Geordie Rose is a founder and CTO of D-Wave. He is known as a leading advocate for quantum computing and physics-based processor design, and has been invited to speak on these topics in venues ranging from the 2003 TED Conference to Supercomputing 2011. His innovative and ambitious approach to bu...
[ Extended Bio ]

Geordie Rose is a founder and CTO of D-Wave. He is known as a leading advocate for quantum computing and physics-based processor design, and has been invited to speak on these topics in venues ranging from the 2003 TED Conference to Supercomputing 2011. His innovative and ambitious approach to building quantum computing technology has received coverage in MIT Technology Review magazine, The Economist, New Scientist, Scientific American and Science magazines, and one of his business strategies was profiled in a Harvard Business School case study. He has received several awards and accolades for his work with D-Wave, including being short-listed for a 2005 World Technology Award. Dr. Rose holds a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of British Columbia, specializing in quantum effects in materials. While at McMaster University, he graduated first in his class with a BEng in Engineering Physics, specializing in semiconductor engineering. [ Minimize ]

As Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Radian6 a salesforce.com company, the industry-leading social
media-monitoring platform, used by more than half of the FORTUNE 100 companies, Marcel brings with him years of leadership with various technology start-ups. Over the course of his ca...
[ Extended Bio ]

As Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Radian6 a salesforce.com company, the industry-leading social
media-monitoring platform, used by more than half of the FORTUNE 100 companies, Marcel brings with him years of leadership with various technology start-ups. Over the course of his career, he has raised over $100 million in financing, completed an IPO on the Nasdaq and TSX, and headed up an acquisition by a publicly traded company. After the recent completion of its acquisition, Radian6 is now proud to be a salesforce.com company. Marcel believes that Radian6 will bring the voice of the customer into the enterprise and help salesforce.com
customers harness the power of listening, and engaging across the
social web. [ Minimize ]

Lewis Gersh is a Managing Partner at Metamorphic Ventures which invests in seed and early stage B2B digital media and digital commerce technology companies. The fund invests in web and mobile applications across the US and Canada.
Lewis has over 15 years of experience founding, investing in ...
[ Extended Bio ]

Lewis Gersh is a Managing Partner at Metamorphic Ventures which invests in seed and early stage B2B digital media and digital commerce technology companies. The fund invests in web and mobile applications across the US and Canada.
Lewis has over 15 years of experience founding, investing in and advising start-up ventures. Prior to Metamorphic Ventures, Lewis was the founder and CEO of Worldly Information Network (WIN), a publisher of digital financial information to both the retail and institutional markets founded in partnership with AOL. Lewis successfully raised angel and institutional venture capital, grew WIN into a profitable company and completed several acquisitions before its sale.
Lewis graduated from San Diego State University with a BA in English & Political Science and later received his JD and Masters in Intellectual Property Law from the UNH School of Law. During the interim, Lewis was an accomplished athlete, competing in Ironman triathlons, marathons and ultra-marathons worldwide while writing free lance articles and doing computer work to pay the bills.
Lewis is a member of the bar of the State of New York, a trustee of the UNH School of Law and serves on many corporate boards. [ Minimize ]

Paul has 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, executive and investor. He founded Fairhaven Capital Partners in 2007, as a spin out of TD Capital Ventures, which he founded in 2001. Paul has had the great fortune to work with a number of successful startups in the US and Canada, including Clo...
[ Extended Bio ]

Paul has 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, executive and investor. He founded Fairhaven Capital Partners in 2007, as a spin out of TD Capital Ventures, which he founded in 2001. Paul has had the great fortune to work with a number of successful startups in the US and Canada, including Cloakware and SiGe Semiconductor in Canada, and Softricity, Third Screen Media and iPhrase in Boston. He currently sits on the board of SpringPartners, where Fairhaven is an investor. Paul is on the Presidential Advisory Board at the Berklee College of Music and is active with several schools at Northeastern University. Paul was an executive at Fidelity Investments for 14 years, and started his career as a United States Presidential Management Intern and with the US EPA.

Fairhaven Capital is a venture capital fund, based in Cambridge's Kendall Square, dedicated to a thesis-based approach to investing in North American technology companies. This approach focuses investment efforts on markets where emerging companies and technologies can create significant value in three to five years. The Fairhaven team is focused on themes in the consumer, enterprise, financial services, materials, media infrastructure and security markets. Fairhaven is currently investing out of its second fund of $250 million. [ Minimize ]

A technology veteran, Peter van der Gracht has over 30 years experience leading companies through multiple financings, sales and channel partner development, operational build-outs, acquisitions and buy outs. He has broad experience in wireless, software, hardware, telecom, automotive, resource, se...
[ Extended Bio ]

A technology veteran, Peter van der Gracht has over 30 years experience leading companies through multiple financings, sales and channel partner development, operational build-outs, acquisitions and buy outs. He has broad experience in wireless, software, hardware, telecom, automotive, resource, service and broadband industries. Peter has operated businesses both large and small in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia. During his career Peter has lead dozens of financings, acquisitions and business sales. Peter is a director of many public, private and not-for-profit organizations. Peter holds a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of British Columbia and is the recipient of multiple awards for entrepreneurship. [ Minimize ]

Ayelet Baron has earned recognition as an expert in online collaboration, internal communication, global business strategy and organizational change management. Her particular area of focus is implementing strategy and driving business results through people and her passion is connecting people and...
[ Extended Bio ]

Ayelet Baron has earned recognition as an expert in online collaboration, internal communication, global business strategy and organizational change management. Her particular area of focus is implementing strategy and driving business results through people and her passion is connecting people and making a difference in the lives of youth.

Ayelet is currently on the Executive Leadership Team of Cisco Canada, leading strategy and transformation. Prior to that she was on the executive team of Cisco's Emerging Markets where she was looking at ways that emerging technologies can generate greater equity in Emerging Markets, as well as driving key sales initiatives internally at Cisco. With more than 16 years of industry experience and over 10 years of leadership experience at Cisco, including three global roles, Ayelet has a proven track record of success in implementing successful change initiatives.

Ayelet was selected as a Cisco Leadership Fellow, where she developed a social networking handbook for social good, which can be implemented by 26 global non-profit organizations to improve community building and information sharing. She worked with leading CIOs to develop a strategy to create better collaboration between social entrepreneurs and practitioners and she also led the ICT4D healthcare initiatives to create greater collaboration between the private, public and citizen sector organizations.

During her career, Ayelet has built leading edge teams, worked in diverse industries and developed a reputation as a highly creative change agent. Prior to Cisco, Ayelet spent 16 years as a consultant managing the development, implementation and measurement of key initiatives and programs for clients embarking on major change communication initiatives including mergers and acquisitions, technology implementation, new leadership, cost reduction initiatives, and organizational realignments for global Fortune 50 companies.

Ayelet is a recognized industry leader and speaker on social networking, strategic change, emerging technologies and business strategy. Her articles are published in Communication World, Strategic Communication Management and Across the Board. She wrote a monthly column on Strategy and Management for the Strategic Communication Management and is also on their Advisory Board. She recently wrote a guest chapter on Social Media: Boomers and Generation Y for the updated book, Fuse. She also contributed a chapter on business strategy, which was published in a Jossey-Bass book, The IABC Handbook of Organizational Communication.

Ayelet was recently on the Board of Directors of Family and Children Services and works with youth in Kenya. Ayelet recently joined the board of goal4.org, which is focused on maternal health in Kenya and is a Social Media Advisor to One Degree Media and Entertainment, focused on delivering a community and media that matters.

Ayelet holds a B.A. from York University, Toronto, where she majored in political science and minored in theatre. She has a M.A. from Hebrew University of Jerusalem with a major in political science and minor in communications. She has an ABD from the University of Toronto in political science. [ Minimize ]

Jennifer heads up EDC's Equity Group (EDC's private investment arm for both direct and fund investing) and serves as a member or observer on several Strategic Advisory Boards and Board of Directors.

Jennifer has over 25 years of financing experience, including corporate and structur...
[ Extended Bio ]

Jennifer heads up EDC's Equity Group (EDC's private investment arm for both direct and fund investing) and serves as a member or observer on several Strategic Advisory Boards and Board of Directors.

Jennifer has over 25 years of financing experience, including corporate and structured finance, venture capital and private equity investing, workouts and contract dispute resolution. Prior to joining EDC in 1997, Ms. Brooy worked for Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Bank of America and a management consultancy firm.

Currently, Ms. Brooy holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Business Administration degree from the Schulich School of Business.

EDC is Canada's export credit agency, offering innovative commercial solutions to help Canadian exporters and investors expand their international business. EDC's knowledge and partnerships are used by more than 8,400 Canadian companies and their global customers in up to 200 markets worldwide each year. EDC is financially self-sustaining, and is a recognized leader in financial reporting and economic analysis. [ Minimize ]

Jack Young Senior Investment Manager, Qualcomm Ventures Jack heads the wireless health investment at Qualcomm Ventures. His investment interest is focused on the emerging wireless health space including wellness and fitness, chronic disease care, remote diagnosis and monitoring, health informatics...
[ Extended Bio ]

Jack Young Senior Investment Manager, Qualcomm Ventures Jack heads the wireless health investment at Qualcomm Ventures. His investment interest is focused on the emerging wireless health space including wellness and fitness, chronic disease care, remote diagnosis and monitoring, health informatics, etc. Jack currently manages and actively serves as a board observer at wireless health companies including AliveCor and Telcare. In addition, he serves as board observer at PixSense, Jana (formerly known as TxtEagle), uCIRRUS, Validity and Visage Mobile. Prior to Qualcomm Ventures, Jack was EVP/US Country Manager at ZTE who helped to establish ZTE's US market presence. He was a sales and marketing executive at Nokia following the acquisition of Amber Networks where he was founding AVP of marketing. Early in his career, he held marketing and business development positions with 3Com, GDC, and Nortel. Jack earned a MSEE from University of Calgary and a MBA from McGill University. [ Minimize ]

Chris Walker joined the Firm in 1998 as an associate in the secondary partnership group. In 1999, he joined the primary partnership group and has focused most of his efforts on U.S. venture capital and buyout investments. He became a vice president during 2003 and a principal in 2007. Chris also ...
[ Extended Bio ]

Chris Walker joined the Firm in 1998 as an associate in the secondary partnership group. In 1999, he joined the primary partnership group and has focused most of his efforts on U.S. venture capital and buyout investments. He became a vice president during 2003 and a principal in 2007. Chris also has extensive experience working on the healthcare sector, as well as primary partnerships in Canada. He currently serves on the advisory committees for partnerships managed by Caltius Capital Management, Camden Partners, Columbia Capital, Enterprise Partners, Essex Woodlands Health Ventures, Galen Associates, Mission Ventures, Sanderling Ventures, Valhalla Partners, Vector Capital, and The Wicks Group. Prior to graduate school, Chris served as a pilot in the United States Navy for 11 years, flying the P-3 Orion aircraft, and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He received a BS in Finance from Providence College in 1986 and an MS in Finance from the Carroll School of Management Program at Boston College in 1998. [ Minimize ]

Chris O'Neill, Managing Director of Google Canada, oversees all aspects of Google's operations in Canada. His mission is to lead Google to earn the love of Canadian users, advertisers, and partners by helping them to get the most out of the web. He is also a key contributor to Google's Americas Ex...
[ Extended Bio ]

Chris O'Neill, Managing Director of Google Canada, oversees all aspects of Google's operations in Canada. His mission is to lead Google to earn the love of Canadian users, advertisers, and partners by helping them to get the most out of the web. He is also a key contributor to Google's Americas Executive Management Group.

