Bruce Anderson

Bruce is a Vice President in the Transactions practice of PwC’s Advisory Services group and brings over 20 years of international business experience. Prior to joining PwC in 2008, Bruce’s spent over 3 years as the inaugural CFO of the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto. At MaRS, Bruce and his team raised over $200 million in debt and equity, oversaw the construction and commissioning of Phase I of the MaRS Centre, a 700,000 sq.ft. research and commercialization facility, and acquired and pre-developed the lands for Phase II of the MaRS Centre (additional 800,000 sq.ft.). Between 1998 and 2003, Bruce spent almost 6 years in the San Francisco and Toronto offices of GATX Capital, a multi-national specialty finance company. With GATX, Bruce worked initially in the Corporate Finance group and later in the Venture Finance group where he championed over 30 investments in early stage technology and biotechnology companies in the US and Canada, including Google. A graduate of the University of British Columbia, Bruce is a Chartered Accountant and CFA Charterholder.

Chris Arsenault

Chris Arsenault is Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer of iNovia Capital (formerly MSBi Capital). He 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.

Prior to joining iNovia Capital, Chris was a partner and entrepreneur in residence with the Telesystem group, where he managed direct investments and was involved in the creation of a number of start-up companies. Chris began his business career in technology as founder and CEO of SIT Inc.

Chris has been involved in numerous entrepreneurial initiatives, including: the creation of ENABLIS Entrepreneurial Network Inc., activities in the angel community, entrepreneurial mentoring and start-up advisory. Chris is a founding member of the National Angel Organization (NAO) and a strong supporter of the Quebec Angel Network. He is also a member of the Boards of Directors of Airborne Technologies Ventures, Airborne Mobile, Callio Technologies, CarboPur Technologies, DFT Microsystems, Plastic Knowledge and Reflex Photonics. Chris also serves as a board member of the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (“CVCA”)  and the Canadian Innovation Exchange (“CIX”).

Robert D. Atkinson

Robert Atkinson is the founder and president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington, DC-based technology policy think tank. He is also author of the State New Economy Index series and the book, The Past And Future Of America’s Economy: Long Waves Of Innovation That Power Cycles Of Growth (Edward Elgar, 2005). He has an extensive background in technology policy, he has conducted ground-breaking research projects on technology and innovation, is a valued adviser to state and national policy makers, and a popular speaker on innovation policy nationally and internationally.

Before coming to ITIF, Dr. Atkinson was Vice President of the Progressive Policy Institute and Director of PPI’s Technology & New Economy Project. While at PPI he wrote numerous research reports on technology and innovation policy, including on issues such as broadband telecommunications, Internet telephony, universal service, e-commerce, e-government, middleman opposition to e-commerce, privacy, copyright, RFID and smart cards, the role of IT in homeland security, the R&D tax credit, offshoring, and growth economics.

Phil Baker

During his 30 years in the Ontario Government, Phil Baker held a number of senior management positions in various ministries, including helping to lead development of a Telecommunications Strategy for the Province of Ontario and serving as head of Ontario’s Information Highway Secretariat in the Ministry of Culture and Communications, and leadership of the Capital Goods and Technology Sectors Branch in the Ministry of Economic Development.

Phil led the inaugural strategic plan for the new Ontario Ministry of Culture and Communications and played a central role in developing the ground-breaking Ontario Telecommunications Strategy which has served as a model for many other jurisdictions. He developed the $100 million Ontario Network Infrastructure Program and the $50 million Telecommunications Access Program. These initiatives led to the creation of a broad range of successful leading edge regional advanced networks and innovative telehealth initiatives that have helped keep the Province at the forefront in these fields. 

Committed to a vision of transforming the way in which research and learning happen in Ontario, Phil was asked to establish the Optical Regional Advanced Network of Ontario (ORANO) in January 2002, as President/CEO.  Under his leadership, ORANO built a next-generation fibre optic research and education telecommunications network across Ontario.  Known as ORION, this network provides Ontario with critical innovation infrastructure that enables Ontario research and education institutions to excel in the new digital knowledge world. 

Today ORION spans 5,800 kilometers across Ontario, connects over 1.3 million students, links more than 75,000 researchers, faculty and teachers, interconnects with research and education networks around the world, and is the network of choice for innovation and discovery.  Phil has launched the organization on its next major phase to build enhanced value over this infrastructure for Ontario’s researchers, educators, learners, scientists, innovators and discovery leaders.

Phil obtained his advanced education at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Toronto.

Jerry Brown

Jerry Brown is a Director working with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).  Prior to working with PwC Jerry was a partner in the Nordicity Group an independent media consulting company.  Jerry was also a Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers' Management Consulting practice. 

Jerry has an impressive background in the Media sector.  His clients include Freedom Communications, CanWest Global, Torstar Corp, CTV Globemedia, Film Ontario, Canadian Press, Rogers Media, Readers Digest, Magazines Canada, Department of Canadian Heritage, O Dia.  Jerry is a core member of PwC's Global Centre of Excellence in Publishing.  He has specialized in Process Redesign and Operations Performance Improvement in Canada, the UW and around the world.  Jerry holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering.  He was worked on every continent and lived and worked in the U.K. Portugal and Switzerland in addition to Canada. 

The Honourable Tony Clement

The Honourable Tony Clement was re-elected to the House of Commons in 2008, representing the Northern Ontario constituency of Parry Sound-Muskoka. On October 30, 2008, Mr. Clement was appointed Minister of Industry with responsibilities for competitiveness, innovation, sectoral strategies and economic development in Northern Ontario. He currently chairs the Cabinet Committee on Economic Growth and Long-Term Prosperity, and sits on the Planning and Priorities Committee of Cabinet.

Minister Clement was first elected to Parliament in 2006 and was appointed as Minister of Health and Minister responsible for FedNor. Prior to this, Mr. Clement was a member of Ontario's provincial legislature from 1995 to 2003. During this time, Mr. Clement served as Minister of Transportation, Minister of the Environment and later, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. In 2001, he was appointed Minister of Health and Long-Term Care where he provided leadership for the country during the SARS outbreak.

Prior to his election to Parliament, Mr. Clement was counsel to a national law firm, a Visiting Fellow at the University of Toronto Faculty Of Law and was a small business owner.

On 3 February, 2007, Tony Clement was awarded the Courage in Public Policy Award from the Canadian Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute of Canada. He was born in Manchester, England, is married to Lynne Golding and is the father of three children. He resides in Port Sydney, Ontario.

Ken Coates

Ken Coates is the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Waterloo.  He is a well-known historian specializing in aboriginal studies and Canada's north.

Ken Coates is a passionate advocate for higher education with particular interest in digital media, Canadian competiveness and the Japanese science and technology revolution.   Ken's vision includes a renewed appreciation for the traditional arts disciplines with a keen understanding of how these disciplines are key to society's future.  The solutions to environmental issues to name just a few - will be found through the traditional disciplines in poliy, behaviour and cultural change.

Bernard Courtois

As the President and CEO of ITAC, the Information Technology Association of Canada, Bernard Courtois is an outspoken advocate for the deployment of information and communications technology tools to improve business productivity and to achieve our societal and public policy goals.

Mr. Courtois was named ITAC's leader in January 2004. He is a lawyer with over 30 years experience in the telecommunications sector. He served in a variety of executive roles with Bell Canada from 1991 to 2003, including those of Chief Regulatory Officer and Chief Strategy Officer. Prior to joining Bell Canada, Mr. Courtois practiced law in Montreal and Ottawa serving a wide range of clients in telecommunications and other regulated industries. He was an active participant in the many regulatory, public policy and judicial proceedings which have shaped Canada's competitive communications marketplace. He was Chief Strategy Officer when Bell Canada took its strong turn to the Internet, ahead of most of its peers around the world.

Mr. Courtois is also a dedicated and energetic builder of business communities. He has served on the ITAC Board of Directors since 1999. He has also served on the executive of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce; was President of the International Institute of Communications and now serves on its Board of Directors; is Director and Treasurer of the National Gallery of Canada Foundation; is a Director of the Rideau Club; serves on the Telecommunications Hall of Fame Foundation Board of Governors; Kids' Internet Safety Alliance's (KINSA) Board of Directors; and is a Director and Vice-Chair for North America of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance.

Stephen Danic

Stephen Danic is a founding member of Big Hadron Games (bighadrongames.com), and a graduate of the Masters of Digital Media proram at the Great Northern Way Campus (mdm.gnwc.ca) in Vancouver, BC. Canada.

Big Hadron Games develops original, experimental games, which are funded by serious game projects for corporate clients and animation studios. Our specialty is rapid prototyping. We deliver a complete prototype in as little as two weeks.

Stephen Danic is a regular speaker at game industry events, including GDC, FuturePlay, and BCNet. Prior to joining the Great Northern Way Campus, Stephen served for 10 years as Global IT Director at Angiotech Pharmaceuticals.

