Joe brings over 16 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, and overall growth and...
[ Extended Bio ]

Joe brings over 16 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, and overall growth and business development of emerging companies.
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 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), ImagicTV (NASDAQ IPO, and acquired by ALCATEL, NYSE: ALA) and Third Brigade (acquired by Trend Micro, Tokyo Stock exchange).
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, and holds Chartered Accountant and Certified Management Accountant designations in Canada.
Joe sits on the boards of Vantrix, Trust Digital and Radian6.

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John S. Varghese is Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the VentureLink Funds and the President and Director of the General Partner of the Manager. Mr. Varghese's has over 20 years professional experience ranging from venture capital and investment banking to senior management and board of di...
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John S. Varghese is Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the VentureLink Funds and the President and Director of the General Partner of the Manager. Mr. Varghese's has over 20 years professional experience ranging from venture capital and investment banking to senior management and board of director roles in various industries. He has held COO and CFO positions at start-up organizations, as well as senior management roles within multi-national corporations including Royal Bank Capital Corporation, Midland Walwyn Capital Inc. (Merrill Lynch Canada), Dell Computer Corporation, Jim Pattison Industries Ltd and KPMG Peat Marwick. Currently Mr. Varghese is an observer or board member on numerous investee companies. He is past Chairman of Ventus Energy Inc, Orion Securities Inc. and MCCI Communications Inc, all successful exits of VentureLink. Mr. Varghese is a member of University of Toronto's Business Board of Directors and is also a Board Member of the University of Toronto Asset Management Corporation. He is an active member of the venture capital industry, sitting on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Venture Capital Association and the Retail Venture Capital Association where he is the lead director. Mr. Varghese sits on the government relations committee of the CVCA. Mr. Varghese is a founding Board member of Bay Street Fore a Cau$e Inc. a not-for-profit corporation that supports numerous children's charities across the GTA.

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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...
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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.

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Chris Arsenault is a senior executive with over 15 years of general management experience in high technology industries, with extensive experience in business development, strategic planning, sales, marketing and communications. Chris first joined MSBi Capital in 2002 as a Partner focused on InfoTec...
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Chris Arsenault is a senior executive with over 15 years of general management experience in high technology industries, with extensive experience in business development, strategic planning, sales, marketing and communications. Chris first joined MSBi Capital in 2002 as a Partner focused on InfoTech investments, and is now President & Chief Executive Officer of iNovia Capital (formerly MSBi Capital).

iNovia Capital provides venture capital to entrepreneurs who transform innovations into successful companies. The team is comprised of sector experts in information technology, life sciences, and clean tech. In addition, iNovia capital's extensive network of industry and academic partners provides portfolio companies with unique access to intellectual property. iNovia Capital has $160M under management across two seed and early stage funds.

Chris has been involved in numerous entrepreneurial initiatives, including the ENABLIS Entrepreneurial Network Inc., a $25 million G8 sponsored venture capital seed fund. Since 1998, has been involved as an investor and as a board member to a number of transactions at the seed stage level, including the seed and follow-on financing of Airborne Entertainment Inc. (which was acquired by Cybird for $110 million in cash in June 2005, and was awarded "deal of the year" by Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association).

Prior to joining iNovia Capital, Chris was a partner and entrepreneur in residence with the Telesystem group, where, in addition to managing direct investments (such as Popcast Communications Corp., Look Communications and Airborne Entertainment), he was involved in the creation of up2 Technologies - a subsidiary for Teleglobe Inc. which was then acquired by BCE Inc.; and a subsidiary for Microcell Telecommunications Inc. - i5 Corp. - which was then acquired in 2005 by Rogers Wireless Inc. He has helped build, since its inception, Wanted Technologies (TSX under ticker:WAN.V), a business intelligence information and technology provider, and helped launch Copernic Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq under ticker:CNIC) a leading agent-based technology company.

Chris began his business career in technology as founder and CEO of SIT Inc., an international Internet integrator and the first Netscape Communications software developer, which, after the winding-up of its Ste-Foy offices, was sold to Ubizen of Belgium in 1999 for 42 million euros.

Chris is a member of the Boards of Directors of Airborne Technologies Ventures, Airborne Mobile, DFT Microsystems, Reflex Photonics and Tribal Nova. Chris also serves as a board member of the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association ("CVCA").


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Since July 1st 2009, Mr. Bernier is Managing Partner and Founder of Teralys Capital, a fund of funds whose limited partners are Québec Governement, Caisse de Dépôt et de Placement and Solidarity Fund QFL.
With the Solidarity Fund QFL since 2004, Jacques Bernier has been Se...
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Since July 1st 2009, Mr. Bernier is Managing Partner and Founder of Teralys Capital, a fund of funds whose limited partners are Québec Governement, Caisse de Dépôt 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 École polytechnique in 1979, Mr. Bernier is behind the creation of the Industrial Innovation Center of Montréal. 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 Téléport de Montréal, a Québec beacon in the telecommunications sector, and served as its President from 1987 to 2002. Before joining the Solidarity Fund QFL, he was President of Mégapoint, 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.

