Startup Canada’s Board is composed of entrepreneurs and professionals of diverse skills and experience who are lending their expertise, network and time to build Startup Canada.
In January 2012, Dr. Adam Chowaniec joined the Startup Canada Governing Board. He is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of BelAir Networks Corporation, and a Director of Solantro Semiconductor. He is the Past Chair of the Information Technology Association of Canada Board of Directors. He chaired the Ontario Research and Innovation Council from 2006 to 2009. In 2005 he was appointed to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada and currently is a member of the Public Sector Advisory Board. He was also appointed to the Board of Directors of the Export Development Corporation of Canada by the Privy Council of Canada in 2009, and currently serves as the Chair of the Risk Committee.
Adam began his career in 1975 as an Assistant Professor at Acadia University and in 1976 became a member of the scientific staff of Bell Northern Research in Ottawa. From there, he moved into engineering management at Nortel Networks. In 1983 he joined Commodore International, based in Westchester, PA, where he became Vice-President of Technology and was responsible for the development of the Amiga personal computer. In 2010, he was recognized by the California Computer Museum as one of the founding fathers of the personal computer.
In 1986, Adam returned to Ottawa to become President and Chief Executive Officer of the semiconductor firm Calmos Systems. Calmos Systems was acquired by Newbridge Networks Corporation in 1989. Calmos was renamed Newbridge Microsystems. Under this new structure, he served as both its President and as a Vice-President of Newbridge Networks. In December 1995, he was the founding CEO of Tundra Semiconductor Corporation, which was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange until its acquisition by IDT in 2009.
He has served on numerous boards of directors in the United States and Canada, including Amiga and GEAC Computer Corporations, Futurecom, and OSI Technologies. He has served as Chair of the boards of Zarlink Corporation, Liquid Computing, Sibercore and Microbridge Corporations.
Adam is also involved in a number of local business and community initiatives and his commitment and participation has positioned him as a key spokesperson for the high tech community. He is frequently quoted in local and national press and is often a guest on national business TV programs. He was the chair of the Ottawa Economic Development Corporation and member of the Ottawa Partnership from 1999 to 2001. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program and is the vice-chair of the Ottawa Health Research Institute. He is the vice-chair of the Museum of Nature’s national fund raising campaign.
Adam has been recognized for his leadership, business excellence and innovation. In 1998, the Ottawa-Carleton Research Institute honoured him with its prestigious Chairman's Award. Also in 1999, he received the Gold Business Person of the Year Award from the Greater Chamber of Commerce.
He holds a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from Queen's University in Canada, as well as both a Bachelor of Engineering and a PhD from the University of Sheffield in England. His affiliations include the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario.
Lori retired from Deloitte in 2012 after over 24 years of service, 16 years as partner, specializing in advising high growth companies from startup to multinationals and supporting complex transactions, private and public equity offerings, mergers and acquisitions in Canada and the U.S. During this period, Lori also served terms in various management roles within the Ottawa and Canadian practice of Deloitte, leading the Technology Media and Technology practice in Ottawa, as member of management committee in Ottawa and a member of management committee for the audit practice in Canada.
With a keen interest in corporate governance and supporting the local business community, Lori serves as co-chair of the Executive Committee of the Ottawa Chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors, is on the board of Ashbury College, Face-2-Face, the finance committee of the Stem Cell Network, an advisory board for the Dean of the Sprott School of Business, a faculty member of Lead To Win, and previously served on the boards of the Shepherds of Good Hope and the Ottawa Life Sciences Council.
Lori graduated Carleton University with a Bachelor of Commerce Highest Honours in 1988, achieved her CA designation in 1989 placing 9th in Ontario (Honor Roll) on the final CA exam, and was recognized as “Top Forty under Forty” in 1999 by Ottawa Business Journal.
Debbie is a co-founder and partner at LaBarge Weinstein practising business, corporate finance and securities law. Debbie’s practice emphasizes public and private corporate finance transactions, mergers and acquisitions, day to day public company advice and generally advising private corporations, investors. lenders and investment banks.
Debbie represents a range of clients from entrepreneurs and their start up companies to Canadian public and foreign issuers. Foreign knowledge-based companies seek out her assistance in establishing or acquiring businesses in Canada. Debbie advises boards of directors on corporate governance and transaction-specific matters.