David De Abreu

David De Abreu is Vice President of Commercial and Central Canada sector operations for Cisco Canada. In this position he is responsible for business development and sales operations for Cisco Canada's largest geographical market and its fastest growing market segment. His responsibilities also include leading a national sales team focused on defining strategies and solutions to achieve mid-market customer success as well as a geographical focus on Ontario. In addition, De Abreu serves as the executive sponsor for Cisco Canada's Inclusion and Diversity initiative.

Since joining Cisco in 1999, De Abreu has held various sales leadership positions in software sales, channel operations, and most recently financial services sales.

Before joining Cisco De Abreu was a Sales Leader at Bell Canada, responsible for a major financial institution and their strategic alliance with the Stentor Group of Companies. Previously, he held leadership roles with NCR Canada and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

De Abreu holds a diploma in Marketing Management from Ryerson University.

Mark Derro

Mark has worked in post secondary environments for over 30 years, both in Canada and the Middle East. While at the Higher Colleges of Technology (United Arab Emirates) he regularly attended international conferences and presented papers on the integration of emerging technologies into the teaching/learning cycle. Mark has had the opportunity to design and commission media and design facilities that incorporate the academic and production requirements with a focus on the learner, with the intent to create environments conducive to learning.

Mark is currently with Conestoga College – Kitchener, Ontario, working with a team of dynamic faculty, creating new program offerings and post secondary academic pathways for students.

Lisa de Wilde

Lisa de Wilde believes in the power of media to engage, to inform, and to serve the public good.  Since her appointment in 2005 as TVO's CEO, Lisa has ushered in a new era for Ontario's public educational media organization, leading its transformation to a fully-digital, interactive source of multi-platform educational content that empowers people to be engaged citizens of Ontario. 

Lisa's dedication to a strong Canadian media sector began upon her graduation from McGill University's law school, when she joined the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission as legal counsel.  While with the CRTC, she also served as Director General-Cable Television, Specialty and Pay Television Service.  Lisa practiced law in Montreal (where she was a partner at Heenan Blaikie) and then led Astral Television Networks where, as Astral Television's President and CEO, she was instrumental in transforming the then-declining pay TV category into highly successful branded television networks, and in supporting the Canadian film-making community. 

Lisa's many board and advisory appointments include the Government of Ontario's Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress; the McGill University Desautels Faculty of Management, International Advisory Board; the Noranda Income Fund and the Consumers Waterheater Income Fund.  Fluently bilingual, Lisa champions the cause of educational broadcasters across the country as the Chair of ATEC, and represents TVO internationally as an Executive Committee member of the CBA.

Sara Diamond

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.

Arlene Dickinson

Arlene Dickinson is a 20-year veteran of Canada's marketing industry, and is CEO and sole owner of Venture Communications Ltd. 

Her vision has driven Venture's growth, successfully building it from a small, local firm into one of Canada's largest independent marketing firms, with offices in Calgary, Toronto and Ottawa.

Arlene believes strongly that marketing's purpose is to deliver business results.  She is well known for pioneering how marketing can be accountable to delivering on clients' business goals.

Her accomplishments, vision and leadership have been recognized with a number of awards, but perhaps her greatest honor was Venture's selection as one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies for three consecutive years. 

Since Fall 2007, Arlene has appeared as one of the "Dragons" on CBC's Dragons' Den - a national television series which invites people to pitch business ideas to the Dragons, in an effort to persuade them to invest.

Jean-Clément Drolet

Jean-Clément Drolet is Vice-President - Network Provisioning for Bell Canada, where he is accountable for building, managing and maintaining Bell’s National wireline network infrastructure including both core and access. In this role, he is charged with driving the transition of the current infrastructure to an end-to-end IP based network. His key responsibilities include provisioning and delivery of High-Speed Internet, 4G, IP Core and other service platforms.

Since joining Bell Canada in 1984, Mr. Drolet held various senior positions in other disciplines and BCE companies including General Manager - Network Planning, Vice-President - Equipment Installation at Expertech, a network installation provider, as well as Vice-President - Customer Service at Progistix, a logistics outsourcing service provider. In addition, he is also on the committee for the Canadian Muscular Dystrophy Association Annual Fundraiser as well as part of the Bell/Nexxia Board of Directors.

Mr. Drolet graduated from the University Laval in Civil Engineering in 1984. He also holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Montréal as well as a degree from the International Center for Research and Studies in Management.

Konrad W. Finckenstein

Konrad W. von Finckenstein, was appointed as Chairman of the CRTC on January 25, 2007. Over the course of a career in the public service that began in 1973, he has held a number of senior positions and acquired broad experience in the areas of trade, commercial and competition law. Before joining the CRTC, he served as Justice of the Federal Court.

Previously, Mr. von Finckenstein acted as Commissioner of Competition and head of the Competition Bureau of Canada between 1997 and 2003. During his tenure, he led important reviews of proposed mergers between companies, including those in the banking and airline sectors. He also investigated a conspiracy affecting the sale and supply of an additive widely used in the animal feed industry, which resulted in one of the largest fines in Canadian history. Moreover, he led the drive to establish the International Competition Network, the umbrella organization for all competition authorities from around the world, and became its founding chairman, a position he held until his appointment to the Federal Court.

Through his earlier roles as Assistant Deputy Minister and Assistant Attorney General in the Canadian departments of Industry, Justice and External Affairs, he notably oversaw the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), negotiated the dispute settlement mechanism of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, and supervised the drafting and implementation of that agreement. During the 1980s, he served as Senior General Counsel with Industry Canada and the Trade Negotiations Office.

Born in Germany, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Carleton University and Bachelor of Laws from Queen's University. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1984 and received the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service of Canada in 2002. Mr. von Finckenstein's term ends on January 24, 2012.

Andrew Fisher

Andrew Fisher is Executive Vice President of Wesley Clover Technologies and is responsible for all new venture creation. He currently manages multiple assets within the portfolio and is responsible for government and University outreach programs globally. In additional Andrew run’s the Wesley Clover Affiliate program that is responsible for identifying and commercializing gaps in portfolio investments.

He co-founded NewHeights Software Corporation, sold in 2007, where he managed all Service Provider, large enterprise, and vertical market accounts. Leveraging Wesley Clover’s global technology portfolio of over a dozen companies, Andrew spearheads the corporation’s solutions strategies which reach from the network’s core to the end user experience, incorporating Voice-over-IP, IPTV, Unified Communications and IP Multimedia Subsystem technologies. 

Andrew is a member of the Rochester Institute of Technology, Industrial Advisory Board for Networking, Security, and Systems Administration and currently sits on the Board for Benbria Corporation, NetVitesse Corporation, Isca Limited, Martello Technologies, North and Eastern Ontario Digital Media Corporation, Ontario CleanTech Eco-System and Teldio Corporation. Andrew has an academic background in both economics and computer science and engineering and is a graduate of the University of British Columbia. Andrew has held media production roles within the Canadian Department of National Defense and Natural Resources Canada.

Roberta J. Fox

Roberta J. Fox is President & Senior Partner of FOX GROUP Telecom Consulting and Editor & Chief of FOX GROUP Publishing. Roberta and her team are experienced analysts, management consultants and publishers in telecommunications, networking and contact centres.

Roberta is known and respected by vendors for her creative, innovative style of working with her senior-level technology and industry clients and her ability to leverage her knowledge and depth of advanced technologies. She also bring the unique ability to help her clients develop complex technology strategies and services that deliver sustainable business results from their investments.

She also presents at leading national and international industry and business conferences, on Radio and Television related to high speed network technologies, VoIP, Unified communications and mobility.

Roberta’s focus is to help “telecommunications dependent” organizations get sustainable results from the technology investments. She works with leading enterprise organizations, manufacturers and service providers to develop technology solutions and strategies that help Canadian organizations grow revenue, manage costs and improve customer service results.

She recently developed a “Living Lab” high tech facility in Mount Albert that is a show case and test bed for next generation voice, data, IT and contact centre products geared to help small and medium businesses (SMBs) succeed and compete using next generation integrated technology solutions.

Chad Gaffield

Chad Gaffield was appointed president of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)  on September 18, 2006.  An expert on 19th and 20th century Canada in an international context, Gaffield has analyzed the interplay of demographic, economic and cultural change with institutional and political history.  Gaffield came to SSHRC from the University of Ottawa, where he held a University Research Chair and was the founding director of the Institute of Canadian Studies.  During his 20-year University of Ottawa career, he also served as vice-dean of graduate studies and on the executive committee of the board of governors.  He is a former president of the Canadian Historical Association and the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. 

Abby Goodrum

Dr. Abby Goodrum holds the Velma Rogers Graham Chair in News, Media and Technology and is Associate Professor in the School of Journalism and the School of Management, at Ryerson University, and in the York-Ryerson joint graduate program in Communication and Culture.

Dr. Goodrum has authored numerous book chapters, journal articles and conference papers, and sits on the editorial boards of J-Source: The Canadian Journalism Project, the Annual Review of Information Science & Technology, Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, and the Journal of Communication Studies.

Since 2004, she has participated in grant-funded research totaling over 6 million dollars, and she is currently the Principal Investigator on the Canadian Foundation for Innovation -funded Digital Cinema Research Lab, and on the Ontario Centres for Excellence- funded Viral Video project.

