Dr. Ian Burgess

Co-Founder

Ian is an interdisciplinary scientist whose inventions have been recognized with an R&D 100 Award and featured in Scientific American, Chemical & Engineering News, Nature Photonics, and Materials Today. He has a PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard and a Bachelor’s in Math and Physics from the University of Waterloo. Outside the lab, he enjoys spending time with his daughters and playing golf.

Nouman Ahmad

Co-Founder

Nouman is an entrepreneur with a passion for solving complex industry problems. Previously, he led operations of a successful Toronto-based fintech startup which achieved market dominance in less than 2 years. He also advised technology companies with TD investment banking for over 7 years. Nouman has also built a leading Canadian political training incubator.

Jon DeCoste

Business Development

Jon has over 10 years of experience in the Oil & Gas industry within engineering and commercial roles of midstream and upstream businesses. He has managed commercialization of petrochemical solutions, developed specialty-drilling fluids for Canadian geology, and designed and constructed real-time NGL measurement solutions. Jon has also owned and operated a business consulting firm and co-founded a boutique mergers & acquisition start-up.

Mark Le Dain

Business Development & Strategy

Mark has significant experience advising energy and infrastructure companies as an investment banker with Barclays, successfully completing over $18 billion of M&A transactions and $5 billion of capital markets transactions. He specialized in valuation and structuring, working on cross-border assignments between Canada, the US and Asia. Mark holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the Queen’s University School of Business and is a CFA charterholder. Mark is passionate about education and is on the Board of Governors of Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School, as well as being a proud partner and volunteer with Social Venture Partners Calgary. He is also a published fiction author.

Raja Bhatia

Software Development

Raja has over 12 years of experience building highly scalable, fault tolerant, distributed applications. He scaled and managed an online dating service from being the sole engineer post-acquisition to a team of 110+ in product & engineering, achieving growth from $5.5m revenue to $80m in 18 months. He also is a successful entrepreneur, co-founding a social comparison shopping engine and achieving a successful exit to a new media acquisition fund 18 months after launch. Raja also brings 5 years of experience working with private equity firms on deal due diligence and post-deal tech transition operations.

Sami Zakaria

Business Development

Sami obtained his degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto, and has 5 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. He has held Process Engineering positions at Suncor Energy, in addition to working with EPC firms such as The Shaw Group, Technip and Petrofac. He is now completing his MBA at the Rotman School of Management, and in his spare time, he loves to fly planes, scuba dive and ski.

John Nguyen

Product Development

John is a mechatronics engineer, technophile and an obsessive tinkerer. He has extensive experience in the R&D, design and prototyping of biomedical diagnostic devices, wearables and instrumentation. He has a bachelor’s and masters degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto. On the side, he’s an avid fan of the Raptors, all things basketball and eating.

Adam Weinstein

Business Development

Adam obtained his degree in Nanotechnology Engineering from the University of Waterloo and brings both highly technical and business-focused experience from internships at Microsoft, Harvard University, the University of Toronto, and Apotex. In his spare time, Adam enjoys playing music and rock climbing.

Dr. Patrick Robinson

Data Science

Patrick is a data scientist and mathematician, holding a PhD and MSc in Mathematics from the University of Toronto, as well as a Bachelor’s in Math and Physics.  He spent two and a half years as a data scientist and quantitative developer in the financial sector, primarily validating short-term trading strategies.  Patrick built an introductory data science course for BrainStation, for which is he currently the evening lead educator, and is an occasional lecturer at the University of Toronto.  Away from work, he enjoys indie games, cooking, mixology, and looking after his bunny.

Chung Kuang Lin

Software Development

Chung is an entrepreneur, innovator, and an indie game developer enthusiast! As an alumni of Management Engineering in the University of Waterloo, Chung always thrives to innovate and build software applications that enrich people’s lives. Before joining Validere, Chung had accumulated many valuable experiences building and designing software systems for companies including Rogers Communication, Hospital for SickKids, Zynga Inc and Royal Bank of Canada.

Ben Hu

Software Development

Ben completed a specialist in Computer Science at the University of Toronto.  As software developer eager to tackle any challenge that comes his way, Ben strives to make an impact with what he creates. Prior to joining Validere, Ben had completed a PEY term at IBM where he accrued a variety of experiences working with and building software systems.

Daniel Kulesza

Software Development

Daniel completed his undergraduate in Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto. He is currently pursuing a Master of Computer Science at Georgia Tech part-time. Daniel is a passionate problem solver who has gained valuable experience building software at companies including, SapientRazorfish and Maxxian. During his free time, Daniel enjoys weightlifting, snowboarding and spending time in the outdoors.

