strengthens senior management with the addition of new chief financial officer Peter Allen (left), previously CFO at Export Development Canada. Mr. Allen has more than 25 years experience as a financial executive in both the public and private sector, including CFO of Nav Canada and VP, finance, Merisel Canada Inc., the country’s largest distributor of computer hardware and software. A commercial pilot, he has a seaplane on the Ottawa River, and is a volunteer treasurer and director of Orbis Canada, a charitable foundation that operates the world’s only flying eye surgery teaching hospital, a converted DC-10 airliner. Robert Ryan, who held the role of CFO at Allen-Vanguard since last January, will remain with the company as VP, corporate development. Continuing to work out of Toronto, he will now focus on partner and investor relations.. In other developments, recently hired John Lawlor, VP corporate relations, has resigned due to poor health, and Pat Paulin, VP, finance, has left to pursue other opportunities. Kerrie Dickson (right), previously controller, has been named the company's new VP of finance.