Although she is a highly cited researcher in information science, her work bridges multiple disciplines and appears in the journal literature of Computer Science, Humanities, Communication Studies, Information Management, and Film Studies. For over 10 years, Dr. Goodrum's research has focused on Media Informatics: the study of how humans seek, use, share, manipulate, store, retrieve, and organize multimedia information.

The Honourable Gary Goodyear

The Honourable Gary Goodyear was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004 and was re-elected in 2006 and 2008. On October 30, 2008, he was appointed Minister of State (Science and Technology) by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Prior to entering federal politics, he practised chiropractic medicine and worked as an advisor to investment firms in the biomedical industry.
Former Public Relations Director and Past President of the College of Chiropractic Sports Sciences in Toronto, Dr. Goodyear taught at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College and the University of Waterloo. He was co-designer of a three-year post-graduate sports fellowship program and co-author of "Practice Guidelines." He has worked with many athletes, both amateur and professional, and served as medical services chair of the Ontario Special Olympics.

Dr. Goodyear attended the University of Waterloo, specializing in kinesiology and psychology, before graduating from Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College. He worked his way through university as a meat packer, labourer and janitor.

A native of Cambridge, Ontario he is married to Valerie and they have two children. He enjoys scuba diving, writing and rebuilding motorcycles.

Austin Hill

Austin Hill is the Executive Instigator & CEO of Akoha, the world’s first social reality game. He is a Canadian entrepreneur who has been creating technology startups for 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. He served Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, the CEO of Synomos Inc. and as the Executive-Vice President of Research for Radialpoint. In 1994 Austin was a founder of the Internet provider Infobahn Online Services (renamed Total.Net) and served as 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.

Austin is an advisory board member of the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Atwater Library Digital Literacy project, a past board member of Information Technology Association of Canada, a research fellow for Coburn Ventures and through his angel investment firm Brudder Ventures advises a number of Canadian startups and entrepreneurs. He serves on the board of directors of Anges Quebec and Reseau Capital, is a Venture Partner at iNovia Capital and a board member & Venture Partner at the startup capital fund Montreal Startup. 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.

In 2002 Austin 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). Austin Hill is a frequent speaker & 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.

Fred Hoch

Fred Hoch is the President of the Illinois Technology Association. The ITA is the principal trade association for technology companies in Illinois. Providing a platform for industry collaboration, the organization benefits its members by providing networking, advocacy, resources and leadership to drive growth, development and retention of IT-focused business and talent in Illinois.

Prior to his current position, Fred was the Vice President of Software Division at the national Software & Information Industry Association. He also held positions at SIIA as eBusiness Division Director and the Global Division Manager at SIIA. He has also worked and founded a number of technology start-ups, worked for a time at the U.S. Department of State and held positions in over 50 countries.

Iain Klugman

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.

Tim Jackson

Tim Jackson is a founder and Partner of Tech Capital Partners where he focuses on investment opportunities in the wireless, communications, new media, and internet sectors. Prior to co-founding Tech Capital in 2001, Tim was CFO and CEO at PixStream, a technology company focused on distributing and managing digital video across broadband networks. At PixStream, Tim successfully raised over $60 million in equity capital and negotiated the $550 million sale of the company to Cisco Systems, one of the largest technology company acquisitions in Canadian history.

Tim has acted as CFO, CEO or board member for numerous technology companies including AideRSS, ecobee, FibreTech Telecommunications, LiveHive Systems, Metranome, Q9 Networks, Sandvine, and VideoLocus. He is Chairperson of Communitech Technology Association, Vice-Chair of the UW Research + Technology Park Accelerator Centre, and Advisory Council Member for The Centre for Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology at the University of Waterloo. Tim also sits on the Board of Governors for the University of Waterloo, chairs the University’s Finance & Investment Committee, and is a member of the University’s Audit committee.

In the not-for-profit sector, Tim chairs the Waterloo Public Library Board and The board of Center in the Square. He is also President of the Food Bank of Waterloo Region and recently ended a term as chair of the Waterloo Regional Children’s Museum Board.

Tim was awarded the inaugural Annual Barnraiser Award for “inspirational, collaborative achievement” in Waterloo Region, the Legacy of Leaders Award from the City of Waterloo, the 50th Anniversary Alumni Award from the University of Waterloo, the Leadership Award from the Volunteer Action Center, an Award of Distinction from the Chartered Accountants of Ontario, and had a University of Waterloo School of Accountancy Fellowship after him.

David Jacobson

Dr David Jacobson is futurist and Director - Emerging Technologies in Advisory Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Toronto. David focuses on a variety of technologies and their impacts on business and society with special emphasis on digital media and wireless mobility. He is the Canadian member of PwC's global community of emerging-technology specialists. David's international experience in technology and business and as a professor at Harvard University assists a wide range of clients to adapt their technologies, products, business and investment strategies to changing circumstances. David is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) (US) and a member of the Editorial Board of the premier international emerging-technologies journal, IEEE Spectrum.He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Canadian journal Telemanagement. In science, engineering and economics David is recognized internationally as founding the field of risk-sensitive decision making using exponential performance criteria and for developing differential dynamic programming methods for optimizing the performance of complex systems.

Gaurav Jain

Gaurav is a co-founder of Polar Mobile, a leader in mobile content publishing solutions. Gaurav serves as Polar’s Chief Operating Officer, responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of the corporation.

Gaurav has extensive work experience in many industries. Previous, Gaurav worked for Research In Motion, IBM, Morgan Stanley and Amazon. While in Singapore, Gaurav was part of a cutting edge mobile start-up that was building rich-media entertainment solution for the audience on-the-go.

During his undergraduate career, Gaurav was part of the founding team for the Impact Entrepreneurship Group, a non-profit organization that promotes entrepreneurship and leadership, and now sits on the Board of Directors. In a few short years, Impact grew from a small conference to one of Canada’s largest student-run entrepreneurship groups.

Gaurav is a Millennium Excellence laureate, recognized for his community involvement and leadership. He has also received awards from the Electro-Federation of Canada, Ontario Professional Engineers Foundation and the University of Waterloo for his commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship. Gaurav serves as a volunteer tutor with the local Pathways to Education branch, tutoring at-risk and economically disadvantaged children in Math and Science. Gaurav is a Shad Valley Alum.

Gaurav holds a Bachelor of Software Engineering from the University of Waterloo with an option in Management Sciences and graduated with Distinction.

P. Thomas (Tom) Jenkins

P. Thomas Jenkins is Executive Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer of Open Text Corporation of Waterloo, Ontario Canada, the largest independent software company in Canada. He has served as a Director of Open Text since 1994 and as its Chairman since 1998. From 1994 to present, Mr. Jenkins was President and then Chief Executive Officer and then Chief Strategy Officer of Open Text. Mr. Jenkins has also held several executive positions with DALSA Inc., an electronic imaging manufacturer based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Prior to these positions, Mr. Jenkins was employed in technical and managerial capacities at a variety of information technology based companies in Canada.

In addition to his Open Text responsibilities, Mr. Jenkins is the Chair of the federal centre of excellence Canadian Digital Media Network (CDMN). He is also an appointed member of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), past appointed member of the Government of Canada's Competition Policy Review Panel which reported in June 2008, and past appointed member of the Province of Ontario's Ontario Commercialization Network Review Committee (OCN) which reported in February 2009. Mr. Jenkins is also a member of the board of BMC Software, Inc. a software corporation based in Houston, Texas. He is also a member of the University of Waterloo Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council and a member of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE).

Mr. Jenkins received an M.B.A. in entrepreneurship & technology management from Schulich School of Business at York University, an M.A.Sc. in electrical engineering from the University of Toronto and a B.Eng. & Mgt. in Engineering Physics and Commerce from McMaster University.

David Johnston

Professor David Johnston has been President of the University of Waterloo since June 1999.  He was previously Principal of McGill University, Dean of the Law Faculty at the University of Western Ontario, and a faculty member at the University of Toronto.  His academic specializations are securities regulation, corporation and information technology law.  Among many hounours accorded David Johnston are honourary doctorates from thirteen universities and Companion of the Order of Canada.  He is the author/co-author of numerous books, including Getting Canada Online: Understanding the Information Highway, which is intended to challenge Canadians to use the information revolution to build a more economically competitive and civic society, also Cyberlaw, Communications Law and most recently, Canadian Securities Regulation, 5th edition.  He has served on many provincial and federal task forces and committees and is on the boards of a number of companies and foundations.

Mark Jones

Mark Jones is an award-winning 20-year veteran of the new media field, working as an educator, producer, artist, and writer. In 1993, he founded CyberStage Communications, which began as the publisher of the first consumer arts magazine to examine the intersection between art and technology.

