Innovation Advisors

Amy

Senior Innovation Advisor

Looking for digital marketing advice or tips on running your own business? Amy knows the ins and outs of both the public and private sector. She’s an experienced entrepreneur, digital marketer, and business coach with over 10 years of experience.

She was the founder and vice president of her own skin care company, a natural cosmetics and research manufacturing business. With a natural talent for strategic planning and trend spotting, she grew her company from a home business to a cosmetic manufacturer, white labelling for some of the biggest beauty brands in the world. Beyond the operations, her true talent is connecting people to product.

Her skills shine specifically in the digital marketing realm where she has been working with global brands looking to grow their digital presence.

Gokhan

Senior Innovation Advisor

Need help with your business development strategy? As a business leader, venture advisor and entrepreneur, Gokhan is here to help.

Known for developing go-to-market strategies that launch new brands and products into global markets, Gokhan has a solid track record of supporting early-stage businesses. Before moving to British Columbia, he helped establish businesses from the ground up in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. After completing his MBA at UBC, he joined the Creative Destruction Lab – West in Vancouver, and later Empowered Startups, where he helped companies across all sectors fine-tune their development strategies before entering new markets.

With his own experience launching and scaling a successful e-commerce business, and over 12 years working in international sales, marketing, and product development, Gokhan knows what it takes to turn an idea into a profitable business.

Rajesh

Senior Innovation Advisor

Are you searching for practical guidance to navigate new opportunities in technology and innovation?

Rajesh brings extensive experience in leading high-impact initiatives and building strategic partnerships. He has a proven track record of helping companies achieve exponential revenue growth in a range of industries. Before joining the federal government, Rajesh led teams in operations, products, and customer success in the private sector. He has also founded consulting and technology companies, giving him a strong foundation in these areas.

If you’re looking to take your business to the next level, Rajesh can help you find effective solutions and connect with resources to support your growth.

George

Regional Deputy Director

Looking to design, build, or launch a product to the global market? George has over 20 years of experience in the private sector where he’s held leadership positions in product management, marketing and business operations.

Before joining as an Innovation Advisor, he was the Director, Business Operations for a prominent software technology firm in Vancouver. He’s also worked in the United States where he advised global organizations on their go-to-market, product management and customer experience strategies.

No matter what objectives your business has set, George will introduce you to the right people and programs in government to help you get there.

Audrey

Innovation Advisor

Looking for the right supports to get you to that next step? As an experienced business advisor and former entrepreneur, Audrey is here to help.

Audrey knows what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, having launched and led her own agri-food processing company for over five years. Building her business from the ground up, she developed a knack for strategic planning and gained valuable insight that she is eager to share. She is committed to using her personal and professional experience to support fellow entrepreneurs who are looking to forge the same path and is passionate about helping businesses not just start and run but thrive.

Audrey also has more than seven years of experience providing advisory and coaching services to businesses in various industries including international trade, agri-food and social enterprise, she is no stranger to guiding businesses both small and large.

With her entrepreneurial experience, knowledge in business development and project management, combined with her MBA in International Business, Audrey has all the tools to help you take your business to the next level.

Don

Senior Innovation Advisor

Need help getting your foot in the door with government? Don is here to help.

Don made his start in the private sector, working for more than 10 years as an entrepreneur and in management in Alberta’s oil, gas and utilities industry. Before joining Innovation Canada, Don spent 5 years providing advice to entrepreneurs on business development, investment attraction and access to capital on behalf of the Alberta Government.

With experience spanning the public and private sector, ranging from early-stage start-ups to multi-national, vertically integrated firms, Don has the product marketing, regulatory strategy and government affairs experience to assist you. He is here to provide you with the advice, support and connections to help you achieve your sustainability, competitiveness and growth goals.

John

Senior Innovation Advisor

Looking to grow your business? With a diverse background in teaching, entrepreneurship and international trade, John can help.

