Armughan Ahmad | President & Managing Partner, Digital, KPMG
Armughan Ahmad leads the firm’s digital transformation solutions go to market serving large enterprise, commercial and public sector clients. KPMG is bridging the consulting services with mainstream and exponential technologies to deliver business function level customer experiences. Before joining KPMG, he served as the Senior Vice President & General Manager at Dell Technologies, where he led the company’s Global Cloud, Solutions and Alliances organization with a team of engineering, sales, marketing and customer success organization across North American, European and Asian markets. Before Dell Tech, he held executive positions at Hewlett Packard, Huawei 3Com and other technology firms.
Armughan serves on the advisory board of Future Skills Center, Queens University’s AI and Analytics board, and the Dean’s Advisory Council for University of Waterloo. He is a passionate promoter of girls’ STEAM education, mental health awareness and homelessness resettlement programs.
Ajay Batish | Founder & CEO, Incapsulate
Ajay is the founder and CEO of Incapsulate, a digital transformation services firm and Salesforce Platinum Partner with offices in the US, Canada, and India. Incapsulate works with clients in the financial services industry and the public sector. Within public sector, their 311 product powers government one-stop services for 20 million constituents in cities across the US.
Mr. Batish holds a Masters degree of Arts in Economics and a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo. When not helping Incapsulate grow, he can be found tending to his vegetable garden.
Greig Cameron | Vice President of Engineering and Information Technology (IT), Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro
Greig is the Vice President of Engineering and Information Technology (IT) at Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro with overall responsibility for providing leadership and direction to the Engineering and Information Technology Departments. He is responsible for the design and planning of the power distribution system and for the delivery of efficient and reliable technology infrastructure, systems and services to meet the organization’s growing technology needs.
Greig is a Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and a licensed Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario with over 23 years of experience providing leadership, engineering, and information technology management services to the electric power distribution industry. He currently serves as a member of the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) Utility Advisory Council (UAC) and the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) Cyber Security Advisory Committee. He holds a Master of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Management Information Systems.
Greig was previously employed by the Jamaica Public Service Company, a vertically integrated power company and sole provider of electricity in Jamaica from 1997 to 2004. During his time at Jamaica Public Service Company he held various management and technical positions.
Erin Chapple | Corporate Vice President, Microsoft
As a Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, Erin leads Product for the core infrastructure of Azure, delivering infrastructure offerings that power the world’s workloads. Spanning from general purpose to workload-optimized to SaaS, the combination of compute, storage, networking and management services enable customer choice and flexibility in the hosting their application needs of today while preparing for the needs of tomorrow. She previously was the Corporate Vice President of the Azure team responsible for the technology at the foundation of all Windows-based products: Windows Kernel, Hypervisor and Containers, Storage and Server Experience and the Linux Kernel.
Erin joined Microsoft in 1998 as a Program Manager on the Small Business Server. Since then, she has contributed to over 15 operating system releases in various Program Manager leadership positions. Building communities and supporting women is as core to her as operating systems and over her career Erin has been a champion for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiating and leading many women’s communities and currently serving as Executive Sponsor for the Women at Microsoft Employee Resource Group.
Erin holds a BASc, Electrical Engineering with Minor in Environmental Engineering from the University of Waterloo, and an MA, Applied Behavioral Science - Coaching and Consulting in Organizations from Bastyr University.
Rola Dagher | Global Channel Chief, Dell Technologies
Leadership is not simply a role that you fill; it is an action that you take each day. It is this philosophy that guides Dell Technologies’ Global Channel Chief, Rola Dagher. Over her career of more than two decades, Dagher has worked with some of the brightest minds in the technology industry while honing her natural leadership style.
Dagher returns to Dell Technologies after leading as President of Cisco Canada for three years. Prior to this, she held various sales leadership roles at Dell and Bell Canada. While Dagher is a proven sales and channel champion, she will be the first to say that her success is a direct reflection of the dedication and drive of the entire sales organization.