Since then, he has worked for a wide variety of artists and clients on groundbreaking projects, including for Gottschalk + Ash International, The National Film Board, The Toronto International Film Festival, The Learning Partnership, Vera Frenkel, David Craig, Katherine Knight, and others. From 2000-2004, he was Executive Director of OnTarget, an Ontario-wide initiative providing career development and education support programs for the digital technologies industries. Jones has served on numerous committees and boards, including those for The McLuhan Multimedia Festival, InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre, SIGGRAPH, and Pixel Gallery. In 2002, he was awarded the ITAC Community IT Hero of the Year Award, the Canadian New Media Award as Industry Advocate of the Year. Today, he serves as Associate Chair of the
School of Communication Arts at Seneca College, overseeing programs in animation, new media, graphic design, photography, and broadcasting. Jones holds an M.A. in Communication and Culture from Ryerson and York Universities.

Jeannette Kopak

Jeannette Kopak holds the position of Director of Business Development and Operations at the Centre for Digital Media in Vancouver. In that capacity she managed the renovation of a 40-year-old tractor factory, transforming it into a digital media graduate facility, and the home of the Masters of Digital Media program.   Jeannette is responsible for ensuring the Centre continues to adapt to the needs of the students and the digital community. 

 Jeannette is a digital media veteran with 16 years of experience at the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, in roles that ranged from designing and implementing the CBC Vancouver TV newsroom editorial system to facilitating the re-use of broadcast content for the early websites such as the Atlanta Olympics and the 1997 Federal Election.    The highlight of her CBC career was leading a multi-million dollar, multi-year project to catalogue, restore, digitize and preserve the CBC radio and television archives across Canada.

Anthony Lacavera

Anthony Lacavera is Chairman and CEO of Globalive Communications Corp., an emerging leading provider of next generation telecommunications solutions globally. Lacavera recently led Globalive to become the next major wireless services provider in Canada following the country’s wireless spectrum auction. As co-chairman, Lacavera has positioned Globalive Wireless as an innovative and consumer focused mobile company that will provide greater choice and feature rich offerings to Canadians.  

Lacavera founded Globalive in 1998, and has since developed the company to become an industry leader. Globalive offers a host of innovative applications and delivers first-rate telecom services to a wide range of clients. By tailoring their innovative technology to create customer-focused solutions, Globalive has continued to thrive in the highly competitive global telecommunications market.

The Globalive group of companies includes Yak Communications, OneConnect Services, Canopco Hospitality Telecom, and Globalive Carrier Services, and their unique charitable initiative, the SHAMBA foundation. Globalive provides services to over 1 million Canadian households under the Yak Communications brand, over 3000 hotels and hospitals in over 30 countries with Canopco, and over 5000 small to medium businesses in North America through OneConnect Services. Globalive Carrier Services provides wholesale and billing and collection services to carriers around the world.

Since inception Globalive has been recognized as a leading Canadian corporation receiving numerous awards which include the #1 ranking on Profit Magazine's listing of Canada's 100 fastest growing companies in 2004, being named amoung Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies for five consecutive years, being named amoung Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 and amoung Canada's 50 Hottest Startups, as well as earning Canadian Business Magazine's Top 30 Workplaces in Canada. In 2006, Lacavera was named one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40, recognized for outstanding leadership, achievement and vision. He has been a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) since 2000, and was given the designation of Commendatore in the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity by the Italian government in 2008.

Martha Ladly

Martha Ladly is an Associate Professor at the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) where she specializes in teaching and research for interactive communication, design research methods, and mobile experience design, in both the undergraduate and graduate programs at OCAD. Martha was a senior researcher with the Mobile Digital Commons Network (2005-7) and the Principal Investigator and conference leader of the Mobile Nation International Conference at OCAD, for which she won the university’s first Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant. Martha is the co-editor of the anthology Mobile Nation: Creating Methodologies for Mobile Platforms, published by Riverside Press in 2008. She currently holds the Chair of OCAD’s Research Ethics Board.

Martha is also a practicing and designated Registered Graphic Designer (RGD), and a faculty member and mentor with the Interactive Art & Entertainment Program at the Canadian Film Centre's New Media Lab. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Technology and Education at York University and Ryerson University, within the Joint Program in Communication and Culture.

Martha has worked at the Banff New Media Institute as the director of Horizonzero (www.horizonzero.ca), a leading Canadian digital arts and culture website. She lived and worked in the UK in the 1980s-90s, including 10 years with artist and musician Peter Gabriel as the head of design for his Real World Group, where she lead design teams for numerous international award-winning entertainment and interactive media projects. After graduating from OCA with a Fine Art degree in the 1980s, Martha sang, wrote, and played keyboards with Toronto new wave band, Martha and the Muffins, receiving two certified gold discs and a Canadian Juno award.

Dan Latendre

Dan is a technology innovator, and for the past 18 years has worked at such pioneering organizations as MKS, Delrina, Open Text Corporation and CIGI. Over the past 15 years, he has taken an entrepreneurial approach in the development and marketing of leading edge internet-based technologies and applications. In 1993, Dan and his team developed one of the first wireless internet access packages called Internet Anywhere in partnership with Research in Motion (RIM).

In 1995, he joined Open Text Corporation where he held strategic roles at the executive level, from spearheading the release of the first commercial search engine for the web, the Open Text Index, to launching the first web-based intranet application, Livelink®. This award-winning application is today used by thousands of leading corporations for intranet, extranet, portal and online library solutions.

From 2004 to 2007 he served as Chief Information and Technology Officer for the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada managing the technology, information and communications strategy for the centre. During his tenure, Mr. Latendre and his team created an innovative online global network to facilitate knowledge exchange between individuals and organizations studying, working or advising on global issues. Today he sits on the Advisory Council for this global network.

Dan is an executive member of the Canadian International Council; sits on the advisory board of the Manufacturing Innovation Network and is a special advisor to the Dean of Health and Sciences at the University of Waterloo.

Mike Lazaridis

Mr. Lazaridis is known in the global wireless community as a visionary, innovator, and engineer of extraordinary talent. He traces his passion for his work to his hometown of Windsor, Ontario where his love of science and fascination with electronics were nurtured in supportive family and school environments.

As President and Co-CEO of Research In Motion (RIM), a company Mr. Lazaridis founded while a student at UW, he is responsible for product strategy, research and development, product development, and manufacturing. Mr. Lazaridis is also a leader in his community and a passionate advocate for education and scientific research. Mr. Lazaridis supports his community and country through generous philanthropic gifts made possible by his success in business.

He has donated $75 million to UW to help establish an Institute for Quantum Computing. Mr. Lazaridis also personally invested $150 million in the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI) and, through his leadership and tireless effort, has generated more than $100 million in additional private and public sector funding for this world leading centre of scientific excellence. PI is home to a growing cluster of international scientists who are pushing the limits of our fundamental understanding of space, time, matter and information. Since opening in 2001, the institute has attracted the attention of the world’s scientific research and educational outreach community. The independent centre is now associated with over 30 Canadian universities and a growing number of institutes world-wide.

Mr. Lazaridis holds honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Waterloo (Engineering), McMaster University, University of Windsor and Université Laval. He has been awarded Canada's most prestigious innovation prize - The Ernest C. Manning Principal Award and was listed on the TIME 100 List of Most Influential People. Mr. Lazaridis is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, was named to the Order of Ontario and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Michael Lee

Michael Lee is Chief Strategy Officer for Rogers Communications Inc. Mr. Lee is responsible
for strategy development, business development, and strategic partner management for the
Rogers Communications’ group of companies which include Rogers Cable, Rogers Wireless
and Rogers Media.

Previously, Mr. Lee held the role of Vice President, Strategy and Development for Rogers Cable
where he managed the development of new businesses and services for video, high speed
Internet and telephony.

Johanne Lemay

Ms. Lemay is Co-President of LEMAY-YATES ASSOCIATES INC. She has more than 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry including 16 years as a consultant and prior positions at Nortel (Northern Telecom) and Bell-Northern Research.

Ms. Lemay is a recognized expert in telecommunications, with particular emphasis on the development of business plans, due diligence, market research, spectrum auctions and spectrum valuation, mobile data as well as mobile content applications. Ms. Lemay has also been actively involved in regulatory proceedings and in consultations for the development of public policy in telecommunications.

Ms. Lemay has supported many clients in the context of policy consultations and regulatory proceedings on subject matters ranging from mobile industry structure, conditions of license for mobile carriers, spectrum strategy, roaming and tower sharing, as well as mobile TV technology to wireline competition issues related to voice over IP and next generation networks.

Ms. Lemay has also conducted mandates on behalf of CRTC and Industry Canada. CRTC mandates included a training course for CRTC staff on Canadian telecommunications regulations conducted in 2006.

Ms. Lemay has co-authored many independent market research reports published by LEMAY-YATES ASSOCIATES INC., including the latest report on Mobile Broadband in Canada.

Ms. Lemay has also supported many clients during due diligence reviews or license applications for new mobile carriers and cable television operators in the late 1990’s and early 2000’ years for mandates in many international markets from Poland and Romania to Vietnam and Chile.

Prior to founding LEMAY-YATES ASSOCIATES INC., Ms. Lemay was in charge of International Marketing for all Nortel transmission equipment product lines. At Nortel, Ms. Lemay also created a fiber multiplex product line which was extensively deployed by operators in the US and Canada.

