Canada’s Semiconductor Symposium 2026
Speakers
Morteza Ahmadi
Founder & CEO
Qidni Labs Inc.
Christine Alain
Technology Manager, Microsystems - Devices
Luqia Technologies
Christine Alain is Technology Manager, Microsystems, at Luqia Technologies. She brings nearly 40 years of experience in microfabrication and semiconductors. Her expertise spans microelectromechanical systems, infrared bolometric detectors and photonic integrated circuits.
Throughout her career, she has led teams of up to 30 researchers and technologists developing microfabrication processes and optical chips in cleanroom environments.
Her work connects advanced research with industrial needs, helping turn emerging technologies into usable microsystems. Applications of her teams’ vanadium-oxide bolometric detectors include terahertz imaging for detecting threats in parcels and satellite infrared imaging for wildfire detection.
Her current interests include thin-film lithium niobate photonic integrated circuits for communications, artificial intelligence, sensing and quantum technologies. Through Luqia’s FABrIC-supported work, she contributes to developing Canadian capabilities for prototyping and fabricating these devices. She brings CSS 2026 a perspective grounded in decades of process development, technical leadership and collaboration with industry.
Christine has authored or co-authored more than 50 technical publications and is an inventor or co-inventor on 12 patents in thermal imaging and microfabrication. Outside work, she enjoys running, which helps her keep pace with her three boys, and urban agriculture. Her other interests include reading, singing, playing guitar and exploring zythology.
Hamid Arabzadeh
Chairman & CEO
Ranovus®
Mr. Hamid Arabzadeh has been the Chairman and CEO of Ranovus, a leading technology provider of photonic interconnect solutions for scaling AI Compute in hyper-scale data centres, since its inception in 2012. Prior to Ranovus, Mr. Arabzadeh was the Chairman and CEO of CoreOptics, based in Nuremberg, Germany, an innovative provider of signal processing-based photonic subsystems for high-capacity networking applications, before being acquired by Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) in 2010. Formerly, Mr. Arabzadeh held various senior management positions at Nortel Networks in Brazil, Mexico, England, and the USA. Mr. Arabzadeh’s last role at Nortel Networks was VP & GM of Metro Optical business unit, Nortel’s Cambrian acquisition. Since his return to Canada in 2010, Mr. Arabzadeh has co-founded several Canadian scaleups in fields of AI Sovereign Cloud, Security and Healthcare with an eye to benefit Canada in a competitive Data and IP-driven global economy. Mr. Arabzadeh holds a B.A.Sc. from the University of Waterloo in Electrical and Computer Engineering and an MBA from McGill University.
Philippe Babin
General Manager
AEPONYX Enterprises Inc.
As General Manager of AEPONYX Enterprises Inc., a subsidiary of Pasqal SAS, Philippe Babin leads the Photonic Integrated Circuits division, driving innovation in quantum computing technologies. Philippe is focused on operational excellence, implementing strategies that enhance production efficiency, and fostering a collaborative environment for groundbreaking product development. These efforts have strengthened AEPONYX’s market position in the rapidly evolving semiconductor sector.
Previously, as CEO of AEPONYX Inc., Philippe co-founded and spearheaded the company for nearly a decade, leading advancements in Photonic Integrated Circuits for telecommunications, data centres, and quantum technologies. He facilitated fundraising efforts exceeding $50M and successfully negotiated the company’s acquisition by Pasqal SAS in 2024. His expertise includes start-ups, fundraising, business development, business operations, multifunctional team working, and process improvement, complemented by a strong commitment to driving innovation in optical and quantum technologies.
Brian Barge
Co-Founder & CEO
The Evidence Network Inc.
Upon receiving his PhD from McGill University, Brian joined the atmospheric sciences division of the Alberta Research Council and assumed responsibility for one of the world’s most advanced polarimetry weather radars. He is honoured to have participated in seminal radar polarimetry research conducted in Canada from the 1960s to the 1980s. Brian was later lured into leadership positions in the atmospheric sciences, artificial intelligence and robotics, and semiconductor design and manufacturing.
Brian served as President and CEO of the Alberta Research Council in the development and commercialization of technology across many disciplines, CMC Microsystems, an organization that provides advanced tools, technologies, and services for microsystems research and innovation at Canadian universities, and the Ottawa Economic Development Corporation, where he led efforts to attract semiconductor design and manufacturing facilities to Canada.
Brian is co-founder and CEO of The Evidence Network Inc. The Evidence Network is an international authority in assessment of the impact of organizations supporting business, research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Ridha Ben Mrad, PhD, PEng, FCSME
President and CTO
Sheba Microsystems Inc.
A Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto since 1997, Ridha Ben Mrad joined Mitacs in 2016 and is currently Chief Research Officer and Scientific Director. He also serves as Chair of the Mitacs Research and Innovation Council. Ridha previously held positions at the National Research Council of Canada and the Ford Research Laboratory.
Ridha founded the Mechatronics and Microsystems Design Laboratory at the University of Toronto in 1997, with research focused on micro-actuators and sensors, MEMS, microfabrication, and smart materials-based devices.
Ridha is also the President and Chief Technology Officer of Sheba Microsystems Inc., a Toronto-based manufacturer of silicon-based micro-actuators for miniature cameras that enable autofocus in automotive, action, AI glasses, AR/VR, and humanoid robot cameras.
Ridha received a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1994. He also earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State, a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, and a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, both from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Throughout his career, Ridha has spearheaded numerous collaborations with industrial partners across Canada and internationally to develop new technologies. His research has led to more than 35 international patents and over 300 refereed research publications. He has supervised more than 22 PhD students, 48 master’s students, 23 researchers, 6 postdoctoral fellows, and over 120 senior undergraduate students.
Ridha is the recipient of the Faculty Early Career Teaching Award and has received the Connaught Innovation Award twice. He serves on several committees, including the Steering Committee of the IEEE Journal on Microelectromechanical Systems and the IEEE IES Publication Committee. He has also served as editor for various publications, including IEEE Industrial Electronics Tech News, Mechatronics, and the IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics.
From 2009 to 2011, Ridha was the founding Director of the Institute for Robotics and Mechatronics at the University of Toronto.
Maura Campbell, PhD
President and CEO
OBIO®
Dr. Maura Campbell is the President and CEO of OBIO®, a not-for-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to advancing health technology innovation and commercialization. Dr. Campbell has more than 30 years of experience in all key areas of biotech, including private and public companies, universities and research institutes, and government-funded public sector research organizations.