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Mr. Eckert is a Managing Partner of McLean Watson Capital Inc, a Toronto-based venture capital and private equity firm that invests in, and advises, knowledge-based technology companies including software, hardware, telecommunications, and energy and health sciences. Investors include many of the le...
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Mr. Eckert is a Managing Partner of McLean Watson Capital Inc, a Toronto-based venture capital and private equity firm that invests in, and advises, knowledge-based technology companies including software, hardware, telecommunications, and energy and health sciences. Investors include many of the leading public pension funds in Canada and Asia, high net worth individual investors as well as the partners of McLean Watson Prior to founding McLean Watson Capital, John and Loudon Owen, the other Managing Partner of McLean Watson, financed and advised Softimage, a world leader in high-end 3D animation, in its growth from 4 to 250 employees, its IPO on Nasdaq in 1992 and the sale to Microsoft in 1994. John and Loudon served as the Joint COO for Softimage from 1993 to its sale. John has extensive experience in corporate finance, having served as a VP and Director in Corporate Finance and Capital Markets of Wood Gundy Inc. and CIBC Wood Gundy in Canada. He also served as Managing Director of CIBC Wood Gundy (Australia), a merchant bank. John has worked with industry organizations and Government to improve the economic environment in Canada. John was a judge for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award from 2002 to 2006. He regularly lectures at the Rotman School of Management and the Richard Ivey School of Business on the venture capital and investment industries, and speaks at investment and entrepreneurial forums in Canada and abroad.
BOARDS John has served on the Board of the Canadian Venture Capital Association, having previously held the positions of President (2000-2002) and Chairman (2002-2003). He also serves on the Boards of several private and public companies, including SkyWave, Sitebrand and Activplant.
EDUCATION John holds a BA from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business.

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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...
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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 to 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.

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Jacqui Murphy is a Partner at Tech Capital Partners where she focuses on investment opportunities in the new media, internet, wireless, and communications sectors. Jacqui joined Tech Capital in 2001 and has more than a decade of experience building and investing in early-stage technology companies. ...
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Jacqui Murphy is a Partner at Tech Capital Partners where she focuses on investment opportunities in the new media, internet, wireless, and communications sectors. Jacqui joined Tech Capital in 2001 and has more than a decade of experience building and investing in early-stage technology companies.

Having worked with many early-stage technology companies, Jacqui is committed to helping entrepreneurs succeed and readily shares her knowledge, resources and network of professional contacts with Tech Capital's portfolio companies. She currently serves as a director on the boards of AideRSS (www.aiderss.com), LiveHive Systems (www.livehivesystems.com) and Overlay.TV (www.overlay.tv).

Prior to joining Tech Capital, Jacqui was Manager of Marketing Operations at Cisco Systems where she led the marketing operations team for Cisco's video networking business division. Jacqui joined Cisco through its acquisition of PixStream, a technology company focused on distributing and managing digital video across broadband networks. At PixStream, Jacqui was a Director of Marketing responsible for developing domestic and international markets and managing an innovative marketing team.

Jacqui has also been a marketing consultant, published numerous business cases and instructed business courses at both the Richard Ivey School of Business (University of Western Ontario) and Wilfrid Laurier University. She is a member of the Professional Development Committee for the Canadian Venture Capital Association (CVCA) and sits on the board of directors of the Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation.

Jacqui holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and has completed the Venture Capital & Private Equity Executive Education program at Harvard, the Entrepreneurship Development Program at MIT, and the study course at the Venture Capital Institute

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Benoit Hogue has accumulated 20 years investment experience in the media and IT industries, and has been active in the areas of sell-side stock market analysis, private placement and venture capital.

Prior to founding Propulsion Ventures, he spent 5 years at the Caisse de dép&o...
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Benoit Hogue has accumulated 20 years investment experience in the media and IT industries, and has been active in the areas of sell-side stock market analysis, private placement and venture capital.

Prior to founding Propulsion Ventures, he spent 5 years at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Canada's largest pension fund manager. At the Caisse, Benoit Hogue managed a $80 million portfolio of communication and IT companies. He also helped define a risk analysis methodology and an investment strategy for the software industry.

Over the course of his career, Benoit Hogue led the investment in or served on the boards of OMNI (acquired by Astral Media), NewEast Wireless Technologies Inc. (now public - Stratos Global), Groupe Image Buzz Inc., Presticom Inc. (acquired by Act Networks), MEI Inc., Interstar Technologies Inc. (acquired by Sagem), Giganet (acquired by Emulex), Silanis Technology Inc. (AIM-SNS), Adcentricity Inc., Coveo Solutions Inc., eXludus Technologies Inc. and X2O Media.

Benoit Hogue holds a Bachelor of Finance from Université du Québec à Montréal. He is also a CFA and is a member of the CFA Institute.

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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 start-up
companies, been through one of the largest internet IPOs in history and has been involved in the building, financin...
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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 start-up
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 start-up in 2000 and subsequently closed a $240 Million IPO on NASDAQ.

Currently, Leonard is C--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 and 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.