As a member of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce and the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation, he’s helped businesses in all sectors hit their goals. He developed and managed Edmonton’s Trade Accelerator Program, an initiative that has already helped more than 80 medium-sized businesses reach their global potential.

With his proven experience and passion for teaching and mentoring, John can help you advance your strategic development, expand into international markets and accelerate your growth goals.

Karla

Senior Innovation Advisor

Need help scaling your business? Karla has been embedded in Alberta’s innovation ecosystem for 5 years, developing and running her own incubator for start-ups.

Before joining as an Innovation Advisor, she supported small to medium sized businesses with their business models, marketing, communications, and growth strategies. She has a keen ability to help entrepreneurs quickly validate their ideas and focus in on customer discovery.

And if you’re in the agricultural space, Karla understands the importance of innovation in this industry, as well as some of its unique challenges. Her experience and regional connections can help your business scale and overcome industry challenges.

Rajeev

Senior Innovation Advisor

Need advice on your research and development project, commercialization or Lean Six Sigma continuous improvement? Rajeev has a background as an entrepreneur and as an Industrial Technology Advisor for the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP). He’s helped several firms coordinate their Research and Development (R&D) and market driven Innovation activities.

He has over 25 years of techno-commercial experience in the public and private sectors, where he’s worked in the areas of chemical processing, industrial, automotive and manufacturing engineering, and mining.

If your business is about to go global, Rajeev is well positioned to support you. He’s an entrepreneur, and his positions in industry have touched regional, national, and international business operations.

Stephanie

Regional Deputy Director

Looking to draw the most out of your government funding opportunities? Take the advice from someone whose entrepreneurial career took off thanks to a grant from Alberta Innovates.

Stephanie has experience running all aspects of a start-up, from setting up a new facility to training staff, writing grant proposals, managing various Research and Development (R&D) projects, and pitching to investors. She holds a PhD in Virology and, before becoming an Innovation Advisor, held a Director-level position in a molecular diagnostics company where she commercialized diagnostic products and sought regulatory approvals.

Stephanie will give you the best advice on how to reach your goals, all while introducing you to the right people and programs in government to support your growth.

Elias

Senior Innovation Advisor

Need help finding programs and services to help your business grow? Elias is your insider to finding all that government has to offer.

He has over 15 years of experience leading strategic deployments, change management restructurings and markets enablement at several organizations including Switzerland’s Department of Foreign Affairs, MaRS Discovery District and EY Canada. Growing up in an in an entrepreneurial household he held serval roles in his family’s restaurant businesses including dishwasher, busboy, pizza maker, maintenance worker, server, and accountant.

He has a deep well of knowledge around the many different kinds of government supports and a wide network of contacts to support your growth.

Joel

Senior Innovation Advisor

Looking to draw the most out of your government funding opportunities? Take advice from someone who’s been there, and has taught entrepreneurship and innovation to engineering students for 20 years.

Joel has over two decades of experience in education, entrepreneurship, and executive leadership. He is a founding partner of a startup incubator and community hub in London, Ontario and established three different innovation centres across southwestern Ontario as the Executive Director of Western University’s Research Parks. Joel has worked in many leading industries, including automotive, where he created the world’s first autonomous RV.

His cumulative economic impact supporting businesses surpasses $1 Billion and his efforts have been recognized with an Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Builder award from Startup Canada. He has a wide network of contacts and is well positioned to connect you with the right government levers to see your business grow.

Peter

Senior Innovation Advisor

Need help making the right connections across industry and government? With over 20 years of cross-sector experience and expertise in business development, partnerships and programming, Peter can help you build the alliances you need to scale.

He became passionate about entrepreneurship early when he launched a company right out of high school, and founded a university lab that helped pioneer the new wave of interactive media. Since then, he’s made it his mission to help other entrepreneurs - using his knowledge and experience to help hundreds of companies at all stages navigate government programs, create strategic collaborations and grow their global presence.

Peter knows the ins and outs of government too, having worked in various ministries across the Ontario public sector. Most recently, he managed corporate partnerships at the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI) where he collaborated with governments, investors and international partners to create better market opportunities for companies here at home.