Ms. Lemay is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and seminars as well as on BNN and other media.. She holds an Engineering Physics degree from Laval University and an MBA, Executive Option, from Concordia University.

Lari Lohikoski

Lari Lohikoski is Program Director in Culminatum Innovation in Helsinki, Finland, a development company jointly owned by local cities, universities and business community. He leads Digibusiness and Ubiquitous Computing clusters with mission to help small and medium sized companies to grow by developing their business competence and creating networks they can benefit from, and also to promote implementation of new customer and market oriented business ideas, enrich the lives of the citizens through digital services, and to intensify corporate and public sector operations and make them more innovative.

Lari has a long background in online business, and in 1999 he founded Huuto.net, auction site which since then has been the market leader in Finland and is the best known online brand in Finland. He has also worked in different leadership and management roles in telecom and media companies, and as a management consultant in online strategies.

Gary A. Maavara

Gary A. Maavara is Vice President and General Counsel of Corus Entertainment Inc.  In this role he oversees all legal and regulatory affairs associated with Corus' extensive operations in radio, television, programming, films, books, music, toys and Internet web sites. 

Prior to joining Corus, Mr. Maavara held a variety of head office and operating roles with CanWest Global Communications Corp.  Mr. Maavara was the Chief Operating Officer at CanWest Interactive, which operates the company's consumer web sites wich as canada.com as well as the infomart and Financial Post Data Group content sales operations.  He was concurrently Senior Vice President of Specialty Television of the Global Television Network. 

Mr. Maavara is a director and vice chair of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and the Centre for Cultural Management of the University of Waterloo.  He also sits on a variety of committees of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters including the Executive Committee.

John Maduri

John Maduri is Chief Executive Officer, Barrett Xplore Inc (BXI).  BXI is focused on delivering broadband, high-speed Internet access and applications to Canada’s rural and remote communities, using a combination of wireless and satellite broadband technology.  He has spent the vast majority of his career in Canada’s telecommunications industry, with senior roles in finance, strategy, customer operations, and general management; with exposure to each of the key sectors of cellular, landline, data/internet, cable TV, and most recently wireless and satellite broadband; and in a variety of organizations from early stage, new entrants to incumbent, industry leaders. 

From 2000 to 2004, Mr. Maduri was Executive vice-president, TELUS Corporation and President, TELUS Business Solutions.   Over 13 years, Mr. Maduri served in increasingly senior roles within Rogers Communications; from 1994 to 1999, he was Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Rogers Wireless.  Mr. Maduri has been involved in a number of industry and economic development initiatives.  From 2004 to 2007, he served as a member of the board of directors of Calgary Economic Development and chair of its Business Investment Advisory Committee. From 2003 to 2004, he was a member of the Executive Committee of the Canadian E-Business Initiative.  Finally, in 2001 and 2002, Mr. Maduri co-chaired the “wireless city” initiative of the City of Calgary aimed at driving growth in its wireless sector. Mr. Maduri received his business degree from the Schulich School of Business at York University and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario.

Shelagh Maloney

In her role as Executive Director, Certification Services and External Liaison, Shelagh Maloney is responsible for building market awareness of Infoway’s certification services and leading the identification and development of planned future service offering to deliver results against the business plan. Ms. Maloney is also responsible for leveraging national and international partnerships and alliances with the country’s private and public sectors to identify and develop new business opportunities and raise the profile and impact of Infoway. She has represented Infoway in various outreach activities in Canada and abroad.

Prior to joining Infoway Ms. Maloney held a number of senior management roles in both the public and private sectors. In these various capacities, she honed her facilitation, business-development and consensus-building skills in a number of areas including health information management, information technology, and privacy and standards development.

Ms. Maloney is currently on the Board of Directors of COACH, Canada’s Health Informatics Association, and the National Research Council’s Institute for Information Technology (NRC – IIT) Advisory Board. As well, Ms. Maloney is Canada’s representative at the International Health Terminologies Standards Development Organization (IHTSDO) Management Board.

Eric Mark

Eric is Deloitte Consulting’s lead media and entertainment–strategy principal.  He works with media companies on business-strategy issues and initiatives, including new businesses, new products, and new services, industry and competitor analyses, mergers and acquisitions, high-level organization design, and scenario envisioning.

Eric has worked with all of the major U.S.-based movie studios and music companies, and many related businesses, such as post-production houses, broadcast and cable networks, digital-distribution companies, and videogame publishers.  He has more than 15 years of experience in media and entertainment, telecommunications, retail, hospitality and leisure, and consumer and packaged goods, and has led numerous successful engagements, including developing the business model for a leading purveyor of online content, conceptualizing the vision and organization structure for a new division of a major cable network, and developing the customer strategy for a global entertainment retailer.

Eric has a significant presence as a thought leader in media and entertainment and corporate strategy. He is a frequent speaker and panelist at industry conferences and colloquia, including NAB, CES, Digital Hollywood, and the Wharton, Stanford, and NYU Media Conferences.  He is currently writing a paper on future business models in media.

Eric joined Deloitte from IBM Global Business Services (formerly PwC Consulting), where he was a senior member of the media and entertainment–strategy practice.  Prior to joining IBM, Eric was a Manager at A.T. Kearney.  Eric holds a Bachelor of Mathematics in computer science (with a minor in drama) from the University of Waterloo, and he holds an MBA in strategic management and marketing from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a Master of Arts in international studies from The Lauder Institute of the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a graduate of the Second City Conservatory and Writing programs. A native of Toronto and erstwhile resident of Paris, Eric currently resides in Marina del Rey, California and enjoys unconventional people, irony, and watching lots of movies in theatres.

Dan Mathieson

Dan has been the Mayor of Stratford since 2003 and has served on Council since 1995 as a Councillor and Deputy Mayor.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Guelph and has recently graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Masters of Public Administration.

Dan has represented the City as a Board Member of the Stratford General Hospital, the Stratford-Perth Housing Authority, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Organization of Small Urban Municipalities.  As well, he is currently a member of the Baord of Directors of Festival Hydro, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and the Stratford Hockey Club and is Co-Chair of the Perth County Task Force on Methamphetamine and the Physician Recruitment Committee.  He has always played an active role in the community by volunteering with many organizations and enjoys coaching his children's sports teams.

The Honourable Dalton McGuinty

The Honourable Dalton McGuinty is Ontario's 24th Premier. In the provincial election of 2003, he led the Liberal party to a majority government. He and his party earned a second consecutive majority on October 10, 2007. He has represented the riding of Ottawa South as its MPP since 1990.

During his first term, Premier McGuinty’s government reduced class sizes and hospital wait times, improved Ontario’s infrastructure, and attracted billions in new investment to Ontario.

Now in his second term, Premier McGuinty remains committed to building an even stronger economy for Ontario families. New tax reforms will mean more money in the pockets of Ontarians while making our province an even more attractive place for businesses to invest. The government has laid out a plan for Ontario that includes training for our workers; increasing the Ontario child benefit; building more affordable-housing; and increasing funding for health care, education and post-secondary education.

Ron McKerlie

Ron McKerlie is Deputy Minister, Ontario Ministry of Government Services, Associate Secretary of Cabinet and Secretary, Management Board of Cabinet for the Ontario Public Service (OPS).

Ron joined the OPS as Corporate CIO and Chief Strategist, in 2005.

Prior to joining the OPS, Ron worked for Rogers Communications as VP e-Business.  Prior to Rogers, he worked for Bank of Montreal in a dozen roles including VP Electronic Banking, VP Smart Cards and most recently SVP eBusiness.

Ron holds a MBA from Dalhousie University and is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.  Ron is a member of the Board for World Vision Canada and Chair of the Service Ontario Board of Directors.

Jacqui Murphy

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.

John Myers

John graduated from the University of Toronto in 1980 with an Honours B.Sc. in Computer Science and began working in software development for Nortel Networks in their downtown Toronto research lab. Mr. Myers progressed through various technical and business leadership positions including the role of General Manager of Nortel’s worldwide Messaging business unit. Mr. Myers joined Open Text in 2002 and is now the General Manager of the company’s Communications Solutions Group and works out of Open Text's office in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

Ray Newal

Ray has been loitering at the intersection of media, advertising, and technology since 1994. His experience includes tenures within sales and business development at the formative stage of industry leaders including Microsoft (MSN), and DoubleClick.

Most recently, Ray was the Vice President, Business Development and Content Acquisition at Yahoo! where he led business development, strategic alliance, and content procurement activity in the Canadian market.

Following his tenure at Yahoo!, Ray took a brief sabbatical in which he backpacked through rural India. While backpacking Ray had the inspiration for his current venture, Jigsee. Jigsee brings pre-paid Cable TV content to mobile phones in developing countries.

David Nicholl

David Nicholl was formally appointed Chief CIO, Government of Ontario on November 26, 2008. David was acting as the Chief CIO, Government of Ontario since May 2008. Prior to that, he held the position of Corporate Chief of Infrastructure Technology Services, within the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, since February 2006. He was responsible for leading the establishment of the Government’s new Infrastructure Technology Services (ITS) organization, establishing its business and service delivery model; and implementing key e-Ontario infrastructure consolidation projects.