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Roger has a 15-year background in technology, telecommunications and digital media as an investor, entrepreneur and operator. Roger came to Rho from GrowthWorks Capital, one of Canada's largest and most successful VC funds with $800 million in assets under management, where he focused on software an...
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Roger has a 15-year background in technology, telecommunications and digital media as an investor, entrepreneur and operator. Roger came to Rho from GrowthWorks Capital, one of Canada's largest and most successful VC funds with $800 million in assets under management, where he focused on software and digital media investments. At GrowthWorks, he sat on the boards of 10 early stage companies including NetShelter, Paymentus, Xkoto and Whitehill (acquired by Oracle). Prior to GrowthWorks, Roger worked as a hands-on investor at Hargan Ventures, a seed stage VC fund, whose model is to invest early and for the funds' principals to take on senior operational roles alongside the founders they invest in. At Hargan, Roger worked on a number of deals including Brighter Minds Media, which went public in 2006 and VisualSonics, a successful private medical device company. Roger was also previously an investor at the Bell Accelerator Fund, the corporate venture program of Bell Canada Enterprise's (BCE) wireless division. At the Accelerator, his team was involved in funding and commercializing some of the most innovative wireless start-ups in North America including Trellia Networks, Cellwand, Sendum, Xybec (acquired by Tatara), Sanchez (acquired by Fidelity Information Services) and Mobile Diagnostix (acquired by Bitfone/HP). Roger has also held operational roles with Rogers Wireless. Prior to his experience with Canada's two largest wireless carriers, Roger was the co-founder and CEO of Mobilessence, one of North America's earliest startups focused on virtual goods and content for smart phones. Mobilessence was recognized as one of the top 20 wireless software companies in Canada by the Branham Group based on revenues and growth. He also spent three years at Sapphire Technologies, Canada-s largest IT recruitment services firm, where he was instrumental in developing the company's e-business strategy, internet spin-off companies and technology platforms. The company was acquired by a consortium of private equity players, including KKR, and later sold to Randstad.

Roger holds an MBA with Dean-s List Honours from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and a BA from the University of Western Ontario. Roger is a graduate of the Venture Capital Institute and currently serves on the Professional Development Committee of the Canadian Venture Capital Association.

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David Crow is an emerging technology and start-up advocate. At Microsoft Canada, he is responsible for helping Canadian start-ups gain access to software, support and visibility through programs like BizSpark (details at microsoft.com/bizspark). David continues to work to bring together the people t...
[ Extended Bio ]

David Crow is an emerging technology and start-up advocate. At Microsoft Canada, he is responsible for helping Canadian start-ups gain access to software, support and visibility through programs like BizSpark (details at microsoft.com/bizspark). David continues to work to bring together the people that start emerging technology companies and the people that fund them through events. He helps companies understand emerging technology, business models and design practices for creating compelling digital experiences. David focuses on helping companies to extend their customers' reach with next generation technologies for the desktop, digital devices, standards based applications for the Web, and rich media applications. He has been named Toronto's Best Web and Tech Evangelist for his efforts in DemoCamp, BarCampToronto, Founders & Funders and StartupEmpire. David blogs at http://davidcrow.ca/ and http://startupnorth.ca/

David has spent time working in both design and engineering organizations and understands that the creative tension between differing viewpoints is key in creating successful products and innovations. Prior to joining Microsoft Canada, David has designed, built and shipped products for early-stage technology companies including Radiant Core, Ambient Vector, Reactivity, and Trilogy Software. He also conducted research at Rockwell Collins, and deployed enterprise HR systems for Ryerson University.

David received a Master's in Human-Computer Interaction from the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University and an Honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Waterloo. He has spent ten years working with early-stage technology companies and larger, well-established organizations to build compelling software experiences.

Follow David on Twitter at @davidcrow or read his blog http://davidcrow.ca

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Sara Diamond is the President of the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD), Canada's foremost university of art and design. She holds degrees from Canada and the United Kingdom in social history, communications, digital media theory and computer science. She is currently a member of the Ontario...
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Sara Diamond is the President of the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD), Canada's foremost university of art and design. She holds degrees from Canada and the United Kingdom in social history, communications, digital media theory and computer science. She is currently a member of the Ontario Ministry of Culture's Minister's Advisory Council on Arts & Culture, the Board of Directors of the Toronto Arts Council Foundation and of ORANO, Ontario's high speed network. She is a founding member of CONCERT and the Chair of the OMDC funded Mobile Experience Innovation Centre. She has received numerous research awards for her work in visualization, mobile content design, wearable technologies and collaborative tools. She is a visualization software researcher and developer www.codezebra.net. Diamond created and was Editor-in-Chief of www.horizonzero.ca, an on-line showcase for new media art and design, in collaboration with Heritage Canada. Diamond participates in peer review publication and diverse editorial boards such as Leonardo on-line and Convergence. She provides media consulting to Heritage Canada, SSHRC, CFI, Industry Canada, CHRC and DFAIT, as well as international governments, institutions and agencies as diverse as China, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Finland, Australia, Brazil and the USA.