William Gelhar

Software Development

William graduated from the University of Toronto with a Computer Science Specialist degree, always striving to improve and not one to turn down a challenge. He came to Validere after working for several years in software development, tackling visualizations and application development. When he’s not working he enjoys floor hockey, baseball, and cooking

Kelsea Tomaino

Data Science

Kelsea is a fourth year student studying biomedical engineering at the University of Waterloo. She has previously worked in web development, android development and bioinformatics. Kelsea is passionate about solving engineering problems and is always looking to learn something new. In her free time, she enjoys figure skating, soccer, yoga and running.

Pierre Magnan

Chair

Mr. Magnan is the President of Parkland International. Prior to assuming this role, Pierre lead Parkland’s Supply, Trading & Refining business, the Corporate Development and Legal teams.  Mr. Magnan is a graduate of the University of Ottawa and Cambridge University.

Louis Krannich

Director

Louis is a career energy professional with experience in operations, engineering, finance, business development and strategic planning. Prior to joining ROC, Louis held leadership roles at PG&E and El Paso Corporation. Louis received an engineering degree from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

JS Cournoyer

Director

JS is an entrepreneur at heart. When he is not taking care of his five children, he chooses to dedicate his life helping passionate entrepreneurs trying to change the world realize their vision and succeed in life and in business. JS likes to work with entrepreneurs who use A.I and blockchain technologies to improve human creativity, communication and happiness or to transform the pillars of our society (health, education, food, energy, government, finance, work, transportation).

Dr. Joanna Aizenberg

Director

Joanna is the Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science and Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University. She is the Director of the Kavli Institute for Bionano Science and Technology at Harvard University and has served on the Board of Directors of numerous institutions. Joanna is also elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science; and is a Fellow of American Physical Society and Materials Research Society. She has received numerous awards including Fred Kavli Distinguished Lectureship in Nanoscience, Ronald Breslow Award for the Achievement in Biomimetic Chemistry, Arthur K. Doolittle Award in Polymeric Materials, ACS Industrial Innovation Award, and was recognized with two R&D 100 Awards for best innovations in 2012 and 2013.

Dr. Ian Burgess

Director

Ian is an interdisciplinary scientist whose inventions have been recognized with an R&D 100 Award and featured in Scientific American, Chemical & Engineering News, Nature Photonics, and Materials Today. He has a PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard and a Bachelor’s in Math and Physics from the University of Waterloo. Outside the lab, he enjoys spending time with his daughter and playing golf.

Nouman Ahmad

Director

Nouman is an entrepreneur with a passion for solving complex industry problems. Previously, he led operations of a successful Toronto-based fintech startup which achieved market dominance in less than 2 years. He also advised technology companies with TD investment banking for over 7 years. Nouman has also built a leading Canadian political training incubator.

Doug Foshee

Advisor

Doug Foshee is the founder and owner of Sallyport Investments. He previously served as chairman, president and chief executive officer of El Paso Corporation until its merger with Kinder Morgan in 2012. Prior to joining El Paso in 2003, he worked for Halliburton Company in various roles including executive vice president and chief operating officer, and executive vice president and chief financial officer. He previously chaired the board of directors of The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Houston Branch. Foshee holds an MBA from Rice University and a bachelor’s degree from Southwest Texas State University. He currently serves on the boards of Rice University, The Welch Foundation, and Houston Endowment Inc.

Neil Camarta

Advisor

Mr. Neil Camarta is currently President & CEO of Field Upgrading Ltd. Prior to that, Mr. Camarta held the position of Executive Vice-President, Natural Gas for Suncor Energy Inc. Mr. Camarta sits on the boards of ENMAX, MindFuel (formerly the Science Alberta Foundation) and the FSHD Canada Foundation, as well as having previously served on the board of the Alberta Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS).

Mr. Camarta joined Shell Canada Limited in 1975 and held senior positions in Canada and abroad. Most notably, he led the successful development, construction, and start-up of Shell’s $6 billion Athabasca Oil Sands Project. Mr. Camarta retired from Shell in 2005 and worked as Senior Vice President of Petro-Canada’s Oil Sands business.

He was born in Edmonton, Alberta and holds a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Alberta.

George Whitesides

Advisor

George is the Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor at Harvard University. He received an A.B. degree from Harvard University in 1960 and a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology (with J.D. Roberts) in 1964. He was a member of the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1963 to 1982. He joined the Department of Chemistry of Harvard University in 1982, and was Department Chairman from 1986-89, and Mallinckrodt Professor of Chemistry from 1982-2004. George is a prolific author and patent holder who has received many awards. He has co-founded numerous companies including Genzyme, GelTex, and Theravance. In 2011, he received the highest Hirsch index rating of all living chemists.