With expertise in technology transfer and commercialization of intellectual property, Dr. Campbell has held various roles in senior management, most recently as the Vice-President of Intellectual Property and Contracts for Turnstone Biologics, which went public on the NASDAQ. Previously, Dr. Campbell served as: Director, Intellectual Property at VBI Vaccines; Research Program Manager, and Manager of Technology Transfer & Commercialization at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute; Director of Intellectual Property for PainCeptor Pharma Corporation; and Manager of Technology Transfer at the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems National Centre of Excellence. Dr. Campbell has also served as an IP consultant to a number of Canadian start-ups, including Neurochem, Conjuchem, Aonix, AMRIC and Sussex Research Labs.
Dr. Campbell received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Ottawa, and an M.Sc. and a B.Sc. in biochemistry from Queen’s University in Kingston. Dr. Campbell served as the Vice-Chair of Ontario’s Life Sciences Council, supporting a plan to make Ontario a top hub for innovation growth and life sciences investment. She currently serves as a board member for FACIT (a business accelerator and investor established by the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research), SPEC Labs (a life sciences incubator and healthcare & life sciences innovation hub) and Intellectual Property Ontario (a provincial agency providing trusted IP support for Ontario innovators). Dr. Campbell is also the Co-Founder, Managing Director – External Relations & Expert-in-Residence of Capital BioVentures (an Ottawa Canada founded wet-lab accelerator program).
Laurent Carbonneau
Vice President of Policy and Advocacy
Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI)
Laurent Carbonneau is the Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), where he leads the organization’s national policy agenda on behalf of Canada’s high-growth, Canadian-headquartered companies. At CCI, Laurent works directly with founders, CEOs, and policymakers to advance reforms that strengthen Canada’s innovation economy — including modernizing procurement, improving access to growth capital, strengthening intellectual property and data strategies, and ensuring government policies support the scale and global competitiveness of domestic firms. His work focuses on building the conditions for Canadian companies to grow, anchor their operations at home, and contribute to the country’s long-term economic resilience and sovereignty.
Prior to joining CCI, Laurent worked in federal politics in legislative, policy, and issues management roles for a senior Member of Parliament, in the NDP leaders office, and on a national campaign. He later led government relations in the post-secondary sector, advancing national policy priorities related to talent, research, and innovation.
Laurent holds a master’s degree in Political Management from Carleton University and a master’s degree in History from the University of St Andrews. He earned his BA from Mount Allison University and is based in Ottawa.
Jett Chen
Special Assistant to Chairman
WaferChem
Jett Chen serves as Special Assistant to the General Manager at WaferChem, supporting corporate strategy, business development, and long-term market positioning.
His work focuses on identifying new opportunities in semiconductor materials and advanced packaging, coordinating strategic initiatives, developing industry partnerships, and supporting customer and market expansion. He also works closely with management on technology roadmaps, investment priorities, and the company’s strategic positioning within the semiconductor supply chain.
Jett Chen is the Founder of SemiVision, an independent semiconductor research and consulting platform covering advanced packaging, AI infrastructure, semiconductor materials, silicon photonics, and data-center technologies.
Alan Clack
Co-Founder & President
Micro-°K Sensors Inc.
Alan is a Corporate Development professional with 30 years of experience with particular emphasis on deep tech start-ups in North America and Europe. Former BCG Consultant. Served as CEO and CFO in a number of SMEs. Managed multi-national multi-functional teams for strong, rapid growth. Wharton MBA, Emory University BS.
Stephen Coates
Founder & Principal Consultant
YuXuan Semiconductor Consulting Limited | Hsinchu, Taiwan
Former VP – Global Operations & GM Asia, GaN Systems
Former VP, Outsourcing – External Wafer Manufacturing, Infineon Taiwan
Stephen Coates is the Founder and Principal Consultant of YuXuan Semiconductor Consulting, a Taiwan-based advisory company focused on semiconductor manufacturing execution, commercialization, supplier strategy and ecosystem development.
He brings 37 years of global semiconductor experience across Asia, North America and Europe. He has held senior leadership roles at GaN Systems and Infineon, serving as VP Global Operations and GM Asia at GaN Systems before later leading foundry sourcing for Infineon Taiwan. He also played an instrumental role in the $823 million acquisition of GaN Systems by Infineon.
Stephen’s career has centered on turning advanced technology into manufacturable, scalable production. He holds 8 patents covering device, packaging and product innovation and has worked with six startups: five achieved exits and one became independently successful. He draws on that experience in his mentoring with incubators and accelerators and in his work through YuXuan Semi, helping startups, scale-ups and established semiconductor companies with strategy, execution, customer readiness and manufacturing scale.
Stephen is an active participant in Taiwan’s semiconductor ecosystem. He is a contributor to TechSoda, an invited industry speaker, a guest lecturer at NTHU’s College of Technology Management, and a founding member of SEMI Taiwan’s Compound Opto & Power Committee.
Joe Costello
CEO
Inpho
Joe Costello is the CEO of Inpho, a Canadian company whose mission is to become the world leader in photonic semiconductor chips for computing. The market for photonic semiconductors in datacentres is exploding because wires are no longer fast enough so every connection between computers must be made with light. Inpho’s monolithic integration of electronics and photonics on a single Indium Phosphide chip delivers the fastest, highest-performance, and most efficient solution available to hyperscale customers globally.
Costello first joined Inpho as the lead angel investor in its 2020 seed round. Inspired by the company’s potential, he stepped in as CEO in June 2023. Under his leadership, the company has grown from 8 to 70+ world-leading experts in high-speed electronics, photonics, semiconductor manufacturing and artificial intelligence.
Costello is best known as the founding CEO of Cadence Design Systems, which he led from 1987 to 1998, transforming it into the number one company in the Electronic Design Automation (EDA) industry. He grew revenues to nearly $1B, making Cadence one of the world’s 10 largest software companies. In 1997, Chief Executive Magazine named him the top-performing CEO of all publicly traded companies in North America. During this period, he also served on the boards of Oracle, Macromedia (now Adobe), and Mercury Interactive.
Following Cadence, Costello became an active angel investor, board member, and advisor to dozens of early-stage technology companies. He also stepped in as CEO for several of them, most of which were successfully acquired. Today, alongside his role at Inpho, he serves on the boards of Acromove, D3Labs, and Altowav.
Costello holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Physics from Harvey Mudd College, and Master of Science degrees in Physics from both Yale University and the University of California, Berkeley.
Todd Deaville
Vice President, Advanced Manufacturing Innovation, Corporate R&D
Magna International Inc.
