The Government of Canada has launched national consultations with Canadians on digital and data transformation. The goal is to better understand how Canada can drive innovation, prepare Canadians for the future of work and ensure Canadians have trust and confidence in how their data is used.
Six leaders have been selected to help shape roundtable discussions with Canadians across the country.
Biographies
Janie Béïque is Executive Vice-President, Investments at Fonds de solidarité FTQ, the largest development capital network in Quebec—which last year invested more than $1.1 billion in the Quebec economy—and sits on the Fonds' Management Committee. Janie has been a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors since 2012 and holds a law degree from Université de Montréal and an MBA from Georgetown University and ESADE University in Spain. In 2005, she was named one of Canada's top 40 corporate lawyers under 40 by Lexpert magazine and in 2014 won a ZSA award in the Accomplishment and Business Strategy category.
Dr. Arvind Gupta is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Toronto. He is the former president and vice-chancellor of the University of British Columbia and former CEO and scientific director of Mitacs Inc. Arvind has published extensively on computational genomics and national innovation and industrial strategies. He is a Senior Fellow of the Brookfield Institute and serves on the boards of the Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence, Banff International Research Station, the Fields Institute, the Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute and SIMTReC.
Dr. Sarah Lubik is the Director of Entrepreneurship for Simon Fraser University, developing, aligning and accelerating its innovation ecosystem from entrepreneurial education across disciplines through to early stage incubation and commercialization. She is a certified business coach, is co-founder of high tech start-up Lungfish Dive Systems and serves on the boards of entrepreneurship education organizations PowerPlay Young Entrepreneurs and Young Entrepreneur Leadership Launchpad (YELL). She also holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge.
Carole Piovesan is a lawyer with McCarthy Tétrault, serving as the firm's lead in the area of artificial intelligence and as co-lead of the national Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Management group. She has appeared before all levels of court in Ontario as well as at the Supreme Court of Canada. Carole is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School and the London School of Economics and Political Science. Carole is a member of the Advocates' Society, Ontario Bar Association, Canadian Technology Law Association and the American Bar Association.
Mark Podlasly is the founder of Brookmere Management Group, which helps Indigenous and local communities identify and engage economic, social and educational opportunities. Mark is also co-founder and CEO of North Pacific Energy Ltd., a Canadian wood biomass energy company. Mark is a member of the Nlaka'pamux Nation and serves his community as a trustee of the Nlaka'pamux Legacy Trust, an Indigenous sovereign wealth fund.
Dr. Ilse Treurnicht's career spans scientific research, academic discovery commercialization, growing technology firms, venture capital and social finance, as well as public policy development. She served as CEO of MaRS Discovery District in Toronto for over 12 years, overseeing the development of the organization into a leading urban innovation hub. She holds a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Oxford, which she attended as a Rhodes Scholar.