Prior to joining ITS, David Nicholl was the Chief Information Officer at the Transportation I&IT Cluster (TC). David joined the TC in 2002, returning to the Ontario government where he worked as a programmer/analyst during the early 1980s.

Previous to the TC, David worked at Oasis Technology – a leading global provider of Unix/NT-based ePayment systems to card associations and financial institutions - where he was Senior Vice-President of Global Consulting and Delivery.  In this role, David was responsible for the delivery of the company’s products to new customers and for the support and training of Oasis’s approximately 150 clients in 70 countries.

David also spent seven years in Bermuda and the United Kingdom where he worked for HSBC (Bank of Bermuda) as Vice-President and Director of Information Technology. His responsibilities included the creation of a new IT strategy to support the introduction of an electronic servicing capability for the Bank's global customer base; the development of a resources plan to reduce IT operating costs, and the development and support of all business applications in a 7/24 environment. Previously, David worked at the Toronto Dominion Bank as a Systems/Project Manager.

Tony Preston

Tony Preston joined Open Text on October 3, 2005 as Senior Vice President, HR. Tony has over 30 years of HR and leadership experience in direct and indirect management, organizational change, executive development, cultural diversity, and a wealth of experience in international human resources within the high-tech industry sector.

He has held senior management and executive HR management roles with Nortel Networks, Andrew Corporation, and as a consultant with Leading Edge Management Systems. Tony and his family lived and worked in Europe and Asia-Pacific from 1997 – 2003 as the VP of HR, leading the regional HR organizations for Nortel Networks.

Tony holds a B.S. degree from Greenville College, Greenville, Illinois USA (1977) and he attend the Ivey Business School 2001-2002 (University of Western Ontario) in Hong Kong, (EMBA).

Thomas Purves

Thomas Purves is a Toronto based blogger, futurist and innovator. Currently, Thomas spends his days helping major global brands plan for their digital futures and navigate the as-yet murky waters of mobile commerce. Thomas has spent more than a decade designing and developing both consumer and enterprise-level web services, predominantly in the financial services sector. Thomas holds bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering from Queen's University and a MBA from the Rotaman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

Dan Quinn

Dan Quinn is the Manager of Global Digital Advertising at Research in Motion. In his role Dan oversees the strategic management of all global digital media planning and strategy in the areas of Search, Display, sponsorships, Mobile and emerging media. As a thought leader in the areas of Digital advertising and measurement, he is a frequent speaker at industry events including CTIA, SES, Argyle CMO Summit and various webinars on industry topics.

Dan has managed many Global Digital initiatives in his career including the Global Digital Marketing program for the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism based in Georgetown, Grand Cayman and Luxury Segment marketing for Expedia Inc. based in Bellevue, Washington.

Dan holds an Honors Bachelor of Commerce in Finance and Marketing and an MBA from the University of Windsor. Dan and his family have made Waterloo, Ontario their home since they returned to Canada after 6 years living internationally.

Heri Rakotomalala

Heri Rakotomalala is currently an Evangelist at TechEntreprise, in Marketing and Product Development at iWeb, Designer and Developer at madmedia, an organizer at Montréal’s designer/developer/innovator challenge Blitzweekend and an Editor at Montreal Tech Watch. Heri works with technology entrepreneurs to launch innovative services – especially web applications – helping with technology architecture, concept, design, development and deployment.

Heri is active in the Montréal tech scene, promoting and organizing events – like Blitzweekend – to stimulate activity and innovation in the tech community. He is Editor of Montréal Tech Watch, an online community for entrepreneurs, start-ups and events.

Mark Relph

Mark Relph is Vice President of the Developer & Platform Evangelism (DPE) Group at Microsoft Canada Co. His mission is to connect with Canada’s technology professionals to develop skills; build momentum around key strategic Microsoft technologies, and nurture Canadian technology innovation.

Mark’s organization builds a robust set of technical community engagement programs such as MSDN and TechNet. His team also has a focus on enhancing the ecosystem of technology vendors in Canada, including working with ISVs, start-ups and the venture capital community. Mark also works with technology students, faculty and academic institutions across Canada. Mark was instrumental in helping launch Microsoft’s first entrepreneur-focused Innovation Centre in Waterloo and helped forge Microsoft Canada’s recent alliance with the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD).

Prior to his current position, he was the Group Manager of the Developer Team within the Developer & Platform Evangelism Group. Before moving to DPE, Mark was the Manager of the Network Service Provider Solutions Team, Business Development Manager working with Canadian technology start-ups and venture capital firms, with the E-Commerce Business Development team, and a Technology Specialist. Before joining Microsoft in May 1998, Mark was a Systems Engineer at Digital Equipment specializing in the development of Microsoft solutions.

Mark is very engaged in the Canadian technology community and regularly tweets and blogs about various technology related topics. He also speaks about the future of technology and the industry in Canada at technology conferences across the country.

Gerry Remers

Gerry Remers is President and COO of Christie, a global leader in Digital Cinema and manufacturer of a wide range of digital projection technologies and solutions.  Overseeing engineering operations and global quality, Gerry has spearheaded research and development, successfully leading the Company's rapid expansion into new markets for digital projection.  Under his leadership, Christie has quadrupled in size since 2001, significantly increasing its manufacturing capabilities, and was ranked among the Financial Post's 20 best employers to work for. 

Previously, Gerry was President of Electrohome Projection Systems, where he negotiated the sale of the business unit to Christie, Inc. of California in 1999. He possesses over 20 years experience in finance, marketing, planning and product management through his various positions at Electrohome and, earlier Nortel Canada.

Pamela Ritchie

Professor and DEAN, FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF ONTARIO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Prior to joining UOIT, Dr Ritchie was Professor of Accounting at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. She also served as Associate Dean (Research and Outreach) for the Faculty of Business Administration at UNB. At that time she was responsible for setting up BBA partnership programs in Trinidad and Egypt. She also oversaw the development of an undergraduate co-op program in business and an MBA internship program.

While at UNB Pamela was an active member of the committee for Senate Reform, the small group which designed the interface for the implementation of Datatel at the University and of Team Renaissance which created UNB’s innovative Renaissance College in leadership using with funding from the McConnell Foundation.

Pamela has a BA in Economics from the University of New Brunswick, a Master of Science in Accounting from the University of Saskatchewan and a Ph.D. in Accounting and Finance from the University of Lancaster where she focussed on the interaction between regulation and the market and the role of accounting disclosure.

Her current publications are primarily in the areas of transportation, particularly aviation, mergers and acquisitions, and economic efficiency. She is currently Vice-President (Awards) for the Canadian Transportation Research Forum and is a founding member of the editorial board of the Canadian Journal of Transportation.

Eugene Roman

Eugene Roman holds the position of Chief Information Officer at Open Text Corporation.  Eugene is a seasoned, hi-tech executive with 28 years of global experience in the IT, infocom, network design and R&D sectors.  He has a multi-skilled background in advanced technology, computer science, business development and finance which will nicely compliment the skills of the Executive Leadership Team.  Eugene is a strong leader who encourages his team members to excel and work together on delivering above and beyond their expectations. 

Eugene started his career with Nortel in 1981 upon graduation from the Faculty of Management Studies at the University of Toronto.  He has worked in various groups within BCE including Finance, Information Systems, R&D, and Corporate Office with significant international assignments in Asia, Europe and South America.  Eugene is on the Board of Directos of a community based financial institution and has supported its evolution to an e-business.

Bob Rushby

As chief technology officer (CTO) at Christie, Bob Rushby is responsible for guiding and influencing the company's overall technology roadmap, to address the company's rapidly expanding global presence. As Vice-President of Research and Development (R&D), he leads the planning and exploration of new technologies—including the tools and methods for developing products. To do this he draws on resources externally, such as Christie's strong pool of in-house experts. His extensive engineering expertise and R&D management background help to expand the company's position as an industry leader and innovator.

Since joining Christie in 1999, Rushby has held senior executive roles, most recently as vice president of R&D. Over the years, Rushby has played a significant role in leading the development of Christie's industry breakthrough DLP Cinema® and 3-Chip DLP® product lines, helping to drive the company's success globally. Among his other accomplishments, he has influenced technology direction and focused significant investment in developing infrastructure to increase efficiency in product concept development. Rushby joined Christie from Delphax Technologies Inc. (formerly Delphax Systems), a manufacturer of advanced digital print production systems, where he was Vice President of Engineering.

Rushby is based at Christie's world class manufacturing facility in the Waterloo Region (located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada). He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo , and a Master's in Electrical Engineering from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. He is also a licensed Professional Engineer with a P. Eng. designation from Professional Engineers of Ontario, and he currently holds four patents.

Paul Salvini

Paul Salvini is Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Canadian Operations at Side Effects Software - a global leader in the development of 3D visual effects software for the film industry.  In 2008, he was recognizted as one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40, a national award that honours individuals for outstanding achievements in innovation, leadership, vision, and community involvement.