Dagher believes in diversity of thought and has made it her mission to empower, support, and foster diverse talent. Her commitment to empowering women is shown through her recognition as one of the 2020 Top 25 Women of Influence™, by WXN as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100™, and by Women in Communications and Technology (WCT) as the 2019 Woman of the Year. She was selected as one of RBC’s Top 25 Canadian Immigrant winners for 2019, was named the “Lady of the Cedar” by the Lebanese Embassy, and received a 2018 Leadership Award from the Lebanese Chamber Business of Commerce.
In addition to her role at Dell Technologies, Dagher sits on the board of Cedars Cancer Foundation and is an advocate for pediatric and young adult cancer patients. She is a co-founder of the BlackNorth Initiative, an active member of the 30% Club, and sits on the Circle of Champions for the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council, promoting growth through diversity in the workplace. A champion of mental health, Dagher sits on the foundation board for the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). She also sits on the advisory board for Catalyst, where she supports their work to accelerate progress for women in the workplace, and is a member of the Kids Help Phone board.
Yet, through all of her accomplishments, Dagher firmly believes that no one achieves greatness in a silo. She believes that you have to “learn it, earn it, and return it,” and this process is one that she continues to work through at every stage of her career.
Athena D'Amato | Co-founder & Director of Operations, Angle Media Group
Athena D’Amato (MBET '08, PhD '19), co-founded Angle Media Group in 2008 because of her passion for digital innovation and desire to contribute to the Canadian economy. She is the Director of Operations – dealing directly with clients, generating ideas, managing Angle’s team, and keeping ahead of trends to remain competitive. Athena’s success comes from her unique ability to manage relationships in authentic and meaningful ways and her high level of emotional intelligence allows her to listen, feel, and interpret her role as a leader and entrepreneur. She is a visionary who creates plans for success, supports the next generation of talent, and inspires her team.
Athena has been a mentor to hundreds of students through her previous work as a professor and work-integrated learning facilitator and mentorship coordinator with Humber College ITAL and the University of Guelph-Humber. She is currently a mentor in the Women in Engineering Career Mentorship program at the University of Waterloo.
Athena holds a degree in Media Studies from the University of Guelph, a Diploma in Public Relations from Humber College, a Master’s in Business Entrepreneurship and Technology from the University of Waterloo (Faculty of Engineering), and a PhD in Experiential Learning from the University of Toronto.
Murray Gamble | President, C3 Group of Companies
Murray Gamble is the President of the C3 Group of Companies, an innovative engineering and advanced construction technology organization, based in Waterloo Region. A graduate of the University of Waterloo, Murray has been an active entrepreneur for 35 years, founding a number of companies with his business partner Cameron Wood. He is also an active Angel Investor, mentor and board member for several early stage technology companies in Waterloo Region. Murray is past Chair of the Innovators Alliance (the association of Ontario’s fastest growing firms) and is the current Chair of the Waterloo Regional Economic Development Corporation. He serves as the Vice Chair of the University of Waterloo’s Board of Governors and was a former Chair of the advisory council for the Conrad Centre for Entrepreneurship.
Murray has served on the board of several community organizations including The Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation, The Centre-in-the-Square, The KW Art Gallery and THEMUSEUM in downtown Kitchener. He was the 2013 recipient of the Waterloo Region Barnraiser of the Year Award for collaborative community leadership and was the 2017 recipient of the Michael R. Follet Community Leader of the Year Award from the KW Chamber of Commerce.
Tej Gidda | Principal and Vice-President, GHD
Tej is a Principal and Vice-President with GHD with more than 16 years of industry experience. He is currently GHD’s Global Leader for Future Energy, focusing the firm’s efforts on the transition in energy systems towards a lower-carbon future. This includes hydrogen, renewable natural gas, traditional renewables, energy from waste, energy security and planning, carbon capture and sequestration, and system integration including energy storage systems. He has significant engagement in the alternative waste processing space, with focus on biological treatment of organics, such as composting and anaerobic digestion.
He is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Waterloo.
Neha Khera | Partner, 2048 Ventures
Neha Khera is a Partner at 2048 Ventures, and has been an early-stage VC for nearly a decade. Prior to 2048 Ventures, Neha was a Partner with 500 Startups, leading the firm’s investments across Canada. Neha was also co-founder of 500 Startups Canada, and led the fund’s investments in Applyboard, Mejuri, Benchsci and Fightcamp.