Todd Deaville has served as Vice President, Advanced Manufacturing Innovation since 2022. In this role he leads Magna’s’ Corporate R&D teams with responsibility to identify, develop, and enable scale of advanced manufacturing technologies within Magna operations. Previously, Todd served as Director, Technology Innovation and Outreach for Magna R&D.
Todd has worked for Magna in the automotive industry for 26 years, beginning with an apprenticeship in Mold Engineering and plastics molding. This was followed by various engineering, customer liaison and product development roles in plastics/composites and paint, automotive interiors, lighting, and solar power systems. He received his Masters of Mechanical Engineering Degree from the University of Toronto in 2010, based on the development of a novel automotive acoustics actuator.
Cornelis (Cees) Draijer, BBA, MSc, PhD
Vice President, Technology
Teledyne Canada
Cornelis (Cees) Draijer, BBA, M.Sc., Ph.D. started his career at Philips Research Labs in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, as a Research Scientist and continued as a Program Manager and Design lead for the development of Charge Coupled Devices (CCDs) Imagers. Later, he worked on the early development stages of CMOS-based medical X-ray panels in 2002 at DALSA, a Canadian based imaging company. He immigrated to Canada in 2007 and initiated the development of microbolometers in 2012, in close cooperation with the DALSA MEMS foundry and the Collaborative Center for Micro Innovation or C2MI in Bromont, QC. This led to a new business line which he led till 2024. Since then, he became CTO of the Teledyne FLIR Solutions Business Unit, out of the Stockholm area in Sweden. Also in 2024, he became Vice President of Technology for the Teledyne Digital Imaging segment. Main responsibilities in this role are technology and capability roadmap development and growth strategy development. The Digital Imaging segment represents about 50% of Teledyne’s revenue. In recent years he worked closely with Teledyne MEMS management to initiate new technology developments to support Teledyne businesses in the future. More recently, he got involved in a Teledyne corporate initiative to apply the breadth of Teledyne sensing and decision support technologies to the field of Mining, Oil & Gas, Renewable Energy and Utilities. Since March 2025 he is a board member of the C2MI.
Manon Duclos
CEO
Technum Québec
Manon Duclos has been working in the fields of innovation, quality, and organizational excellence for over 30 years. A chemical engineer by training, she holds a degree from Université Laval and a master’s in engineering management from Université de Sherbrooke. She has held strategic roles in leading companies such as IBM, Mitel Semiconductor, and Teledyne DALSA.
Her diverse career has allowed her to develop a unique expertise in managing complex projects, quality assurance, and organizational development, while also training hundreds of managers on fostering a culture of innovation and the importance of quality as a driver of excellence. She is also recognized for her ability to bring together key stakeholders from various sectors and to build strong partnerships at both local and international levels.
At the Mouvement québécois de la qualité, where she served as Vice President of Innovation and Organizational Excellence, she led innovative strategies, facilitated management networks across Québec, and contributed to helping organizations reach new heights.
A resident of the Bromont region for 30 years, Manon is deeply familiar with the strengths of the area, particularly in terms of quality of life and innovation. As CEO of Technum Québec, one of the first innovation zones in Québec specializing in electronics and semiconductors, she will continue to drive innovative collaborative projects and position this industry as a pillar of the digital transformation in Québec and internationally.
Manon Duclos is also a speaker and author of several guides on innovation and organizational excellence. She remains passionate about self-improvement, creativity, and sustainable development.
Richard Dunda
Senior Advisor, FABrIC Challenge Projects
CMC Microsystems
Richard brings over 30 years of technology industry experience (Microsoft and Rogers) focused on product & channel management, strategic partnerships, and business development. In his most recent role as director of the Centre for Integrated Transportation and Mobility (CITM), part of Ontario’s Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN), he was responsible for developing partnerships, recruiting and developing SMEs, and delivering services to support the growth of innovative start-ups in the transportation sector.
Yassine Hariri
Manager – IoT & Edge AI
Lead – FABrIC Semiconductor Upskilling Program
CMC Microsystems
Yassine has over 17 years of experience developing and deploying advanced technologies at the intersection of IoT, edge AI, semiconductor design, and cloud-to-edge computing. He currently leads a national semiconductor upskilling initiative designed to strengthen Canada’s talent pipeline and bridge the gap between academic preparation and industry contribution. His work connects workforce development, semiconductor infrastructure, industry engagement, and practical training pathways that support Canada’s capacity in strategic sectors such as clean technology, advanced manufacturing, health, space, and defence. At CMC Microsystems, he has contributed to national microsystems and semiconductor initiatives, supported major infrastructure and ecosystem programs, and led technology platforms that help Canadian researchers, startups, manufacturers, and industry partners translate advanced research into practical, reusable, and deployable solutions. He received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from École Marocaine des Sciences de l’Ingénieur, Casablanca, Morocco, in 1998, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from École de technologie supérieure, Montréal, QC, Canada, in 2002 and 2008, respectively.
Gordon Harling
President & CEO
CMC Microsystems
Gordon Harling received a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Science from the University of Toronto and a Maîtrise en Ingénierie Physique from Polytechnique Montréal. He has worked in Research and Development at large companies such as Mitel, NovAtel, and DALSA. He has been a founder and CEO of several start-up companies, including Goal Semiconductor, Elliptic Technologies, and Innotime Technologies.
Romano Hoofman
Strategic Development Director
imec
Romano Hoofman is Strategic Development Director at imec since 2016. He is responsible for the coordination of both the EU Chips Design Platform and the EUROPRACTICE Service. In addition, his team is responsible for providing technology access and design enablement for the NanoIC pilot line, 2D-PL and SPINS (Quantum pilot line).
He started his career in industry, where he worked as a Principal Scientist at Philips Research and later on NXP Semiconductors. He covered many different R&D topics, ranging from CMOS integration, advanced packaging, thin film batteries, photovoltaics and (bio)sensors.
Romano received his PhD from the Technical University of Delft in 2000, where he investigated charge transport in semi-conducting polymers. He has authored more than 30 publications and holds more than 10 patents in various research areas.
Hooman Hosseinkhannazer
President and CEO
Norcada
Hooman Hosseinkhannazer is President and CEO of Norcada, an Edmonton-based hard-tech company designing and manufacturing MEMS, photonic, quantum, and nano-bio solutions for scientific, industrial, and dual-use markets in more than 40 countries. Over 16 years at Norcada, he has led R&D, commercialization, product strategy, major partnerships, and global market expansion.
A mechanical and semiconductor engineer by training (MSc, University of Alberta), Hooman brings hands-on expertise in nanofabrication, integrated photonics, biosensors, space and dual-use technologies, and operando platforms for electron and X-ray microanalysis. Earlier engineering leadership roles in EPC projects and biosafety facility development grounded him in delivering complex projects at scale.
