Get to know the
Innovation Advisors
Innovation Advisors are former entrepreneurs and private-sector professionals who understand what it takes to grow a business. They can leverage their extensive network, knowledge and experience to help you find, and take advantage of, all of the government programs and services at your disposal — from financing to technical advice to foreign market expertise.
Find the right expertise
in your region
Pacific and Yukon
Amy
Vancouver, BC
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.
Rajesh
Vancouver, BC
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
Vancouver, BC
Regional Deputy Director
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.
Prairies and Northwest Territories
Don
Calgary, AB
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
Edmonton, AB
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.
Rajeev
Saskatoon, SK / NWT
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
Edmonton, AB
Regional Deputy Director
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.
Ontario
Brian
Toronto, ON
Brian
Senior Innovation Advisor
Looking for government partners to help your company reach its goals? Brian knows the right introduction can be all it takes to turbocharge your Research and Development (R&D) initiative or grow your sales.
He has over 15 years of experience turning new ideas into revenue generating products, in partnership with government organizations, academic institutions and corporations of all sizes. Before joining Innovation Canada, Brian was Vice President of a healthcare startup, taking it from pre-revenue to millions and the Entrepreneur in Residence at a Pharma company.
Reach out to him to get advice on programs, partnerships and connections to help you achieve your goals.
Elias
Toronto, ON
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
Waterloo, ON
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.
Mel
Ottawa, ON
Mel
Senior Innovation Advisor
Are you looking for advice on improving your product competitiveness with Canadian programs and technology? With nearly three decades in the field and experience working with start-ups and businesses around the world, Mel can provide you with the tools you need to help your business thrive.
Starting his career as a hardware designer at Bell-Northern Research, which later became part of Nortel Networks, Mel delivered an impressive line-up of products used by service providers around the world. From conceptual design realization to manufacturing, full system and network engineering, commissioning and services readiness, Mel has diverse experience that he can use to help elevate your business. After his time at Nortel, he pursued his passion for innovation and entrepreneurship by joining several start-ups, and taking on business and market development advisory roles in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, where he consulted on the optimal and ethical use of technology in business. Most recently, Mel joined Mitacs where he worked closely with industry partners in Canada and abroad to increase competitiveness through the investment in Canadian innovation and research.
With his background and passion for innovation, Mel can help take your business further and establish a foundation for future growth.
Peter
Toronto, ON
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.
Adam
Guelph, ON
Regional Deputy Director
Quebec and Nunavut
Céline
Montreal, QC
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.
Jean-Philippe
Quebec City, QC
Jean-Philippe
Senior Innovation Advisor
Looking to mitigate your technological risks and turn your innovation into a driver of profitability to accelerate your scaling?
With an extensive background in strategic consulting and technology commercialization, Jean-Philippe has supported a wide range of high-growth potential companies, notably within advanced technology and scientific sectors. Holding a degree in economics from Université Laval, he built his hands-on expertise at the Conseil de l’innovation du Québec, Québec International, and in partnership with Mitacs. Combining tech risk management with R&D project structuring, he focuses on the profitability of innovation and its market viability.
As a Senior Innovation Advisor with Innovation Canada’s Accelerated Growth Service, he serves as a pragmatic business partner, mobilizing the cutting-edge expertise and growth partners essential to your expansion.
Simon
Granby, QC
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
Quebec City, QC / Nunavut and Atlantic
Regional Deputy Director
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.
Atlantic
Lacee
St. John's, NL
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
Moncton, NB
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.
The Innovation Advisor Service is powered by Innovation Canada.
At Innovation Canada, we back innovators. From funding to expert advice to driving new collaborations, our programs and services are designed to help businesses innovate, create jobs and grow Canada’s economy. We are committed to providing inclusive programs and cultivating a workplace that is both diverse and inclusive so that we can best support the businesses we serve.