Neha has been immersed in the technology industry throughout her career. She started off as a software developer, and worked in circuitry design and telecommunications before making her way to leading tech innovation at one of Canada’s top banks.
Neha has published numerous research papers, the most widely distributed titled Borderless Investments. She is a strong supporter of women in technology, having launched and run Girls in Tech Toronto and a TEDx Women conference for a number of years. Neha obtained an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business.
Patrick Lamarre | President, Kiewit Canada Group
Patrick Lamarre is President of Kiewit Canada Group Inc. An industry executive for more than 25 years, he has been involved in the development, engineering and construction of complex projects in sectors such as infrastructure, oil and gas, mining, power and mass transit.
Patrick has worked in various locations including Latin America and Australia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical engineering from the University of Waterloo and he is a graduate of the Harvard Advanced Management Program; he was named as one of Canada’s top 40 under 40.
Patrick is a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario and the Ordre des ingenieurs du Quebec. He is fluent in English, French and Spanish.
Kiewit is an innovative engineering and construction company executing projects across North America. Backed by 130 years of construction experience and present in Canada since 1941, Kiewit is involved in most sectors, from transportation, oil and gas, and power generation to infrastructure and mining; it includes an equity group to support Kiewit in some of the P3 projects. Kiewit has been involved recently in some major Canadian projects such as Sea to Sky highway, Turcot interchange, Kearl oil sands, Hebron GBS — a gravity-based oil platform — and the Lower Mattagami River project just to name a few. Many of those projects have been executed in conjunction with the relevant First Nations and local communities
Jenise Lee | Founder & CEO, PurPicks and Founder, CertClean
A serial entrepreneur in the sustainability sector, Jenise is the founder & CEO of PurPicks - a site like TripAdvisor for organic skincare - which has the largest directory of nontoxic beauty products and largest database of product reviews. She is also the Founder of CertClean, North America's certification for safer skincare. There are thousands of beauty and personal care products with the CertClean certification, indicating the product ingredient lists have been vetted and are free from 1400+ harmful chemicals.
PurPicks was recently named as one of the Top 5 startups in Canada and the Top 40 startups worldwide (out of 2000+ startups) in Alibaba's global pitch competition. Jenise was honoured as one of Canada's top sustainability leader, named Canada's Top 100 health influencers alongside Wayne Gretzky and Sophie Trudeau, and nominated for the Governor General's Innovation Award.
Jenise has a Chemical Engineering degree (University of Waterloo), and an MBA (Schulich School of Business). Prior to starting her MBA, Jenise worked as an engineering consultant where she led multi-million dollar environmental assessments and cutting-edge cleantech projects.
Alex Leyn
Alex Leyn is a “chronic entrepreneur” and has been involved in senior and founding roles in 5 tech start-ups, all based in Waterloo. He was most recently Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Aterica Digital Health (acquired by private investor) and had occupied this role for 8+ years. Previously, Alex held the position Co-Founder, COO, and VP Hardware Engineering while working at Avvasi Inc. (acquired by NetScout), started and was founding GM of Nuvation’s Waterloo Design Center (actively operating and growing in Waterloo Region), VP of Engineering at VideoLocus Inc. (acquired by LSI Logic), Director of Hardware Engineering at PixStream Inc. (acquired by Cisco), and various increasingly senior engineering roles at Leitch Technologies in Toronto (currently operating as Imagine Communications).
Alex completed an Honours B.A.Sc. Computer Engineering degree from the University of Waterloo in 1992 and completed partial M. Eng. graduate work academic requirements in Computer Engineering and Statistical Communications Systems at University of Toronto between 1995 and 1997. He has always been and remains a strong advocate of UW and has hired, trained, and both captured and released into the wild 100+ UW co-ops and graduates. He has also and continues to formally and informally mentor several start-ups in the Waterloo Region.
Chuck Magro | CEO, Corteva Inc.
Chuck Magro is currently the CEO of Corteva Inc. and was previously President and Chief Executive Officer of Nutrien and Agrium. Other key leadership roles Chuck held at Agrium include Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President; Chief Risk Officer and Executive Vice President of Corporate Development; and Vice President, Manufacturing. He joined Agrium following a productive career with NOVA Chemicals.