Under O'Neill's leadership, Google Canada, with offices in Toronto, Kitchener, Montreal, and Ottawa, has more than doubled in one year, and has been awarded the #1 Best Place to Work in Canada (Great Places to Work Institute) and recognized as the most respected brand in Canada (Marketing Magazine).

An accomplished and seasoned tech and media executive, O'Neill is a creative problem solver with a proven ability to build and inspire teams that deliver phenomenal results.

O'Neill joined Google in 2005 in California and has held a variety of executive level roles, coaching multiple teams to success. Prior to Google, he was a product marketing director at a large global bank and a strategy management consultant. He began his career on the floor of his family's Canadian Tire store.

Chris is a respected thought leader and frequent speaker at industry events on the topics of innovation, digital media, marketing, and technology. His message and mission are clear: to establish Canada as an innovative leader in the global digital economy.

O'Neill sits on the Board of the Canadian Marketing Association and is a Charter Member of the C100, a non-profit member driven organization dedicated to supporting Canadian technology entrepreneurship and investment. He is a former Board Member of Shop.org.

O'Neill graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a B.A in Economics and also holds an MBA from Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

He lives in Toronto with his wife and two young children. [ Minimize ]

Leonard Brody Bio & Introduction
Leonard is a highly respected entrepreneur, venture capitalist, best-selling author and Emmy
nominated media visionary. He has helped in raising millions of dollars for startup companies, been through one of the largest internet IPOs in history and has ...
[ Extended Bio ]

Leonard Brody Bio & Introduction
Leonard is a highly respected entrepreneur, venture capitalist, best-selling author and Emmy
nominated media visionary. He has helped in raising millions of dollars for startup companies, been through one of the largest internet IPOs in history and has been involved in the building, financing and/or sale of five companies to date. Much critical acclaim has followed him in his endeavours. At Onvia (where he was part of the initial executive), the company was voted Canada's number one startup in 2000 and subsequently closed a $240 Million IPO on NASDAQ.

Currently, Leonard is Co-Founder and CEO of NowPublic which is one of the pioneers in citizen generated news and quickly becoming one of the largest news agencies in the world with over 170,000 contributing reporters in 160 countries & over 3 million readers a month. The Guardian in London ranked NowPublic as one of top 5 news sites in the world and Time Magazine named it as of the top 50 websites in the world.

Leonard acts as an advisor to venture capital funds in the US, Europe and Asia. Throughout his career, has also advised several entities including, the Associated Press, Alliance Atlantis, CanWest Global, Derby County Football Club and Sonic Foundry. In addition, he was the Senior Technology Advisor to Former Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Trade - David
Emerson. Currently, Leonard is a Senior Advisor to the Canadian Ministry of International Trade and a Director of Canada's largest technology association, CATA.

A highly sought-after public speaker, Leonard has lectured at universities such as Stanford, the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai and the Gordon Business School in Johannesburg. His insight has been requested by companies such as Forbes, Warner Music and Bell, as well as, the governments of countries such as India, Israel, Ireland and South Africa. He has spoken at conferences throughout the world including NASSCOM, the World Newspaper Congress, CEBIT and the Monaco Media Forum. His work has been featured in such publications as USA Today,Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, the BBC, El Mundo and Der Spiegel. Recently he was given the award as one of Vancouver's Top 40 Under 40. He is coauthor
of the best selling books, "Innovation Nation: Canadian Leadership from Jurassic Park to Java" and "Everything I Needed to Know About Business...I Learned from a Canadian" both published by John Wiley and Sons.

Leonard holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts from Queens University, a law degree from Osgoode Hall and is a graduate of the Private Equity Course at the Harvard Business School. [ Minimize ]

Duncan Logan is the founder of RocketSpace Inc, a Techcelerator in San Francisco. RocketSpace started in 2011 and currently contains over 95 seed funded technology startups. RocketSpace is widely regarded as one of the leading co-working spaces in America based in San Francisco and heavily integrate...
[ Extended Bio ]

Duncan Logan is the founder of RocketSpace Inc, a Techcelerator in San Francisco. RocketSpace started in 2011 and currently contains over 95 seed funded technology startups. RocketSpace is widely regarded as one of the leading co-working spaces in America based in San Francisco and heavily integrated with the Silicon Valley community. From a Scottish farming background Duncan started his career working in derivatives at Swiss Bank Corporation, London. At 24 he started his first company CITYPRO which over three years he built to $8m revenue before selling in 2000 . Duncan then joined a tech startup MessageLabs, one of the early SAAS Security Companies which later sold to Symantec in 2008 for $700m. Arriving in San Francisco in 2008, Duncan founded NationalBLS Inc an ambitious money burning concept which he hastily extinguished to start RocketSpace. [ Minimize ]

Phil McBride is Innovation Practice Leader in the Global Business Services (GBS) business unit at Procter & Gamble. Phil leads a global Flow-to-Work team, responsible for innovation discovery, business problem definition & transformation, digital design and rapid prototyping.

Estab...
[ Extended Bio ]

Phil McBride is Innovation Practice Leader in the Global Business Services (GBS) business unit at Procter & Gamble. Phil leads a global Flow-to-Work team, responsible for innovation discovery, business problem definition & transformation, digital design and rapid prototyping.

Established in 1999, GBS is a shared services organization providing key business support and solutions to 140,000 P&G employees and operations in 86 countries worldwide.

Phil earned his Undergraduate Degree from Queen's University (Artsci'96), and an MBA from Simon Fraser University (MBA'99), before joining P&G in 1999. He has since held a series of diverse IT positions, from global project management, IT operations & strategy, and merger & acquisition integration, to leading the startup of digital marketing & eCommerce in P&G Canada. [ Minimize ]

Mr. Albright is the Founder and Managing Partner of JLA Ventures and the Co-Managing Partner of the Blackberry Partners Fund. Prior to the founding of JLA Ventures in 1996 and the BlackBerry Partners Fund in 2008, Mr. Albright held senior positions with several private equity and venture capital fir...
[ Extended Bio ]

Mr. Albright is the Founder and Managing Partner of JLA Ventures and the Co-Managing Partner of the Blackberry Partners Fund. Prior to the founding of JLA Ventures in 1996 and the BlackBerry Partners Fund in 2008, Mr. Albright held senior positions with several private equity and venture capital firms. During his tenure in the private equity and venture capital business Mr. Albright gained extensive experience assisting entrepreneurs and managers to shape their vision and capital plans into successful long term growth programs which typically involve an aggressive financing strategy. Mr. Albright has a history of assisting entrepreneurial companies through significant growth and eventually to the public markets. His ability to work with and advise senior management of investee companies as well as his skills in filling supporting roles where existing management lack the experience or skill set, has been vital to the success of past investments.

Mr. Albright is a Chartered Financial Analyst and received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Mr. Albright serves as a director of several private and public companies, and the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) and is an advisory board member of the North American Venture Capital Association.

[ Minimize ]

Dr. Boris Wertz is an Internet entrepreneur and investor and the founder of W Media Ventures, a Vancouver-based angel fund that has made over 20 investments in early-stage Consumer internet companies in the Pacific Northwest and across North-America. He is also a venture partner with Acton Capital, ...
[ Extended Bio ]

Dr. Boris Wertz is an Internet entrepreneur and investor and the founder of W Media Ventures, a Vancouver-based angel fund that has made over 20 investments in early-stage Consumer internet companies in the Pacific Northwest and across North-America. He is also a venture partner with Acton Capital, a late-stage Consumer internet fund, and one of the founders of GrowLab, a Vancouver-based start-up accelerator. Previously, Boris was the Chief Operating Officer of AbeBooks.com, the world's largest marketplace for books which sold to Amazon in 2008. Boris joined AbeBooks in 2002 after JustBooks, the German company he co-founded in 1999, was acquired by the company. He successfully finished his PhD as well as his graduate studies at the Otto Beisheim School of Management (WHU), Koblenz, majoring in Business Economics / Business Management. Boris was named the Pacific Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award winner in 2005 and a Top 40 under 40 nominee by Business in Vancouver in 2011. He serves among others on the boards of Suite101, Fitbrains, Yapta.com, Indochino, Techvibes, the Bootup Entrepreneurial Society and DigiBC. Living in Vancouver with his wife Luisa and his two children, he loves the outdoors, reading and traveling. [ Minimize ]

Roger Chabra is a General Partner at Rho Canada Ventures, a division of Rho Capital Partners focused on early-stage investing in Canada's most innovative technology companies. With more than 15 years of venture capital, operating and entrepreneurial experience, he seeks to partner with passionate, e...
[ Extended Bio ]

Roger Chabra is a General Partner at Rho Canada Ventures, a division of Rho Capital Partners focused on early-stage investing in Canada's most innovative technology companies. With more than 15 years of venture capital, operating and entrepreneurial experience, he seeks to partner with passionate, energetic and visionary entrepreneurs who solve big problems and also possess the innate qualities needed to lead people to achieve their goals.

Roger joined Rho in 2010 and focuses on investments in new media, software, Internet, wireless and communication companies at the early stages of development. Prior to Rho, he worked as a venture investor at GrowthWorks Capital where he was involved in the funding and growth of numerous companies including Whitehill (acquired by Oracle), Xkoto (acquired by Teradata), Paymentus (acquired by Accel-KKR) and NetShelter. Roger was also previously an investor at the corporate venture arm of BCE's wireless division, where he was instrumental in the financing & development of many successful wireless and telecom companies across North America. He has also been a technology start-up CEO at Mobilessence and has worked in a variety of web technology-focused roles at Rogers Wireless and Sapphire Technologies (acquired by Randstad).

Roger is dedicated to maintaining and enhancing Canada's competitiveness in the global information economy. He believes Canadian entrepreneurs are among the best talents in the world, and he is passionate about the advantages of growing technology companies in Canada and making them global leaders.

Roger received an M.B.A. from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and a B.A., also from the University of Western Ontario. [ Minimize ]

Yona Shtern is the co-founder and CEO of Beyond the Rack -named the fastest growing E-tailer in the USA for 2011 by Internet Retailer Magazine. Launched in 2009, BTR has grown exponentially with over 5 million consumer members, 3,000 brand partners, 250 employees and sales in excess of $100 Million...
[ Extended Bio ]

Yona Shtern is the co-founder and CEO of Beyond the Rack -named the fastest growing E-tailer in the USA for 2011 by Internet Retailer Magazine. Launched in 2009, BTR has grown exponentially with over 5 million consumer members, 3,000 brand partners, 250 employees and sales in excess of $100 Million.

Prior to co-founding Beyond the Rack, Yona was Chief Marketing Officer of Ice.com (online jeweler), My Virtual Model (fit and sizing engine for Etailers) and Microcell Telecommunications where he launched the Fido wireless brand in Canada. He has also held executive marketing positions at Saks Fifth Avenue and Avon Products.

He is a frequent speaker at international marketing and technology forums and has received numerous awards for his advertising, product launch, and marketing strategies. [ Minimize ]

Charley Lax is the co-founder and Managing General Partner of GrandBanks Capital (GBC) of Wellesley, Massachusetts. Mr. Lax focuses on early-stage investment activities (Series A and B) in the areas of Internet infrastructure, software and software services, security and storage applications, media...
[ Extended Bio ]

Charley Lax is the co-founder and Managing General Partner of GrandBanks Capital (GBC) of Wellesley, Massachusetts. Mr. Lax focuses on early-stage investment activities (Series A and B) in the areas of Internet infrastructure, software and software services, security and storage applications, media technologies and services, financial technologies and services, and wireless technologies and services. Mr. Lax has raised and managed over $2.2 billion of venture capital investment funds over the last dozen years. Mr. Lax's personal investment career includes investments in 42 portfolio companies, which have resulted in 31 exits thus far. His track record includes 15 public companies, of which 10 achieved market caps in excess of $1 billion. With over 18 years of venture capital experience, Mr. Lax currently serves on the boards of GBC companies including Coradiant, Ember Corporation, OutStart and SilverRail Technologies. Additionally, Mr. Lax is a founding General Partner of both SOFTBANK Venture Capital (Mobius Venture Capital) and SOFTBANK Capital Partners, and co-created Flatiron Partners of New York City. Prior to his career in venture capital, Charley worked for a series of software companies in marketing, product management and sales roles, including Phoenix Technologies Ltd., the BIOS developer.

