Speakers
de Groot, Mark, President and Managing Partner, iNovia Capital (Montréal)
Mark de Groot is the Managing Partner of iNovia Capital, which he founded in 2001. Holding a M.Sc. from Trinity College University of Toronto and his Ph.D. in Physics from Oxford University, he thereafter did a post-doctoral research at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and the University of Rome.
Mark de Groot has previously worked extensively in both the technology and the life sciences sectors. His experience in the former sector includes having held senior positions at a healthcare IT company (Diversified Pharma Services, at the time a large division of SmithKline Beecham), at an e-health company and at the bioinformatics Division of a biopharmaceutical company. He is also a co-founder of an Ottawa-based software company (GridIron Software) on whose board he continues to serve. In the life sciences sector he has held senior positions at a biopharmaceutical development company, at a life sciences company which combined both CRO (Contract Research Organization) & drug discovery activities, and at a pharmaceutical multinational (SmithKline Beecham, now GlaxoSmithKline).
He also started, and then ran for three years, the first seed-stage venture capital fund in Canada focusing on life sciences opportunities (University Medical Discoveries Inc.) Mark de Groot has furthermore served on the Management Advisory Board of a large Life Sciences venture capital fund (Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund) and worked at MDS Capital. Mark de Groot is a member of the boards of MSBi Valorisation, SiXtron and GridIron Software.
iNovia Capital is one of Canada’s premier managers of seed and early-stage venture capital funds in Canada. iNovia Capital helps entrepreneurs and pioneers to build prosperous companies in the domains of information and communication technology (ICT), life sciences and clean technologies, through Canada. iNovia Capital has over $ 160 million under management across two seed and early stage funds (MSBi Investment Fund, L.P. & iNovia Investment Fund II, L.P.) and MSBi Valorisation.
List of speakers in alphabetical order
Bachand, Raymond, Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade and Minister of Tourism, Government of Québec (Montréal)
Baillet, Francis, Vice-President, Human Resources, Ubisoft (Montréal)
Benoît, Suzanne, Chief Executive Officer, Aéro Montréal (Montréal)
Blouin, Natalie, Manager for the Ecodesign initiative, Institut de développement de produits (Montréal)
Bouchard, Jean-François, President and Senior Partner, Sid Lee (Montréal)
Brunet, Pierre, Chairman of the Board, Montréal international
Carbonneau, Louis, General Manager, IP Licensing, Intellectual Property and Licensing Group, Legal and Corporate Affairs, Microsoft (Redmond, Washington)
Clerc, Gabriel, Head of Office, EPLF Technology Transfer, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) (Switzerland)
Collomb, Gérard, Mayor of Lyon (France)
Deruy, Marcel, President, Lyon Place Financière et Tertiaire (Lyon, France)
Deschamps, Richard, President, “Montréal, ville apprenante, de savoir et d’innovation”, Associate Advisor for Economic and Sustainable Development, City of Montréal (Montréal)
Fraikin, Hans, Film Commissioner, Québec Film and Television Council (Montréal)
Gagnon, François, Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering, École de technologie supérieure and Electronics Chairholder in Wireless Telecommunications (Montréal)
Gaquère, Gilles, Director of the Innovation and Development Department, Direction des Services aux Entreprises (Business Services Division), Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Lyon (France)
Larouche, Ghyslain, General Manager, SKL Aluminium Technologie (Jonquière, Québec)
Laurent, Yves, General Manager, Lyonbiopôle (France)
Livingstone, Angus, Managing Director, University-Industry Liaison Office, University of British Columbia (Vancouver, British Colombia)
Mathiolon, Guy, President, Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Lyon (France)
Mayer, Samuel, Head of Mission, Environment - Ecodesign, Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Saint-Étienne (France)
Moskowitz, Joel P., Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Ceradyne (Costa Mesa, California)
Noël, Ludovic, Director, Pôle de compétitivité /cluster Imaginove (Lyon, France)
Root, Pierre, General Manager, TechnoMontréal (Montréal)
Sirois, Charles, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Telesystem Ltd. and Enablis Entrepreneurial Network (Montréal)
Toulemonde, Gilles, President and CEO, I-Nova (Lyon, France)
Tremblay, Gérald, Mayor of Montréal
Vanrie, Philippe, Managing Director, European Business and Innovation Centre Network (EBN) (Brussels, Belgium)
Viel, Carl, General Manager, Montréal InVivo (Montréal)
Yano, Dr. Ryoji, Senior Director, Pro-Cluster Kobe, Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation (FBRI) (Kobe, Japan)