Brett Schönekess
PhD, MBA. ~30 years across biotechnology, healthcare, pharmaceutical operations, regulated manufacturing, and entrepreneurship. Founder, Saxon Intelligence Corp.
Four capabilities rarely found in one executive:
I spent nearly a decade building Bragg Creek Distillers into an operating regulated manufacturing, retail, and hospitality business — and learned everything the hard way about founder dependency. Every decision, every system, every piece of institutional knowledge ran through me.
Before that, I managed multi-site healthcare operations at Alberta Health Services with $60M+ in annual pharmaceutical procurement and 140+ staff. Before that, I co-founded biotech companies, raised capital, negotiated IP licensing, and took a drug toward Phase I clinical trial.
Saxon Intelligence exists because I'm doing now — intentionally — what I couldn't do fast enough in my own businesses: removing founder dependency through process design, organizational accountability, and AI. And I'm working with founders in regulated and technically complex industries to do the same.
The right positioning for this business is not management consultant. It is an experienced operator who works alongside management to solve problems and build operating capability — and leaves the organization more capable than when we started.
Credentials
- PhD, PharmacologyUniversity of Alberta
- MBAQueen's University
- B.Sc., PharmacologyUniversity of Alberta
- Canadian Securities Course (Honours)CSI
- Lean / Six SigmaProcess Improvement
By the numbers
- → ~30 years executive experience
- → $8.5M+ raised across ventures
- → $60M+ annual budgets managed
- → 140+ person teams led
- → 15× sales growth achieved
- → Phase I clinical trial approval secured
Career
- — Founded and scaled a craft distillery from concept to $450K+ in annual revenue
- — Raised $3.5M in private capital; built distillery, lounge, and retail operations
- — Grew sales 15× in four years — personally involved in every aspect of the build
- — Oversaw manufacturing, production planning, supply chain, financial governance, and distribution
- — This experience directly informs the Fractional COO practice: Brett understands founder dependency from the inside
- — Led 140+ employees across multiple operations
- — Managed approximately $12M operating budget and $60M in annual pharmaceutical procurement
- — Implemented Lean and Six Sigma quality initiatives; developed business cases for capital and expansion
- — Multi-site operations, workforce management, regulatory compliance
- — Oversaw 45+ staff and approximately $23M budget
- — Provincial genetic and pathology testing programs
- — Program development, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance
- — Secured approximately $700K in seed financing
- — Negotiated IP licensing with University of Alberta and BioMS Medical
- — Advanced lead product to Phase I clinical trial approval (Spain)
- — Managed financial operations and participated in capital raises ($8.5M+)
- — Corporate governance, strategic partnerships, and investor relations
- — Business development and intellectual property strategy