Managing Directors

Chad Molleken is a Canadian born entrepreneur.  He graduated from the University of Calgary in 2004 with two undergraduate degrees in international business and international relations.  Chad quickly realized his passion for building strong global partnerships and began his career working for the United States Consulate, helping American companies break into the Western Canadian oil and gas market.

Chad later moved on to work with Calgary Economic Development as Business Development Manager for the technology sector and also spent two years working for the British High Commission heading up the UK Trade and Investment office in Calgary, Alberta.

Upon joining Rainmaker Global Business Development in 2008, Chad was given the responsibility of opening the UK office and immediately began forging strong ties with international companies, governments and strategic partners. In the difficult economic climate of 2009 and with only three months lead-time, he secured £150,000 in sponsorship, and programmed and produced a successful Canada Day in London celebration. His ability to find creative solutions and bring people and organizations together has been the driving force behind this inspirational event, which has more than doubled in size with over 75,000 people attending in 2011.  Chad continues to lead the UK office on a number of successful projects in major events and business development.

Chad is a member of the marketing committee for the Canada UK Chamber of Commerce, a trustee for the Foundation for Canadian Studies and spent two years as a trustee for the World Youth Education Trust. He actively supports the Terrence Higgins Trust and National Aids Trust among many other charities and community groups.

John Hobbs has over 16 years of experience building and managing trade and investment development programs in Canada and overseas.

Working mainly in the public sector within the Canadian government, John is a strategist who has worked on multiple high-profile foreign investment projects, developing major trade links and assisting companies looking to expand internationally.

From 2009 to 2011, John played a key role in the Gateways and Trade Corridors division within Canada’s Department of Transportation. Developing an international marketing strategy for Canada’s Gateways, he was key in positioning Canada’s transportation and logistics system as a top choice for international shippers moving goods to and from North America. He also led the co-ordination of Canada’s Gateways presence at international trade shows and conferences.

Previous to this John worked with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International trade (DFAIT) where he designed and managed DFAIT’s  $25m Community Investment Support Program.  The program supported Canadian municipalities with funding and strategic advice for development of FDI attraction research and strategies.

John also conceptualized and developed ‘Follow the Leaders: Canadian Innovation in Biotechnology’, a multi-faceted international marketing campaign promoting Canada’s biotechnology sector.  Central to the strategy was the launch of a publication profiling Canadian innovations in biotechnology by Canada’s Minister of Industry.  John was awarded a Deputy Minister’s Award of Excellence in recognition for his effort.

Josh Soloway is the Managing Director of Rainmaker’s New York office and CEO of the law firm Soloway GroupP.C. Josh is an experienced and passionate entrepreneur with extensive legal and business expertise in energy, finance, natural resources, public policy, real estate, technology, and tax.

Soloway Group P.C., is a leading provider of outsourced U.S. Special Counsel and accredited OTCQX services for non-U.S. clients. As a certified Principal American Liaison (“PAL”), Soloway Group P.C. is uniquely qualified to sponsor and advise clients throughout the OTCQX listing process and beyond. Whether clients seek to raise capital or conduct business in the United States, Soloway Group offers the expertise and resources to navigate the legal landscape safely and effectively.

Prior to founding Soloway Group, P.C., Josh spent several years at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he advised alternative investment funds and energy clients on the structuring of their international investments. Josh also advised on a wide array of international transactions, including a multinational environmental asset manager’s participation in a $1.2 billion carbon emissions offset project in China; the structuring of two of the world’s first greenhouse gas credit aggregation pools; and numerous private equity acquisitions throughout Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America.

A passionate entrepreneur, Josh built a thriving real estate business in Los Angeles and was one of the first employees at Rivio Inc., a web-based software company that provides resource-planning solutions for small businesses. While at Rivio, Josh spearheaded numerous customer outreach initiatives while building and managing a multi-tiered customer service department that included five call centers, several cross-functional resolution teams, and a fully integrated customer relationship management system.

Josh holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Boston University School of Law, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he graduated cum laude with high honors.

A frequent speaker at resource and investment conferences, Josh is admitted to practice law in the State of New York and holds a Series 79 investment banking license.

Keith Labbett is a well-known and respected executive search consultant with over a decade of search experience in a variety of industries and virtually all management functions. This contributes to Osprey Executive Search’s success in placing many high performing executives in many corporations across Canada and Internationally. Osprey’s list of successful high-profile senior executive and management assignments is both lengthy and impressive.