Debbie is ranked as one of Canada’s Top Mergers and Acquisitions Lawyers in a survey conducted by Financial Post in 2007. In January 2008, American Lawyer named Debbie one of Canada’s Leading 500 Lawyers. She has also be named one of Canada’s Top 100 Women Entrepreneurs by PROFIT and Chatelaine magazines and one of Canada’s Top 25 Women Lawyers by Lexpert.
Prior to founding LaBarge Weinstein, Debbie was managing partner of the Ottawa office of Blake, Cassels & Graydon, one of Canada’s largest law firms, on the national partnership committee and a partner there from 1991 until 1997. Debbie began her career at Blakes in Toronto where she worked in the corporate and securities group as a student and lawyer from 1981-1987.
Emanuel Montenegrino was born in Italy and became a Canadian citizen at a young age, spending almost his entire life in Ottawa; lawyer and community builder. Since 1981, lawyer and partner at McMillan law firm and its predecessor firms, including as its Ottawa Managing partner from 1990 to 2006. Provided outstanding legal services to public sector clients including the Province of Ontario for property assessment appeals and the City of Ottawa on many important issues. Was a community volunteer leader in successfully helping the City of Ottawa to save the Ottawa Senators hockey team. Served on the Board of the Children's Starlight Foundation. Also served as President of the Canadian Italian Business Association-Ottawa. Was Honoured to receive Community Builder Award from the United Way of Ottawa. He has committed thousands of volunteer hours in support of the democratic process in Canada
Andrea Mandel-Campbell is a journalist, author and public policy commentator who is passionate about celebrating Canadian entrepreneurship and encouraging public policies that support Canada’s innovative potential.
A former anchor at CTV’s Business News Network, Andrea is also the author of the celebrated book, Why Mexicans Don’t Drink Molson. Nominated for the Writer’s Trust Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing and the John Wesley Dafoe Book Prize, Why Mexicans takes a penetrating and unapologetic look at why Canadian companies fail to go global and why they must. As a public speaker, Andrea regularly travels the country to speak with government, companies and industry associations about the challenges and opportunities globalization offers and what Canadians need to do to be more competitive both from a private and public policy perspective.
Her desire to strengthen Canada’s innovative and competitive edge through good public policy prompted her to run as a candidate in the 2011 Ontario provincial election.
A foreign correspondent in Latin America for close to a decade, Andrea was the Mexico bureau chief for London’s Financial Times as well as a correspondent in Argentina for Business Week magazine. In Canada, she worked as a feature writer for the National Post, specializing in global competitiveness issues and has contributed to Maclean’s and The Walrus magazines. In 2006, Andrea won a media fellowship from the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada to travel to China and write about Canada-China business ties for Maclean’s magazine.
In 2008, the Forum for International Trade Training (FITT) awarded her an Honorary Certified International Trade Professional designation (CITP). She is the co-founder of Forgirlsake, a charity which funds grassroots projects in support of girls’ education around the world. Andrea was also a board member with the Canadian Council for the Americas from 2008-2011.
She lives in Toronto, ON with her husband, daughter Isabella, and son, Adrian.
Elisabeth S. Preston, BA, MPA, LL.B, is Managing Partner in McMillan's Ottawa, Ontario office. Elisabeth serves on the McMillan Board of Partners, the firm's Professional Services Committee and the firm's Audit Committee. Elisabeth is Vice-Chair of the Aerospace and Defence committee of the American Bar Association, International Section.
Elisabeth's practice has a significant emphasis on the Defence and Aerospace marketplace, and other industries with sizeable government programs or highly regulated operations. She advises major Canadian and international manufacturing product and services companies in areas such as mergers and acquisitions, procurement law, anti-corruption, industrial security, export control and controlled goods, channel partner arrangements, licensing and other commercial transactions. In addition, Elisabeth has over 20 years of experience advising companies in the aerospace and homeland security marketplaces in areas relating to cross border marketing initiatives, strategic relationships and financing initiatives to fund growth. As a lawyer, and previously as a business executive, she has assisted companies to set up and shut down (or acquire existing) manufacturing and other operations in United States, Europe, Australia, India and Latin and South America.
Elisabeth was the recipient of the Ottawa Business Journal's "Top 40 under 40" award in 2005. She accepted the 2004 Best Financial Deal award for Allen-Vanguard from the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation for the rapid series of transactions undertaken for that company in 2004: the initial going public transaction (a reverse takeover of a Capital Pool Corporation), and the succession of three major acquisitions that took the company global.