Chuck plays an active role on the boards of the Business Council of Canada, Business Council of Alberta and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. He is also vice chairman of the International Fertilizer Association and past chair and current board member of The Fertilizer Institute. He also served as chair of Canpotex Limited, and was on the boards of International Plant Nutrition Institute and the Nutrients for Life Foundation.
Most recently, Chuck joined the World Economic Forum’s Food Systems Initiative as a Board Steward; providing strategic leadership to build inclusive, sustainable, efficient, and healthy global food systems.
Chuck holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Chemical Engineering) from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Windsor.
Sanjay Malaviya | Executive Chairman, RLDatix
Sanjay Malaviya founded RL Solutions, a Toronto based patient safety software company, in 1997, and served as President and CEO from 1997 to 2019 when the company merged to become RLDatix and he became Executive Chairman. Sanjay is a graduate of the University of Waterloo with a BASc in Computer Engineering (1993).
Sanjay earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo in 1993. Combined with almost a decade of experience in a hospital setting, he has a truly unique perspective on healthcare IT. To this day, he continues to be driven by his passion for making hospitals safer through easy-to-use software.
Thomas (Beck) Mason | Sr. Vice President, Corporate Technical Strategy, Lumentum
Beck Mason is the Senior Vice President, Corporate Technology Strategy at Lumentum a Market Leader in Optical and Photonic Products for Optical Networking, Commercial Lasers and 3D Sensing. Prior to taking on this role, Dr. Mason served as the General Manager of the Telecom Transmission Business at Lumentum. In 2018, he joined the company through Lumentums’ acquisition of Oclaro a Fiber Optic Networking company where he was President of the Integrated Photonics Business.
He has over 20 years of experience in the optical communications industry, he began his career in Bell Labs after receiving his PhD from the University of California, Santa Barbara where he did research on tunable semiconductor lasers. He has had leadership roles in several different technology companies over this period including JDSU and Finisar Corporation.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Canada, a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Toronto in Canada and a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Alan Murphy | Founding Partner, Green Reason
As a founding partner of Green Reason, Alan brings over 25 years of architecture, interiors, project and construction management experience in the building industry. Alan’s experience ranges from managing commercial redevelopment and national construction programs to providing sustainable consulting services on projects ranging in size from small cafes to complete transit systems.
If you can design and build it better why wouldn’t you? This is a principle that Alan has carried throughout his career. Moving from Architecture to Project and Construction Management Alan gained extensive experience in the building industry but grew disillusioned with the “business as usual” approach to commercial building design and construction. Believing that change in the industry required education from within, Alan founded Green Reason to offer clients smarter, more sustainable building solutions. His comprehensive understanding of building design, construction and operations allows him to develop integrated solutions to sustainable building that balance cost and schedule with a client’s sustainability goals. With passion, a strong work ethic, knowledge, integrity and attention to detail he built the reputation of Green Reason as a firm that takes the success of client’s projects to heart.
In addition to his role as principal at Green Reason, Alan was a founding director of Passive House Canada and is a current member of the Canada Green Building Council’s Materials and Resources Technical Advisory Group.
Joe Natale
Joe Natale is the past President and Chief Executive Officer for Rogers Communications Inc. Previously, Mr. Natale was at Telus Corporation from 2003 to 2015 where he held a number of senior positions including President and CEO.
Prior to 2003, Mr. Natale held successive senior leadership and Managing Partner roles within KPMG in Canada and globally. He joined KPMG after it acquired the consulting company he co‐founded in 1997.
Mr. Natale serves on the board of The Hospital for Sick Children. Mr. Natale holds a BASc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo.
Vivienne Ojala | CEO, Brock Solutions
Vivienne Ojala holds a BASc ’84 in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo.
She is the CEO of Brock Solutions, an engineering solutions and professional services company specializing in the design, build and implementation of real-time solutions for broad based industrial/manufacturing and transportation/logistics organizations globally.