Paul leads a team of top computer scientists and mathematicians who are passionate about advancing the art and science of film production.  The company has enjoyed considerable success including two Academy Awards for Scientific and Technical Achievement and four back-to-back innovation awards from Computer Graphics World.  Its customers are top studios from around the world including Sony Pictures Imageworks, Framestore CGC, DreamWorks, Weta, and Digital Domain.  The company's flagship Houdini product has been used in hundreds of blockbuster films including nine of the past eleven films to receive the Oscar for best Visual Effects.

Gary Schwartz

Gary Schwartz founded Impact Mobile in 2002 having worked in the IT and telecommunications industry for over 20 years. Over the past eight years, Gary has played a leadership role in the mobile industry, running the first cross-carrier short code campaign in North America, and founding the CWTA Mobile Content Committee to establish policies and increase awareness to promote standards and adoption. Gary is the founder and co-chair of the Mobile Marketing Committee for the US Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and is a director on the board of the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF).

Presently, Gary is working actively with the National Retail Federation (NRF) and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) to drive a joint task force on retail with a vision to build a "Mobile Store of the Future".

Gary is an honors graduate from Columbia University and the Stanford University Center in Tokyo. He is the recipient of the Macromedia People Choice Award as well as the Dodge Foundation award for innovation.

Impact Mobile has been an industry leader in North America promoting mobile as a media channel. Impact Mobile provides carriers, global agencies and brands managed and self-service marketing platforms for any aspect of their mobile marketing needs. In addition to connecting through national carriers to all mobile subscribers, Impact Mobile activates traditional and digital media and helps drive consumers to high-ROI destinations such as retail point of sale, live event gate, lead generation engine, etc.

Sheridan E. Scott

Sheridan Scott assists clients in competition matters within Canada and with competition-related public policy initiatives. She also advises clients on communications law matters.

Sheridan was Canada’s Commissioner of Competition from 2004 to 2009. As the head of the Competition Bureau, she administered and enforced the Competition Act. In addition, Sheridan led the Bureau’s participation at the International Competition Network and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, among others. She was elected chair of the ICN Steering Group, assuming leadership in early 2007. In 2008, Sheridan received a special recognition award from the Canadian New Media Awards for her contributions to the new media industry. In 2005, she was named one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network and was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Victoria.

Prior to her appointment with the Competition Bureau, Sheridan was Chief Regulatory Officer of Bell Canada, where she was responsible for overseeing all activities involving the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the Copyright Board and the Competition Bureau on behalf of Bell Canada, Bell Mobility and Bell ExpressVu. Sheridan previously held senior positions with the CBC and the CRTC. She clerked under Chief Justice Bora Laskin at the Supreme Court of Canada on the completion of her law degree.

In addition to her practice, she is a member of the Editorial Board of Competition Law International, the International Bar Association's journal dedicated to antitrust law and policy.

Within the community, Sheridan is involved in a number of organizations, such as Opera Lyra Ottawa, the Leadership Giving Committee of the United Way, and Canadian Women in Communications.

Craig Settles

Craig Settles' workshops, consulting services and books help organizations worldwide understand how to use wireless and other technologies to increase revenues, reduce costs and operate more effectively. Mr. Settles has consulted with government and private sector clients to create sound business strategies for successful broadband networks. His book, Fighting the Good Fight for Municipal Wireless, and various analysis reports establishes him as a prominent thought leader on municipal networks. Previous clients include Kindred Healthcare, City of Glendale, CA and Nextel.

Ralph Simon

Ralph Simon is regarded as one of the founders of the modern mobile entertainment industry.  Over the last decade he has been a prominent global trailblazer and innovator, growing the mobile entertainment and content industry, and playing a central role in its impact and presence worldwide. 

Simon heads the London-based Mobilium Advisory Group, which provides high level strategic advice and guidance to mobile operators, handset and technology companies, media companies, movie studio & TV networks, brands, ad agency groups, and platform providers around the world. Specifically, Simon recommends unique ways to business growth and profitability, growing revenues and maximizing impact from the usage and distribution of mobile entertainment content, mobile music, messaging, mobile media technology and applications.

He is the founder of the influential Mobile Entertainment Forum – Americas (MEF), the voice of the global mobile entertainment industry.  As Chairman Emeritus he continues his work on raising industry standards and opportunity. He acts as a high-level adviser to mobile operators, handset makers, and the cross-platform entertainment industry, targeting the more than 4 billion mobile subscribers worldwide. 

Stan Shapson

Research & Innovation. Dr. Shapson’s research and innovation interests have spanned the fields of technology enhanced learning, bilingual and multicultural education, and the development of innovative programs and policies. He has published widely; his research and publications have received awards from the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the Canadian Journal of Education (CJE). He has been awarded numerous grants and contracts for his research totalling over $6 million and has directed large-scale, externally funded, national and provincial studies.* He has been a principal researcher for a variety of national studies such as the NCE – TeleLearning, the SSHRC Strategic Theme (Knowledge-based Economy), the CANARIE funded broadband learning program ABEL (Advanced Broadband Enabled Learning), and the federal Tri-Council IPM/Knowledge Mobilization initiative.

Institutional Capacity Building. In his administrative role at York, Dr. Shapson’s strategy has shifted from his own individual research to focus on building institutional R&I capacity collaboratively with municipalities, community hospitals, and private sector companies on economic and social innovation cluster initiatives. In this regard, he is the founding Co-chair, with the Mayor of Markham of the Innovation Synergy Centre in Markham, founding Chair of YORKbiotech, Vice-chair of the Consortium Board that is developing scientific and business plans for the National Centre for Medical Device Development (NCMDD), Chair of the Provincial Consortium CONCERT (Consortium on New Media, Creative, and Entertainment R&D in the Toronto Region), and he is currently working on KM/social policy impacts with human services/social agencies.

Professional Leadership. Through voluntary Board and committee work, Dr. Shapson’s roles Federally and Provincially have included: Co-chair of both the Ontario Advisory Committee on Advanced Technology in Learning and the Federal SchoolNet Advisory Committee on Professional Development; Chair of the Provincial Working Group on Learning Environments and Resources for the Ontario Knowledge Network for Learning (OKNL); a member of the Federal SSHRC Granting Council, he also has served as Interim President and Chair of SSHRC; Chair of the Optical Regional Advanced Network of Ontario (ORANO) Board; a member of the Board of Research Canada; and past Chair of both the Ontario Council of University Research (OCUR); and the Ontario Association of Deans of Education.

Jay Steele

Founder and CTO, Viigo Inc.

A software architect, technical manager, inventor, and product visionary with over seven years combined experience in the Internet, mobile computing, mobile Java, and telecommunications domain.

Mr. Steele was founder, President & Chief Technology Officer of Plazmic Inc., a company specializing in rich-media graphics solutions for wireless mobile devices. Mr. Steele was the visionary and architect behind Plazmic's various product lines, and helped lead the company's products launch in Japan on NTT DoCoMo's i-mode network, licensed to companies such as Disney Internet Group Japan. In 2001, Plazmic was acquired by Research in Motion (RIM), and Mr. Steele became Director of Graphics Architecture as RIM began releasing colour products into the marketplace.

Prior to Plazmic, Mr. Steele was a graduate of the University of Waterloo's Computer Science program specializing in Computer Graphics. He worked for Toronto-area companies Pulse Microsystems and Side Effects Software, and was also a winner of Sun Microsystems prestigious Java Cup contest in 1996 for Java Programming.

Mr. Steele is co-inventor on numerous patents filed worldwide.

Duncan Stewart

Duncan Stewart is the Director of Deloitte Canada Research in the areas of Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT), Life Sciences and GreenTech. 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. 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.

David Ticoll

David Ticoll is Executive Director of the Canadian Coalition for Tomorrow’s ICT Skills. Founded in 2007 by Bell Canada, the CCICT is an industry-led, multi-stakeholder initiative. Its mission is to ensure that Canadian organizations can engage information and communications technology professionals with knowledge, skills and talents to meet the changing and diverse needs of this field.

David is a consultant, researcher and policy adviser with interests in competitiveness, globalization, business model innovation, the changing workforce, and transparency. As chair of the Expert Panel of the Information & Communications Technology Council (2003-2008), he was involved in, and personally conducted, a series of major studies on Canada's IT labour market. He has authored several bestselling business books, including Digital Capital: Harnessing the Power of Business Webs, and The Naked Corporation: How the Age of Transparency will Revolutionize Business.

David was founding CEO of the international think tank and consulting firm, Digital 4Sight, from 1994-2001. He was a columnist at The Globe & Mail and tele.com. He has published in Harvard Business Review, Business 2.0, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal. He founded the Canadian program of Gartner Group Inc. in the early 1980s. During the 1970s he was a journalist and producer in public affairs at CBC Radio in Vancouver.

David is a Research Fellow at the Knowledge Media Design Institute of the University of Toronto and has been a Director of the Information Technology Association of Canada since 1998.

David has a BA (Honours) from McGill University in sociology and political science, and has pursued graduate work in communications, information systems and marketing research.