Keith’s dedication and determination have contributed to his success in both operations and sales and marketing roles. These senior and mid-level “grass roots” contacts and personal knowledge allow a more detailed understanding of each client’s needs and unique circumstances; thereby allowing him to more effectively assist clients in articulating what they should be seeking in the ideal candidate. This is a key first step in a successful search to describe, locate, recruit and select the very best possible candidates.

Prior to forming Osprey Executive Search Keith was a founding partner in a high-profile Toronto based boutique firm. Keith started his career in executive search and within two years he was the youngest consultant in the history of one Canada’s largest independent executive search firms. Prior to this Keith was a Real Estate Broker with DTZ Barnicke Ltd., commercial real estate brokerage. Keith has had hands on experience in the start up process of small firms and operations of independent professional service firms with between two to two hundred employees. He has also provided consulting services for many other successful companies over the past 15 years.

A native of Toronto, Keith is actively involved in a wide variety of charitable and community activities, including the founding of the The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation’s upcoming fund raiser Knock Out Cancer. He is involved in many children’s and charitable sports programs as a coach, organizer and board member, and in the world-renowned and internationally televised annual Toronto Santa Claus Parade, where he organizes their annual golf tournament and sits on the marketing committee. Keith is an avid skier (Alpine Ski Club), squash player, curler (Toronto Cricket Club) and rugby player (Toronto Saracens)…still. Keith is an enthusiastic alumnus and former President of the Toronto Alumni Association and former member of the National Committee of Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Quebec, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and was a founder of the Bishop’s chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity. Keith resides in Toronto with his wife and two children.

With a reputation for tackling tough business situations and a talent for winning multi-million sales contracts, Ron Clarke’s career is highly impressive.

Ron has been in private business for over 27 years, covering a variety of industry areas including energy extraction, manufacturing of oil country tubular goods products and consulting on numerous projects globally..

As an entrepreneur, Ron co-founded Precision Tube Technology in Houston, which was named in Inc. magazines top 500 fastest growing private companies in 1996. Building the company from the ground up, Ron was responsible for profitable running of the company’s major accounts including Alliance and preferred vendor relationships. He was later elected Chairman of the industry association, International Coiled Tubing Association 2002-2003.

In 2005, Ron negotiated the sale of Belarusian firm FIDMASH to a major USA firm, a deal widely thought to be the first of its kind. He is currently developing new oilfield technologies for improved well-intervention methods and assisting fledgling and growing companies with market penetration and product enhancement.

With a worldwide network of high-profile contacts and vast industry experience, Ron works with a variety of clients in the Houston office, enhancing and expanding Rainmaker’s network in the southern United States.

Said Younes has over 30 years’ experience across broad industries, products, and services in corporate and multinational environments. Said is a creative and innovative manager, administrator and entrepreneur, taking pride in his ability to launch new diverse projects successfully.

His management experience covers a wide variety of industries, including banking (dealing-room, treasury & corporate finance), financial restructuring, project finance, project management, contract finance & project evaluation, retail & whole-sale distribution, materials/production planning, purchasing, operations, personnel & administration.

Said has achieved great success in his business development roles, most recently with the Al Futtaim Group – growing one of their Wholesale-Trading Companies by over 400%. He has also established many market-leading businesses including Nour-Maya Holding which includes Daltex-Nour-Maya, a fresh produce Intl. trader (Part “Daltex-Van Rein Intl”), Nour-Maya Tires, a registered Michelin-Tires International Trading company, Promolinks Intl. Dubai, Digital Advertising Solutions, Blu-Solutions RAK FZC, an HR Recruitment Consultancy and Arabian Energy Group RAK FZC, Oil & Gas Consultancy.

Said has created a successful Outgoing-Tour-Operator in Köln, Germany & Luxembourg with an operational Call-Centre in Cairo, and has also conducted a noted Preliminary study for the HSBC Islamic Banking Division – AMANA (Saudi-British Bank).

Said is an accredited dealmaker. He was responsible for turning around Glass Manufacturing Group by concluding a yearly €6 Million Sales contract with IKEA Intl. Said negotiated a bank settlement agreement between Credit-Lyonnais Bank/Flash-Tours Group (the 2nd largest Tour Operator in Egypt). He also handled successfully the role of Merger-coordinator between Cadbury Middle-East & Bim-Bim Egypt.