Petri Oksanen | Partner, Francisco Partners
Petri Oksanen is a Partner with Francisco Partners, a global private equity firm with more than $25 billion in assets under management that specializes in partnering with technology businesses, where he focuses primarily on enterprise application software companies. Petri currently serves on the boards of directors of Consignor+Unifaun, EG, Keyloop, Plex Systems, and Vendavo.
Prior to joining Francisco Partners in 2005, Petri was a technology investment banker at Morgan Stanley and before that held a number of technical roles at Microsoft. Petri holds a B.A.Sc. with Joint Honours in Computer Engineering and Economics with Distinction from the University of Waterloo.
Cameron Piron | Co-founder, Synaptive Medical
Cameron Piron is an industry-recognized leader and innovator in image-guided surgery. Prior to co-founding Synaptive Medical, Cameron was president and co-founder of Sentinelle Medical, a medical device company that developed and manufactured advanced MRI-based breast imaging technologies. Sentinelle grew to over 200 employees and over $20 million in revenues before being acquired by Hologic, Inc. in 2010.
Cameron studied systems design engineering at the University of Waterloo, followed by a graduate degree at the University of Toronto in medical biophysics. His awards include the Ontario Premier’s Catalyst Award for Best Young Innovator in 2008; the University of Waterloo’s Alumni Achievement medal in 2009 for leading Sentinelle Medical in researching and manufacturing leading-edge MRI technologies that allow physicians to diagnose breast cancer and other medical conditions faster and more accurately; being named to Canada’s Top 40 Under 40™ list in 2009, which was established by Caldwell Partners and celebrates the achievements of young Canadians in the private, public and non-profit sectors; and being the first Canadian ever to win R&D Magazine’s Innovator of the Year award in 2008. In 2015, Cameron was named one of the Fast Company’s Most Creative People, was recognized for his leadership in 2016 when Synaptive was named Life Sciences Ontario’s Company of the Year, and was named a finalist for the 2017 Bloom Burton Award in recognition of his contributions to the Canadian healthcare industry. He is currently President and a member of Synaptive’s Board of Directors.
Jennifer Smith | Engineering Director, Google Core Labs & Co-Site Lead, Google Waterloo
As Director of Engineering within Google Core Labs organization, Jennifer is on a mission to build helpful user experiences in the dynamic landscape of generative media. Jennifer also serves a key role as one of Google Waterloo’s office site leads, responsible for growing Google’s engineering presence with a strong, diverse set of Googlers that deliver impact on all of Google's efforts.
Prior to her current role, Jennifer was Director of Product within Google Cloud, helping to drive customers’ success on Cloud platforms.
Jennifer is an engaging executive with deep expertise in bringing products and services to market. Her career has spanned a variety of technologies including satellite communications, image processing, laser projection, AdTech and Enterprise Cloud software. Jennifer’s work across these fast-developing fields has served both the private and public sector in markets including media, entertainment, financial services, retail and consumer tech.
Jennifer is also passionate about STEM fields and advocating for STEM career choices among young women. She was named one of the Top 40 Under 40 in Waterloo Region for her efforts to create social change through business and technology and her work promoting engineering and tech careers for young women.
Ravi Srinivasan | Senior Managing Director, Deloitte Global
Ravi is Senior Managing Director with Deloitte Global and leads the strategy office for Global Clients & Industries. Ravi has responsibility for developing client, sector, and competitive strategies to inform Deloitte’s market offerings. He is a member of Deloitte’s Global Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer Council.
Ravi has been with Deloitte for over 20 years, leading the Global Strategy function from 2007 to 2018 and playing central roles in developing firmwide strategies. Ravi began his career in Deloitte Canada’s strategy consulting practice where he served Technology, Media, and Telecommunications clients in North America and Asia Pacific. He also served as Director of Strategy and Corporate Development at AT&T Canada. He started his professional development in fiber optic telecommunications and has published on the topic.
Ravi holds a bachelor’s degree with first class honours in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo (1993), a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Queen’s University (1995), and an MBA with honours from The Wharton School (2002).
Lisa Tong | Senior Director of Strategy & Corporate Projects in Asia, Estee Lauder
Lisa Tong is a 2001 Chemical Engineering Graduate and is an ambassador of brands and people. Professionally, she is Senior Director of Strategy and Corporate Projects in Asia for Estee Lauder Companies and is also an ICF PCC certified Executive Coach on top of being a serial entrepreneur, an empowered working mamma, and an avid triathlete.
