OUR NETWORK
NEXT entrepreneurs are given access to internationally acclaimed faculty, entrepreneurs, C-suite executives, investors and domain experts who provide them with education, feedback and actionable insights that can be applied as they build their ventures.
NEXT Canada Faculty
NEXT Canada Faculty are a roster of internationally acclaimed faculty members from the world’s top universities, prominent business leaders, and technical experts who deliver tailored content for all NEXT Canada programs.
AJAY AGRAWAL
Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Vector Institute, NBER
AJUNG MOON
McGill University, Open Roboethics Institute, Government of Canada Advisory Council on AI
AVI GOLDFARB
Rotman School of Management
BETH PORTER
Riff Analytics, MIT Media Lab
CHRISTIAN CATALINI
Sloan School of Management, Libra, Calibra, Facebook
University of Oxford
FLORIAN SHKURTI
University of Toronto
GRAHAM NEUBIG
Language Technologies Institute of Carnegie Mellon University
GRAHAM TAYLOR
University of Guelph, Canada CIFAR AI Chair, Google Brain Montreal
HONG LUO
Harvard Business School
HOSSEIN RAHNAMA
Flybits, Ryerson University, MIT Media Lab
JOSHUA GANS
Rotman School of Management
KOSTA DERPANIS
Ryerson University, York University, Vector Institute, Vision: Science to Applications
MARA LEDERMAN
Rotman School of Management
MARC BUSCH
Georgetown University
MARCUS BRUBAKER
York University, University of Toronto
RAMANA NANDA
Imperial College London
RAQUEL URTASUN
Uber ATG, Vector Institute, University of Toronto
REZA SATCHU
Alignvest Management Corp
SANDY PENTLAND
MIT
SANJA FIDLER
University of Toronto, Canada CIFAR AI Chair, NVIDIA
Next AI - Montréal Faculty
Next AI – Montréal Faculty are collection of internationally acclaimed faculty members from the world’s top universities who deliver tailored content for Next AI – Montréal.
AJAY AGRAWAL
Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Vector Institute, NBER
AJUNG MOON
McGill University, Open Roboethics Institute, Government of Canada Advisory Council on AI
BRIAN KING
HEC Montréal
GAÉTAN MARCEAU CARON
MILA
GOLNOOSH FARNADI
HEC – Dept. de sciences de la décision
JACKIE CHEUNG
McGill University, Canada CIFAR AI Chair
JOELLE PINEAU
McGill University, Canada CIFAR AI Chair
KEVIN REGAN
Google
LAURENT CHARLIN
HEC Montréal, Canada CIFAR AI Chair
YOSHUA BENGIO
Université de Montréal, Mila, Canada CIFAR AI Chair, IVADO, UdM – Dept. d’informatique et de recherche opérationnelle (DIRO)
Scientists-in-Residence
SiRs are PhD candidates and professionals specializing in various areas of artificial intelligence. They provide dedicated 1:1 support and guidance to entrepreneurs in the Next AI program.

BORIS KNYAZEV (TO)
University of Guelph

CARLOS OLIVER (MTL)
Ozeki Inc.

DEVINDER KUMAR (TO)
University of Waterloo

DR. MOHAMED NAIEL (TO)
University of Waterloo

MARTIN WEISS (MTL)
MILA

MICHAEL ZHANG (TO)
University of Toronto
Investment Committee
The Investment Committee is a group of investors, venture capitalists, and NEXT Canada representatives who assess investment opportunities from NEXT Canada ventures.
PETER CARRESCIA
Chair, NEXT Canada Investment Committee; SVP Strategy and Corporate Development, Wave
KEVIN KIMSA
General Partner, ScaleUP Ventures
MATT SAUNDERS
President, Ryerson Futures
ALEXANDRA MCGREGOR
Director of Programs, NEXT Canada
JIM ORLANDO
Managing Partner, Wittington Ventures
Mentors
Mentors are seasoned entrepreneurs and accomplished industry professionals who provide dedicated ongoing assistance to select Next AI and Next 36 ventures.