Under his leadership, Norcada has recently expanded into industrial, life-science, and space applications built on its quantum sensors, nanophotonics, nanopore systems for genomics & proteomics, advanced light sources, and photonics packaging. He champions supply chain collaboration across markets, helping deep tech scale from lab to the global stage. Away from work, he volunteers with the Red Cross on humanitarian initiatives at home and abroad.
Thomas R. Jones, PhD
CEO
Jones Microwave Inc.
Dr. Thomas R. Jones is the founder and CEO of Jones Microwave Inc., an Alberta-based company commercializing IP-protected cutting-edge microwave to sub-THz technologies for telecommunications, instrumentation, aerospace, and defence markets.
Dr. Jones holds a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Alberta and has held research and engineering roles across academia and industry, including an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship and Research Scientist position at Purdue University. His expertise spans high-frequency, high-power, and high-speed microwave, millimeter-wave, and sub-THz systems, including reconfigurable RF front ends and on-chip device fabrication.
He has authored work with over 600 citations, holds four patents, and has raised over five million dollars in funding for his company. His awards include the 2023 Douglas R. Colton Medal for Research Excellence and multiple national scholarships. He actively contributes to IEEE, currently serving as MTT-S MGA Regional Coordinator for R7 Canada.
Ragai Khalil
Senior Director Design Engineering
Jabil Photonics
Ragai Khali, Senior Director Engineering at Jabil. Extensive experience in photonics products design, manufacturing processes, and end-to-end test development encompassing silicon photonics chips, optical engines, optical modules, transceivers, and line cards. Broad expertise in design for testability, design for optical manufacturability, and associated test processes and test techniques ranging from in-process testing to board level and system level integration testing.
Marie-Pierre Ippersiel
President and CEO
PRIMA Québec
Marie-Pierre Ippersiel is President and Chief Executive Officer at PRIMA Québec since 2016. Prior to this, she spent over six years working as Vice-President for the cleantech industry cluster Écotech Québec. Among other responsibilities, she managed the cluster’s operations, coordinated steering committees and developed a variety of content (dissertations, studies, etc.). As Research Advisor for the Montreal Metropolitan Community (MMC) between 2004 and 2010, she helped implement the primary tools used in the Greater Montréal Economic Development Plan, including the cluster strategy. In 2003, she produced a report on innovation in Quebec municipalities for the Conseil de la science et de la technologie. Ms. Ippersiel holds a PhD in Urban Studies from the INRS – Centre Urbanisation Culture Société, where she focused on science/industry relations and technological support for SMEs in college technology transfer centres. For over 25 years, she has focused on the dynamics of innovation ecosystems and their actors.
She took part in the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference in 2017 and co-chaired the Net-Zero Advisory Body from 2021 to 2023. She is a member of various committees, and she also sits on the boards of directors for Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), the Quantum Innovation Zone, DistriQ and the Groupe Equilibrum.
Tania Leppert
Vice President, Head
Ericsson Ottawa
Tania Leppert is an executive leader at Ericsson Canada Inc., and VP, Head of Ericsson Ottawa site. She has over 20 years of global experience across Ericsson in Canada, Sweden, South Korea and Germany. Having served in senior leadership roles in Product Development, Research, Sales, Strategy, and Product Management, she demonstrates a strong blend of technical expertise, business execution and strategic vision. She holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Electrical Engineering (telecom and signal processing) from McGill University, and an MBA from the University of Maastricht in Sustainable and Responsible Leadership. She leads initiatives in Mission-Critical Communications Networks, Security, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Quantum, driving innovation and technological advancement in Telecommunications.
Charles Lespérance
Partner
Celesta Capital
Charles Lespérance has more than 15 years of experience in technology investment, structured finance, and strategy.
Prior to Celesta, Charles co-founded and served as a partner in BDC’s Deep Tech Venture Fund, a $200M VC fund focused on early-stage deep tech investments in areas such as quantum, AI, semiconductors, and robotics. Before BDC, Charles worked in private equity at PSP Investments, as well as a consultant at McKinsey & Company where his work spanned several functional areas, mainly concentrated on the mining and oil & gas industries.
Charles earned an MBA from Harvard University and a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University. In addition, he continues to be involved in academia as a guest lecturer on the topic of entrepreneurial finance.
Vincent Lin, PhD
Director, Corporate R&D
ASE Group
Vincent (Hung-Yi) Lin is the Director of Corporate R&D at ASE Group, the world’s largest OSAT provider.
He received his Ph.D. degrees in Power Mechanical Engineering from National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, in 2002. Before he joined ASE GROUP, Vincent has been with Qualcomm for MEMS and TFT integrated display development, and with Touch Micro System Technology for MEMS process development, multi-physics simulation, characterization and technical marketing.
With his role as the Director of Corporate R&D at ASE Group, Vincent is focusing on advanced packaging technology, optical interconnect and Co-Packaged Optics.
Henry (Chih-hung) Liu
Executive Director
Economic Division, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada
Henry (Chih-hung) Liu is Executive Director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada. He brings extensive experience in international trade, economic affairs and multilateral relations. His previous roles include Deputy Director General of the Bureau of Foreign Trade, Director of its Multilateral Division, and senior positions at representative offices in the European Union and the United States. He also served with the Office of Trade Negotiation and the mission to the World Trade Organization. Mr. Liu holds a Bachelor of International Study from National Chengchi University.
Niraj Mathur
Co-Founder & CEO
Blumind
Niraj Mathur is the CEO and Co-Founder of Blumind, a Canadian semiconductor company developing ultra-low-power and highly performant analog compute semiconductors for always-on AI at the edge. Niraj has extensive experience navigating deep-tech commercialization and scaling hardware companies from early innovation through customer deployment. He frequently engages with industry, investors and policymakers on edge AI, energy-efficient computing, and the business realities of bringing breakthrough semiconductor technologies to market.
Niraj holds a Bachelor of Computer Engineering from McGill University and an MBA from Cornell University.
Sir Terence Matthews, OC OBE FREng FIET
Founder and Chairman
Wesley Clover International
Sir Terry Matthews is the founder and Chairman of Wesley Clover International, a private, global investment management firm and holding company. Since 1972, Terry has founded or funded more than 100 companies, three of which have grown to exceed $1B in valuation. Early data networking giant Newbridge Networks and global business communications leader Mitel are highlights.