Prior to her presidency at OCAD Diamond was the Director of Research for the prestigious Banff Centre. She created the renowned Banff New Media Institute (BNMI) in 1995 and led it until coming to Toronto in 2005. Diamond developed international summits and business development workshops and accelerators that explored the near future of new media. She built alliances between artists, designers, architects, scientists, social scientists, and international and Canadian businesses. Diamond taught at Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design, The California Institute for the Arts and remains Adjunct Professor, University of California, Los Angeles in the Design/Media Department. In 2007 she was named one of Canada's fifty most significant artists as part of the Canada Council's fiftieth anniversary celebration. Her work resides in collections such as the National Gallery of Canada, where she was honored with a retrospective in 1992 and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

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Don is responsible for MaRS Business Services including advisory, capital, and talent services, and educational programs. In addition, Don is also responsible for corporate strategy and the MaRS operational performance management program. Don joined MaRS from Deloitte Consulting, where he served as ...
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Don is responsible for MaRS Business Services including advisory, capital, and talent services, and educational programs. In addition, Don is also responsible for corporate strategy and the MaRS operational performance management program. Don joined MaRS from Deloitte Consulting, where he served as a Senior Manager in the Strategy and Operations Consulting group based in Toronto. Through his consulting career, Don has worked with numerous clients in the life sciences, healthcare and consumer business industries. Don was part of a successful service-oriented start-up company, currently serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Engineering and is an Executive Board member for the Queen's Players Toronto Theatre Company and JUMP Math. He holds a BScH in Environmental Chemistry from Queen's University and a MASc in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto.

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As the founding principal of Critical Path Group, Marc has positioned his firm at the intersection of high growth companies and the private equity community.

A graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada, Marc was an operational naval officer for eight years, serving in Halifax C...
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As the founding principal of Critical Path Group, Marc has positioned his firm at the intersection of high growth companies and the private equity community.

A graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada, Marc was an operational naval officer for eight years, serving in Halifax Class warships with allied navies around the world before being recruited by a global management consulting firm. Being passionate about working with entrepreneurial teams, he founded Critical Path Group to serve private and public sector clients in two under-served areas: strategic planning, and recruiting A-players for companies committed to building world class teams.

Marc holds a BA (Hons) and an MBA specializing in technology commercialization and new venture planning. He also holds the CMC (Certified Management Consultant) designation and is a dedicated member of the Canadian Association of Management Consultants. Marc believes strongly in distinguishing between leadership and management - defining management as coping with business complexity, and leadership as coping with the human element of change.

A prolific networker, Marc invests heavily in professional development leadership roles that are directly aligned with addressing the challenges and "pain points" facing his client organizations. He is a founding delegate to the Canadian ICT Federation, the Executive Director of the Banff Venture Forum, Canada's largest annual technology financing forum for emerging high-growth companies, and has served on a number of advisory boards.

When not leading the firm, Marc practices being an "earth astronaut" - skiing, mountain biking, kayaking, mountaineering, and fly fishing. He has lived in Canada, the UK, Germany, and Australia.

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Austin Hill is a Canadian entrepreneur who has been creating technology startups since 1990. He was a founder of Zero-Knowledge Systems (now called Radialpoint) and as its President helped the company raise $75 million between 1997 and 2001.

In addition to his time as President with Z...
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Austin Hill is a Canadian entrepreneur who has been creating technology startups since 1990. He was a founder of Zero-Knowledge Systems (now called Radialpoint) and as its President helped the company raise $75 million between 1997 and 2001.

In addition to his time as President with Zero-Knowledge Systems Austin Hill served as the Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, the CEO of Synomos Inc. (a subsidiary of Zero-Knowledge Systems) and as the Executive Vice-President of Research for Radialpoint (Zero-Knowledge Systems was renamed Radialpoint in 2002). Radialpoint was honoured by Deloitte & Touche as one of Canada's fastest growing technology firms in their 2006 Technology Fast 50 award.

In 2002 he was honoured as a technology pioneer of the World Economic Forum in Davos (2002) and was awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Quebec 2001-Emerging Entrepreneur).

In 1994 he was a founder of the Internet provider Infobahn Online Services which went on to become Total.Net and built its Canadian network as its Chief Technology Officer. Total.Net was one of Canada's largest Internet Service Providers and was sold successfully to BCE Emergis (MPACT Immedia) in 1997. In 1990 while still a teenager he was the founder of security consulting firm Cyberspace Data Security.

He is an advisory board member of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and a past board member of Information Technology Association of Canada.

As an active member of the Canadian technology community he is the co-founder of the Founders & Funders networking events and has supported the Barcamp, Democamp and StartupCamp movements across Canada.

He currently serves on the advisory boards of the Atwater Library Digital Literacy project; is a research fellow for Coburn Ventures and through his angel investment firm Brudder Ventures advises a number of Canadian startups and entrepreneurs.

In his role as an investor he serves on the board of directors of Anges Quebec and Reseau Capital. He is a Venture Partner at iNovia Capital and a board member and venture partner at the startup capital fund Montreal Startup.

His work in the area of the technologies of social change and social entrepreneurship have been profiled on 60 Minutes, CNN, ABC Nightly News and covered in Time, Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal and The NY Times.

