2023 CLS Annual Users' Meeting

Bill joined the CLS in April 2019 as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). With the retirement of the CLS’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in September 2020, Bill took on the additional role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) until February 2023, when he was appointed CLS CEO.

Prior to joining the CLS, Bill was the COO and CFO at Suncorp Valuations, a global provider of appraisal, business valuation and risk management services. Bill started his professional career with Deloitte where he obtained his Chartered Accountant and Chartered Business Valuator designations. Approximately 20 years of his career was with the Deloitte Financial Advisory team, where he eventually became a Partner. He also led the Business Valuation and Litigation Support services practice for the province of Saskatchewan. At Deloitte he served clients in the public, private, government and not-for-profit sectors across Canada, the US and Mexico.

Chithra became CLS Interim Science Director in September 2023. In this role, she provides leadership in the development and implementation of CLS’ science strategy, and ensures CLS experimental facilities and scientific programs remain current with significant developments in related technology, and are competitive with third-generation synchrotron facilities worldwide. Since 2005, Chithra has been in different roles at CLS, most recently leading and growing the CLS plant imaging and innovation research program and promoting the innovative use of synchrotron techniques for agricultural and food sciences research, as Science Manager (Environmental & Earth Sciences).Chithra completed her Masters and Ph. D in Biosystems Engineering from the University of Manitoba. In 2016 she became a Chartered Professional Manager (C.Mgr.) and in 2021 obtained her MBA from the University of London. Currently, she is an adjunct professor at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Manitoba.

Mark has been with the CLS as the Machine Director since September 2017. The hallmark of his career has been to collaborate with the best in the field of synchrotrons and accelerator physics to achieve excellence in science, research and operations. His expertise has been recognised with several awards, fellowships and leadership positions, including research grants in Australia, Canada and the European Union, a Fulbright Fellowship in the USA, a JSPS Fellowship in Japan and the Chair of the world’s largest and premier conference in particle accelerators IPAC 19.

Mark has a track record for research innovation and excellence in operational performance of scientific infrastructure. He has been the collaboration leader for both Australia and Canada in the global research effort for new particle accelerators for scientific discovery in particle physics through the Compact Linear Collider and the Future Circular Collider projects at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland.

As a physicist, Mark was involved with the commissioning of three light source facilities from 2003 to 2006: the CLS, the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource and the Australian Synchrotron.