Dave Dinesen | President & CEO

Dave Dinesen founded BackCheck in 1997. Dave is a leader and innovator within the pre-employment screening industry. He also founded Checkwell’s Continuous Employee Feedback programme for Employee Engagement and Retention, and established BackCheck in the United Kingdom. Under Dave’s leadership, BackCheck has grown from a small business to a multi-site organization that serves thousands of employers. Previously, Dave co-founded and led a large investigation and due diligence firm.

Dave is a sought after speaker on the topic of employment screening. Featured in a number of trade and general media articles, Dave has sat on a panel at a recent Canadian HR Council, he has addressed the HRPAO conference, ASIS, the Atlantic HR Conference and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. He is a member of the Human Resources Management Association (HRMA) of B.C., and the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS).

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Dean Drysdale | Chairman of the Board & CFO

Dean holds an MBA from INSEAD and a PhD from Cass Business School at City University - London. He is a professor of business management at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. He has extensive work experience in government at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels including two years in the Canadian Prime Minister's office. He served as director of the Working Opportunity Fund for 9 years, which is the largest venture capital firm in British Columbia. He has ten years experience in corporate finance, specializing in raising funds for high growth companies. Dean has served as an officer in the Canadian Army Reserve for 25 years, and currently holds the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Dean is a fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (UK).

Andy Kroen | Senior Vice President - Sales

Andy Kroen is responsible for managing BackCheck's Canadian sales force. He is an experienced HR professional and Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designate with 25 years of Corporate HR experience, including extensive expertise in recruitment, compensation and benefits, training and development, change management and strategic planning. His background includes experience working for two major international high-tech organizations. Andy is a graduate of the University of Toronto and has chaired many HR Forums and Committees such as the International Technology Association of Canada. Andy speaks regularly at conferences across Canada on numerous HR-related topics.

Stephen Dinesen | Vice President - Marketing & Business Development

Stephen is an original member of the BackCheck team, having developed the client service delivery protocols, workflow systems, and the technology that facilitates online reporting. Stephen is an active member of the business development team, and aims to support, through technology, our goal of ever increasing quality, speed, and efficiency of service. Stephen has previously held the role of BackCheck General Manager and holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

Jeremy Hardern | Vice President of Operations

Jeremy currently oversees BackCheck’s operations in Canada, the UK and the Philippines.  Since joining BackCheck, Jeremy has concentrated on re-engineering core applications and building solutions for increased workflow efficiencies.  Prior to joining BackCheck Jeremy operated as a consultant in a number of business analysis, project management and system implementation roles on large change projects in banking, insurance and government.  Jeremy has a B.Sc. in Land Economics from the University of Paisley (now West of Scotland) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Software Engineering from Napier University.

Steven Leong | Vice President of Technology

Steven is responsible for technology strategy, systems development and infrastructure at Checkwell. He has broad industry experience in the delivery of large-scale technology initiatives, development methodologies, IT governance and product development. Steven has worked in technology, management consulting and product marketing roles throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. His background includes telecommunications with Ericsson in Stockholm, Sweden, and Motorola in Chicago and Zurich, Switzerland. Steven has a B.Sc. in Computer Science from Simon Fraser University, and an MBA from the University of British Columbia and the Rotterdam School of Management in the Netherlands. He is currently focusing on scaling up Checkwell's systems and technology core competencies to meet aggressive corporate objectives.

Rod Piukkala | Vice President - Police Service Technologies

Rod liaises with police services across the country while focusing on marketing, business development and product development associated to the Virtual Front Counter and myBackCheck.com solutions for online criminal record checks. Prior to BackCheck, Rod was a Marketing Director for TELUS in the Public Sector with a focus on public safety and security, emergency management and higher education. These private sector positions followed a thirty four year career in policing within Ontario. Rod’s last posting was as Deputy Chief of Police with the Durham Regional Police. Previous to that, he was the Chief of Oxford Community Police Service and before that held progressive leadership roles within Peel Regional Police where he attained the rank of Superintendent. He was a member of Peel Regional Police for a period in excess of 26 years, with extensive investigative experience, specifically within the Service's Homicide Unit where he was assigned for slightly less than half of his career with Peel. He has continuing involvement within the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP), the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy Associates (FBINAA). In 2006 Rod was awarded the designation of Member, Police Order of Merit. 

