Michael Burch: President

Born in Cumbria, England, Michael came to Toronto, Ontario in 1969 and then started working in the sales and marketing department at Methuen Publishing. In 1974, Methuen sent Michael to British Columbia to open their Vancouver branch and by 1976, he had started his own sales commission agency in Vancouver called Adams Burch Ltd. In June 1977, Michael started Whitecap Books and began publishing gift and coffee table books celebrating Canada’s natural beauty. Whitecap flourished and soon began publishing books in a variety of genres. Michael is pleased his company has become one of Canada’s leading independent book publishing companies.

Nick Rundall: Vice President 

Nick Rundall is the Vice President of Whitecap Books and leads sales and marketing from Whitecap’s Toronto office. Born in Dublin, Ireland, and raised in England, Nick earned a degree in English from the University of British Columbia. His career in publishing began in 1973 with a small publishing house in London, England. Nick returned to Canada three years later where he worked as an editor for UBC Press. In 1976, Nick opened an office for Penguin Books in Vancouver and served as their Western Sales Manager for six years. In 1983, he moved to Toronto and worked as the Marketing Director for the Canadian Book Marketing Group. It was during his time here that Nick and Michael Burch, Whitecap founder and president, formed a friendship and came to be partners in Whitecap Books in 1996. 

Nick is a prominent and active member of Canada’s publishing industry as the committee chair for the Association of Canadian Publishers’ trade committee. He also sits on the Board of the ACP (Association of Canadian Publishers) and was also formerly on the Board of the AECB (Association for the Export of Canadian Books).

Robert McCullough: Publisher

Born in Guelph, Ontario, Robert McCullough moved to Pitt Meadows, British Columbia when he was 16. After high school, Robert pursued a degree in theatre at Douglas College and UBC and went on to manage two Cody Books locations. It was through his involvement in the marketing and author programs at Cody Books that Robert became inspired to begin a career in book publishing. In 1990, he began working at Whitecap Books as the publisher’s assistant. He quickly moved into a position with Whitecap’s marketing and publicity department, where he became a trailblazer in finding new ways to promote Whitecap’s titles. With this excitement and vision, it is no surprise that in 2001, Robert became Whitecap’s Publisher.

Over the years, Robert has seen a lot of exciting changes take place at Whitecap. Whitecap’s successful culinary publishing program is very much a reflection of his passion for food and wine. He has also become involved in the publishing community—he taught at the Banff Publishing Centre for two years and has been teaching at the Simon Fraser University’s Master’s of Publishing Program for the past 10 years. He was recently awarded an Adjunct Professorship from SFU.

Other Whitecap Staff:

Kristina Stosek, Chief Financial Officer
Moira Bridgeman, Accounting
Jeffrey Bryan, Publicity Coordinator
Jennifer Goos, Production Manager
Taryn Boyd, Managing Editor
Grace Yaginuma, Editor
Michelle Mayne, Art Director
Mauve Page, Designer
Jan Westendorp, Publisher’s Assistant