• David W. Berkus
• Dan MacDonald, President & CEO, InNOVAcorp
• Permjot Valia
• Frank Peters, Chairman, Tech Coast Angels
• Tony Rahilly, Director General, NRC-IRAP
• Ed Alfke, Angel Investor
• Brent Decker
• Cathy Favre
• David Foord, Director, Intellectual Property at University of New Brunswick
• Austin Hill, Entrepreneur
• John O. Huston, Manager, Ohio TechAngels
• Robert Koturbash, Manaing Director, Maple Leaf Angels (Toronto)
• Joe Kremer
• Ron Layden, Executive Director, Industry Liaison and Innovation at Dalhousie University (NS)
• Iain A. Robb, Partner, Gowlings
• Dr. Ian Sobieski, Founder and Managing Director, Band of Angels
• Randy Thompson
• Michael Volker, Director, Simon Fraser University Industry Liason Office
• Marnie Walker, Entrepreneur
• Andrew Wilkes, Chairman, National Angel Organization
• Ross Finlay, Summit Co-Chair and Director, First Angel Network
• Brian Lowe, Summit Co-Chair and Director, First Angel Network
• Daniel Mothersill, President & Founder, National Angel Organization
• Bryan Watson, Executive Director, National Angel Organization

David W. Berkus

Dave Berkus is a much in-demand speaker, with a proven track record of over fifty years as an entrepreneur and successful angel investor. As an entrepreneur, he has formed, managed and sold successful businesses in the entertainment and software arenas. As an investor, he has obtained healthy returns from over twenty liquidity events in early-stage ventures. As a mentor, he was named "Early Stage Director of the Year" by Forum for Corporate Directors for his efforts as chairman or board member of over 40 companies since 1993. As a speaker, he has been rated the highest of any previous speaker in numerous business and entrepreneur venues.

Mr. Berkus was the founder of an early computer software company, which he guided as CEO for over a decade that included two consecutive years on the Inc.500 list of America's fastest growing companies. For his accomplishments in advancing technology in the hospitality industry, in 1998 he was inducted into the Hospitality (HFTP) "International Hall of Fame", one of only twenty-eight so honored worldwide over the years.

In the last ten years he has made 68 investments in early stage ventures, for which he has an IRR of 97%, which includes capital contributions to his two funds (Berkus Technology Ventures, LLC and Kodiak Ventures, L.P., for which he is the managing partner). He is a past Chairman of the Tech Coast Angels, one of the largest angel networks in the United States, and currently serves as chairman of six companies, participating on a total of fourteen boards, including four non-profit boards. In recognition for his adding significant shareholder value for emerging technology companies over the past decade, he was named "Director of the Year" by the Forum for Corporate Directors of Orange County, California.

His latest book, "Extending the Runway", published by Aspatore Press, addresses the complexities of growing young technology companies, providing sage advice to entrepreneurs, board members and professional managers regarding the use of available resources to promote growth and protect against failure. His "Berkus Method" for valuing young companies is widely quoted and used by angel investors and groups worldwide.

Mr. Berkus is much in demand as a speaker and story-teller, often addressing both current and future trends in technology as well as observations and stories of companies he's participated in that have succeeded and some that have not.

A graduate of Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, Mr. Berkus has long been a trustee of the College and is responsible for its current fifty year master plan.

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Dan MacDonald, President & CEO, InNOVAcorp

Dan MacDonald has more than 22 years of high technology business building experience. He has gained valuable cross functional operational experience holding senior positions in global marketing, product management, engineering, customer operations, venturing, mergers and acquisitions. His work has taken him across four continents and over twenty countries.

MacDonald is the president and CEO of InNOVAcorp. In this role, Dan oversees InNOVAcorp's High Performance Incubation (HPi)™ business model, which is recognized internationally as a "best practice" technology commercialization approach. The firm operates as an active and effective venture capitalist through management of the Nova Scotia First Fund. Seed and early stage investments target emerging venture-grade technology companies with high growth potential. Key industries include: information and communications technology, life sciences, and clean technology. In the past three years, InNOVAcorp have invested in 12 companies participating in 25 transactions.