Managing Director – Canada, Lyft

EIR, ScaleUp Ventures

Founder, Brandsell Group

Co-Founder and Managing Director / Partner, AngelList / N49P Ventures

Director of Product, Tribe
Sr. Investment Manager, MaRS IAF

Founder, URBANA Marketing

Co-Founder & CEO, Borrowell

AI Tech Lead, Tooploox
Founding Partner, Highline Beta

Senior Sales Principal – VP Sales, Portag3 Ventures

Investor, MaRS IAF
Co-founder & CEO, Peggy

Partner, C-Suite Executive

COO, LIFT Digital
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Leaders Fund

Engineering Director, Google Cloud Platform
EY Canada Partner & National Quantitative Services Leader
AI Tech Lead, Tooploox
Growth / Business Development, Tooploox


Founding Partner, Two Small Fish


VP, Equinix Metal Corporations


President, Validere


Independent Director
Senior Vice-President, Client Experience, CI Financial


Founder, Blue Lion Labs
Founder & Managing General Partner, Pioneer Fund
Board Member / COO / CFO, Tangerine / INFOR Financial Group


Founding President and CEO, Dominion Voting
Executive VP, Canada, Studio71, LP
Associate, Hatch


Head of Growth, Tooploox
Business Advisor, Fasken
President & CEO, Women in Capital Markets


Global Chief Marketing Officer, Scotiabank
SVP Product, Ideanomics
CEO, NestReady


CEO, ONroute Canada
Managing Director, StandUp Ventures
Partner, Platform, 2150


COO & SVP, Spectrum Health Care
Member, Board of Directors, Real Matters
Past President, Rogers Media


Sr. Investment Manager, MaRS IAF
Founder & CEO, Calixa Technologies
Director, Lead Public Cloud Architect, RBC


Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis Manager, Polytainers Inc.
Director and Treasurer, West Parry Sound Health Centre Foundation
Chief Revenue Officer, LiveXchange Corporation


Senior Startup Advocate, Agora
Director of Startup Programs, Agora
Founder, Embold


Chief Marketing Advisor, DealEngine
Head of Strategy & Operations, XRM Vision
Lawyer, Information Security Governance Committee Member, Fasken


