Team

Mukhtar Rahemtulla
President

Mr. Rahemtulla is the co-founder and President of AutoVision Wireless Inc. The Company was created from a former Division of Bell Canada in 2007. Mr. Rahemtulla brings twenty-five years of experience in the Telecommunication Industry.

In his previous position as General Manager, Infosat Telecommunications, a BCE subsidiary, he led the growth of the start-up Company to $54M and a world-wide presence over a ten year span. Mr. Rahemtulla left Infosat in 2006 to return to Ottawa.

Mr. Rahemtulla began his career with Philips in the Netherlands. He later joined Bell Canada in Toronto working in Digital Transmission followed by a 13 year career with Telesat Canada and Mobile Satellite Ventures where he held various levels of senior management positions in marketing and engineering.

Mr. Rahemtulla is a recognized Industry expert in the technical and commercial aspects of mobile data communications. Mr. Rahemtulla obtained his BASc. Electrical Engineering from the University of British Columbia and an MBA (Marketing), also from UBC. He received his early education at the Aga Khan School in Uganda and the Royal University of Malta.

Mr. Rahemtulla is active in supporting non-profit Organizations working in Central Asia and Africa. He is also an active hiker, squash and tennis player.

Elgin McMillan
Vice President Operations

Elgin McMillan brings over 20 years of fleet management experience in the administration and development of fleet management policies and solutions. Elgin has worked in the fleet industry in various management roles from service and operations manager to fleet systems design and implementation.

His most recent position was with Bell Canada Fleet Services where he was instrumental in launching a telematic and fleet management service to manage Bell 's 13,000 vehicles. Mr. McMillan has extensive experience and knowledge of the challenges faced by fleet managers and the impact of these challenges on Organizations' operational and budgetary process.

Mr. McMillan and his team of IT professionals have developed reliable, and feature rich hardware and software solutions for Fleet Managers.

Kathleen Grzyb
Senior Project Manager

Kathleen Grzyb has more than 20 years’ worth of business experience, much of it gained managing major telecommunications installation projects on behalf of Telesat Canada, Advanced Projects International, and now AutoVision Wireless.

During her 15 years with Telesat, Kathleen rose to become Manager, Customer Engineering. In this capacity, she directed 15 project managers, satellite terminal installers, and engineers. She also supervised the installation of thousands of satellite data terminals for customers such as Blockbuster Video, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler.

After Kathleen left Telesat in 2003, she founded the Explorer Consulting Group and worked for two years as a project manager with Advanced Projects International, a systems integration company in Petaluma, California. Here she managed a multi-million project to install satellite telephony equipment in 500 rural locations in Texas.

Kathleen brings tremendous project management experience to AutoVision Wireless, and a practical approach to business and problem solving. Kathleen holds a Digital Electronics Technician certificate and a Horticulture Technician diploma from Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario.

Laura La Prairie
Director Sales

Laura La Prairie has over 20 years experience in Sales and Management roles in the Telecommunications market in Canada and the US. 

Laura began her career in wireless communications as the Executive Director of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association.  During the next 10 years, she worked in both Dallas and Chicago with manufacturers of wireless network components including Andrew Corporation to develop and introduce new products and services for cellular carriers across the US. 

More recently, she worked at Bell for 8 years, leading a team of Sales Engineers implementing wireless data solutions for  large public and private organizations.  She has created and led successful business partnerships with Service Organizations, Financial Institutions, Emergency Service providers and Electric Utilities. 

Laura holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from York University and a Masters Certificate in Project Management, also from York University.  She is an Assistant Coach for the Dale Carnegie Course and is active in sports, including running, skiing and cycling.
 

Mohammad Shahab Khokhar
Director Business Development

Mohamamd Shahab Khokhar brings over 14 years of experience in Sales, Marketing & Customer Services in the Telecommunication sector.

Before moving to Canada in 2006 Mr. Khokhar worked as V.P. Marketing & Sales at Comstar ISA Ltd. a leading Broadband Wireless Network Provider in Pakistan. In his 8 years of service at Comstar Mr. Khokhar was instrumental in increasing the revenue ten fold to US$2.5 million.

While at Comstar Mr. Khokhar also setup a sister company in Dubai for which he worked as General Manager for over an year.

In Canada Mr. Khokhar worked as an independent sales consultant for US and Dubai based Telecom companies before spending an year at Direct Energy as a consultant.

Mr. Khokhar obtained his MBA (Marketing) from IBA and an MS (Physics) from the University of Karachi. Mr. Khokhar is based in Brampton where he is actively involved in non-profit organizations.

Richard Lynch
Operations Manager

Richard Lynch brings over 18 years combined customer service, telecommunications and automotive management experience. 

During his 7 years with Infosat Telecommunications Richard led in all aspects of the industry including warehouse management,  customer service management, field installations and new product development.  In his most recent role with Newport Automotive Inc. Richard was responsible for the operation of a high volume automotive repair facility.

Mr. Lynch was raised in a resort area of Northern Ontario where he learned the importance of customer service.  Richard has a certificate in business management from the University College of the Cariboos and an accounting certificate from Camosun College.

Richard is active in international volunteer work camps and enjoys outdoor pursuits including climbing, mountain biking and motorcycling.