Dr. Sorin Cohn is President of BD Cohnsulting and Chief Program Officer of i-Canada, driving Innovation Nation programs to help Canadian communities enhance their competitiveness and leading CATA activities towards innovation in commercialization. He has 35 years international business & technology experience having been involved in most facets of “innovation development”: from idea to lab prototype, from product to market success on the global stage.
Mid 2000’s, he was in Paris, France, as the Managing Director EMEA for Terawave – a California optical access company. As co-founder and President Global Portfolio of OrbitIQ – a global business accelerator, Sorin has been working with technology companies in North America, Israel and Europe to build their market strengths. In 2000 he founded Wireless Multimedia Solutions in North Carolina.
Prior to 2000, Sorin held executive positions with Nortel Networks in Wireless, Enterprise Networks and Carrier Networks, and was Director for Exploratory Programs at BNR. He has developed new technologies, created R&D laboratories, started new product lines and initiated/managed new business units. Sorin has several essential patents in web services, wireless and digital signal processing, as well as over 70 publications and presentations.
In parallel, during the 80’s, Dr. Cohn has been Adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa. A Killam Scholar, he received a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, an M.Sc in Physics and an M.Eng in Engineering Physics.
One of the nation’s senior business-investment communications entrepreneurs, Lanis Anthony has a diverse background in the private and public sectors, as well as the non-profit arena. With direct experience as a leader in strategic business operations, she has founded several start-ups, established successful consultancies, and owned/operated a full-service advertising agency.
Her expertise in a diversity of business disciplines includes corporate communications and marketing, public-, media- and government-relations, as well as early-stage financing, fundraising and capital investment education/training. A unique asset is a particular interest, and demonstrated abilities, in social finance and impact investing.
Lanis' career has been trademarked by her commitment to finding innovative capital and communications solutions with a "human marketing" approach that is inclusive, equitable and beneficial for all involved.
She has been part of and led teams that have unscrambled complex economic issues, advocated beneficial tax reform, articulated corporate policy in plain language, promoted the benefits of a new business sector, established mechanisms for social change, supported and capitalized organizations and individuals in need, resolved cultural conflict, enlightened opposing interest groups, conveyed the long-term environmental impact of the draught crisis and expedited life-saving innovation. All this, and yet, she still feels she has much to accomplish - which is why she is honoured to be a founding member of Startup Canada.
With more than 25 years experience in a professional career, Lanis' skill set is comprised of equal parts creative invention and common knowledge, optimistic inspiration and pragmatic application. Her abilities have evolved over time to meet the ever-changing needs of a varied client base and volatile market conditions. And while she manages to keep up with the latest technology trends, tactics and tools, Lanis remains true to the fundamentals of good business disciplines and best practices.
Committed to helping innovative companies move forward, Lanis is part of a growing number of high net-worth individuals contributing time, effort and funding to establishing angel investment as a recognized asset class. Angel investment now eclipses funds deployed by venture capital firms, and accounts for billions of dollars distributed to innovative, high potential, seed- and early-stage companies. Lanis was one of the founding members of the board and is now Past-Chair of Saskatchewan Angel Investors Network (SAINT), the province's first formalized angel-entrepreneur organization. Lanis is a board member of the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) and is an associate of the Angel Capital Association (ACA) in the US.
To complement her work in angel investment, Lanis is equally dedicated to the movement to commercialize and globalize our most promising innovations. She was an expert panel member of the first round of the Canadian innovation Commercialization Program (CICP) through Public Works and Government Services Canada and Office of Small Medium Enterprises, a former member of the National Advisory Board for NRC-IRAP. She is presently a board member of the Alliance for Commercialization of Canadian Technologies (ACCT Canada), and a member of the Province of Saskatchewan's Enterprise and Innovation Entrepreneurship Council.
Cam Cameron is an associate in Gowlings' Ottawa office business law group.
Cam practises corporate and commercial law in both Ontario and Québec. He has experience in mergers and acquisitions, franchise law, drafting various commercial agreements and the formation and operation of not-for-profit and charitable organizations. He also has experience in contracting and negotiating with the federal government, government relations (lobbying), issues management as well as strategic and crisis communications, which includes Aboriginal communities and businesses.
Prior to joining Gowlings, Cam worked as a federal consultant lobbyist in an international law firm and worked at a specialized agency of the United Nations in Rome (Italy).
Cam practises law in both official languages.