Austin Hill is a frequent speaker and lecturer in the areas of social entrepreneurship, startups, the technologies of social change, and the role of entrepreneurs as agents of change in our society. He has been a speaker at the World Economic Forum, the TED conference, TEDCity, IdeaCity, Game Developers Conference, Games 4 Change conference, Startup Empire, Mesh, StartupCamp Montreal and various other industry conferences.

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Stephen A. Hurwitz is a member of the Business and Technology Practice Group at Choate Hall and Stewart, a Boston-based law firm with a specialty in Canada-US cross-border transactions.

Mr. Hurwitz has served as counsel to public and privately-held companies. He has represented compan...
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Stephen A. Hurwitz is a member of the Business and Technology Practice Group at Choate Hall and Stewart, a Boston-based law firm with a specialty in Canada-US cross-border transactions.

Mr. Hurwitz has served as counsel to public and privately-held companies. He has represented companies from start-ups through mature public companies both in their US and international activities. His practice has included representation of high technology and other companies in various industries, private and public financings, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, licensing, and distribution transactions.

Mr. Hurwitz also has extensive experience in US-Canada cross-border issues and is a frequent speaker and panelist at many of the major technology, life sciences and venture capital events in Canada. He is chair and co-founder of the North American Venture Capital Summit.

Mr. Hurwitz received his AB from Cornell University and his JD from Cornell Law School.

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A Nortel veteran as Director of Branding and Advertising, Executive Director of Communications with CBC, and CEO of Ontario Tourism. Federal stints with the Privy Council Office and Industry Canada.

Overall, a 20-year background in marketing with a unique mix of technology and manage...
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A Nortel veteran as Director of Branding and Advertising, Executive Director of Communications with CBC, and CEO of Ontario Tourism. Federal stints with the Privy Council Office and Industry Canada.

Overall, a 20-year background in marketing with a unique mix of technology and management experience. Iain's Nortel work supported start-up technology companies around the globe. Here in Waterloo Region, he's committed to supporting technology businesses where they need it most: right in the trenches, providing practical services and programs to members of all sizes. Part of his role is as key contact for government relations, to make sure that all levels of government know about the developments and capabilities in Waterloo Region's tech sector. Iain is also committed to community partnerships, sitting on several boards, including the Prosperity Council, the Guelph-Waterloo Biotechnology Council, the Accelerator Centre and the Research + Technology Park.

Iain holds an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University, an MPA degree from Dalhousie University and an HBA from Laurentian University

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Mike Middleton, MBA, CFA, is the founding partner of Q1 Capital and a recognized leader in investment banking to private Canadian technology companies. Prior to entering the field, Mike worked in the financial services industry and was the Founder and President of a niche Canadian consumer products ...
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Mike Middleton, MBA, CFA, is the founding partner of Q1 Capital and a recognized leader in investment banking to private Canadian technology companies. Prior to entering the field, Mike worked in the financial services industry and was the Founder and President of a niche Canadian consumer products firm.

Mike has dedicated the past 15 years to investment banking with a focus on high-technology, advanced manufacturing, and consumer product companies. Progressing from research analyst to Managing Partner at two leading Canadian private investment banks, Mike co-founded his own boutique investment bank in 2001 with the primary mandate to serve the unique financing and M&A needs of Canadian private companies. Within these roles, Mike has focused exclusively on small to mid-cap companies and has looked at over 1,000 firms. Companies that he has worked with include: Leitch Technology Corporation, ATS Automation Tooling Systems, The Learning Company, Enghouse Systems, and Wescam.

Mike has a strong reputation for delivering value to his clients. He brings relevant expertise, deep investor networks, and an uncompromising approach to finding buyers or raising capital for private Canadian technology companies across Canada. Mike's objective is to provide entrepreneurs with a level of professional service that previously was only available to public companies. He has an excellent track record in the successful completion of mandates and has been featured in several recent Canadian business publications for his work.

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Roger has been in the venture capital business for over 15 years. Leveraging his prior entrepreneurial experience managing regional sales and operations for a family business, Roger has assisted many technology growth companies over the years, managing investments in software, IT services, electroni...
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Roger has been in the venture capital business for over 15 years. Leveraging his prior entrepreneurial experience managing regional sales and operations for a family business, Roger has assisted many technology growth companies over the years, managing investments in software, IT services, electronics manufacturing and life sciences, and playing an active role on the board of directors of both private and public companies. Since 2000, he has concentrated on the software sector where he currently serves on the board of several companies. Roger also served as Vice President of the Canadian Venture Capital Association (CVCA) and Chair of the CVCA's Professional Development Committee, where he continues to play an active role as a committee member.