A graduate of Boston University with a BS degree, magna cum laude, in 1982, Charley was elected secretary of Boston University's Alumni Council in 2005 and is a member of its Executive Committee. He is also an Advisory Board member to Boston University's Office of Technology Development (OTD) Ignition Award Program. In 2001, Charley received the Alumni Award for Distinguished Service and gave the Class of 2001 Graduate School of Management commencement address titled, "Lessons Learned from the Internet Bubble." In 2003, the Boston University Entrepreneurial Management Institute awarded him the Henry Morgan Award for outstanding contribution to the Institute. Mr. Lax also sits on the President's Council of the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering. [ Minimize ]

Mr. Ruffolo is the Chief Executive Officer of OMERS Ventures, the venture arm of OMERS. OMERS Ventures invests in early or later stage companies in the Technology, Media, Telecommunications, Clean Tech or Life Sciences sectors. In addition, he is also the Senior Vice President & Head of Knowledge ...
[ Extended Bio ]

Mr. Ruffolo is the Chief Executive Officer of OMERS Ventures, the venture arm of OMERS. OMERS Ventures invests in early or later stage companies in the Technology, Media, Telecommunications, Clean Tech or Life Sciences sectors. In addition, he is also the Senior Vice President & Head of Knowledge Investing with OMERS Strategic Investments.

Prior to joining OMERS Ventures, Mr. Ruffolo was a Partner at Deloitte, as well as the Global Thought Leader, the Global Tax Leader and the Canadian Industry Leader for Deloitte's Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) practice. He was also a member of the firm's Tax and TMT Global Leadership teams and a member of Deloitte's Board of Directors.

Mr. Ruffolo has over two decades of experience advising public and private companies around the world. He has extensive experience providing strategic advisory services to Canadian and foreign-based TMT companies.

Mr. Ruffolo has also been recognized as one of the country's leading clean-tech advisors. In addition, he has worked closely with a number of North America's leading venture capital and private equity firms and has advised many of the companies in which they invest.

Mr. Ruffolo serves as Chair of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association's Tax Policy Committee and the David Suzuki Foundation Friends of Ontario. He is also a member of the Corporate Fundraising committees for Sunnybrook Foundation and the Art Gallery of Ontario and is a member of the Toronto chapter of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO).

A chartered accountant, Mr. Ruffolo was formerly a partner with Arthur Andersen LLP and has also spent time as an instructor for both the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and York University's Schulich School of Business, from which he holds a Bachelor of Business Administration. [ Minimize ]

Matthew is a Principal and the Investment Director at BEST Funds in Toronto. His focus is on origination, vetting, due diligence, negotiation and deal structuring of investments. He is also involved in the firm's mergers and acquisitions process, as well as the assessment of potential investment opp...
[ Extended Bio ]

Matthew is a Principal and the Investment Director at BEST Funds in Toronto. His focus is on origination, vetting, due diligence, negotiation and deal structuring of investments. He is also involved in the firm's mergers and acquisitions process, as well as the assessment of potential investment opportunities and private equity financing agreements. Matthew is responsible for the execution of credit and financial analyses of venture debt investment across technology sectors, as well as the refining of business concepts, selecting appropriate business plans for investment and monitoring the performance of portfolio companies. Matthew is a frequent speaker at various conferences and events relating to Private Equity, Venture Capital and Clean Technology. Matthew is a guest lecturer at both Ryerson University's Rogers School of Business and York University's Schulich School of Business. In addition, Matthew sits on the Board of Directors and Advisory Boards of numerous organizations.
Matthew holds his Masters of Law from The University of Kent and University of Oxford and a Master of Science degree focusing on International Sustainable Development and Investment from the University of New South Wales. Matthew earned an Honours Bachelors of Arts from The University of Toronto majoring in Urban and Economic Geography. [ Minimize ]

Amar Varma is a Managing and Founding Partner of Extreme Venture Partners (EVP) and a Co-Founder of Xtreme Labs, a Toronto-based mobile strategy and product development firm.
Xtreme Labs was recently recognized as one of Canada's Top 50 Emerging Growth Companies
for 2010.

...
[ Extended Bio ]

Amar Varma is a Managing and Founding Partner of Extreme Venture Partners (EVP) and a Co-Founder of Xtreme Labs, a Toronto-based mobile strategy and product development firm.
Xtreme Labs was recently recognized as one of Canada's Top 50 Emerging Growth Companies
for 2010.

Amar brings over a decade of experience in the technology and investment arenas to his
ventures. Prior to founding EVP and Xtreme Labs, Amar was a Director at VenGrowth Capital
Partners, focusing on investments in the technology sector. Amar has further experience with
a number of public and private technology companies in both Canada and the United States.
Some of these include Jetstream Communications Inc., Cypress Semiconductor Corporation,
ATi Technologies Inc. and Newbridge Networks Corp.

Widely recognized as one of Canada's leading mobile technology experts, Amar has shared
his insights in the Globe and Mail, Toronto Life Magazine, and BNN, as well as in numerous
speaking engagements across the country.

Amar has a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and is a graduate
of the Venture Capital Institute sponsored by the National Venture Capital Association. [ Minimize ]

Christopher is the Worldwide Business Development Director for Intel's Software and Services Group with a primary focus on integrated software platforms for mobile, tablet and emerging consumer devices. Christopher currently leads a team responsible for strategic business agreements and alliances wi...
[ Extended Bio ]

Christopher is the Worldwide Business Development Director for Intel's Software and Services Group with a primary focus on integrated software platforms for mobile, tablet and emerging consumer devices. Christopher currently leads a team responsible for strategic business agreements and alliances with software and service companies as well as emerging technology companies to drive Intel's strategic business goals across a broad spectrum of consumer devices. Christopher has been with Intel for 14 years and has had held various leadership positions in Product Marketing, Market Development and Industry Marketing across Intel's Enterprise and Consumer focused product segments. He has historically developed new market segments and led programs to promote the industry adoption of new technologies. Christopher has 20+ years of experience in the computer industry spanning marketing, product development and market segment creation, leading technology initiatives, distribution, retail channel sales and marketing, and outsourcing third party end user support centers. [ Minimize ]

V. Paul Lee is the Managing General Partner of Vanedge Capital Partners Ltd., a venture capital fund established to focus on opportunities in the interactive digital media space. The market for interactive and digital entertainment and media is massive, growing, and changing at an extremely rapid pa...
[ Extended Bio ]

V. Paul Lee is the Managing General Partner of Vanedge Capital Partners Ltd., a venture capital fund established to focus on opportunities in the interactive digital media space. The market for interactive and digital entertainment and media is massive, growing, and changing at an extremely rapid pace. It affects the ways companies use the Internet to attract and engage target audiences and conduct commerce electronically.

Lee is the former President of Electronic Arts, Inc., the global leader in interactive software, and was responsible for its Worldwide Studio group. Electronic Arts had fiscal 2008 revenues of US $3.67 billion. He managed more than 6,000 employees and US$1 billion in annual capital and operating expenses in the development studios making it the largest entertainment studio in the world.

In 1987 Lee graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours Degree and was one of six students selected to enter the prestigious Portfolio Management Fund program at the UBC Sauder School of Business. Lee is a Leslie Wong Fellow and is also a designated Chartered Financial Analyst. From 1987 - 1989 Lee worked at Chrysler Canada as an Investment Manager for the pension fund and health and welfare benefit plans.

Lee invested in and joined Distinctive Software as a Principal in 1989, having been a member of its board for several years prior. Distinctive Software became a leading independent videogame developer and was acquired by Electronic Arts in 1991. Lee has been a member of the executive management team since, holding a variety of positions.

1994 saw Lee recognized as one of the "40 Under 40" business leaders by Business in Vancouver. In 1996 he was awarded the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award from the University of British Columbia. In 2002 Lee was awarded the BC Technology Industries Association Person of the Year Award for his outstanding leadership in the high technology industry. Lee has also received numerous awards for his community service including the Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for significant contribution in the form of public service in 2003. In 2005 he was recognized as an Honorary Fellow of the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business. Lee has served as Chair of the BC Technology Industries Association from 1998 to 2001. Lee was an investor and member of the Board of Directors of A.L.I. Technologies until its landmark sale to McKesson Corporation in 2002. Lee was Co-Chair, along with the Premier of British Columbia, of the Premier's Technology Council from its inception in 2001 until 2005 and remains a member of the Council. Lee currently serves as a member of the Dean's Advisory Council for the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia, is a member of the Minister's Steering Committee for the Vancouver International Financial Institutions Sector, and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Vancouver Board of Trade and New Media B.C. He is Chair of the Board of Directors at D-Wave Systems, a company working to build the world's first commercial quantum computer. [ Minimize ]

Michael Hyatt is CEO and Co-Founder of BlueCat Networks and a recipient of Canada's Top 40 Under 40 Award. A finalist in Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Michael is a weekly business commentator on CBC Newsworld and guest-hosts CBC's The Lang and O'Leary Exchange. He has been featured...
[ Extended Bio ]

Michael Hyatt is CEO and Co-Founder of BlueCat Networks and a recipient of Canada's Top 40 Under 40 Award. A finalist in Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Michael is a weekly business commentator on CBC Newsworld and guest-hosts CBC's The Lang and O'Leary Exchange. He has been featured on the cover of Canadian Business Magazine. BlueCat Networks is a four-time winner of "Deloitte's Fast 50," and a winner of Red Herring's Top 50 Private Companies. Michael also co-founded Dyadem, a highly successful Canadian software company that was acquired by IHS (NYSE: IHS). As an entrepreneurial success story himself, Michael helps and mentors youth and entrepreneurs to succeed and become contributing citizens in their communities. He is also an active lender with Kiva.org [ Minimize ]

Mr. McQueen has worked in the financial services industry since 1993. He has led Wellington Financial's growth from its inception as a $7 million fund in 2000 to its current $450 million investment program. Wellington is Canada's most active venture debt fund, leading $350 million of new transactio...
[ Extended Bio ]

Mr. McQueen has worked in the financial services industry since 1993. He has led Wellington Financial's growth from its inception as a $7 million fund in 2000 to its current $450 million investment program. Wellington is Canada's most active venture debt fund, leading $350 million of new transactions since 2004. It opened its first U.S. office in 2009.

The Fund's limited partners include many of Canada's largest institutional investors. In 2009, Profit Magazine named Wellington as the 17th fastest growing company in Canada; this was Wellington's second consecutive year on the PROFIT 100 list.

In 2007 he was appointed by the Canadian government to the Board of Directors of the Toronto Port Authority (operator of the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport), and re-appointed in 2010; he was elected Chairman of the Board in March 2008 and again in January 2009. At the present time he serves as a member of the executive committee of the Board of Directors of Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association, and is a member of the Governing Council of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, one of Canada's largest hospitals. He is also a member of the Investment Committee of the University of Western Ontario Endowment Fund.

His views on the capital markets have been quoted in a variety of media outlets, including Barron's, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, Reuters, Bloomberg, Profit Magazine, Canadian Business, Fox Television, and he is also a weekly co-host on BNN Television, Canada's business channel. In 2008 and 2009, readers of The Globe and Mail voted the firm's corporate blog one of the "Top 10 Financial and Market Blogs" in the world. [ Minimize ]

William M. Tatham is the Chief Executive Officer of NexJ Systems Inc., a premier provider of enterprise customer relationship management (CRM) solutions.