More than 140 founders have now been backed by Wesley Clover, with more than $1B in direct investment. More than 20 IPOs, a larger number of exits via acquisition, and more than $3.5B in public returns have been produced.
Today, Wesley Clover has interests in a range of next-generation cloud and SaaS technology companies, as well as in selected commercial real estate and leisure properties. In addition to being the Chairman of Wesley Clover, Terry is also Chairman of a number of these private and publicly traded companies, and he sits as a Director on the Boards of several others.
Terry holds an Honours degree in electronics from the University of Wales and is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical Engineers and of the Royal Academy of Engineering. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by several universities, including the University of Wales and Carleton University in Ottawa. In 1994, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), and in 2001, as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours, he received the honour of Knight Bachelor. He was also appointed Patron of the European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute in 2011, and in 2017, was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada for his outstanding achievements.
Cyril McKelvie
VP of Optical Business Unit
Jabil Photonics
Cyril McKelvie is currently working as a VP of Jabil Photonics (JP) business unit, where he is responsible for strategy, M&A and all key customer engagements. Mr. McKelvie is a well seasoned executive with over 25 years of senior management experience in research and development, new product development and operations. Prior to his position at JP, Mr. McKelvie was a consultant with Marlin Equity and was the lead on the restructuring of the operations, supply chain functions at Marlin’s acquisition of Coriant Networks. Prior to his position at Marlin, Mr. McKelvie was President and CEO of Marport Technologies, a world leader in sonar equipment for the commercial fishing and defence industry.
Previous executive positions include Executive Vice President of Sanmina’s optical microelectronic business – a leading global electronics manufacturer – and prior to that President, CEO and a Co-Founder of BreconRidge, one of Canada’s largest contract manufacturers.
Prior to that position, General Manager of GSI Lumonics Optics, VP of Operations of JDS and various senior management positions at Newbridge Networks.
Currently Mr. McKelvie serves on the Board of Renaissance Repair (Ottawa based repair services company) and Algonquin College Board of Governors. Mr. McKelvie also served on the Board of Invest Ottawa.
A native of Nova Scotia, Mr McKelvie has a a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia.
Nima Khadem Mohtaram
Head of MedTech Initiative
ventureLAB
Nima is the Head of ventureLAB’s MedTech Initiative, where he leads efforts to accelerate the commercialization of medical device innovations and build Canada’s premier MedTech commercialization ecosystem.
A biomaterials scientist turned entrepreneur and ecosystem builder, Nima holds a PhD in Biomaterials from the University of Victoria and has conducted research at leading institutions including the University of British Columbia, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the University of Waterloo. He has founded and co-founded MedTech ventures, including CellFace and Trillium Meditec, bringing deep experience across research, product development, entrepreneurship, and commercialization.
Beyond ventureLAB, Nima is passionate about community and economic development. He served as Chair of the Aurora Economic Development Corporation and contributes to healthcare philanthropy through Southlake Regional Health Centre. Driven by a belief that innovation should translate into meaningful improvements in people’s lives, Nima is dedicated to connecting entrepreneurs with the expertise, resources, and partnerships needed to bring transformative MedTech solutions to market.
Jarrod Morley
Vice-President
Espace Aéro, Quebec’s Aerospace Innovation Zone
Jarrod is Vice President of Espace Aéro and has led the Innovation division at Aéro Montréal since 2020. He was instrumental in the development and implementation of the strategy that secured Espace Aero’s designation as Quebec’s aerospace innovation zone in May 2024.
Today, he leads its operational execution, attracting investments, mobilizing partnerships, promoting projects, accelerating commercialization of technologies and advancing sustainable and intelligent air mobility initiatives across the civil, defence, and dual-use sectors.
With over 25 years of experience, Jarrod has held leadership roles primarily in aerospace, complemented by experience in the automotive, public transit, mining, and international supply chain industries.
Douglas Morrison
President & CEO
CEMI
Douglas has 14 years of operating experience in the deep nickel mines of the Sudbury Basin, where he became the Superintendent of Rock Mechanics and Mine Design at Inco (now Vale). He has since spent 15 years as a consultant at Golder Associates working on strategic mine design, productivity, and safety issues in mines around the world. He was based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and from 2005-2010 he was Golder’s Global Mining Sector Leader in Toronto. Throughout his career he maintained an advisory or Board role with Canadian research organizations such as CAMIRO and MIRARCO that are engaged in delivering innovation to the mining industry. Douglas has held key roles at CEMI since 2010 including Chair in Holistic Mining Practices and in 2012 he was appointed President and CEO. In January 2014 he became the Director of the Ultra-deep Mining Network, a $46M program developing solutions to the challenges of bulk mining below 2.5 km. Douglas is focused on developing a comprehensive approach to innovation in mining that will improve mine productivity, reduce mining costs, minimize future environmental impact, and contribute towards developing a globally sustainable society.
Jayson Myers
Chief Executive Officer
NGen
Jayson Myers is the Chief Executive Officer of Next Generation Manufacturing Canada, the industry-led organization that is spearheading Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster for Advanced Manufacturing. NGen raises funds from a variety of public and private sources to invest in building world-leading advanced manufacturing solutions and ecosystem capabilities in Canada.
Jay is an award-winning business economist who specializes in industrial and technological change. Between 2007 and 2016, he served as President & CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, Canada’s largest industry and trade association. In 2017 he was the Chief Policy Advisor to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Jay has been widely recognized as one of the most influential economic policy advocates in Canada. He is an advisor to both private and public sector leaders, and has counselled Canadian prime ministers and premiers, as well as senior corporate executives and policymakers around the world.
A former research fellow at Nuffield College Oxford, Jay has held lectureships at both Oxford and the University of Warwick. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the World Manufacturing Forum and a leading advocate on the world stage on behalf of advanced manufacturing in Canada.
Amanda Naaum
Senior Innovation Advisor
Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Amanda Naaum completed her undergraduate studies in molecular biology at the University of Guelph, followed by a PhD focused on molecular diagnostics for food authenticity and traceability at the same institute. In 2016, Dr. Naaum founded Precision Biomonitoring Inc., which provided point-of-need tools to assess environmental DNA for biodiversity assessments and then to detect COVID-19. After a successful company exit via acquisition, Amanda continues to be active in Canadian entrepreneurship as an advisor and angel investor. In her current role as Senior Advisor for Innovation, Science and Technology for the Netherlands Innovation Network in Canada, she works to connect Canadian and Dutch universities, research institutes, and businesses to foster bilateral collaboration on research and development across a wide range of topics, including life sciences, energy, and deep tech.
