Andrew Arnott
Vice President, CFS, Knowledge Based Industries and Not for Profit Markets at RBC Royal Bank
Andrew Arnott brings more than 20 years of experience from various Banking and Financial roles covering all industries from SME to Mid-market. Andrew is currently Vice President Commercial Financial Services with RBC where he leads a combined specialized team focused on knowledge based industries as well as the not-for-profit sector in Ottawa. Prior to this, Andrew held the role of Area Manager Commercial Markets with RBC.
Mr. Arnott received his Bachelor of Arts from Trent University and also holds a Fellowship of the Institute of Canadian Bankers. He remains an active community member participating in and sitting on various Board and Community Associations.
Veronica Farmer
President and Founder of TrueCourse Communications
With over 20 years of experience in communications, business development, sales and marketing, Veronica plays a central role in augmenting her clients’ leadership position in their respective markets. Working in both public and private companies, her depth of experience includes all aspects of marketing communications such as strategic planning, PR & IR, corporate identity & branding, writing and eBusiness.
Veronica has held a variety of senior management, business development and marketing communications positions within Fidus Systems, Tundra Semiconductor (now IDT), NCI Navatar and Pharma Plus Drugmarts. Veronica currently is the Founder and President of TrueCourse Communications. TrueCourse provides clients with a virtual marketing communications team and is an energetic, creative and dedicated team of strategists, writers, eBusiness specialists, graphic designers and web developers. TrueCourse has a diversified client base that includes leaders in Ottawa's high tech communities and medium to small sized service and product companies.
Veronica received a Bachelors of Arts (Honours) from Queen’s University and an Executive Masters in Business Administration from the University of Ottawa.
Leo Lax
CEO, Skypoint Capital Corporation
Mr. Lax co-founded Skypoint Capital Corporation in 1998 and has been the company's CEO since its inception. Skypoint manages an early stage Venture fund, with over $150M invested in two funds. While at Skypoint, Leo sourced most of the investments, and actively managed the portfolio. He was a member of the board of directors of over 18 privately held companies, and Chairman of the Board for most of them.
Prior to launching Skypoint, Leo established and managed Newbridge Network Corporation's Affiliates Program where he was instrumental in assisting entrepreneurs in the launching of sixteen Newbridge affiliates. While at Newbridge and continuing with Skypoint, Leo has been involved in many M&A activities in North America and internationally. Prior to Newbridge(acquired by Alcatel in 2000), Leo worked as senior manager and executive in R&D, marketing and sales, and business development, including nine years at Mitel Corporation, where he became Assistant Vice-President responsible for emerging businesses. Leo is a past Director of CATA (Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance) and the CVCA (Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association).
He has a Bachelor of Engineering from McGill University and Master of Engineering from Royal Military College.
Stephen Priddle
Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Chinook MHD
Stephen brings over 22 years of relevant financial experience. He has worked for public and private technology companies including two start-ups, as well as the national accounting firm KPMG. Stephen has extensive experience in financial reporting and projections, banking, Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax credits, mergers and acquisitions, and managing growth from a financial perspective.
Stephen teaches at the Ontario School of Accountancy and has taught a number of professional development seminars for various Institutes of Chartered Accountants, as well as teaching at the University of Toronto, Carleton University, and in the CMA and CGA programs. He is a prolific author of published business cases.
Stephen is a Chartered Accountant and a Certified Management Accountant. He also holds an Honours B.Com. from Carleton University.
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