Prior to establishing NexJ Systems in 2003, Mr. Tatham was the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Janna Systems, which he started in his...
[ Extended Bio ]

William M. Tatham is the Chief Executive Officer of NexJ Systems Inc., a premier provider of enterprise customer relationship management (CRM) solutions.

Prior to establishing NexJ Systems in 2003, Mr. Tatham was the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Janna Systems, which he started in his basement in 1990 and sold 10 years later to his largest competitor, Siebel Systems, in a record value transaction for a Canadian software company. Janna was the world leader in enterprise CRM software for financial services. Following the transaction Mr. Tatham became Vice President and General Manager of Siebel Systems' Institutional Finance Unit, a position he held until June 2001. In 2001 Mr. Tatham was awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Software and Information Systems with a special citation for business strategy.
Upon retiring from Siebel, Mr. Tatham, with members of his former management team, founded XJ Partners to provide venture capital and advisory services to early stage technology companies. During this time, Mr. Tatham helped fund or advise several successful healthcare technology companies including Bycast Inc. and Triple G Systems Group. Mr. Tatham served on the Boards of these companies. XJ Partners also incubated NexJ Systems, where Mr. Tatham is currently CEO. In 2006 Mr. Tatham was awarded the NAO Distinguished Angel Award by the National Angel Organization for Angel Investors.

Mr. Tatham is a member of the Board of Elizabeth Arden (RDEN: NASQ), a global prestige beauty, fragrance, cosmetics and skincare products company where he sits on the Audit and Compensation committees.

He is a former member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors at the University of Waterloo (UW). Mr. Tatham has been awarded the Faculty of Engineering Alumni Achievement Medal for Professional Achievement, and the 50th Anniversary Alumni Award from UW. He was a 2005-2006 inductee into the National Commission for Co-operative Education Co-op Hall of Fame. The William M. Tatham Centre for Co-operative Education & Career Services at UW is named in recognition of his support. Mr. Tatham was Chair of the Toronto Technology chapter of the "Building a Talent Trust" fundraising campaign for UW. He is a member of the Engineering Campaign Cabinet for Campaign Waterloo. He serves on the Entrepreneurial Advisory Board of the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

He holds Advanced Certificates in Board Governance and in Leading Board Committees from the Ontario Hospital Association. Previously, he served on the Board of North York General Hospital, where he was Vice-Chair of the Board of Governors and Chair of the Quality Committee. He is currently the Chair of the Technology, Innovation, and Equipment project for the "Embracing Health" Campaign for North York General Hospital. Mr. Tatham is the Honorary Co-Chair of the Building the Vision campaign for the Woodstock General Hospital and he is a Cabinet member of the Capital Campaign for the Michener Institute. He is currently Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health at York University.

He is a Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of the Canadian Association for People-Centred Health, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote people-centred health. He is a member of the Board of Stewards for Open Health Tools, a global community of health professionals, developers, and jurisdictions dedicated to developing interoperable open source health software based on best practices.

Mr. Tatham is a graduate from the University of Waterloo in 1983, with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Systems Design Engineering and options in Socio-economic Systems and Management Science. [ Minimize ]

Iain Klugman is the President and CEO of Communitech -- one of the leading enabling organizations in North America. Iain has overall responsibility for operations of the organization that includes: regional, provincial and national mandates, innovation programs for companies covering each stage (ra...
[ Extended Bio ]

Iain Klugman is the President and CEO of Communitech -- one of the leading enabling organizations in North America. Iain has overall responsibility for operations of the organization that includes: regional, provincial and national mandates, innovation programs for companies covering each stage (ranging from entrepreneur development and support, to big tech company support) and a national focus on digital media and mobile computing with leadership of the Canadian Digital Media Network.

Previously, Iain was the CEO of a provincial crown corporation, Executive Director of Communications with the CBC, Director of Global Branding and Advertising for Nortel, and held numerous roles with the Privy Council Office and Industry Canada. Iain began his career as an entrepreneur and has never lost his passion for tech and start-ups. He sits on numerous local and national boards that include the business, academia and social sectors.

Iain holds an MBA from Laurier University, an MPA degree from Dalhousie University, an HBA from Laurentian University, and has completed the Advanced Program in Human Resources at the Rotman School of Management.
[ Minimize ]

As President, CEO and Co-founder of QuickPlay Media, Wayne Purboo drives the development, management and execution of QuickPlay's innovative strategy. Under his guidance Quickplay has developed award-winning technologies and forged critical partnerships with market leading content providers, video s...
[ Extended Bio ]

As President, CEO and Co-founder of QuickPlay Media, Wayne Purboo drives the development, management and execution of QuickPlay's innovative strategy. Under his guidance Quickplay has developed award-winning technologies and forged critical partnerships with market leading content providers, video service providers, handset manufacturers and mobile service operators to drive the rapid growth of the company.
Prior to founding QuickPlay, Wayne was Chief Technology Officer for Solect Technology Group. When Solect was acquired by Amdocs, Wayne was appointed to the role of Vice-President of Strategy. In this capacity he launched and was Editor-in-Chief of ABR, a quarterly research magazine focused on the future of Telecom with a worldwide circulation to thousands of industry professionals.
Wayne is on the Advisory Board of Virgin Unite, which is developing new approaches to social and environmental issues. He is also active on the boards of GlassBOX, Artscape, Cellwand, and the Toronto International Film Festival. He has been recognized as a Sick Kids' Leader by Sick Children's Hospital and as one of "Canada's Top 40 Under 40" by the Caldwell Partners. Wayne holds a Bachelor of Computer Sciences degree from McMaster University. [ Minimize ]

A RIM veteran of seven years, Chris leads Research In Motion's Strategic Alliances department and is responsible for business development, technology licensing, strategic partnerships, equity funding and acquisitions. Chris has played a significant role in ten acquisitions that RIM has completed to...
[ Extended Bio ]

A RIM veteran of seven years, Chris leads Research In Motion's Strategic Alliances department and is responsible for business development, technology licensing, strategic partnerships, equity funding and acquisitions. Chris has played a significant role in ten acquisitions that RIM has completed to date. He has worked through numerous technology licensing deals and maintains relationships with key industry partners for RIM. Prior to RIM, Chris worked at HP, GE and spent 3 years getting into trouble in Bosnia.

Chris has an Engineering degree from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business. Chris is married with 3 kids, and enjoys running and triathlons.
[ Minimize ]

Rick Segal, Fixmo's Chief Executive Officer, co-founded the company in 2009. Segal began developing Fixmo Sentinel under a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the National Security Agency following an initial meeting at a telecommunications trade show. He has since grown the...
[ Extended Bio ]

Rick Segal, Fixmo's Chief Executive Officer, co-founded the company in 2009. Segal began developing Fixmo Sentinel under a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the National Security Agency following an initial meeting at a telecommunications trade show. He has since grown the company into an international business, fueled by his passion for startups, combined with years of experience with Blackberry users as a partner in the Blackberry Partners Fund. A self-described "gadget phreak," Segal believes that technology should make our lives easier and continues to shape Fixmo in that image.

Before founding Fixmo, Segal was a partner at JLA Ventures, a large Canadian Venture Capital fund. He has also served as President and CEO of Microforum, a leader in integrated e-business solutions for a wide array of industry verticals; President and COO at Chapters Online Inc., a leading Canadian e-commerce company; Partner at TMS Consulting; and Director of Technical Services for the Internet Customer Unit at Microsoft.

Segal has authored four books on Network Management and Windows software development. He majored in Computer Science at the University of North Texas. [ Minimize ]

Pascal Tremblay has been involved in funding, managing, and developing technology companies for over 19 years.

Prior to joining Novacap in 2003, Mr. Tremblay was a Partner at Argo Global Capital, a venture capital firm where he participated in numerous investments in technology and te...
[ Extended Bio ]

Pascal Tremblay has been involved in funding, managing, and developing technology companies for over 19 years.

Prior to joining Novacap in 2003, Mr. Tremblay was a Partner at Argo Global Capital, a venture capital firm where he participated in numerous investments in technology and telecommunications companies in North America, Europe and Asia.

His prior experience also includes working in the private equity division at CDP Capital (Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec). Prior to entering the private equity field, Mr. Tremblay was the Founder and CEO of Laserpro inc., an award winning manufacturing and distribution company of printing and computer equipment.

Mr. Tremblay is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ryma Technologies Solutions Inc. and Creaform Inc. and serves on the Boards of Stingray Digital Inc., Tenrox Inc., ViXS Systems Inc., PKWare Inc. and of Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association. Mr. Tremblay holds a Bachelor in Business Administration from the University of Sherbrooke and an MBA from McGill University. [ Minimize ]

W. Ian Palm is a partner in the Business Law Group at McCarthy Tetrault in Toronto. His practice focuses on the areas of corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and private equity. He is the leader of the firm's Private Equity Group. He works with national and international clients in various in...
[ Extended Bio ]

W. Ian Palm is a partner in the Business Law Group at McCarthy Tetrault in Toronto. His practice focuses on the areas of corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and private equity. He is the leader of the firm's Private Equity Group. He works with national and international clients in various industries.

Mr. Palm was named one of the Top 40 Lawyers Under 40 in Canada by Lexpert Magazine in 2006. He is listed among the leading 100 Canada/US Cross-Border Corporate Lawyers in Canada and is listed in the 2010 and 2011 editions of the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and the LEXPERT/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada. He also appears in the Legal Media Group Guide to the World's Leading Private Equity Lawyers.

Mr. Palm regularly acts for a number of private and public growth companies, several of the firm's major corporate clients and a number of private equity and venture capital investors. His experience includes acting for issuers, investors and underwriters in various corporate finance and mergers and acquisition transactions, including private placements, public offerings, private equity and venture capital financing and public and private mergers and acquisitions. [ Minimize ]

Razor Suleman is the Founder and CEO of Achievers (formerly I Love Rewards), a company that is passionate about employee rewards and Social Recognition. Achievers helps engage employees and inspire performance globally. Its customers include Deloitte, 3M and Microsoft. Under Razor's leadership, Achi...
[ Extended Bio ]

Razor Suleman is the Founder and CEO of Achievers (formerly I Love Rewards), a company that is passionate about employee rewards and Social Recognition. Achievers helps engage employees and inspire performance globally. Its customers include Deloitte, 3M and Microsoft. Under Razor's leadership, Achievers has been recognized as one of North America's fastest growing companies and a Top Employer for several years running. Additionally, Achievers recently announced its Series C financing led by Sequoia Capital. Total financing to date is $38M and investors include GrandBanks Capital, JLA Ventures and the Ontario Venture Capital Fund. [ Minimize ]

Mark's career began in 1988 at Royal Bank and worked in a number of commercial banking roles. Mark then was recruited by Cisco Systems in 2000 to join Cisco Capital's structured finance team in Toronto where he financed the sales of Cisco equipment and services to sub-investment grade customers in C...
[ Extended Bio ]

Mark's career began in 1988 at Royal Bank and worked in a number of commercial banking roles. Mark then was recruited by Cisco Systems in 2000 to join Cisco Capital's structured finance team in Toronto where he financed the sales of Cisco equipment and services to sub-investment grade customers in Canada and the U.S. East Coast. Mark returned to Royal Bank in 2001 to lead the bank's Information Technology Banking team in the Greater Toronto Area. In Mark's last role at RBC, he was the executive responsible for RBC's entire Knowledge Based Industries practice in the Ontario marketplace in addition to the Toronto Tech Banking Group. Mark joined Wellington as a Partner in the summer of 2006. While at Wellington, Mark has lead over $45Million of transactions with 11 different companies over the past 3 years. Mark has his MBA from Queen's University and is involved in a number of technology associations and organizations. [ Minimize ]

Andrew Parker is a principal at Spark Capital. He joined the investment team in June of 2010. By training Andrew approaches early investing from an engineering and user design perspective. Andrew is an avid user of web services and loves being an alpha tester for new products. In consumer-facing we...
[ Extended Bio ]

Andrew Parker is a principal at Spark Capital. He joined the investment team in June of 2010. By training Andrew approaches early investing from an engineering and user design perspective. Andrew is an avid user of web services and loves being an alpha tester for new products. In consumer-facing web services, a clear value proposition for the end-user through good product design is essential for success, and Andrew's combination of professional and academic background is geared towards helping startups create value for their early users.