Dawson Hovey | Executive Vice President - Ottawa Region

Dawson Hovey joined Checkwell in 2010 as the Account Executive Vice President for the Ottawa Region. He is responsible for creating and furthering existing client relations with Human Resources and Security Professionals in the three levels of government and the private sector. Dawson’s past experience includes serving with the RCMP for 34 years in senior executive, management, and operations capacity. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Ottawa

Randy Warkentin | Assistant Vice President - Client Care & Relationship Management

Randy Warkentin joined Checkwell in June 2005. He was quickly recognized for his excellence in client care and was promoted to our Implementation Department, where he helped develop processes and procedures for many of BackCheck’s clients. From there, Randy played a significant role in developing our Sales Support team and as this team continued to grow and evolve, Randy was promoted to BackCheck’s first Department Head of Pre-Sales. Here, he was able to build the department into a functional and integral department within BackCheck. Currently Randy oversees BackCheck’s Implementation, Sales Support, and Quality Assurance Departments. Randy holds a degree in Business from the University of the Fraser Valley.

Conor McKee | Assistant Vice President of Operations - Montreal

Conor McKee joined BackCheck in March 2007 as a Human Resources Interviewer. Conor’s ability to problem-solve and his excellent customer service skills set him apart. Having shown creativity and initiative as the department head of one of the largest departments in the company, Conor was selected in November 2011 to be the Assistant Vice President of Operations for the Montreal location. Conor holds a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Political Science and Communication from Simon Fraser University.

Shaun Hammond | Vice President - United Kingdom

Shaun Hammond is tasked with the expansion of BackCheck's UK operations, with the goal of repeating the immense success that has seen BackCheck lead the Canadian market. He brings with him skills and experience from a career that has seen him hold positions such as Director of Sales and Marketing at ADP, Vice President and General Manager at Fujitsu Software and Director of Operations/Sales Director at Amdahl. Throughout his career, Shaun has worked upon the establishment, management and growth of world-wide and pan-European companies and has always enjoyed particular success in regards to sales. In his short time with BackCheck, Shaun has already established relationships with several major UK companies, and is set to add yet more to BackCheck's ever increasing UK presence.

Kevin M Price QPM | Vice President - United Kingdom

Kevin Price joined Backcheck in October 2011 having recently retired from the police service following a 32 year career. He served with the Gwent Constabulary in senior operational and executive positions and was a senior advisor on Hostage Negotiations and critical incident management in Wales and the UK. Awarded the Queens Police Medal for exemplary police service in 2009 he brings with him a wealth of experience and skills which will be directed towards assisting employers in developing robust pre-employment screening programmes that ensure compliance and address real security and reputational concerns faced by companies today. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the University Of Wales-Newport in 2010  for his contribution to the communities of Newport and Wales.

Chris Hawkins

Chris Hawkins oversees the UK Operations Centre and is responsible for the ongoing development of the BackCheck product portfolio and the establishment of industry leading service fulfillment models. He has facilitated BackCheck’s extraordinary growth in the United Kingdom through the development of innovative and scalable workflow solutions and effective supply chain management. His strengths lie in ensuring the delivery of exceptionally high quality and accurate information within agreed upon service levels while maintaining a customer first attitude within the operations team. His responsibilities also include compliance and risk mitigation. Chris is a Certified Human Resources Professional and is an active Member of the Human Resource Management Association. Chris holds a BA in Economics from Simon Fraser University and an MBA from the OU Business School with a focus on Strategic Management.

Jonathan Lochbaum | Assistant Vice President of Operations - Manila

Jonathan Lochbaum has been part of the BackCheck team since May 2006, beginning as a Human Resources Interviewer. He held positions such as Project Management Coordinator and Implementation Coordinator, where he had the opportunity to work with numerous key BackCheck executives. As Assistant Vice President of Operations in Manila, Jonathan has contributed to the success of providing 24 hour support for BackCheck clients. Jonathan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology from Simon Fraser University.

Jordan Leclair | Assistant Vice President of Operations - Surrey

Jordan Leclair has been part of the BackCheck team since March 2007, where he began as a Human Resources Interviewer. He has held multiple department head roles, served as a Senior Operations Analyst and was formerly an AVP of Operations for our Montreal office. In all of his roles, Jordan has been challenged with creating and implementing solutions to improve operations. In his current role as Assistant Vice President of Operations for the Vancouver office, Jordan provides leadership and oversees daily operations. Jordan holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Northern British Columbia.