Founder and Managing Director, Mosaic Venture Partners
Corporate Director and Business Leader
Next AI - Montréal Mentors
Mentors are seasoned entrepreneurs and accomplished industry professionals who provide dedicated ongoing assistance to select Next AI – Montréal ventures.
ALEX PALMER
Director of Product, Tribe Community Platform
ALEX SHEE
Head of Partnerships, Samasource
ANNIE BERGEVIN
Founder, OnPoint Business Plans
BENJAMIN TUFF
Managing Partner, Benjamin David Group
CARL BREAU
CEO, Saimen
CAROLINA BESSEGA
Co-founder and CSO, Stradigi AI
CAROLINA OSORIO
Research Chair – Scale AI, HEC – Dept. de sciences de la décision
CATHERINE ROUSSEAU-SAINE
Director – Partnerships & Strategy, MILA
CHARLES NOUŸRIT
Partner, Orevon Ventures
CHRIS MATYS
Founder, Ignite AI
CHRISTINE BEAULIEU
Professor MBA, HEC Montréal – École des Dirigeants
DANIEL MULET
Investor, Radical Ventures
DAVID DUFRESNE
Partner, Panache Ventures
DEBORAH HAYEK
Senior Product Owner, Manulife Innovation Lab (LOFT)
DEREK CHEUNG
Manager, Mattamy Homes
DOUGLAS HARRISON
Board Member, Metro Supply Chain Group
DOV AMIHOD
CTO/Co-founder, Stealth Startup
ELAINE KUNDA
Founder, Managing Partner, Disruption Ventures
EMILIE FOURNELLE
VP Product & Operations, Sportlogiq
ERIC DAHAN
Canadian Sales Manager, Nvidia
FRANTZ SAINTELLEMY
President and COO, LeddarTech
FRÉDÉRIC BASTIEN
Vice-President, Artificial Intelligence of Things, Aspen Technology
GABRIEL DAMANT-SIROIS
CPO & Co-founder, Local Logic
JACOB LANYADOO
President, TechBonjour
JATIN MALHOTRA
Senior Data Scientist, SSENSE
JEAN-FRANCOIS DENAULT
CEO, Impacts.ca
JEAN-FRANCOIS GAGNON
CEO & Founder, LVL
JEAN-FRANÇOIS PARISEAU
Partner, Amplitude Ventures
JEAN-PHILIPPE BRADETTE
Co-founder and CEO, Apprentx
JENNIFER MCDONALD
COO, Moka
JILLIAN RUIZ
Head of Marketing, Local Logic
JOHANNE SÉVIGNY
Managing Partner, Fonds Ecofuel I s.e.c.
KJELL KOLSTAD
VP Alliances and Business Development, Vehicle Mind Technology
LAUREN JANE HELLER
Executive leadership coach, Shiny Leadership
LLOYED LOBO
Co-founder, Boast.ai
LOUIS RENÉ AUCLAIR
Founder, RocketRide Games
LUDOVIC ANDRÉ
Managing Director, CIC Capital Canada
MARC VAUCHER
Investment Director, Scale AI
MARCO DODIER
President & CEO, Du Proprio & Purplebricks Canada
MARIE-CLAUDE CÔTÉ
Head Data Scientist, IVADO Labs
MARINA CORTES
Venture Partner, Hike Ventures
MASOUD CHITSAZ
Principal Developer, Kinaxis
MICHAEL MEE
Principal, Amplitude Ventures
MIKIHIRO YASUDA
General Partner, Hike Ventures
MOHAMAD SALAMÉ
Co-founder & CTO, Cashflow.io
MOHAN MARKANDAIER
Managing Partner, Good News Ventures
NABEELA MERCHANT
Associate, Relay Ventures
OLIVIER FISCHER
Head of Business Development, Nakisa
OLIVIER LOCUFIER
CEO, Orevon Ventures
PATRICIA ESCOFFIER
Investment Manager, Theodorus Investment Funds
EY Canada Partner
PHILIPPE FRIZON
Principal, PMP Conseil
RAMY SEDRA
Associate Partner, McKinsey & Company
RAPHAEL CHRISTIAN-ROY
National Managing Director of Front Row Ventures, Real Ventures
RAPHAEL STEINMAN
CEO, Maxa AI
RHIANNON DAVIES
Founding Partner, Sandpiper Ventures
RICHARD CLOUTIER
Managing Partner, Fonds Ecofuel I s.e.c.
ROBERT HANNA
Sales, BD, Marketing Coach and Consultant, GreenAscot
RUSS ARMSTRONG
Director, Business Development, Boast.ai
SALIM ADAMON
Product specialist, Sharp XRM
SAMI AHMED
Chief Data & Analytics Officer, Omers
SIDITA ZHABJAKU
Managing Director, Wealth Management Data & Analytics, BMO Financial group
SOLMAZ SHAHALIZADEH
Founder, BackBone Angels
SYBIL RAMOS SHEEN
Financial Planning and Analysis Manager, Polytainers Inc.
SOODEH FAROKHI
Founder & CTO, C2RO
THÉO RISOPOULOS
Investment Manager, Theodorus Investment Funds
TRISTAN MALLET
Partner, BCG Gamma
VANESSA CHERENFANT
Head of Strategy, Products & Innovation, XRM Vision
VIGEN NAZARIAN
President, Venture Services, Nubinary
VYARA NDEJURU
CMO, Late Checkout
YASIR ASIF
Co-founder & Partner, Shuhari Consulting
YVES ERIC LALIBERTE
Board Member, Worximity
Advisors
Advisors are a volunteer network of seasoned entrepreneurs and accomplished industry professionals who provide à-la-carte assistance to ventures across all three programs.
ALEX BAKER
Partner, Relay Ventures
ALEX NORMAN
Managing Director, TechToronto and Advisor at AngelList
ALEXANDER BARCLAY
Investment Manager, MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund
ANGELA TRAN
Investor, Version One Ventures
Senior Manager, EY
COLIN WEBSTER
Founder and CEO, Hero Ventures
DAVID SHORE
Director of Investor Relations, Canada, OurCrowd
Regional Market Leader, SR&ED and Business Tax Incentives; Co-lead of EY’s Entrepreneurial Winning Women Program
KATHERINE HOMUTH
Founder, Female Funders
KB BRINKLEY
EY Canada Business Consulting – Finance Transformation Leader
MATTHEW LEIBOWITZ
Partner, Plazacorp Ventures
MICHELLE MCBANE
Managing Director, StandUp Ventures; Senior Investment Director, MaRS IAF
NICOLE LEBLANC
VC, Startups and Strategy
MIKE SHAVER
CTO, integrate.ai
TOM REEVES
President and CEO, Interface Biologics
BRENDAN CALLAGHAN
Senior Sales Principal, Portag3
CALEB RUBIN
Co-founder and CMO, Kahuso
COREY MILLER
Principal, Definitive Growth Strategies
JASON MCDERMOTT
Senior Enterprise Software Executive
JONATHAN AGES
Startup Executive
JONATHAN LISTER
Vice President, North America Sales, Sales Solutions, LinkedIn
KATHY NEWTON
Marketing & Brand Strategy Professional
ADRIAN DE VALOIS-FRANKLIN
CEO, Castle Ridge Asset Management
MARK EVANS
Principal, ME Consulting
ROKHAM FARD
Founder, TheRedPin.com and PsychologyCompass.com
RON BENEGBI
Former President, Engage People Inc.
SARAH TRIMBLE
Senior Director, Digital Marketing at Rogers Consumer Publishing and Digital Media Group
SOMEN MONDAL
Co-Founder and CEO, Ideal
ERIN BURY
CEO and Co-founder, Willful
JIM GRAY
Senior Communications Advisor
LIVY JACOBS
Founder, Liv Public Relations
KL WONG
Engineering Leader, Digital Banking for Canada at Scotiabank
MAXWELL TEITELBAUM
WhatRunsWhere, Co-founder and COO
NAEEM LAKHANI
Co-Founder, Gallop Labs
SUMIT GUPTA
VP, HPC & AI, IBM Cognitive Systems
TOM PREDOVIC
Senior Executive Leader, Tech and Software
VIVEK KALWANI
Director, Partnerships & Data Analytics, RBC
CHRIS STEFANYK
Strategy & Business Ops Lead, Wattpad
ELI GLADSTONE
Co-founder, Speaker Labs
ERIC SILVERBERG
Co-founder, Speaker Labs
SAEED ZEINALI
Co-Founder, EdgeCollab
MANDEEP SAINI
Partner, BrightIron Consulting – CA, CPA
WILSON LEE
Partner, BrightIron Consulting – CA, CPA
BRENT LOWE
Consultant, Base Associates
DR. JOHN O’DWYER
Organizational, Team, & Individual Effectiveness Expert
TIM HEWAT
Partner, Amrop Knightsbridge
BALAJI GOPALAN
Co-founder and CEO, MedStack
CHRIS HODGSON
Founder, The Pivt
DAMODAR ARPAKOTA
Chairman, Nuvis Ventures
MIKE DOELL
President, Ross + Doell Inc
COREY PECK
Co-founder and CEO, Media One Creative
DEREK RIDER
Digital Video and Advertising Executive & Founder, Media One Creative
JOSH MCINERNEY
Manager of Design and Creative, Ryerson University
DR. LEENO KARUMANCHERY
Chief Diversity Officer, Enkidu
KEVIN MAKO
Founder and President, MAKO Design
MEG BUTTON
CEO and Co-Founder, Nuscreen Inc