Whether you’re just starting out, or you’re established and ripe to scale, Peter is ready to roll up his sleeves to help you get you the support you need.

Sunny

Senior Innovation Advisor

About to pitch your business or innovative project to a table full of venture capitalists? Sunny’s been there and can give you first-hand advice on how to position your business success. He has over a decade of experience working in private and non-profit sectors and specializes in strategy, innovation program development, technology commercialization and venture capital.

Over the course of his career, he has negotiated term sheets and closed numerous transactions, deploying millions of dollars into start-ups and scale-ups. Sunny holds direct executive level relationships with top tier globally-based private equity investors and has sat on numerous Boards.

He has a wide network of contacts and will leverage every government resource at your disposal to help your business grow.

Céline

Innovation Advisor

Working on a complex innovation project that involves several stakeholders, each with their own agendas? Céline has over 15 years of experience connecting stakeholders across ecosystems, like academia, business, and policy-makers.

She is a catalyst for innovation who can optimize relations between economic actors and translate their strategic growth plans into concrete actions through creative methods and collaboration tools. As an Innovation Advisor, she is uniquely suited to help your business grow.

Simon

Innovation Advisor

Need help scaling your business? With his experience and deep roots in the hospitality, transport, catering, entertainment and events industries, Simon can help you go further, faster.

Throughout his career, Simon has been dedicated to supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs. Most recently, he played a key role in the launch of the MT Lab, a Montreal-based start-up incubator dedicated to tourism, culture, and entertainment. In his five years with the MT Lab, Simon made strides for the organization by forming strategic partnerships, accessing government funding, developing business support and export programs, and leading large scale open innovation projects with major partners like Air Canada and Loto Quebec. He also has a keen eye for innovation projects related to marketing, AI, HR, customer experience and process automatization. In addition to his passion for entrepreneurship, Simon is a strong advocate for sustainable development and has piloted several innovative projects to advance clean technology and social impact.

Through his diverse experience, Simon has developed a rich knowledge of entrepreneurship and innovation that he is eager to use to help entrepreneurs like you achieve your goals.

Claudia

Regional Deputy Director

Need advice on how to scale your innovative business? Claudia has supported many businesses through their product development and growth journeys.

With degrees in health sciences and business administration, her hybrid profile coupled with her communication and analytical skills gives her the ability to fully understand the challenges faced by entrepreneurs and offer creative solutions that meet their needs and business context.

Before joining Innovation Canada, she gained many years of experience in business advisory services and business administration where she was in charge of several aspects involving product development, market analysis, financial management and partnership development.

With a results-oriented mindset and excellent client service skills, Claudia will make clear recommendations to help your business achieve its growth objectives and become more competitive.

Lacee

Senior Innovation Advisor

Looking for support with international expansion? With experience doing business in 12 countries and a specialization in international marketing, Lacee can help you tap into new global markets.

Lacee directed marketing and promotion for Newfoundland’s Department of Industry, Energy, and Technology - attracting international investment for the portfolio and cultivating global interest in the province’s high growth sectors. Before joining the government, Lacee spent 20 years working in the private sector where she helped businesses expand both at home and abroad. Holding various leadership roles over the years, she helped lead multinational expansion for a large European-based company and supported the successful expansion of a Newfoundland-based small-medium sized business across Canada.

With Lacee’s diverse background and experience in both the private and public sectors, she can help you lay down your roots in Canada, and grow from here.

Rejean

Senior Innovation Advisor

Developing an international sales strategy? Rejean has over 20 years of experience working in the private sector, where he’s led regional, national, and international sales operations. Rejean used to work as the Global Sales Director for a globally competitive casino and gaming company, and has a reputation for creating strategic alliances that benefit all stakeholders.

If you’re in the business of finance, entertainment or consumer goods, he has an extensive network to help you find strategic partnerships and collaboration opportunities.