Andrew is a board observer on Spark's investment in Kik.

Andrew was a member of the investment team at Union Square Ventures for four years, first as an analyst and later as an associate. During that tenure, Andrew supported the partners as they developed their portfolio from 7 to 30 names, and sourced the investment opportunities in Heyzap and Foursquare.

Prior to Union Square Ventures, Andrew was a Producer at Homestead Technologies where he designed web interfaces, managed the realization of the designs through the dev-cycle, and conducted user experience testing. Prior to Homestead, he worked for Groupspace.org as a Developer on a web service for asynchronous online deliberation, built on the LAMP stack. A graduate from Stanford in 2005, Andrew received his B.S. in Symbolic Systems, which is a hybrid of Computer Science and Cognitive Psychology. [ Minimize ]

One of Canada's leading startup finance experts, Mark is a General Partner with Real Ventures, Canada's largest seed venture fund. At Real, Mark focuses on SaaS, freemium and e-commerce investments. Mark was also CFO at Tungle, which was recently acquired by RIM and advises some of Canada's most exc...
[ Extended Bio ]

One of Canada's leading startup finance experts, Mark is a General Partner with Real Ventures, Canada's largest seed venture fund. At Real, Mark focuses on SaaS, freemium and e-commerce investments. Mark was also CFO at Tungle, which was recently acquired by RIM and advises some of Canada's most exciting SaaS startups. Mark has been in the startup world since 1999 and has raised over $80-million capital during his career. Mark is also a frequent blogger about the world of startups investments at startupcfo.ca
Connect to Mark: @startupcfo || about.me/markmacleod [ Minimize ]

Mr. Samant is a Managing Director and Head of the Canadian Technology Investment Banking practice at Canaccord Genuity. He has extensive experience providing financial and capital markets advisory services to a wide range of growth companies including Workbrain Corporation, Miranda Technologies, Ru...
[ Extended Bio ]

Mr. Samant is a Managing Director and Head of the Canadian Technology Investment Banking practice at Canaccord Genuity. He has extensive experience providing financial and capital markets advisory services to a wide range of growth companies including Workbrain Corporation, Miranda Technologies, RuggedCom, TeraGo Networks, Bridgewater Systems, Corel Corporation, ComDev International and Adenyo. Prior to its merger with Canaccord, Mr Samant was one of the original partners at Genuity Capital Markets at its formation in 2005. Previous to this, Mr. Samant spent a combined ten years in the Communications and Technology practices at RBC Capital Markets and CIBC World Markets. Mr. Samant has an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University, an LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School and a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) from the University of Western Ontario. Mr. Samant also holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation. [ Minimize ]

Mr. Wilkes is an active Angel investor, who looks for high-growth opportunities in traditional industries with a technological edge (including manufacturing and distribution, energy, water, financial services/payments industry, and bio-materials). He is a partner in Management Initiatives Inc., a bu...
[ Extended Bio ]

Mr. Wilkes is an active Angel investor, who looks for high-growth opportunities in traditional industries with a technological edge (including manufacturing and distribution, energy, water, financial services/payments industry, and bio-materials). He is a partner in Management Initiatives Inc., a business advisory and investment firm located in Toronto, Ontario where he invests, mentors, raises capital and advises business owners and investment funds.

Mr. Wilkes is the Chairman and a founding member of the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO), and past-Chairman of the NACO Public Policy Committee. He is active on numerous Boards of Directors with private and public businesses, and volunteer organizations.

Mr. Wilkes holds an MBA from the Ivey School of Business (1998 Dean's Honours List), a Bachelor of Commerce degree, and a Chartered Accountant designation. He is an active long distance runner having completed numerous half and 7 full marathons - including the Boston Marathon in April 2008. In April 2010, he will be running the Boston Marathon again with his daughter. "How cool is that!" [ Minimize ]

Jeff Grammer is a partner of Rho Canada. With nearly 28 years of operational and venture experience, Jeff seeks entrepreneurs who see market opportunities and possess the business acumen to nurture young companies to become industry leaders.

He joined Rho Canada in 2006 and focuses pr...
[ Extended Bio ]

Jeff Grammer is a partner of Rho Canada. With nearly 28 years of operational and venture experience, Jeff seeks entrepreneurs who see market opportunities and possess the business acumen to nurture young companies to become industry leaders.

He joined Rho Canada in 2006 and focuses primarily on investments in new media, information technology (hardware and software) and communication companies - mostly at the seed and early stages of development. Prior to Rho Canada, Jeff worked operationally at Intel, Chips and Technologies, N*Able Technologies and Ember Corporation. His venture capital experience also includes Techfarm Inc. and Sigma Partners.

Jeff's interests also extend to working with young, first-time entrepreneurs to help them build world-class management teams. He volunteers much of his free time to coaching his children in youth sports.

Jeff received a B.A. and M.A. in international economics from Boston University. [ Minimize ]

The IAF is a seed-stage fund that invests up to $500,000 to help early-stage Ontario technology companies bring their products and services to market. Barry has over 25 years experience in senior management positions in venture capital, private equity and operating companies. Prior to joining M...
[ Extended Bio ]

The IAF is a seed-stage fund that invests up to $500,000 to help early-stage Ontario technology companies bring their products and services to market. Barry has over 25 years experience in senior management positions in venture capital, private equity and operating companies. Prior to joining MaRS, Barry was with the Kirchner Private Capital Group, in the Transition Management practice where he undertook a 15-month interim CEO assignment with an aerospace components company. Before this, he was a Partner at Ventures West for over 13 years making early stage technology investments in IT, communications, cleantech and medical device companies. He has served on the Board of the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association and the IAF. Barry has an HBA Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario. [ Minimize ]

Roger has been in the venture capital business for over 20 years. Leveraging his prior entrepreneurial experience, he has assisted many technology growth companies over the years, managing investments in software, IT services, electronics manufacturing and life sciences. He's played an active role ...
[ Extended Bio ]

Roger has been in the venture capital business for over 20 years. Leveraging his prior entrepreneurial experience, he has assisted many technology growth companies over the years, managing investments in software, IT services, electronics manufacturing and life sciences. He's played an active role on the board of directors of both private and public companies across a diverse range of businesses and stage of development. Since 2000, Roger has concentrated on the IT sector where he focuses on helping early stage companies, mostly in enterprise software, Internet and mobile, to grow into world class companies. He was previously Vice President of the Canadian Venture Capital Association (CVCA) and Chair of the CVCA's Professional Development Committee. Roger holds a BBA from Acadia University and an MBA from Concordia University. [ Minimize ]

Steve focuses on developing the financing initiative within Ernst & Young Orenda Corporate Finance's range of merger, acquisition, divestiture and capital markets services. He advises on debt, equity and mezzanine financing alternatives, including the structure, placement and negotiation of financin...
[ Extended Bio ]

Steve focuses on developing the financing initiative within Ernst & Young Orenda Corporate Finance's range of merger, acquisition, divestiture and capital markets services. He advises on debt, equity and mezzanine financing alternatives, including the structure, placement and negotiation of financing - calling on a network of Canadian and non-Canadian financing sources. Upon joining Ernst & Young Orenda, Steve assisted with corporate acquisitions, valuation, management buyouts and financing transactions. His practice has evolved over the years to focus primarily on financing alternatives and the subsequent placement of capital. Steve is a member of Ernst & Young's global renewable energy group and is leading the development of our Canadian power and renewable energy transactions practice. Steve is a member of the Toronto Board of Trade's Municipal Performance Committee and the Aboriginal Financial Officers Association's Aboriginal Financial Professional Recruitment Taskforce. [ Minimize ]

Joe brings over 19 years of venture capital investing and a wealth of experience in the areas of business planning, financings, negotiations, IPOs and acquisitions.

His diverse and extensive experience allows him to play an integral role in the structure, strategic direction, overall ...
[ Extended Bio ]

Joe brings over 19 years of venture capital investing and a wealth of experience in the areas of business planning, financings, negotiations, IPOs and acquisitions.

His diverse and extensive experience allows him to play an integral role in the structure, strategic direction, overall growth and business development of emerging companies.

Joe currently represents Summerhill on the boards of Vantrix and Blinq. Previously he represented Summerhill on the boards of Radian6, Trust Digital and Third Brigade.

For 14 years prior to joining Summerhill Venture Partners in June 2004, Joe served as EVP, CFO and Director of Whitecastle Investments, a leading Canadian private investment company, and Managing Director of its venture practice, Whitecap Venture Partners. As one of the venture practice founders, Joe was instrumental in shaping the vision and investment strategy of Whitecap. He was a core element of the senior team that brought a number of high-grossing investments to fruition.

Joe's past successes include investments in Radian6 (Acquired by Salesforce, NASDAQ: CRM), Third Brigade (acquired by Trend Micro, NASDAQ: TMIS), Trust Digital (acquired by McAfee Inc, NYSE: MFE), Broadband Networks Inc. (acquired by Nortel, NYSE: NT), Positron Fiber Systems (NASDAQ IPO and acquired by RELTEC, NYSE: RLT), Loran International Technologies (acquired by Peregrine Systems, NASDAQ: PRGN), Electrophotonics (acquired by ETEC, NASDAQ: ETEC), PC Docs Group International (NASDAQ IPO, and acquired by Hummingbird, TSE: HUM & NASDAQ: HUMC) and ImagicTV (NASDAQ IPO, and acquired by ALCATEL, NYSE: ALA).

Joe began his professional career with KPMG, where he held various senior positions in both Canada and the U.K. Joe is a Gold Medal graduate from the University of Waterloo's Master of Accounting program (1986). Joe holds Chartered Accountant and Certified Management Accountant designations in Canada. [ Minimize ]

As the former Chief Financial Officer for Radian6, Jeff brings with him more than 20 years of successfully leading Canadian Technology companies through Canadian and US venture capital financings, Cross-border IPO's and international M&A activities. Jeff's senior financial leadership has helped comp...
[ Extended Bio ]

As the former Chief Financial Officer for Radian6, Jeff brings with him more than 20 years of successfully leading Canadian Technology companies through Canadian and US venture capital financings, Cross-border IPO's and international M&A activities. Jeff's senior financial leadership has helped companies from angel stage financings through to profitability and international expansion. Jeff is passionate about innovation and commercialization of technologies with great Canadian teams. Jeff has worked with and held CFO roles with companies such as Deloitte, IMagicTV, Q1 Labs and Genesys Laboratories Canada. Jeff is a graduate of St Francis Xavier University and is a Chartered Accountant. [ Minimize ]

Hussein Fazal co-founded AdParlor and is leading the company in building the best team, process, and technology to manage large Facebook advertising campaigns. AdParlor has built technology on the Facebook Ads API that currently manages over 20 Billion monthly impressions for clients such as Groupon...
[ Extended Bio ]

Hussein Fazal co-founded AdParlor and is leading the company in building the best team, process, and technology to manage large Facebook advertising campaigns. AdParlor has built technology on the Facebook Ads API that currently manages over 20 Billion monthly impressions for clients such as Groupon, SEGA, Ubisoft, Digitas, OMD, and many more. Hussein received his Bachelor of Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Waterloo and has held positions in technical and marketing roles at IBM, Microsoft, and Bell Canada. [ Minimize ]

Sunil Sharma is a rotational Foreign Service officer with Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) and is currently based in the MaRS Innovation Centre in Toronto's Discovery District.