JAMES RICKERT
Executive, Hakluyt
Next AI - Montréal Experts
Alexandre Bordellier
Alexandre Le Bouthillier
Amadea Camozzi
Amanda Truscott
Amira Boutouchent
Amna Zia
Asad Lesani
Aurélie Labbé
Behnaz Saboonchi
Bruno Morency
Caroline Pelletier
Charlotte Martin
Christophe Muratet
Christopher Wells
Damien Beaufils
Deborah Cherenfant
Eryk Warren
François Menet
Francois Poirier
Graham Mann
Isaac Souweine
Iulian Serban
Jane Sommerville
Jean-François Connolly
Jean-Philippe Salvas
Jon French
Joumana Ghosn
Katia Renaud
Kendra Davey
Kevin Urbanski
Kris Isfeld
Laura Easton
Laviva Mazhar
Mathieu Hamel
Mauro Repacci
Michel Brouillette
Mike Lee
Milad Alucozai
Nicolas Feller
Paul Mallette
Paul Ortchanian
Philippe Beaudoin
Pierre Sabbagh
Raghu Bharat
Reda Mjahed
Sarah Bezeau-Gervais
Sebastien Roy
Shibl Mourad
Shingai Manjengwa
Sokmean Nou
Vaughn DiMarco
Veronika Kvon
Vincent Barberger
Academic Partners
University of Toronto (Founding)
Dalhousie University
McGill University
Queen’s University
Ryerson University
Simon Fraser University
University of British Columbia
University of Waterloo
Western University