Frederic Nabki
Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer
SPARK Microsystems
Frederic Nabki is Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of SPARK Microsystems, a Canadian semiconductor company pioneering low-energy ultra-wideband (LE-UWB™) wireless technology. He leads SPARK’s technology innovation and sets the company’s technical roadmap, helping translate advanced Canadian research into commercially deployed semiconductor products.
Frederic brings 25 years of experience in radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and analog, RF and mixed-signal design. Alongside his industry leadership, he is a professor of electrical engineering at Montréal’s École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), where his research spans wireless transceivers, integrated sensors, microsystems and advanced semiconductor technologies.
He has authored numerous scientific publications, contributed to book chapters, and holds multiple patents in microsystems and integrated circuits. Frederic also serves on the Board of Directors of the UWB Alliance. He earned both his Bachelor of Engineering with honours and his PhD in Electrical Engineering from McGill University and is a recipient of the Governor General of Canada’s Academic Bronze Medal.
Helen Papachronis
Project Development Director
NGen
Helen Papachronis is a business leader with a background in technology commercialization. In her career spanning more than 25 years, Helen has helped launch new technologies in asset-intensive industries: manufacturing, photonics, mining, material handling, utility, and cleantech, and has held technology and leadership positions at organizations including 3M, GE, Evercloak, Toyota Industries, and Telus. She is a mentor at NEXT AI. As Project Development Director at NGen, she helps innovators bring transformative technologies to life across Canada’s manufacturing sector.
Alex Perng
Executive Director
Converged Computation Engineering Center (CCEC)
WISTRON Corp
Alex is the Executive Director of the newly established Converged Computation Engineering Center (CCEC) at WISTRON, a global leading ODM for ICT products, systems, and service solutions to top brands worldwide.
Before joining WISTRON, Alex held various management roles spanning software and firmware engineering, PC system R&D, project management, and startup business development. He is the former CTO of NEXCOM, a global leader in edge computing, industrial IoT (Internet of Things), and embedded computer systems, and the former CEO of Nitronix International.
Since rejoining WISTRON in 2019, Alex has focused on digital transformation, data platform architecture, emerging technology innovation, and strategic industry academia partnerships. He is prompted to lead the Converged Computation Engineering Center to develop WISTRON’s quantum business and strategy.
Alex has a Master Degree in Electrical Engineering from National Taiwan University (NTU), EMBA from National Cheng-Chi University (NCCU), and did Doctoral Research at RWTH Aachen University, Germany.
Matthew Posner
Director of Business Development
Axonal Networks
Matthew Posner (he/his/il) applies his technical and business skills to advancing photonics technologies. His professional interests are photonics integrated circuits, education pedagogy, and “getting science out of the lab.”
As Director of Business Development at Axonal Networks, Matt manages public & private partnerships to build an ecosystem for photonics computing and connectivity. Previously, he was Technical Consultant and Director of workforce and photonics education programs at Optonique; from 2018-2022, a Semiconductor Process Scientist and Product Line Specialist at Excelitas Technologies. He obtained a PhD in 2017 from the Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton.
Vallen Rezazadeh
Chief Executive Officer
TransEON Inc.
Vallen Rezazadeh is the founder and CEO of TransEON Inc., an Edmonton-based startup developing next-gen GaN device and process technology for various applications. Prior to TransEON, he was with IBM Research at the CNSE/Albany NanoTech development fab in Albany, NY, USA, where he oversaw electrical test operations for MRAM and advanced CMOS nodes, collaborating with various industry partners including Samsung, GlobalFoundries, and Applied Materials. Vallen received the B.Sc. degree in engineering physics and the M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering with a specialization in solid-state electronics from the University of Alberta.
Daria Riabinina
Director of Collaborative Research
Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy
Daria Riabinina is a Director of collaborative research at the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy for the government of Quebec. She has a PhD in Energy and Materials Science, and a 15 years experience in research in nanotechnology, applied plasma physics and bionanotechnology.
Since 2014, she works for innovation sector at the Ministry of Economy of Quebec and is responsible for support and development of innovation ecosystem, particularly for the public support of collaborative research between industry and academia, as well as innovation in artificial intelligence and in quantum technologies.
For the last 12 years she collaborated with universities, research centers, industrial research consortiums and various organizations of innovation ecosystem, such as tech transfer organizations, incubators, accelerators and industrial research clusters, in order to bring more innovation into strategic industries for Quebec.
Madison Rilling
Director of Strategic Development and Financing
Femtum
Dr. Madison Rilling is Director of Strategic Development and Financing at Femtum, a Québec City-based deep tech scale-up building the laser technology powering a new generation of semiconductor and photonics manufacturing. These are precision tools at the heart of a shift toward faster, greener computing infrastructure. She serves on the Board of Directors of CMC Microsystems and as a member of Council of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), roles through which she helps shape how Canada builds and funds its semiconductor and advanced technology capacity.
She joined Femtum after five years as Executive Director of Optonique, the nonprofit driving the strategic growth of Québec’s photonics sector, home to nearly 50% of Canada’s light-based technology industry. There she facilitated R&D collaborations, innovation and workforce policy development, and science outreach, and represented Canada’s photonics sector on international advisory councils. She also sits on the Council of Canadian Academies’ Scientific Advisory Committee, the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies’ Scientific Committee, and the scientific advisory committees of Québec’s innovation zones in quantum (DistriQ) and digital technologies (Technum).
Recognized as an emerging leader bridging science and policy, Dr. Rilling is a recipient of the Optica Pivoting Fellowship (2021), a Fellow of Action Canada (2023), and was one of two Canadians among 30 leaders selected for an immersive science diplomacy program at the United Nations in Geneva (2023). A long-standing advocate for the next generation of scientists, she served as student advisor to Québec’s Chief Scientist, as a member and mentor of the Chief Science Advisor’s Youth Council, and now sits on the board of Let’s Talk Science, a national organization helping youth build the skills they need for their own and Canada’s future success.
She holds a Joint Honours in Mathematics and Physics (McGill, 2014), a Master’s in Medical Physics (ULaval, 2016), and a PhD in Physics (ULaval, 2020).
Ewit Roos
General Partner & Co-Founder
PhotonVentures
Ewit Roos is General Partner and Co-founder of PhotonVentures, a Netherlands-based specialist venture capital firm exclusively focused on photonics. He has more than 30 years of leadership experience across venture capital, deep tech, industry and public-private innovation.
Prior to founding PhotonVentures, Ewit co-founded and led PhotonDelta, where he played a central role in building the Dutch integrated photonics ecosystem into one of the world’s leading photonics clusters. Under his leadership, PhotonDelta secured €240 million in initial funding and helped catalyze more than €1.1 billion in public investment to accelerate the commercialization and industrialization of integrated photonics.