Jill Tomasson Goodwin

Jill Tomasson Goodwin received her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto (1987). She teaches usability and interaction design as it applies to instructional design, games design, and web design in the Digital Arts Communication program within Arts and Business at the University of Waterloo.

As a former Chair of Drama and Speech Communication (2000-2003), she directed an active research granting program that garnered three CFI/OIT New Opportunities Grants (totalling $1M), and one Canada Research Chair (totalling $1M).

Her research focuses in interview protocols, experience design, interaction design, and usability testing. Her private sector research includes a recent contract with Christie Digital Systems Canada, Inc. for $250,000 (the largest contract in the history of UW Arts), TorStar, StatCan, iSchool, and the Ontario College of Nurses, the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario, and the Ontario Program Gambling Research Council. She is the Principal Investigator of a $220,000 SSHRC Management, Business, and Finance grant (2008).

Jill Tomasson Goodwin is the Director of Research for the proposed Stratford Institute, which is part of the newly funded Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research. She is also founding member and former Director of the Canadian Centre of Arts and Technology at UW.

Kevin Tuer

Kevin has held several engineering and senior management positions in the high tech industry over the past 14 years. Kevin started his career as a Senior Research Engineer at Computing Devices Canada (now General Dynamics Canada) where he developed a sighting system mount for a grenade launcher and early stage analysis of an advanced land fire control system for main battle tanks.  He moved on to become the VP Engineering of Control Advancements, a Waterloo based company, where Kevin oversaw the development of several products including the first haptic-enabled screen reading system for low vision users. 

Kevin went on to become the President of Alliance Technologies, an engineering services firm, which provided a range of electrical, mechanical and software development services to local businesses. Prior to joining Communitech, Kevin was a co-founder and CTO of Handshake VR Inc., a company that specialized in the creation and deployment of haptic and telehaptic applications.  During his tenure at Handshake, Kevin led the technical development of the company’s products, including the first graphically based toolkit for rapid development of haptic and telehaptic applications.

Since February 2008, Kevin has been serving as CTO-in-Residence at Communitech as part of the Venture Support Group, which is responsible for providing mentorship and coaching to early stage companies.  Most recently, Kevin has been named the Managing Director of Canada’s Digital Media Network (National Centre of Excellence) and VP Digital Media to lead the Digital Media Convergence Centre in Kitchener, Ontario – the first of two hubs on Canada’s Digital Media Network.  Kevin has an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo. 

Mark Vale

Dr. Mark Vale was appointed the Ontario government's first Chief Information and Privacy Officer in July 2006. He leads the development and implementation of standards and practices for managing government information assets, including improved access to government information and the protection of personal information across the Ontario Public Service. His office sets enterprise direction, works with I and IT clusters and ministries to build capacity across the government, and promotes access to information and privacy as fundamental business considerations.

Before joining the Ontario Public Service, Mark was President of Information Management & Economics, Inc. working with governments and companies across Canada to help them become more efficient by effectively managing information and knowledge resources.

Mark is an information economist and has more than 25 years experience in information policy, information strategy and planning, and implementing corporate information and knowledge management programs. He is one of North America's leaders in shaping the information and knowledge management disciplines.

Born in Toronto, Mark received his MA in economics from the University of California, Berkeley and his PhD from Stanford University.

Sean Van Koughnett

Sean Van Koughnett is the founder and director of VeloCity (velocity.uwaterloo.ca), the world's first 'dormcubator' for students focused on developing and commercializing business ideas in mobile communications and digital media. Prior to founding VeloCity, Sean held various leadership roles in the private sector and at UW in marketing and business development. Sean holds a BA (Economics) and MAES (Local Economic Development), where his research focused on the impact of innovation in post-secondary institutions on economic development. Sean has also represented Canada on the international stage as a member of the mens' national basketball team.

Antti Vilpponen

Antti Vilpponen is the co-founder and board member of Gyllene Skor, a creative digital agency working with medium, large and publicly listed Finnish and foreign corporations to capitalise the business opportunities in the digital channels.

Vilpponen is also a very active member in the Nordic and Baltic startup community. He is the founder of ArcticStartup, the most followed startup medium in Northern Europe profiling startups from a variety of industries. ArcticStartup operates in the Nordics and Baltics, enabling growth entrepreneurship by profiling companies, linking entrepreneurs both online and offline in entrepreneurial events organised in the largest cities in the area. ArcticStartup is constantly followed by over 10 000 entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, people from government organisations and other stake holders in the industry.

Before Gyllene Skor and ArcticStartup, Vilpponen worked as a sales director in a social gaming startup Apaja, and while his time there, quadrupled its online consumer and media sales. Vilpponen also launched the largest online viral campaign in 2005 opposing the copyright law renewal in Finland. It gained publicity in national press, and resulted in a demonstration on the lawns of the parliament house.

Rashid Wasti

Rashid Wasti has been with Egon Zehnder International since 2000 and is a partner based in the firm’s Toronto office. Egon Zehnder international is a global executive search and management consulting firm with 64 offices in 37 countries.

Over the past 9 years, he has built a broad based practice that cuts across all organizational functions, with a predominant focus on the hi-tech, financial services and natural resources industries. Beyond conducting a significant number of search assignments, many with a global footprint, he has also developed significant expertise in leadership strategy services, helping clients with projects to raise the effectiveness of their existing teams and providing assessment and development planning for their executives.

In addition to client work, he is also a member of the firm’s Global Operations Committee which oversees its own technology strategy and investments to respond to the challenges and opportunities created by the digital age.

Prior to joining Egon Zehnder International, he was a strategy consultant at the Boston Consulting Group from 1994-2000 and a Brand Manager at Procter and Gamble from 1990-1994.

He has a Masters in Economics from Cambridge University in England and a MBA from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

Matthew Wenger

Matt’s passion is leveraging technology to transform the dynamics of innovation in communities. Selected in 2004 by Canada Connects magazine as one of Canada’s top 20 Internet Visionaries, Matt has served as President/CEO at Web 2.0 companies such as GroupSystems, global broadband vendors such as PacketFront, and non-profit rural community telecom organizations such as the Columbia Mountain Open Network. As President of OpenGlobal, Matt advises corporate boards and governments throughout North America and Europe on Internet and innovation system management, economics and policy.

The Honourable John Wilkinson

The Honourable John Wilkinson was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 2003 as the MPP for Perth-Middlesex. He was re-elected in 2007 as the MPP for Perth-Wellington. Mr. Wilkinson previously served as the Parliamentary Assistant to Premier Dalton McGuinty in his capacity as Ontario’s first Minister of Research and Innovation. He has also served as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of the Environment and was appointed by the Minister of Finance to serve as the vice chair of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation.

Mr. Wilkinson is the first Certified Financial Planner elected to the Ontario legislature. Before entering politics he founded Wilkinson & Keller Financial Planning Ltd. of Stratford, a successful small business.

Known for his lengthy record of service, Mr. Wilkinson has been very active in both his church and community. He was both the youngest president and senior member of the Kiwanis Club of Stratford and most recently chaired a $1.5 million fundraising campaign in support of the Discovery Centre, situated beside the Stratford Festival in the historic Stratford Normal School.

In 2002, the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation honoured Mr. Wilkinson with their highest national volunteer tribute, the Julia Award. In 2003, he was presented with the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in recognition of a decade of outstanding work in helping to find a cure or control for cystic fibrosis, the leading genetic cause of death in Canadian children. In 2006, Mr. Wilkinson was named a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow for his humanitarian efforts.

A graduate of the Faculty of Music from the University of Western Ontario, Mr. Wilkinson and his wife have three teenagers.

Diane Williamson

Marblemedia is a cross platform production company producing content for TV, the web and mobile. As Director of Business Development for Interactive at marblemedia Diane works closely with a variety of parners which include broadcasters, portals, independent Producers and academic institutions. Diane has over 14 years experience in producing interactive content for the cultural, entertainment and education sectors. Her credits include the website for The Smart Woman Survival Guide, an edutainment piece for The Green portal (with Sundance Channel), junobeach.org (website, book & CD-ROM project), ghosttrackers.tv (interactive website and online game for the television series “Ghost Trackers”) and the “Great Canadian” series of websites (ParkWardens.com, CanadianParks.com, GreatCanadianRivers.com, GreatCanadianPlaces.com, GreatCanadianLakes, NaturalTourist.com all found on Canoe.ca. Diane is currently also Producer and Project Manager for CultureConsultants.ca, a bilingual portal for cultural consultants and cultural organizations.

Ian E. Wilson

Ian E. Wilson was appointed Strategic Advisor to the University of Waterloo in May 2009. Mr. Wilson will lead the establishment of the University of Waterloo's Stratford Institute, a think-tank, integrating and training institute devoted to collaboration between digital media, international commerce and culture.

Prior to joining the University of Waterloo, Mr. Wilson was Librarian and Archivist of Canada since 2004. He had been appointed National Archivist of Canada in July 1999 and with the then National Librarian, Roch Carrier, developed and led the process to create a new knowledge institution for Canada in the 21st century. As well, Mr. Wilson was instrumental in creating the Canadian Digital Information Strategy published in 2007.