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Richard Remillard is Executive-Director of Canada's Venture Capital and Private Equity Association(CVCA), a post he has held since November 2003. He has also been President of R C G, a management consulting firm active in the financial services industry,a Vice-President with the Canadian Bankers Ass...
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Richard Remillard is Executive-Director of Canada's Venture Capital and Private Equity Association(CVCA), a post he has held since November 2003. He has also been President of R C G, a management consulting firm active in the financial services industry,a Vice-President with the Canadian Bankers Association, a special assistant to the Minister of Finance and a public affairs manager with Bank of Montreal. Richard sits on several boards, has taught at Concordia University and is a graduate of McGill University and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Michelle Scarborough is an experienced entrepreneur with a track record of business achievement spanning more than 15 years. Currently Vice President, Investment and Commercialization at OCRI (Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation), she has been responsible for building a team of business leader...
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Michelle Scarborough is an experienced entrepreneur with a track record of business achievement spanning more than 15 years. Currently Vice President, Investment and Commercialization at OCRI (Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation), she has been responsible for building a team of business leaders and seasoned investment professionals who help start-up and emerging companies across the knowledge-based industries achieve global business success through mentorship, market intelligence and direct access to capital.

She has held a cross section of senior management roles in public and private sector organizations, including CEO, Scarborough & Associates where she outsourced her expertise to private industry and non-governmental agencies in the areas of financing and corporate restructuring including holding several positions such as acting CEO for organizations like Junior Achievement of BC. Through her company, she also acted on behalf of VC investors on due diligence and restructuring of several VC funded portfolio companies including Solflex Energy (Director, Corporate Development), Wildly Sophisticated (Investor), and The Portables (Director).

An active member of the Angel investment community, she has participated as a founder and principal seed investor in several capital pool companies and publicly traded businesses in a range of industry sectors, including Palmarejo Silver and Gold (TSX Venture Exchange), purchased by Coeur d'Alene Mines in a $1 billion transaction.

Ms. Scarborough graduated from the University of Calgary with dual bachelor designations in Science and Communications. She was recently honoured as a 2008 Top 40 Under 40 Award Recipient and is a participant in The Leadership Forum Series at the University of Otawa. She is also a regular guest of CTV's TechNow, reporting on investment trends in technology in Canada on a quarterly basis. Ms. Scarborough is a guest lecturer at the eMBA program at the University of Ottawa on venture capital and entrepreneurship, and she currently sits on the board of the National Angel Organization.

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John Ruffolo is the Global Tax Leader and the Canadian industry leader for Deloitte's Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) practice and a member of the firm's Tax and TMT Global Leadership teams. John is a Director on the Board of Deloitte. John has over 20 years of international corporate...
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John Ruffolo is the Global Tax Leader and the Canadian industry leader for Deloitte's Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) practice and a member of the firm's Tax and TMT Global Leadership teams. John is a Director on the Board of Deloitte. John has over 20 years of international corporate tax experience advising public and private companies on effective global tax strategies. He also has extensive experience providing strategic tax and advisory services to Canadian and foreign-based TMT companies and is recognized as one of the country's leading "green" technology advisors. In addition, John works closely with a number of North America's leading venture capitalists, and advises many of the companies in which they invest.

John's advice has been sought by some of the world's leading technology, media and telecommunications companies including Nortel, Rogers Communications, Research in Motion (RIM), Open Text, CTV Globemedia, Constellation Software, Gennum, IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle. John has also worked extensively with a number of leading private equity firms including VenGrowth, GrowthWorks, Covington, Jefferson Partners, and Conundrum Capital.

John is a strong supporter of both the business and not-for-profit communities. He is Chairperson of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association's Tax Policy Committee. He is also a member of the Corporate Fundraising committees for Sunnybrook Foundation and the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario. John is also actively involved with the David Suzuki Foundation. Further, he is a member of the Toronto chapter of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO).

John has a high profile media presence across Canada and is widely regarded by the media as a leading commentator on TMT and taxation issues. John is an active public speaker within the TMT and venture capital industries and has written extensively on developing global tax strategies to manage both Canadian and foreign taxes, as well as how best to arrange tax structures to optimize IPO offerings, financings, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.

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International Director, Canada's Venture Capital and Private Equity Association

Director - Quebec City Conference

Senior Trade Commissioner - Department of Foreign Affairs

Sunil Sharma is a rotational Foreign Service officer with Canada's Department of Fo...
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International Director, Canada's Venture Capital and Private Equity Association

Director - Quebec City Conference

Senior Trade Commissioner - Department of Foreign Affairs

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 centers 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.

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David Shore joined Research Capital in October 2007 as Head of Technology Group in the Equity Research department and Technology Analyst. At Research Capital, David's coverage includes Software & Media companies, and he has the added responsibility of coordinating Research Capital's overall stra...
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David Shore joined Research Capital in October 2007 as Head of Technology Group in the Equity Research department and Technology Analyst. At Research Capital, David's coverage includes Software & Media companies, and he has the added responsibility of coordinating Research Capital's overall strategy in technology equities research. David has been consistently ranked as a leading technology analyst (software) in Canada, and prior to joining Research Capital had been with a number of financial institutions, including Desjardins, CIBC World Markets, and First Marathon. David has also been directly involved in the technology industry, having worked with a technology start-up as CFO and at Celestica where he was responsible for financial analysis for the EMS division. David holds a B.A. (Specialized Honours) degree and an MBA from York University, and also has his CFA designation. David also sits on the board of ESI Entertainment Inc. (CNSX: ESI), a leader in e-commerce payment technologies, hardware based input devices, real time auditing systems, transaction processing systems, graphical 3D displays, e-commerce web services, and payment fraud and risk mitigation.

