Mr. Billowits is a Chartered Professional Accountant, holds an MBA with Distinction from the London Business School and Honours BBA with Distinction from Wilfrid Laurier University. 

 

Robin van Poelje

Director, Chairman and CEO

 

 

Mr. van Poelje is the founder of Total Specific Solutions and has been with CSI since January 2014 when CSI acquired Total Specific Solutions. From January 2010 to 2020, Mr. van Poelje had been the Chief Executive Officer of TSS, based in the Netherlands. Mr. van Poelje holds a MSc. in Economics from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands and is a post graduate in Marketing and Strategy from École Supérieure de Commerce de Montpellier, France. In 2021, Mr. van Poelje was named Chief Executive Officer of Topicus.com Inc. 

 

Topicus.com Coop (Netherlands)

Daan Dijkhuizen

Group CEO Topicus Operating Group

 

Mr. Dijkhuizen has been at Topicus since 2013. Prior to joining Topicus, he was a technology executive at the ING Group - a multinational banking and financial services corporation. Since December 2017 to present, Mr. Dijkhuizen has served as Chief Executive Officer of Topicus. He holds a MSc. in Industrial Engineering & Management from the University of Twente, the Netherlands.

 

Henk-Jan Knol

Director

 

Mr Henk Jan Knol is one of the founders of Topicus. After the merger of TSS and Topicus resulting into Topicus.com, he joined as a non executive in the board of Topicus.com. Mr Knol has a broad experience in business development and M&A. He holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Computer Science from the University of Twente.

Han Knooren

Group CEO Total Specific Solutions Public

 

Mr. Knooren (1968) graduated as an information technology engineer, studied Business Administration at the Nyenrode Business University and followed the Advanced Management Program at INSEAD. He has worked in multinational, private equity owned and start-up Vertical Market Software companies and lived in the UK, France, the USA and the Netherlands. Within TSS Mr. Knooren is responsible for the companies in the public sector in the Netherlands, as well as France, Spain, Italy and the other Southern European countries.

 

Jane Holden

Director

 

Ms. Holden has over 30 years’ experience leading large multi-disciplinary teams to deliver complex information technology-based initiatives across a number of industry verticals, including financial services, government, retail, higher education, and scientific research. Most recently she was Executive Director, Special Projects at Canada Health Infoway, an independent corporation funded by the Government of Canada to accelerate the development, adoption and effective use of digital health solutions to improve the health of all Canadians. Ms. Holden is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and holds an Honours Bachelor’s degree in History from McGill University.

Ramon Zanders

Group CEO Total Specific Solutions Blue

 

Ramon joined TSS in 2011, as Group CEO he is responsible for the companies in the private sector in the Netherlands and all companies in the regions DACH, Nordics, and Eastern Europe. Before TSS, Ramon fulfilled managerial roles where he was overall responsible for businesses in software consulting and outsourcing in the Netherlands, USA, and Thailand.

Donna Parr

Director

 

 

Ms. Parr has significant experience in venture and private equity investing and corporate finance working for Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, Canada Pension Plan, and several other institutional investors. Ms. Parr has served on 35 boards of private companies primarily on behalf of institutional investors and several as an Independent Corporate Director, including a term as a director of CSI from 1995 to 2003. Ms. Parr is currently a Managing Partner at Cross-Border Impact Ventures, the President of Crimson Capital and has been with Crimson Capital since 2009. Ms. Parr holds an MBA from York University and Masters and Honours degrees from the University of Toronto in International Relations. 

 

Mark Leonard

Director and President of Constellation Software Inc

 

Mr. Leonard founded CSI in 1995. Prior to founding CSI, Mr. Leonard worked in the venture capital business for eleven years. Mr. Leonard holds a BSc. from the University of Guelph, and a MBA from the University of Western Ontario.

 

Robin van Poelje - Chairman & CEO

Director, Chairman and CEO

 

 

Mr. van Poelje is the founder of Total Specific Solutions and has been with CSI since January 2014 when CSI acquired Total Specific Solutions. From January 2010 to 2020, Mr. van Poelje had been the Chief Executive Officer of TSS, based in the Netherlands. Mr. van Poelje holds a MSc. in Economics from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands and is a post graduate in Marketing and Strategy from École Supérieure de Commerce de Montpellier, France. In 2021, Mr. van Poelje was named Chief Executive Officer of Topicus.com Inc.