Okanagan School of Business

Bill came to higher education administration with a wealth of business, professional and geographic experience.  A lawyer by training, he began his career in 1983 as a commercial litigator at a small firm in Detroit, Michigan and subsequently moved to Shearman & Sterling in New York City where his practice centered on mergers and acquisitions and securities law, primarily for clients in the insurance industry.  From there, he moved to Seattle as in-house counsel for an insurance group engaged in business throughout the United States, managing regulatory matters and transactions as the group sought to maximize value through the disposition of its operations.  Bill then moved to Manchester, New Hampshire with the RiverStone Group, a global leader in the management of discontinued and run-off insurance portfolios.  After a stint managing the European operations of the group from London, he returned to New Hampshire as President of RiverStone.

In 2010, after 27 years in law and business, primarily within the insurance industry, Bill accepted the position as Dean of the School of Business at Southern New Hampshire University, a leader in innovation in higher education in the U.S.  During his tenure as Dean at SNHU, Bill led the development of the Degree-in-Three business bachelor’s degree program, incorporating a unique integrated and competency-focused approach to business education. 

View extended profile

Teaching Experience: 
Strategic Management, Tourism, Social Entrepreneurship, Human Resources Management (Leadership, Strategic HR Management, Strategic Performance Management, Organization Development & Change).

Accomplishments: 
In her role as an Associate Dean of the Okanagan School of Business, Laura works with a leadership team and approx. 90 faculty and staff serving 1,500 Business students across four campuses in the Okanagan, Similkameen, and Shuswap areas. Most recently, she was an Associate Dean in the Science, Technology and Health portfolio at Okanagan College working with 13 departments in the Science and Technology areas.

As an active member of her local business community Laura is very aware of the challenges facing businesses today and strives to help new and existing businesses develop and expand.  Laura is a past President of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, a past Director of the British Columbia Wine Authority, a current Board Director with CPHR BC & Yukon, and the current Board President of KCR Community Resources.

In addition to her professional career, Laura and her husband own a small business operating in the Central Okanagan. Laura enjoys an active Okanagan lifestyle finding time for skiing, golfing, kayaking and camping.

Specialty Areas: 
Organizational Sustainability & Development, Strategic Planning, Human Resources Management, Governance, Not-for-Profit Management, Social Entrepreneurship.

Research Interests: 
Governance, Women in Leadership, BC Wine Industry.

Associations and Board Memberships:
Board President, KCR Community Resources
Board Director, CPHR BC & Yukon
Member, Chartered Professionals of Human Resources, CPHR BC & Yukon
Member, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

Credentials:
Master of Business Administration (Strategic Management), Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia
Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing), Faculty of Commerce, University of British Columbia
Provincial Instructors Diploma (PIDP), Post-Secondary Endorsement, Ministry of Advanced Skills and Education, British Columbia
Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR), CPHR Canada
Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), Society for Human Resource Management, USA

Kerry Rempel brings a variety of experiences to her current role as Associate Dean of Business. Prior to taking on the Associate Dean role in 2023, she taught primarily in the management and human resources areas of the BBA, coached competition teams, and was a faculty lead for the Scotia Bank Centre for Nonprofit Excellence. She served as the Chair of the Business Department from 2019-2022 and led the development of several new programs for. In addition to roles with the Business Department, Kerry also led the OC Strategic Planning process for 2015-2020.

Her early industry experience was focused on operations management and management consulting in the fields of recreation, athletics, print and digital media and tech. In 2003, she moved to Kelowna to transition from corporate work to build a consulting practice focused on nonprofit organizations. That fall she made her first connection with Okanagan College and by January 2004 was teaching in the Business Department. She continues to work with industry by supporting work-integrated learning opportunities for students.

Kerry is also active in the region conducting community-based research, developing and leading workshops, and consulting with nonprofits and social enterprises. Along with other colleagues, she works to integrate her research into the community through the creation of teaching cases and the production of community reports and toolkits.