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Duncan Stewart is the Director of Deloitte Canada Research in the areas of Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT). He is a member of Deloitte's national TMT executive team and is a co-author of Deloitte Research's annual Predictions report on trends in TMT.

Duncan has almost...
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Duncan Stewart is the Director of Deloitte Canada Research in the areas of Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT). He is a member of Deloitte's national TMT executive team and is a co-author of Deloitte Research's annual Predictions report on trends in TMT.

Duncan has almost two decades of experience in the TMT industry. As an analyst and portfolio manager, Duncan has provided research or made investments in the entire Canadian technology and telecommunications sector. He has written research on names such as Nortel and Celestica, and been a venture capital investor in Research in Motion among others. Duncan is also founder and CEO of DSAM Consulting, which performs research and analysis on companies in the TMT and GreenTech space. Prior to that, Duncan was a co-founder of Tera Capital, Canada's first high tech and biotech money manager, where he was responsible for managing both mutual funds and VC funds, and was the Canadian Technology Fund Manager of the Year in 2003. In the mid 1990s, Duncan managed a $150 million small cap high tech/biotech fund at a large Canadian pension fund manager. In his years as an investor he has deployed a cumulative $2 billion of capital into the global TMT and Life Science markets.

Duncan has a high profile media presence and is frequently interviewed on technology and biotechnology issues. He has also been a bi-monthly columnist for The National Post and CBC Radio. Duncan is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

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Ilse Treurnicht 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 broad suite of entrepreneurship and innovation programs.

MaRS offers advisory services, market intellig...
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Ilse Treurnicht 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 broad suite of entrepreneurship and innovation programs.

MaRS offers advisory services, market intelligence and entrepreneurship education to emerging companies in health care/life sciences, digital media/ICT, clean tech 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 for a year following its formal launch in early 2008.

Ilse joined MaRS in early 2005 from her role as President and 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, and 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 PhD in chemistry from Oxford University, which she attended as a Rhodes scholar.

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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...
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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.

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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 bus...
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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!"

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With more than 25 years of management experience, Howard has an in-depth knowledge of operational execution in the high-tech industry. Howard has spent the past eight years sharing his skills with more than 20 companies, serving as a Board Director or Board Chairman in the Software, SaaS, and Servic...
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With more than 25 years of management experience, Howard has an in-depth knowledge of operational execution in the high-tech industry. Howard has spent the past eight years sharing his skills with more than 20 companies, serving as a Board Director or Board Chairman in the Software, SaaS, and Services marketplace. He has sat on both Audit and Compensation Committees for TSX- and Nasdaq-listed companies and is well known in the Canadian and U.S. software industries.

Howard currently serves on the boards of Coveo Inc., dna13 Software (Chairman), Cirba Inc., Kinaxis Inc., MKS Inc. (Toronto:MKX.TO) and Opalis Inc.

In January 2000, Howard was president of Solect Technology Group, a global provider of billing, customer care and service management software for the telecommunications industry. In April 2000, Howard helped orchestrate the sale of Solect to Amdocs Inc., a world leader in customer management billing systems. The transaction (US$1.2B) was the largest ever for a private Canadian software company.

Prior to Solect, Howard held a variety of executive management positions at PeopleSoft Inc. from 1995-2000, including VP and General Manager Canadian Operations, VP and Managing Director European Operations, SVP International Operations and EVP World Wide Operations. During his last role at PeopleSoft, Howard was responsible for all company revenue streams and field employees. During his tenure, the company grew from <$100M in revenues to $1.3B.

Howard began his career spending 13 years in senior sales, marketing and operations roles with IBM Corporation and Xerox Corporation.

Howard is the author and presenter of a leadership and execution seminar series entitled "Taking the BS out of Business - Making Execution Stick". He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.


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Geoff is a partner with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP (based in Toronto) and concentrates on private and public financings, M&A transactions and strategic commercial matters. He advises a broad spectrum of life sciences and technology companies, including privately held high-growth companies...
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Geoff is a partner with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP (based in Toronto) and concentrates on private and public financings, M&A transactions and strategic commercial matters. He advises a broad spectrum of life sciences and technology companies, including privately held high-growth companies, new businesses established to commercialize technology acquired from private or public research organizations and large cap public entities (in corporate finance and M&A matters). As an adviser to many North American VC funds, Geoff has been involved in over 100 cross-border VC deals and has advised acquirors, targets and selling shareholders in numerous private (and public-private) M&A transactions.

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Suzie is a founding partner with Venture Law Associates LLP, a leading Canadian law firm representing public and private companies, entrepreneurs and investors in corporate, commercial and technology law matters. She regularly advises clients on new business models, raising capital, music and conten...
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Suzie is a founding partner with Venture Law Associates LLP, a leading Canadian law firm representing public and private companies, entrepreneurs and investors in corporate, commercial and technology law matters. She regularly advises clients on new business models, raising capital, music and content rights issues, and technology licensing issues. Suzie is currently legal counsel and business advisor to a number of Canadian and American entrepreneurs and start-ups as well as later stage software and communications companies.