She has a passion for teaching, leading, and motivating others to live their best life, including helping people, teams, and organizations through change. She is a proud cheerleader of Waterloo Engineering and interested in connecting the pipes from education to applied businesses and communities.
Brian Tossan | Director, Global Innovation, General Motors
Brian R. Tossan is the Director of Global Innovation and is based out of the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. In this role, he is responsible for leading and scaling internal startups focused on innovative, high growth, non-core businesses.
Prior to his current role, Brian was the Director of the Canadian Technical Centre for General Motors of Canada and member of the Canadian Executive Committee. Brian led GM of Canada’s major engineering and software work expansion focused on Active Safety and Vehicle Dynamics Technology, Infotainment and Connected Vehicle Technology and Autonomous Software and Controls Development.
Brian oversaw engineering activities at the Canadian Technical Centre - Oshawa Campus and the GM’s Global Cold Weather Proving Ground located in Kapuskasing. In 2018, he championed the inaugural opening of its Markham Campus - a brand-new, 150,000 sq. ft, state-of-the-art software engineering hub. Together these technology campuses are underpinning an advanced automotive engineering ecosystem in Canada that will help develop the future of mobility.
Brian began his career with General Motors in 2000, serving in several engineering design/release roles and was promoted to Engineering Group Manager at the Canadian Regional Engineering Centre in November of 2007. He remained in this role until November of 2012 when he transitioned to the Customer Care & Aftersales organization as Manager, Customer Care Centre, where he was also responsible for the 24-hour Roadside Assistance program. In 2013, he was promoted to Director, Strategy & Business Transformation, reporting directly to the President & Managing Director of GM Canada, where he had responsibility for corporate long-range strategic planning and customer market research.
Brian holds a B.A.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto, a M.Sc. in Engineering from Purdue University, and an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He is also a certified Professional Engineer in Ontario.
Claire Zhao | Senior Scientist, Philips
Claire Zhao did her undergraduate studies in Systems Design Engineering with an option in Statistics, during which she enjoyed the various academic, social, and co-op opportunities University of Waterloo offered. She then pursued a PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University, where she got to explore both the medical school and engineering school curricula. From this unique experience, she increasingly appreciated the interplay between medicine and engineering, began to shape her own research questions and solutions, and then specialized in developing computational and biomechanical models for heart muscle cells for her doctoral thesis.
Continuing on the path of interdisciplinary approaches in medicine and engineering, Claire is now a research scientist developing AI models and conducting statistical analyses that have the potential to aid clinicians and hospitals in patient care and resource management. She is also building value positions and business models for these new technologies in healthcare. Claire also enjoys a variety of sports, dances, and arts outside of work and is always on the look to meet new people and try new things.
John Zianis | President & Chief Executive Officer, Woodbridge®
John Zianis is the President & Chief Executive Officer of Woodbridge®, a privately-owned company offering innovative material technologies for applications in automotive, commercial, recreational, packaging, healthcare and building products, with over 50 facilities across 10 countries, employing over 7,500 Teammates. Woodbridge leads with originality, ingenuity is expected, innovation is fostered, and Teammates matter from the start.
John was introduced to Woodbridge in 1994 through the University of Waterloo’s co-op program. His career path mirrors that of his predecessor, Bob Magee, Woodbridge’s first co-op student, also a graduate of the University of Waterloo in Engineering, with a career that began in 1978 and progressed to his current role as Chairman of the Board. With gained experience from co-op work terms, John joined the company’s Corporate Engineering department after graduating with a Bachelor of Applied Science, Chemical Engineering. A few years later he transferred to a role in Manufacturing to further develop his skills.
With a mindset of entrepreneurship and innovation, John developed new standards & methods and improved operations that spanned a number of Business Units. Building and leading strong teams across regions globally that supported a culture of accountability and Lean Manufacturing principles, he progressed through roles with increasing responsibility which included Process Engineer, Plant Manager, General Manager, Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and ultimately his current role as President & Chief Executive Officer.