As the inaugural co-mandated Director, Business Development - Mitacs/CICan, I am excited to have the opportunity and forum to further engage with CICan stakeholders in support of our shared core values through strategic initiatives. One of my key personal and professional missions is to help train the future generations of leaders and skilled workers to be “Responsibly Smart” and “Smartly Responsible” in all they do and become. My current role and my entrepreneurial spirit will most certainly contribute to this laudable cause.
About me: I joined Mitacs at the end of March 2021, bringing my fairly unique and eclectic background spanning almost three decades. My academic career includes a General Arts degree from the University of Ottawa, a Project Management Certificate from Algonquin College and an MBA from the prestigious McGill-HEC EMBA program. A perpetual learner, I am also a huge fan of documentaries. Professionally, my background provides me with a strategic perspective very few individuals have had the privilege to experience. The latter consists of 27+ yrs working with or within the Canadian R&D Enterprise, as a university administrator (uOttawa and McGillu) (15+ yrs), and as a Senior Programs Officer at the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) (3 yrs), where I managed a pan-Canadian portfolio of institutions and was instrumental in launching the CFI’s College-Industry Innovation Fund in collaboration with NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR. In 2011, my passion for research led me to launch ForTheResearch Consulting in support of transformative R&D initiatives across Canada by providing the “Know-WOW” in research grant development. My “Systems Thinking” approach drives innovation by transcending geo-political borders, as well as institutional silos. Furthermore, being fluently bilingual in French and English, I aim to remove language barriers in collaborative efforts.
Something interesting about me: I hate the term “Thinking outside the box” and the misuse of the word “Literally”
One of my favourite inspiring quotes: If at first you don’t succeed, then redefine “success”.