Today, he combines deep expertise in integrated photonics and semiconductor supply chains with extensive experience in venture capital, public-private investment and international ecosystem development, connecting industry, government, research and capital to help scale strategic deep-tech technologies.
Mike Sekerka
VP & General Manager, Defence and Government Business Unit
Ranovus®
Mike Sekerka leads the Ranovus® strategic commitment to building Canadian technological sovereignty.
Drawing on his experience as a former Aerospace Engineering Officer in the Canadian Air Force, Mike leverages his deep understanding of defence needs to foster the development of next-generation AI-related solutions for Canada and its allies.
Mike’s core focus is to deliver commercially proven, dual-use technologies that directly support Canada’s national security objectives, including key initiatives like the proposed Sovereign AI Switch. He also leads advanced strategic programs, including the company’s engagement with the U.S. Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to embed Canadian innovation within the broader allied defence ecosystem.
Mike has extensive experience commercializing innovative technologies. Prior to joining Ranovus®, he was the CEO of Neptec Technologies Corp., where he commercialized 3D LiDAR sensors based on technology developed for NASA’s Space Shuttle. His career also includes senior leadership roles in engineering and product management at DragonWave, Nortel Networks, and Cambrian Systems.
Mike received his Bachelor of Engineering (Engineering Physics) from the Royal Military College of Canada and holds a Master of Engineering in photonics from McGill University and an Executive MBA from the University of Fredericton. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario.
Peter Shi
Associate Partner
Maverix Private Equity
Peter is an Associate Partner with Maverix Private Equity. In this role, he is focused on deal execution including financial modelling and due diligence. Peter also works closely with portfolio companies in strategic and financial management as well as the evaluation of add-on acquisitions opportunities.
Before joining Maverix, Peter was an Investment Associate at Searchlight Capital, a leading global private equity investment firm with more than $8 billion of assets under management. Peter analyzed investment opportunities across several industry verticals and was involved in portfolio company oversight. He was a board observer for two portfolio companies, Roots (TSX:ROOT) and M&M Food Market where he worked with the management teams and led strategic projects. Peter started his career in the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley, where he was involved in a variety of capital markets and M&A transactions.
Peter holds an Honours degree in Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University. He is also a panelist for VERGE Capital’s impact investment fund. In his spare time, you can find Peter backcountry camping in Algonquin, portaging, or enjoying the great outdoors.
Sonya Shorey
President and CEO
Invest Ottawa
Sonya Shorey is the President and CEO of Invest Ottawa, Co-Founder of SheBoot, Entrepreneur, Passionate Champion for Ottawa, Entrepreneurs & Companies Building Canada’s Innovation Economy; Director of Mission-Driven Boards; Community Leader and Collaborator; Eternal Learner
An award-winning executive and management consultant with 25+ years of leadership experience with private and public innovation-based organizations, Sonya has spearheaded more than $300+ million in public-private funding. These initiatives have catalyzed new opportunities and impact for founders and companies in Canada’s Capital, an inclusive global tech, innovation and business hub, across the country and partner countries worldwide.
Within her previous leadership role as Invest Ottawa’s Vice President of Strategy, Marketing, and Communications, Sonya played a pivotal role in developing:
- Invest Ottawa’s Women Founders and Owners Strategy, including Ladies Who Launch and International Women’s Month, now entering its eighth year
- The Pan-Ontario ScaleUp Platform, the first of its kind in Canada, which helps accelerate the growth of scaling firms on their path to $100M in annual revenue;
- Bayview Yards, Ottawa’s innovation hub and one-stop business acceleration shop; and
- Area X.O, the $54 million R&D complex for emerging next-gen technologies for diverse sectors, including defence, aerospace, smart mobility, security, smart farming, and more
She is also a co-founder of SheBoot, a national non-profit that tackles the funding gap facing women entrepreneurs in tech by preparing them to pitch their business, secure investment, scale and compete globally. It has helped to catalyze more than $50 million in follow-on investment for women entrepreneurs since 2021.
Prior to Invest Ottawa, Shorey founded a successful consulting firm that addressed the corporate strategy, operational, and investment needs of dozens of accelerators, innovation hubs, entrepreneurship and economic development organizations across Canada and their global partners. A proud Carleton University graduate, she has held previous leadership roles in the technology sector with Calian, Nortel Networks, and CMC Microsystems.
Her commitment to fostering an inclusive culture of belonging is at the heart of her governance and volunteer activities. This includes her service as a Director of the Board for SheBoot, the Royal Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Women in Automotive Tech, Mindtrust Leadership for Youth, and Elevate International; and her role as a mentor with multiple organizations.
She has won 10 national and international awards for communications, three awards for entrepreneurial leadership, and three awards for women’s economic empowerment, including the Women in Cloud Innovative Partnership of the Year, the TiECon Canada Award for Outstanding Contribution to Entrepreneurship; and Canada’s Women of Inspiration Economic Empowerment award.
Paul Slaby
Managing Director
Canada’s Semiconductor Council
Paul Slaby is a veteran semiconductor industry professional and Managing Director of Canada’s Semiconductor Council (CSC). His semiconductor career started with a post-doc research position at Carleton University, followed by a decade as a semiconductor R&D manager with Nortel Semiconductor and BNR. Subsequently he founded and/or ran several successful high-tech ventures including ATMOS Corp, MicroSemiX, VoIPshield Systems, Kaben Wireless Silicon, Teslonix and others. Recently, he has been devoting his time in an advisory capacity to several emerging tech startups, as well as tech venture accelerators such as NewChip, Founder Institute and ventureLAB. Currently, Paul is on a mission to elevate Canada’s semiconductor industry to global prominence. He holds an MSc in Applied Physics and a PhD in Microelectronics
Matthew D. Stephens
Co-founder & CEO
Impact Nano
Impact Chemistry
Matthew D. Stephens is co-founder and CEO of Impact Nano (Massachusetts) and Impact Chemistry (Ontario), backed by Intel Capital, Applied Materials Ventures, and Goldman Sachs. Prior to Impact Nano, Matt was VP, Sales and Product Management for Air Liquide Advanced Materials, with global responsibility, serving the semiconductor industry in more than a dozen countries. He has led or guided the commercialization of more than two dozen products and technologies, generating over $5 billion in revenue. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the U. of Wisconsin and an MBA from INSEAD (Singapore).
The Honourable Jenna Sudds
Member of Parliament for Kanata
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement
Secretary of State for Defence Procurement
Tyler Tippens
Applications Engineer
COMSOL Inc.
