In 1989, Peter Armstrong assembled the successful team to bid on the fledging Rocky Mountaineer service that was being operated by Via Rail, a subsidized federal crown corporation. The company's turnaround and subsequent success has been achieved without government subsidy. His principles of guest services have been the driving force behind the company's high level of guest satisfaction.

A native of New Brunswick, a resident of Vancouver, British Columbia for over 40 years, Mr. Armstrong is a recipient of the Canadian Venture Capital Association's Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Tourism and Hospitality and the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for contribution to Canadian communities. He has also been inducted into the Canadian Railway Hall of Fame.

Mr. Armstrong sits on the board of directors of many organizations in the tourism industry, in addition to educational, private and public companies and charities. 

ceo@agroup.ca

Management Team

Mr. Powell joined Armstrong Group with 25 years of extensive consumer products and services business leadership, most recently as Global President of Canada’s largest food processor Maple Leaf Fresh Foods. Prior to that he was President & Chief Executive Officer of the Second Cup Coffee Company, where he led record sales and profits for 4 consecutive years. He was also President of S.C. Johnson and Sons, Canada and held various senior management positions with the Campbell Soup Company.  Mr. Powell’s track record is that of a master strategist, consumer brand builder, and proven leader.

A native of Toronto, he earned his bachelor of Administration Studies from York University, where he subsequently sat on the Deans Advisory Board for York’s Atkinson College. During his career, Powell has received a number of accolades, including the Financial Post’s “Top 40 under 40” award and Business Hall of Fame recognition from Sheridan College.

As President of Armstrong Group, Mr. Powell has set a clear vision and put the company on track to deliver its long term goals of building its Rocky Mountaineer brand, delivering superior consumer value, and driving strategic growth.

president@agroup.ca

Since leaving public practice 10 years ago, Mr. Nice has progressed through various financial positions in several industries including retail oil and gas, cable television and telecommunications where, most recently he worked as the CFO of Primus Telecommunications located in Toronto, Ontario.

At AG in his role as Chief Financial Officer, his department is responsible for the production of all financial information and reporting, and for the implementation and maintenance of all information technology.

A native of New Brunswick on Canada’s east coast, Mr. Nice has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of New Brunswick and is a Chartered Accountant.

bnice@rockymountaineer.com

Mr. Terry studied business in England before bringing to the company over thirty years experience in hotel and restaurant management and development, working in England, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

As Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Terry is responsible for Operations throughout the company and RMV’s award-winning and legendary Guest Services.  Mr. Terry is on the board of Tourism Vancouver and the Tourism Association of Canada (TIAC).

jterry@rockymountaineer.com

DEBBIE PAULSEN

Originally from Vancouver, Ms. Paulsen spent the early part of her career in progressive levels of human resource management with a privately owned, high technology company where she played a leading role in developing organizational development programs and annual strategies to attract, develop and retain high calibre staff.  Most recently Ms. Paulsen was with 3M Company leading and directing the human resource activities for the Vancouver office.

As Executive Director, Human Resources, Ms. Paulsen is responsible for leading the human resource team and sustaining a high performing employee group by partnering with senior management in designing annual strategies and delivering goals that support the company’s strategic business objectives.

dpaulsen@rockymountaineer.com

Most recently, at ConAgra Foods Grocery he served in assignments as Vice President of Sales, Business Development and Vice President Marketing and prior to this as Director of National Customer Teams for General Mills Inc. In all of his tenures, he led the company’s sales and marketing efforts across multi channels of distribution.

Mr. Nicholas and his team are responsible for the strategic direction and world-wide sales initiatives of Armstrong Group and its entities. He has extensive experience in sales and business development both in Canada and the United States. 

Mr. Nicholas holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Simon Fraser University and has completed the University of Western Ontario's Executive Program.

bnicholas@rockymountaineer.com

Hubert Wat

Prior to joining the company, Mr. Wat was Vice President, Corporate Marketing for eight years at The Forzani Group Ltd., which owns and operates such well-known retail chains as Sport Chek, Sport Mart and Coast Mountain Sports. He has also held senior marketing positions with Rogers Communications and TBWA Vancouver. In 2005, Mr. Wat was named by Marketing Magazine as one of Canada’s Most Influential Marketers.

As Armstrong Group’s Vice President, Marketing, Mr. Wat is responsible for the brand architecture and integrated marketing programs for the Rocky Mountaineer and Whistler Mountaineer brands through Product Development, Advertising and Digital Marketing.

Mr. Wat holds a Diploma in Marketing Management from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and Diploma, Communications and Advertising Accredited Professional from the Institute of Canadian Advertising.

hwat@rockymountaineer.com