Sunil is in the midst of a 3-year assignment with Canada's Venture Cap...
[ Extended Bio ]

Sunil Sharma is a rotational Foreign Service officer with Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) and is currently based in the MaRS Innovation Centre in Toronto's Discovery District.

Sunil is in the midst of a 3-year assignment with Canada's Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) where his mandate is to build strategic relationships with centres of risk capital across the world with a particular emphasis on the Middle East, India, China and the United States.

Sunil is also a Director of the Quebec City Conference - an invitation-only gathering of over 400 of the world's leading venture capital, private equity and institutional investors which takes place each year in Quebec City, Canada.

Sunil has recently concluded his 4-year posting as Consul and Trade Commissioner (Head of Consulate) in San Diego, California and was responsible for opening one of Canada's newest diplomatic missions.

The Canadian Consulate in San Diego is a diplomatic mission with a focus on pursuing trade, investment and technology partnerships, as well as general and political relations between Canada and Southern California.

Previously, Sunil was on assignment with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) and served as Canada's representative to the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization's General Assemblies in Geneva and was elected Vice-Chair of a key technical committee.

Prior to his work at CIPO, Sunil served as a Senior Investment Analyst for Technology Partnerships Canada where he completed several investment deals involving emerging Canadian high technology companies.

Sunil possesses a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Victoria and a Master's of Industrial Relations degree from the University of Toronto. [ Minimize ]

Scott Munro is one of the Managing Directors at Pagemill Partners (Palo Alto, CA), a firm he founded in 2003, and is co-head of the firm's Software, Media, and Services practice. Scott has completed M&A transactions valued at close to $1.5 billion and has been extremely active in the Canadian market...
[ Extended Bio ]

Scott Munro is one of the Managing Directors at Pagemill Partners (Palo Alto, CA), a firm he founded in 2003, and is co-head of the firm's Software, Media, and Services practice. Scott has completed M&A transactions valued at close to $1.5 billion and has been extremely active in the Canadian market where he has personally completed 12 transactions in the last four years. Some of his notable Canadian transactions include the sale of Data Mirror to IBM, Liquidxstream to Commscope, Atrion International to IHS, xkoto to Teradata and a growth equity raise for Paymentus, Inc. with Accel-KKR.

Prior to founding Pagemill Partners, Scott served as the Chairman and CEO of Savoir Technology Group, Inc., a NASDAQ public company where he grew the business organically and through acquisition from $50 million in revenues to more than $1 billion in five years. Under his leadership, the company became IBM's largest customer in the world for mid-range computers. In his CEO role he completed 13 acquisitions with hardware, software and services companies prior to selling the company in 2000. Scott has also been CEO of several venture-backed private companies as well.

Mr. Munro graduated Magna Cum Laude from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, with a bachelor's degree in commerce and holds a graduate diploma in accounting from McGill University. [ Minimize ]

Long before "social networking" became a buzzword, Bruce made his mark as a digital pioneer by co-founding the beginnings of Lavalife in 1988. Under his direction, he grew this early tech start-up into the marquee brand in online dating with over 2,000,000 users (and countless successful marriages!)...
[ Extended Bio ]

Long before "social networking" became a buzzword, Bruce made his mark as a digital pioneer by co-founding the beginnings of Lavalife in 1988. Under his direction, he grew this early tech start-up into the marquee brand in online dating with over 2,000,000 users (and countless successful marriages!). After its spectacular rise, he sold the company for a stunning 170-million dollars.

Bruce now takes his expertise to a new level. He currently helms Round13 a company dedicated to incubating and investing in early stage digital companies like, Salt and Pepper, Sprigg Software, and Voicemailtel. He also peruses investments in the health and wellness industry and owns Vida, a chain of high-end holistic spas on the west coast of Canada. As the newest investor on CBC Dragons' Den, he is adding a broad range of businesses and products to his portfolio that tap into his passion for digital media, health and marketing.

Bruce lives in Toronto where he is a passionate environmentalist who sits on the board of the Trans Canada Trail. He is also a supporter of several not-for-profit organizations such as Anaphylaxis Canada and The Georgian Bay Land Trust. [ Minimize ]

Since July 1st 2009, Mr. Bernier is Managing Partner and Founder of Teralys Capital, a fund of funds whose limited partners are Quebec Governement, Caisse de Depot et de Placement and Solidarity Fund QFL.

With the Solidarity Fund QFL since 2004, Jacques Bernier has been Senior Vice-Pr...
[ Extended Bio ]

Since July 1st 2009, Mr. Bernier is Managing Partner and Founder of Teralys Capital, a fund of funds whose limited partners are Quebec Governement, Caisse de Depot et de Placement and Solidarity Fund QFL.

With the Solidarity Fund QFL since 2004, Jacques Bernier has been Senior Vice-President, Information Technologies, Telecommunications and Industrial Innovations until May 31st 2008 and has act as the gatekeeper for the fund of funds activity.

An engineering graduate from Ecole polytechnique in 1979, Mr. Bernier is behind the creation of the Industrial Innovation Center of Montreal. He was also co-founder and CEO of BGH Planning, a software developer, and co-founder and Vice-President of OMVPE Technologies, a manufacturer of semi-conductors.

Mr. Bernier helped found Teleport de Montreal, a Quebec beacon in the telecommunications sector, and served as its President from 1987 to 2002. Before joining the Solidarity Fund QFL, he was President of Megapoint, a holding company in the high-tech sector, and Chairman of the Board of LxSix Photonics, a leader in new production processes in fibre-optic communications and optical sensors.
Over the past 29 years, Mr. Bernier has demonstrated his expertise-both in Canada and the U.S.-in launching businesses, financial engineering, business development, growing investments, scouting for new markets and defining innovative business strategies.

Mr. Bernier is also a member of the Board of Director and executive committee of the CVCA. [ Minimize ]

Prior to joining GrowthWorks in 2005, he spent 5 years at Scotiabank Private Equity Investments, most recently as Executive Director. Prior to Scotiabank, he worked in a variety of consulting and systems development roles for clients such as Intel, SAP and Sony. Scott had his first experience with ...
[ Extended Bio ]

Prior to joining GrowthWorks in 2005, he spent 5 years at Scotiabank Private Equity Investments, most recently as Executive Director. Prior to Scotiabank, he worked in a variety of consulting and systems development roles for clients such as Intel, SAP and Sony. Scott had his first experience with a start-up as a C programmer in 1991 at Roadware Corporation. Scott serves on the boards of a number of early-stage technology companies and has been a board member of a number of successful firms including Bump Technologies (sold to Google in April/10), Sysomos (sold to Marketwire in July/10) and Datawire (sold to First Data in February/07). Scott was awarded a Bachelor of Computer Engineering and Management from McMaster University in 1995. [ Minimize ]

A native of Dublin, Ireland, Andrew Bell worked as an investment reporter and editor with The Globe and Mail for 12 years prior to joining BNN. Bell is a keen student of investing idiocy and corporate blunders, relishing the opportunity to examine stocks and mutual funds. Bell gives his blunt, well-...
[ Extended Bio ]

A native of Dublin, Ireland, Andrew Bell worked as an investment reporter and editor with The Globe and Mail for 12 years prior to joining BNN. Bell is a keen student of investing idiocy and corporate blunders, relishing the opportunity to examine stocks and mutual funds. Bell gives his blunt, well-researched assessment on the hot stocks of the day and takes viewers through the detailed numbers while asking experts the tough questions, giving viewers the hard truth about personal investing. Bell is the author of Mutual Funds for Canadians for Dummies. [ Minimize ]

Matt Golden is a long time mobile entrepreneur and investor and is the Managing Director of Golden Venture Partners, a mobile focused seed and early stage venture capital fund based in Toronto, Canada. Golden Venture Partners has invested in three companies focused on breakthrough innovations in th...
[ Extended Bio ]

Matt Golden is a long time mobile entrepreneur and investor and is the Managing Director of Golden Venture Partners, a mobile focused seed and early stage venture capital fund based in Toronto, Canada. Golden Venture Partners has invested in three companies focused on breakthrough innovations in the mobile and smartphone ecosystem including Toronto based Guardly and Wattpad and Boston based, Yesware. Prior to his current role, Matt was an advisor to Five Mobile; recently acquired by Zynga and was a partner with the BlackBerry Partners Fund where he was responsible for investments in Toronto based SocialDeck (Acquired by Google), San Francisco based Transpera (acquired by Tremor Media) and Nexage, a Boston based leading mobile advertising mediation and optimization platform In 2001, Matt co-founded Tira Wireless, which became a recognized industry leader in mobile content publishing and content deployment technologies and prior to that Matt held the position of Director of New Ventures at Brightspark, an early stage venture capital fund and was an associate with the law firm of Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt. Matt is a frequent speaker at mobile and venture capital events, including Mobile World Congress and CTIA, where he is invited to share his expertise on mobile software and mobile business and distribution models. He is a graduate of the University of Ottawa's LLB/MBA program. [ Minimize ]

Ilse Treurnict is the CEO of MaRS Discovery District, a leading innovation centre located in Toronto. She oversees both the development and operations of the MaRS Centre and its board suite of entrepreneurship and innovation programs. MaRS offers advisory services, market intelligence and entrep...
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Ilse Treurnict is the CEO of MaRS Discovery District, a leading innovation centre located in Toronto. She oversees both the development and operations of the MaRS Centre and its board suite of entrepreneurship and innovation programs. MaRS offers advisory services, market intelligence and entrepreneurship education to emerging companies in health care/life sciences, information technology, communications and entertainment (ICE), cleantech and social purpose businesses across Ontario. Ilse has worked closely with the leadership of Toronto's academic institutions and teaching hospitals to create MaRS Innovation, an integrated commercialization platform for 14 Toronto Institutions and served as the interim Managing Director of a year following its formal launch in early 2008. Ilse joined MaRS in early 2005 from her role as President & CEO of Primaxis Technology Ventures, a start up stage venture capital fund focused on the advanced technologies sector. Prior to Primaxis, Ilse was an entrepreneur with senior management roles in a number of emerging technology companies. She is an active member of Canada's innovation community, has served on the boards of private companies, industry associations and research organizations, and has been a member of several government advisory panels. Ilse holds a DPhil in chemistry from Oxford University, which she attended as a Rhodes scholar. In 2009, Dr. Treurnict was inducted into the Women's Executive Network's Canada's Most Powerful Women Top 100 Hall of Fame. Read the Globe and Mail interview on this: "A different pace to leadership". [ Minimize ]

Jamie Shulman is Co-Founder of HubDoc, a company that is passionate about simplifying and organizing people's lives. HubDoc's online platform will launch soon as a secure digital filing cabinet for receiving, managing and storing all of your bills, statements and important documents. Prior to HubDoc...
[ Extended Bio ]

Jamie Shulman is Co-Founder of HubDoc, a company that is passionate about simplifying and organizing people's lives. HubDoc's online platform will launch soon as a secure digital filing cabinet for receiving, managing and storing all of your bills, statements and important documents. Prior to HubDoc, Jamie co-founded Sparkroom, a software company focused on business intelligence and marketing automation. Jamie was head of Operations at Sparkroom from its inception in 2007 through its sale in 2010 to Nelnet Inc., a leading U.S. education and finance company (NYSE: NNI).