Tyler Tippens is an applications engineer at COMSOL specializing in electromagnetics. He previously worked in health physics before receiving his PhD in space plasma physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Marie-Josée Turgeon
CEO
C2MI
Marie-Josée Turgeon joined C2MI in 2016 as Vice President, Business Development. She was promoted to Vice President of Operations and Deputy General Manager in 2018 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2022.
For nearly 30 years, Marie-Josée has worked in the field of microelectronics and semiconductors, having previously held several positions over nearly two decades at IBM Bromont. She continued her career as Plant Manager at Varitron in Granby, where she was responsible for the overall management of that site. Since the beginning of her career, Marie-Josée has contributed to the promotion of women in science through various initiatives, including the Chair for Women in Science and Engineering at Université de Sherbrooke. She was also awarded the Engineer Women Award by the Femworx organization at the prestigious Hanover Messe in April 2025.
Marie-Josée serves on several boards of directors, including the Canada Semiconductor Council as Secretary and Technum Québec as Secretary. She has been Chair of the Advisory Committee of the Canadian Photonics Fabrication Center in Ottawa since 2025, a member of FabrIC’s Advisory Committee, and Chair of the Ethics Committee of the Cégep de Granby since 2018.
Marie-Josée holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Université Laval, an MBA from Université de Sherbrooke, and is a Certified Corporate Director (ASC) from Université Laval.
Velko Tzolov
Director General
Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre
Dr. Velko Tzolov joined the NRC in 2010 and is currently the director general of the Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre. He was the director general of the Advanced Electronics and Photonics Research Centre from March 2021 to December 2022. Prior to this, Dr. Tzolov was Ottawa’s regional director of the NRC’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), managing a significant portfolio of small and medium-sized enterprises developing innovative technologies and key IRAP innovation ecosystem initiatives. He was also an industrial technology advisor with IRAP, and a business development officer with the Energy, Mining and Environment portfolio, which focused on clean energy and on-grid energy storage solutions in Vancouver.
Between 1995 and 2010, Dr. Tzolov was the founder and senior-level executive of several Canadian technology firms, such as Optiwave Systems, Peleton Photonics Systems and Palladium 7 Corporation. During these years, he was involved in managing industrial technology development and commercialization. He was also very instrumental in major business transactions such as: securing venture capital/debt financing, mergers and acquisitions, and IP asset transactions. Dr. Tzolov also managed sizeable technology deals and partnerships via multinational business development teams to over 50 countries worldwide.
In 1993, Dr. Tzolov was awarded a two-year postdoctoral fellowship by the Université du Québec en Outaouais in the field of fibre optics.
Dr. Tzolov has a PhD in Physics and a Master’s degree in Engineering Physics from Sofia University in Bulgaria. He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Ottawa’s Telfer School of Business. Dr. Tzolov is an adjunct professor at the Innovation Technology Management program at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business.
Tim Warland
Senior Advisor, FABrIC Challenge Projects
CMC Microsystems
Tim Warland brings over 30 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, spanning design, testing, applications and sales engineering, and product management. His career includes roles at large enterprises as well as early- and mid-stage startups, gaining a deep understanding of the full product lifecycle from concept to commercialization. Over the past decade, Tim has dedicated his efforts to supporting entrepreneurs and startups, connecting them with test facilities, mentors, and advisors. He remains a strong advocate for strengthening Canada’s semiconductor capabilities and actively contributes his expertise to the regional innovation ecosystem.
Iman Yahyaie
Senior Director, Industry and Ecosystem Engagement
ICTC | CTIC
Iman Yahyaie is Senior Director of Industry and Ecosystem Engagement at ICTC, where he leads national initiatives that strengthen collaboration between industry, academic institutions, and governments across Canada’s digital economy. In this role, he oversees ICTC’s industry engagement and partnership development efforts, working with employers, research organizations, and innovation partners to align workforce development and talent initiatives with emerging technology priorities such as artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, and digital infrastructure. His work focuses on expanding work-integrated learning opportunities, supporting technology adoption, and strengthening talent pipelines across Canada’s innovation ecosystem.
Before joining ICTC, Iman spent more than a decade at Mitacs in progressively senior leadership roles in business development and strategic partnerships. Most recently, he served as National Director and Team Lead for Major Accounts, where he managed a national portfolio of industry collaborations delivering more than $60 million annually in research and innovation projects. In this capacity, he cultivated strategic partnerships between industry, academia, and government, working with global companies including Intel, AMD, Mastercard, and Unilever, while also supporting high-growth startups and SMEs across Canada’s technology ecosystem.
Iman’s professional background spans both industry and advanced research in electrical engineering. Early in his career, he worked in applied engineering roles focused on the design and implementation of electronic control systems, power electronics, and customized digital hardware for industrial environments. This hands-on experience in industrial electronics and control systems later informed his work at the intersection of technology innovation and commercialization.
Iman received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering in Tehran, Iran, and later moved to Canada to pursue doctoral studies at the University of Manitoba. He later joined the Centre for Chemical Innovation in Solar Fuels at the California Institute of Technology as part of a multidisciplinary collaboration focused on solar fuel generation and photoelectrochemical energy systems. His research examined semiconductor microstructures and conducting polymer systems for solar energy conversion, and later expanded to include CMOS-compatible memory structures based on conducting polymer materials.
Across his engineering, research, and leadership career, Iman has focused on bridging the worlds of technology, talent, and commercialization. His work centres on building partnerships that translate advanced research into economic impact, strengthen Canada’s innovation capacity, and ensure emerging technology sectors have access to the skilled workforce needed to grow and compete globally.
Jay Yu
CEO
ICP Technology
Dr. Jay Yu is the Chief Executive Officer of ICP Technology Co., Ltd., a Taiwan-based technology company specializing in advanced metallized ceramic substrates and ceramic interconnect solutions.
Dr. Yu received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, and was a visiting scholar at the University of Utah in the United States. His technical background covers ceramic materials, thin-film processing, semiconductor microfabrication, electrochemistry, precision metallization, and advanced ceramic packaging.
With more than two decades of experience, Dr. Yu has led the development and commercialization of metallized Al₂O₃ and AlN ceramic substrates, precision current-sensing components, laser submounts, and advanced ceramic interposers.
In recent years, his primary focus has shifted toward AI data-center optical interconnects and silicon photonics, particularly ceramic packaging solutions for high-speed optical engines, CW lasers, and next-generation optical transceivers.
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Monday, October 19, 2026
Symposium: October 20-21, 2026
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