CHRIS ARSENAULT

MANAGING PARTNER INOVIA CAPITAL

Chris Arsenault is Managing Partner at iNovia Capital and has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur for the last two decades. Chris currently serves as a director or observer on the boards of AppDirect, Beyond the Rack, LightSpeed Retail, Luxury Retreats, Poka and Well.ca. Chris is a board member of Réseau Capital, Co-Chair of the Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) and is an active Charter Member of the C100. Before joining iNovia in 2002, Chris founded, co-founded or funded a number of Software, Mobile and Consumer Internet technology start-ups, including 2 spin-offs of telecom giants Microcell and Teleglobe. Chris was also instrumental in the creation of the ENABLIS Entrepreneurial Network (a $30+ million G8-sponsored venture capital seed fund). Chris’ entrepreneurial and investment experience includes a number of notable exits. As founder and CEO of SIT in the mid-90’s, he played an important part in the initial growth of the Internet.

JAMES McGOFF

CO-FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, LIFEPACK

In 2009, James McGoff moved to Montreal to study materials engineering in the co-op program at McGill University (graduation pending). Throughout 2011 and 2012, he worked for the advanced material analysis group at Boeing Defense, Space & Security where he developed an interest for heat transfer and insulation. With a strong passion for entrepreneurship, James leveraged the resources available through McGill (and relied on some very kind professors) to research the potential commercial applications of several novel materials – particularly in the world of packaging. Lifepack was started in April 2013 for the purpose of developing products that help blood banks and pharmaceutical companies move temperature sensitive material around the world more efficiently. The company has since sold tens of thousands of its insulated packaging products to health care and food customers both in the US and Canada. James is an avid supporter of anything that promotes and supports business creation within the McGill engineering community

DAVID R. ROLSTON

CO-FOUNDER, VICE PRESIDENT AND CTO, REFLEX PHOTONICS

Dr. Rolston received B.Eng., M.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees all in electrical and computer engineering from McGill University, Canada. Prior to co-founding Reflex Photonics, he worked at FCI-Areva as senior photonics scientist where he helped commission one of three global R&D research centers in the field of optics and photonics. While at FCI-Areva’s Corporate Research Center he was responsible for the planning and design of several projects into multi-gigabit parallel optical fiber transceivers and fused biconic fiber couplers. His current role as CTO at Reflex Photonics includes the design and testing of optical and optomechanical design assemblies for optical transceivers and Hybrid Optical IC Packaging concepts for chip-to-chip optical interconnections. Other fields of interest involve the design, testing, and packaging of VLSI ASICs for high-speed optoelectronic systems. Dr. Rolston has published numerous journal articles and holds several US and International Patents and Patents Pending.

DIDIER TOUSSAINT

CO-FOUNDER, TOP ACES GROUP PRESIDENT, GOVERNMENT SERVICES, DISCOVERY AIR

Didier is an honours graduate in mechanical engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as a CF-18 pilot where he was awarded the prestigious “Top Gun” award for best overall performance on the CF-18 Fighter Weapons Instructor Course. Didier’s final assignment in the RCAF was in the Directorate of Aerospace Requirements (DAR), as Deputy Project Director for the CF-18 modernization program. Didier then gained significant experience in the global aerospace and air transportation industry, working as a Senior Consultant for the DRDC (Directorate of Research and Development Canada) and with companies such as Northrop Grumman and CAE. Didier is one of the original founders of Top Aces, which he lead in the role of President and Accountable Executive as it became a world leader in Military Air Training. Top Aces, now part of Discovery Air, is the exclusive provider of Contracted Airborne Training Services to Canada since 2005, has recently continued its expansion in Germany and the United States. Didier is the Group President of Discovery Air Government Services, and is responsible for Discovery Air Defence Services (Top Aces), Discovery Air Technic