 

In his career, Jamie has been a business executive, attorney and entrepreneur: Jamie's business experience includes many aspects of company operations, such as business development, overseeing a contracts dept, sales and corporate governance. From 2002 to 2005,Jamie was Vice-President & Assistant General Counsel at QRS Corp., a publicly-traded supply chain technology company in San Francisco. From 1997-2002, Jamie practiced law at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, CA and at Torys LLP in Toronto, Ontario, specializing in corporate finance for technology companies.

Jamie sits on the Board of the International Centre, a trade and consumer show venue in Toronto and is a Charter Member of the C100, a non-profit member-driven organization dedicated to supporting Canadian technology entrepreneurship and investment. Jamie graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in International Relations and also holds JD & MBA degrees from the University of Toronto.

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Senia Rapisarda is Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and Investments. She joined BDC in 2010. In this role, Ms. Rapisarda is leading BDC's efforts to develop a healthy VC ecosystem in Canada through several key strategic initiatives and investments. Ms. Rapisarda has over 20 years of experien...
[ Extended Bio ]

Senia Rapisarda is Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and Investments. She joined BDC in 2010. In this role, Ms. Rapisarda is leading BDC's efforts to develop a healthy VC ecosystem in Canada through several key strategic initiatives and investments. Ms. Rapisarda has over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications and technology sectors, including roles as senior advisor at NUR Energie, a London-based investment fund specialized in renewable energy; and Managing Director of the Technology Private Equity Team at Nomura International, managing over $300 million of investments in 42 companies across Europe, Israel and the U.S. She is the founder of the Coller Institute at the London Business School - the first in Europe to provide a forum for the exchange of views and analysis of trends and policy issues in venture capital and private equity. Ms. Rapisarda has a law degree from LUISS University in Rome, a Master's in Law and Economics from Columbia University in New York, and is a Fulbright Scholar. [ Minimize ]

Scott Simpson is a co-founder and CEO of bitHeads inc. and has been involved in the Information Technology field for over twenty years with an extensive background in computer science and business management. He is on the board of the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI) and is the Chair...
[ Extended Bio ]

Scott Simpson is a co-founder and CEO of bitHeads inc. and has been involved in the Information Technology field for over twenty years with an extensive background in computer science and business management. He is on the board of the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI) and is the Chair of GENERATOR: Ottawa's Digital Media Cluster. He was recently a board member of Interactive Ontario. He is an active member in several professional associations including the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) and the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA) and is a past recipient of the Ottawa Forty-under-40 award and been named one of Ottawa Life Magazine's Top 50 People in Ottawa, recognizing his business and community accomplishments. [ Minimize ]

Colin Graham BArch.,OAA, MRAIC is the Founder and CEO of Arcestra as well as a principal of Arcade Architects and Designers Inc. and founder of several companies including Vizible Corporation (acquired by OpenText) and Opalux Inc.. A serial entrepreneur Colin has participated in the conceptualizati...
[ Extended Bio ]

Colin Graham BArch.,OAA, MRAIC is the Founder and CEO of Arcestra as well as a principal of Arcade Architects and Designers Inc. and founder of several companies including Vizible Corporation (acquired by OpenText) and Opalux Inc.. A serial entrepreneur Colin has participated in the conceptualization and building of numerous companies and brings a wealth of experience in team building. With over 25 years of executive experience in architecture, interior design and construction Mr. Graham has extensive domain expertise in Arcestra's target markets. [ Minimize ]

Craig Rowe is the Founder/CEO of ClearRisk. He has presented extensively in the insurance and risk management industries across North America since 1989 and is the author of a popular risk management book and blog. Craig is very active in the community as Past Chair of the YMCA of NL, Director of ...
[ Extended Bio ]

Craig Rowe is the Founder/CEO of ClearRisk. He has presented extensively in the insurance and risk management industries across North America since 1989 and is the author of a popular risk management book and blog. Craig is very active in the community as Past Chair of the YMCA of NL, Director of the Board of YMCA Canada and Director of the Rotary Club of St. John's East. Craig lives in St. John's with his wife and three children. [ Minimize ]

Alan Levine is an experienced and successful leader, organization developer and entrepreneur. Alan co-founded ICOM Information & Communications in 1986, and led ICOM to be recognized as one of North America's leading information companies with revenues of over $60M. Alan served as the company's CEO...
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Alan Levine is an experienced and successful leader, organization developer and entrepreneur. Alan co-founded ICOM Information & Communications in 1986, and led ICOM to be recognized as one of North America's leading information companies with revenues of over $60M. Alan served as the company's CEO until selling the company in 2006 to Alliance Data (owners of The Loyalty Group). Alan's early career was spent at Procter and Gamble and then as a senior manager in the telecommunications industry. Among other roles, Alan served for a rare two terms as Chairman of the Board for Canada's largest marketing trade association. [ Minimize ]

Ken Seto is a mobile app and game designer with over 20+ years experience in software development and design. Most recently, he is the co-founder and CEO of Massive Damage, a location-based mobile gaming startup. The company has raised $375 in angel funding and has successfully launched their first...
[ Extended Bio ]

Ken Seto is a mobile app and game designer with over 20+ years experience in software development and design. Most recently, he is the co-founder and CEO of Massive Damage, a location-based mobile gaming startup. The company has raised $375 in angel funding and has successfully launched their first hit game, Please Stay Calm, a real-world mobile social game where players work together to survive a zombie apocalypse.

He is also the co-founder of Endloop Mobile, a leading mobile development studio with a growing team building some of the most entertaining and innovative iPhone and iPad applications on the market, garnering media attention from Wired, Mashable, Techcrunch and others. [ Minimize ]

James is a seasoned executive with more than 15 years' experience in the digital media eco system. He describes himself as a creative, resourceful, innovator. He has an unparalleled hands-on experience with ad networks and real-time ad-exchanges coupled with an appreciation for how data is changing ...
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James is a seasoned executive with more than 15 years' experience in the digital media eco system. He describes himself as a creative, resourceful, innovator. He has an unparalleled hands-on experience with ad networks and real-time ad-exchanges coupled with an appreciation for how data is changing the industry.

Before joining Recoset, James held a variety of increasingly senior positions in the digital media industry, including stints at Yahoo / Hot Jobs, AOL, Sympatico / MSN and as the General Manager of Advertising.com Canada. After leaving Ad.com, and before taking the plunge in to a start up, James consulted to many of Canada's leading digital publishers including Yellow Pages Group, Rogers Digital Media and The Globe and Mail where he helped the sr executives at these companies understand and leverage the opportunities in today's data-driven, real time advertising eco system. [ Minimize ]

Mark O'Sullivan is a co-founder and CEO of Vanilla: forum software that powers discussions on over 500,000 sites around the world. Previously, Mark was a contract developer for companies like Microsoft, Siemens and Bank of America.

Widely considered a thought leader in online commun...
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Mark O'Sullivan is a co-founder and CEO of Vanilla: forum software that powers discussions on over 500,000 sites around the world. Previously, Mark was a contract developer for companies like Microsoft, Siemens and Bank of America.

Widely considered a thought leader in online communities, and once even referred to as "dashing", Mark continues to innovate and revolutionize with his work at VanillaForums.com.
Mark's hobbies are technology, software/web startups, internet memes, cooking and bourbon. He is married to the coolest woman he's ever met, with whom he has created the most beautiful baby girl ever to appear on planet Earth. [ Minimize ]

Allen Lau is a serial entrepreneur with a laser sharp focus on consumer Internet and mobile opportunities. Allen is currently CEO and co-founder of Toronto-based Wattpad, one of the largest communities for readers and writers to discover and share stories. Wattpad's investors include Union Square Ve...
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Allen Lau is a serial entrepreneur with a laser sharp focus on consumer Internet and mobile opportunities. Allen is currently CEO and co-founder of Toronto-based Wattpad, one of the largest communities for readers and writers to discover and share stories. Wattpad's investors include Union Square Ventures, Golden Venture Partners and W Media Ventures.

Prior to co-founding Wattpad, Allen was CEO and co-founder of FeedM8, a mobile advertising company that was acquired by Upstream Systems. Before FeedM8, Allen was CTO and co-founder of Tira Wireless. Founded in 2001, Tira raised over $30M in VC funding and was a leader in mobile content publishing and deployment. [ Minimize ]

Eric Brassard has over 20 years of experience in a variety of industries from fashion to telecom e-commerce. He has held senior management positions in both American and Canadian companies including Saks Fifth Avenue, Microcell, Rogers, Avon and Reader's Digest.

Having worked in field...
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Eric Brassard has over 20 years of experience in a variety of industries from fashion to telecom e-commerce. He has held senior management positions in both American and Canadian companies including Saks Fifth Avenue, Microcell, Rogers, Avon and Reader's Digest.

Having worked in field of database marketing for over 18 years, Eric has developed an uncanny ability to project market trends ahead of time combined to a solid track record capturing and monetizing these new opportunities. He participated to or was responsible for the highly successful launches of new companies and new divisions within larger organizations. Among others, he drove tenfold increases in customer base for both Fido and for Avon Direct (Canada) in under 18 months. He also helped founded and became CEO of a business intelligence organization (Iceberg Factor) in the early 2000's.

More recently, Eric was Vice-President of Marketing for Quebec at Bell Aliant Regional Communications (a $3 billion company) where he produced industry-leading overall revenue growth as well as a corporate-record subscriber increases in the Wireless and High Speed Internet businesses. [ Minimize ]

Alice co-founded Evoco in 1999 with a simple vision: introducing innovation and technology to help retailers and developers efficiently manage their volume build programs. Over a decade later, Alice continues to follow that vision in serving as the President and CEO of Evoco, responsible for produ...
[ Extended Bio ]

Alice co-founded Evoco in 1999 with a simple vision: introducing innovation and technology to help retailers and developers efficiently manage their volume build programs. Over a decade later, Alice continues to follow that vision in serving as the President and CEO of Evoco, responsible for product development and corporate roadmaps. Alice continues to lead the company to incorporate these best practices into creative solutions for all clients. Ranked 10th on PROFIT's W100 List of Female Entrepreneurs in Canada in 2011, Alice's passion is contagious and it translates to a leadership style that impacts all levels of the organization.

Prior to Evoco, Alice held several management positions in finance and marketing, and earned her MBA from the University of Calgary. [ Minimize ]

Claude Th'oret was a founding member of McGill's an astronomy department. He did his post-doctral work at the Coll'ge de France where he concentrated on real time data acquisition and signal to noise reduction techniques in gamma ray astrophysics. After co-publishing in Nature twice, he turned his ...
[ Extended Bio ]

Claude Th'oret was a founding member of McGill's an astronomy department. He did his post-doctral work at the Coll'ge de France where he concentrated on real time data acquisition and signal to noise reduction techniques in gamma ray astrophysics. After co-publishing in Nature twice, he turned his analytical expertise on Co-Word Analysis, Actor Network Theory and their practical applications. He founded Nexalogy in 2006, where he is acting CEO and CTO. [ Minimize ]

As CEO of Polar Mobile, a leading mobile content solutions enabler for large media companies, Kunal leads a fast-growing team in building a next generation mobile software platform so businesses can quickly and efficiently bring to market intuitive and engaging mobile products & services that grow a...
[ Extended Bio ]

As CEO of Polar Mobile, a leading mobile content solutions enabler for large media companies, Kunal leads a fast-growing team in building a next generation mobile software platform so businesses can quickly and efficiently bring to market intuitive and engaging mobile products & services that grow audiences, open new revenue streams and extend brands to the mobile marketplace.

