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Team and Board

Franziska Middrup

Trade & Investment Coordinator

Franziska “Franzi,” was born and raised in Germany, but has always harboured a profound fascination for Canada. Her diverse background in tourism, sports, project management, and trade show organization has given her the opportunity to work in the Yukon, then Toronto, and now she finds herself in the Edmonton region. As Edmonton Global’s Trade and Investment Coordinator, Franzi leverages her diverse skillset to support the work of the Trade and Investment team. Outside of work, Franzi thrives in participating in a wide range of outdoor activities, whether hiking, skiing, paddling, or biking, she seizes every opportunity for adventure. Franzi is proud to call the Edmonton region home because of the boundless potential for both personal and professional development, coupled with its strong sense of community.

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LinkedIn

Mustafa Sahin

Executive Vice President, Investment & Trade
A man sitting on a couch in a hotel lobby.

Mustafa Sahin is a senior international business and economic development leader with 28 years of experience in trade and investment, sales, and marketing. Sought after for his investment and trade knowledge, Mustafa is a Canadian thought leader who attracts interest to Canada while also bringing Canadian brands to international markets.

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LinkedIn

Jeffrey Sundquist

Board Member
Jeffrey Sundquist

Jeffrey is a former senior diplomat appointed to the High Commission of Canada in London as representative to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland for trade and investment and the European Union, where he represented the trade and policy interests of the Province of Alberta. In this role, he successfully promoted trade and investment for the province and managed Alberta’s reputation across Europe as a responsible developer of its natural resources. He has worked internationally throughout his professional career conducting business in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and the United States.

Manisha Arora

Director of Trade
Manisha Arora sitting on a chair in a lobby.

Manisha has long had an interest in travelling and seeing the world and has called the Edmonton region home for 14 years and counting. Her wanderlust steered her to study International Relations at the University of Calgary, which has since given her the opportunity to represent the province of Alberta around the world. Naturally collaborative, she is passionate about building networks and guiding people toward achieving a greater goal. Over the last decade, she has been instrumental in expanding Alberta’s role on the international stage and supporting local companies in seeing their export potential. As Edmonton Global’s Director of Trade, Manisha is excited to grow the already vibrant export ecosystem of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region. Outside of work, you can find Manisha with her family, enjoying a book, or planning her next adventure.

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LinkedIn

Adam O’Brien

Board Member

Adam is the Founder and CEO of Bitcoin Well, the first publicly traded Bitcoin ATM company globally. He is recognized as a true visionary in the field and strives to bring bitcoin to the mainstream, making it easy, approachable, and accessible for all. Adam is a leading advocate for education, consumer protection, and financial services decentralization.

Paul Verhesen

Board Member

Paul is the past President & CEO of the Clark Builders Group of Companies – a commercial, industrial, and institutional builder operating throughout Western and Northern Canada. Paul’s respect for his colleagues, visionary leadership and industry knowledge combine to provide clients, trades, and employees foundation for sharing in a great experience. Presently, Paul participates on several advisory board’s bringing his expertise and market knowledge to these private companies.

Amanpreet Bhatti

Manager, Trade Development

Amanpreet is a charismatic, driven self-starter with a passion to help organizations grow. Born and raised in Sherwood Park, Alberta, she was drawn to the business development world early as she watched her parents succeed in running their own businesses. After completing her BCom degree with a management major, she knew that she wanted to be a leader. When she’s not supporting Edmonton Global’s investment attraction activities, Amanpreet is pursuing her passions for reading, fashion, travelling, and trying any and every new restaurant or café in the region.

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LinkedIn

Robert Sikora

Senior Manager, Business Development, Health & Life Sciences
Robert Sikora

A born and raised Edmontonian, Robert has a deep love of his city and its people. You can find him running one of the many river valley trails with his dog Max or golfing at one of the local courses. With an education in BioChem, Robert has diverse in-depth experience and knowledge advising, overseeing, and growing companies internationally in the biotechnology, petrochemicals, and nutraceuticals industries. Along with a rich history in international travel, particularly overseeing European and South-East Asian markets, he’s brought new business opportunities and initiatives abroad, growing Canadian companies and establishing and maintaining partnerships—and he’s bilingual in English and French. His success in business comes not only from his technical knowledge and expertise but that he enjoys helping and seeing those around him succeed. Robert brings his skills in long-term relationship building, investment, international business development, and trade initiative enhancement to any table.

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LinkedIn

Jeff Bell

Director, Research & Business Intelligence
A man in glasses leaning against a colorful wall.

A life-long champion of the Edmonton region, Jeff believes in the importance of evidence-based decisions that are founded on collaboration, transparency, humility and accuracy. He enjoys looking at maps and pondering the trade-offs between good information now and better information later. His diverse background includes international experience working with academia, private sector, not-for-profits and the public sector. When Jeff is not neck deep in some spreadsheet or research report you can find him exploring local art galleries and music venues – or stopping to smell the wildflowers in the North Saskatchewan river valley.

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LinkedIn