Admitted to the New York and Ontario bars, Suzie has worked at leading law firms on Bay Street and Wall Street, and as senior counsel for Nortel Networks. Suzie was also a member of the founding team and general counsel to Saraide Inc., a wireless data spinout of Nortel Networks which was sold to Infospace for US $470 million. Following the sale of Saraide, Suzie spent two years as a venture capital investor with BCE Capital, where she managed telecommunications investments in Canada and the United States.

A frequent commentator on innovation and issues for entrepreneurs, Suzie also is the author of a blog, Venture Law Lines. Her first book, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying, should be finished any day now. Really.

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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...
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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.

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Raymond King, MBA is Senior Manager - Global Diversified Industries, Listings Business Development with Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange. With TSX for almost 10 years, he is responsible for leading global efforts to attract new listings in the technology, life science, manufacturing ...
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Raymond King, MBA is Senior Manager - Global Diversified Industries, Listings Business Development with Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange. With TSX for almost 10 years, he is responsible for leading global efforts to attract new listings in the technology, life science, manufacturing and broad industrial sectors.

Prior to joining TSX, Mr. King was a Senior Strategy Consultant with a global Tier-1 consultancy firm. Prior thereto, he was with a large Canadian investment/corporate banking firm. Mr. King completed his MBA at McGill Unuiversity in 1998, with a focus on International Strategic Business Development.

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David is the founder and Managing Director of XPV Capital Corporation, a leading investment firm that invests in high growth water companies. David identifies and invests in companies capitalizing on the opportunities created by the 'new water economy' - a concept he developed. He is a respected s...
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David is the founder and Managing Director of XPV Capital Corporation, a leading investment firm that invests in high growth water companies. David identifies and invests in companies capitalizing on the opportunities created by the 'new water economy' - a concept he developed. He is a respected speaker and contributor in water technology and investing. Some of the organizations David has worked with include: Empire Club of Canada, Globe, Milken Institute, the Brookings Institute, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Water Innovation Alliance.

David is Advisor to the Ontario Clean Water Initiative and Imagine H2O and is a recipient of the 2009 Canada's Top 40 Under 40 Award.

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Jordan Banks is the managing director of Facebook Canada, responsible for leading and managing all commercial operations at the Facebook Canada office based in Toronto, Ontario.

Previously, Jordan was the managing partner at Thunder Road Capital, which he founded in 2008 to provide i...
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Jordan Banks is the managing director of Facebook Canada, responsible for leading and managing all commercial operations at the Facebook Canada office based in Toronto, Ontario.

Previously, Jordan was the managing partner at Thunder Road Capital, which he founded in 2008 to provide investment and advisory services to early stage technology companies. Jordan was also the chief executive officer of JumpTV (TSX: NLN), a leading broadcaster of sports and international television over the Internet. Hired in 2007, Jordan was a key architect of the merger in 2008 of JumpTV and NeuLion Inc., a company owned by former Computer Associates founder and CEO Charles Wang.

Prior to joining JumpTV, Jordan served as the managing director of eBay Canada. Jordan helped launch eBay Canada in 2000 and was the second employee of the Canadian office of eBay Inc.

In his role of managing director at eBay Canada, Jordan had overall responsibility for the ongoing development of eBay Canada including operations, strategy, and marketing, as well as building the eBay brand and community of users in Canada. Jordan and his team were responsible for growing the activity of Canadians on eBay to over one billion dollars in 2007 which accounted for approximately 25% of all Canadian e-commerce activity.

Before joining eBay Canada, Jordan managed the Licensing and International Business group at the National Hockey League Players' Association. In this role, he was responsible for supervising and managing global retail product licensees, negotiating license and international event agreements, and identifying and pursuing new areas of business for the organization. A lawyer by profession, Jordan also practiced corporate law at Goodmans in Toronto.

Over the course of the past two decades, Jordan has personally championed numerous efforts relating to raising money and awareness for Alzheimer's research and care. As part of that commitment, Jordan was the founder of both the Twitter movement called "A Million Tweets to Remember" as well as the popular fundraising event called Sportsfest. He is a member of the Board of Directors for Well.ca and the Baycrest Centre, as well as sitting on the Advisory Boards of The Mark News, Polar Mobile and the Canadian Innovation Exchange. Jordan is also one of seven business leaders who form the Canadian Football League's "Commissioner's Council", dedicated to the future growth of the CFL and he is also a member of the Globe and Mail's Small Business Advisory Panel as well as the Corporate Advisory Committee at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Jordan is a member of the Young President's Organization and Jordan has been named one of Canada's "Top 40 Under 40" honourees - a celebrated national program that honours leaders for their achievements in leadership, vision, innovation, community involvement and contribution. Jordan was also named one of the four inaugural winners of the Hugo Boss "Leave a Mark Award" celebrating "men of excellence" in Canada.

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