A frequent speaker at industry events on the topics of bringing to market innovative products and services for the mobile consumer, Kunal is regarded as a rising young visionary in the mobile industry. As Founder of the Impact Entrepreneurship Group, the largest youth entrepreneurship non-profit organization in Canada for which he also serves as Chair of the Board, Kunal has been recognized for his efforts in promoting entrepreneurship to youth. He was recognized as Alumnus of the Year by Shad Valley and as a Global Citizen by the United Nations. [ Minimize ]

Patrick is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of QuickMobile, and has more than 30 years experience as a pioneer in emerging technologies.

Prior to QuickMobile, Patrick was founder and CEO of Mobile Operandi Communication which developed the "Mophone" mobile consumer social netwo...
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Patrick is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of QuickMobile, and has more than 30 years experience as a pioneer in emerging technologies.

Prior to QuickMobile, Patrick was founder and CEO of Mobile Operandi Communication which developed the "Mophone" mobile consumer social networking service before being sold to Vantage Point Venture Partners in 2006. Previous to this, he spent 5 years at Ericsson as Director of Mobile Internet based in Brussels, Belgium where he was responsible for divisional sales, business development, mobile strategy, and external partnering. In 1989, Patrick co-founded Vancouver-based Memex Software which developed a digital TV management platform for global satellite broadcast systems. While working at Distinctive Software during the late-80's (now Electronic Arts Canada), Patrick scored the original music for the video game Test Drive - which eventually grew into the world's best selling racing game franchise.

Patrick currently serves as a founding director of WaveFront AC an organization that helps wireless companies with technology acceleration and commercialization. He also served for 5 years as a director at the Wireless Innovation Network of BC (WINBC) which helps to foster collaboration amongst early-stage wireless companies in Canada. [ Minimize ]

As the President & CEO of ResponseTek, Syed is a proven leader with a wealth of experience in managing success. Prior to founding ResponseTek in 1999, Syed spent over 7 years as an international corporate strategy and e-commerce consultant. Syed was head of the e-commerce strategy group for Cambridg...
[ Extended Bio ]

As the President & CEO of ResponseTek, Syed is a proven leader with a wealth of experience in managing success. Prior to founding ResponseTek in 1999, Syed spent over 7 years as an international corporate strategy and e-commerce consultant. Syed was head of the e-commerce strategy group for Cambridge Technology Partners in San Francisco, developing new business opportunities and has a proven track record of defining and implementing corporate strategy solutions for Fortune 500 companies. Prior to Cambridge, Syed established and led the development of the consulting arm of Reid Crowther, a large engineering company. Syed has been recognized by Silicon Valley North Magazine as the "Next CEO" in its March 2002 issue as well as by Business in Vancouver as a "Forty under 40" winner in 2002. [ Minimize ]

George has held positions at IMAX, successful start up PlateSpin and Novell. He has over 21 years of software experience.

At Shoplogix, George's teams are responsible for Services, Deployments, Customer Advocacy, Product Direction and Strategic Partnerships. He works closely with t...
[ Extended Bio ]

George has held positions at IMAX, successful start up PlateSpin and Novell. He has over 21 years of software experience.

At Shoplogix, George's teams are responsible for Services, Deployments, Customer Advocacy, Product Direction and Strategic Partnerships. He works closely with the international sales team and customer base.

He is an avid blues guitar player and father of two. [ Minimize ]

Joseph Fung is co-founder and CEO of TribeHR, where he focuses on the strategic direction of the organization and vision for the software.

Previously, Joseph was the director of Digital Media at The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and President/CEO of Lewis Medi...
[ Extended Bio ]

Joseph Fung is co-founder and CEO of TribeHR, where he focuses on the strategic direction of the organization and vision for the software.

Previously, Joseph was the director of Digital Media at The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and President/CEO of Lewis Media, a web software company that built rebrandable web solutions for marketing and design professionals. At Lewis Media, Joseph transformed the company from a service-based boutique development shop to an independent software vendor with robust private label reseller and direct sales channels. Joseph steered the growth and eventual sale of Lewis Media's core technology and reseller networks. For his successes with Lewis Media and CIGI, Joseph was honoured with the CIBC Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2005 and was recognized as one of Waterloo Region's Top 40 under 40 in 2011. [ Minimize ]

Doug Moffat is the founder of True Voice Technologies Inc., an innovator of speech enabled solutions for the internet, mobile and telecom industries. Doug is passionate about taking a high-tech start-up company with innovative technology and creating a profitable, successful company. Over the past...
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Doug Moffat is the founder of True Voice Technologies Inc., an innovator of speech enabled solutions for the internet, mobile and telecom industries. Doug is passionate about taking a high-tech start-up company with innovative technology and creating a profitable, successful company. Over the past 16 years, Doug founded two other successful companies in the ICT industry; ConverTec Inc., a unified communications application developer and Tomkin Communications Corp., a Nortel Networks telecommunication hardware/service vendor. Both companies were successful, had innovative products and services, quality management teams and were pioneers in their respective industry.
Doug believes the recipe for a successful high-tech business venture is the combination of blue ocean products, creative talent, correct decision making, the right attitude and a little luck. [ Minimize ]

Kirk is the co-founder and CEO of Wave Accounting. Wave is Kirk's third start up. In between entrepreneurial ventures, he worked with some of Canada's biggest media and corporate brands, primarily in strategic alliances, business development, sales and marketing. Kirk started Wave in July 2009 (alon...
[ Extended Bio ]

Kirk is the co-founder and CEO of Wave Accounting. Wave is Kirk's third start up. In between entrepreneurial ventures, he worked with some of Canada's biggest media and corporate brands, primarily in strategic alliances, business development, sales and marketing. Kirk started Wave in July 2009 (along with James Lochrie), leading it to 100,000 small business sign ups and $7 million in funding in its first year of operations. [ Minimize ]

Noel Hulsman is the managing editor, finance for Yahoo Canada. Prior to joining Yahoo, he spent five years as an editor with the Globe and Mail's Report on Business. He was previously the editor of BCBusiness Magazine in Vancouver. He started his career in the property development industry in Malays...
[ Extended Bio ]

Noel Hulsman is the managing editor, finance for Yahoo Canada. Prior to joining Yahoo, he spent five years as an editor with the Globe and Mail's Report on Business. He was previously the editor of BCBusiness Magazine in Vancouver. He started his career in the property development industry in Malaysia, before switching to business journalism in 1997. Noel has an M.A. in urban planning from the University of Waterloo and a B.A. in political science from McGill University. [ Minimize ]

Robert Montgomery is a Toronto-based entrepreneur, investor and adviser focused on the digital media and information technology industries. Robert is CEO of business-to-business media and facilitation company Achilles Media Ltd as well as investment company First Maximilian Associates. Robert's pri...
[ Extended Bio ]

Robert Montgomery is a Toronto-based entrepreneur, investor and adviser focused on the digital media and information technology industries. Robert is CEO of business-to-business media and facilitation company Achilles Media Ltd as well as investment company First Maximilian Associates. Robert's prior positions include: Co-Founder and Partner in Achilles Partners in Toronto and New York, an investment and advisory firm; President, Americas at the Fantastic Corporation in San Francisco, a broadband software company; Co-Founder and Chairman of Media Content plc in London, a media rights company; Managing Director for Europe and Asia Pacific at research and consulting firm Kagan World Media in London; co-founder of Digital Media International and Managing Director for Euromoney plc, and what is now Informa plc, all business to business media companies in London. Robert is a native of Winnipeg and a graduate of the University of Manitoba. Robert is Chair of the Board of Governors of the Ontario College of Art and Design and Co-Chairman of the Canadian Innovation Exchange. [ Minimize ]

Rick Nathan is Managing Director of Kensington Capital Partners Limited, a leading Canadian private equity investor. Kensington invests across the private markets in buyout, venture capital, growth and infrastructure assets through both direct investment and fund investment programs. Rick currently ...
[ Extended Bio ]

Rick Nathan is Managing Director of Kensington Capital Partners Limited, a leading Canadian private equity investor. Kensington invests across the private markets in buyout, venture capital, growth and infrastructure assets through both direct investment and fund investment programs. Rick currently serves as a Director of Public Mobile Inc. and Mobile Knowledge Inc., and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Novacap funds.
Prior to joining Kensington, Rick was Managing Director of Goodmans Venture Group, a division of Goodmans LLP. In that role, he acted as legal counsel and strategic business advisor to entrepreneurs, emerging growth companies, and private equity investors in the Canadian market, and also had responsibility for a related investment portfolio. In 1999, Rick was a founding partner of Brightspark, an innovative early-stage venture capital fund focused on incubating entrepreneurs in the software, digital media and information and communications technology sectors. Prior to founding Brightspark, Rick spent more than 10 years as a corporate and securities lawyer at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, including as leader of the firm's Technology Business Group.
Rick is the current Chairman of CVCA - Canada's Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, and the Co-Chair of the Canadian Innovation Exchange. He is also a member of the Advisory Board to the Toronto Region Research Alliance.
Rick is a graduate of Dartmouth College (Computer Science) and the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law. [ Minimize ]

Chris Arsenault is Managing Partner at iNovia Capital and has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur for 17 years. Chris currently serves on the board of directors of Airborne Technology Ventures, DFT Microsystems, Fixmo, Plastic knowledge, Reflex Photonics, and Woozworld. Chris is an active ...
[ Extended Bio ]

Chris Arsenault is Managing Partner at iNovia Capital and has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur for 17 years. Chris currently serves on the board of directors of Airborne Technology Ventures, DFT Microsystems, Fixmo, Plastic knowledge, Reflex Photonics, and Woozworld. Chris is an active board member of the Canadian Venture Capital Association and is a strong supporter of the Silicon Valley based C100 (the Top Canadians in the Valley), the Quebec Angel Network and the National Angel Organization.

Before joining the firm in 2002, Chris founded, co-founded or funded a number of Software, Mobile and Consumer Internet technology start-up companies, including 2 spin-offs of telecom giants Microcell and Teleglobe. Chris is also proud to have been instrumental in the creation of the ENABLIS Entrepreneurial Network (a $30+ million G8-sponsored venture capital seed fund). Chris' entrepreneurial and investment experience includes a number of notable exits that generated large shareholder returns, such as Airborne Entertainment, Corpernic.com, Wanted Technologies, i5, up2 and SIT Inc. His work in the mid 90's as founder and CEO of SIT provided him with the opportunity to play an important part in the initial growth of the Internet. As one of Netscape's first developer partners, integrator and international reseller, SIT's security products and dial-up technology eventually grew to become an integral part of Netscape's deployment.

Chris believes that Entrepreneurship is a "state of mind", and thus part of one's core. It may be sleeping (waiting to be activated, nurtured or mentored), but it can't be taught or infused into a person. Entrepreneurship is not a profession; an entrepreneur has unique character traits that enable him/her to do amazing and impossible things [ Minimize ]

Alkarim Jivraj is a highly experienced venture advisor & investor. He is the founder of Intrepid Equity Finance, an Exempt Market Dealer, and the managing partner of the Intrepid Business Acceleration Fund LP (IBAF). IBAF is an early stage venture fund that invests in software, Internet and mobile...
[ Extended Bio ]

Alkarim Jivraj is a highly experienced venture advisor & investor. He is the founder of Intrepid Equity Finance, an Exempt Market Dealer, and the managing partner of the Intrepid Business Acceleration Fund LP (IBAF). IBAF is an early stage venture fund that invests in software, Internet and mobile solutions companies. IBAF provides both growth capital and operational support to help portfolio companies to accelerate sales, improve operational effectiveness and optimize capital efficiency. Alkarim currently represents Intrepid on the board of directors of eSentire and SCI Marketview.

Prior to founding Intrepid, Alkarim was the head of the IT investment banking practice and a member of the senior leadership team at Yorkton Securities, a leading technology investment banking firm. Alkarim has participated in over $1 billion in growth capital fund raising, and he has completed over 100 transactions during his career.
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