Prior to joining InNOVAcorp, Dan spent five years in the heart of California's Silicon Valley high tech boom, bust and recovery periods. Most recently, he was vice president of global marketing for Nokia. He was an original member of the enterprise division's senior management team, driving the delivery of Nokia's award winning network security systems designed to protect and extend fixed and mobile networks. While with Nokia, Dan was involved in the due diligence, acquisition and integration of six start up companies.

Previously, Dan was an executive with Ottawa-based Voice Over IP start up Vienna Systems, which was acquired by Nokia in 1999. Prior to Vienna Systems, Dan worked in engineering, product management, and marketing at Mitel Corporation

Dan has participated in the Prime Minister's Advisory Council on Science and Technology, he sits on the boards of Coemergence Inc., the Discovery Centre, and the Nova Scotia Alzheimer's Society, and he is part of the National Research Council's Institute for Marine Biosciences Advisory Council. He is also an advisor to the board of BioNova and to East Coast Connected. In addition, Dan is a mentor with MENTTIUM Corporation, a US-based company using a virtual model to deliver cross-geographic, cross-company mentoring, business education and networking to promising high potential professionals and executives.

In February 2008, Dan was asked by the Globe and Mail - Report on Business to join an expert panel made up of six prominent CEOs, successful entrepreneurs, and business specialists from across Canada. The expert panel tackles real life business ventures and provides expert advice on a range of growth-related issues.

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Permjot Valia

Permjot is a prolific investor having invested in twenty businesses in the last four years. He is based in London, England and currently sits on the board of the Enteprise Investment Scheme Association and is their representative on the board of the British Business Angels Association. He is extremely well connected in the London Entrepreneurial scene and the annual get together he organizes is a who's who in this space.

He has made over 20 angel investments in the last five years and the businesses make an eclectic collection. The companies range from a cafÉ making the British sandwich of the year to a company supplying vegetarian condoms to the National Health Service.

Permjot started angel investing after having served as Sales and Marketing Director for Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Services in London. Having organized the prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year competition for 2004, Permjot was able to learn first hand what it took to be a successful start up and the problems they encounter along the way.

In 2007, Permjot worked with New East Manchester (a regeneration project) on a very successful initiative to help local businesses develop compelling business propositions to raise the level of investment in their business and to further boost employment in the area. This initiative has now been rolled out to run for a further three years and Permjot has been retained to coach the businesses in the New East Manchester Area. Permjot co-founded a fund management business called Flight & Partners Ltd which now has around $30m under management. The fund, which started in early 2008, currently invests in distressed situations. Two further funds are planned for 2009 to invest in start up situations and land-bank opportunities.

Earlier this year, Permjot also started www.businessangelblog.com where he tries to pass on many of the lessons he has learned from his angel investing. As a result of this blog, he has been asked to speak at many conferences and business events. Permjot Valia gained a degree in Economics with Honours from the University of Leeds in 1993. In 2000 he obtained his MBA from the Open University.

To allow him to be authorized by the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom, Permjot passed the Investment Management Certificate in 2007.

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Frank Peters, Chairman, Tech Coast Angels

Frank has been an angel investor since 1999 when he joined Charlotte Angel Partners. He eventually joined Tech Coast Angels in 2003. TCA has great relationships with the venture capital firms, the non-profits, the universities, and everyone else who participates in the ecosystem for entrepreneurs.

Frank started Plaid Brothers Software in Orange County, CA in 1983; creating portfolio management and contact management systems. The portfolio software pulled him east to Wall Street and New York City. After running the company for 15 years, he was ready for a change, so he devoted myself to dance photography both in New York and at UC Irvine.

He is now settled in Orange County and is a member of the Dean's Leadership Council in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at UC Irvine and is Chairman of the Tech Coast Angels.

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Tony Rahilly, Director General, NRC-IRAP

Tony has had extensive management experience in both the private and public sector. Starting his working life as a quality control chemist for Fry-Cadbury's in Dublin Ireland, he made the transition to sales and marketing within the pharmaceutical industry. Upon his arrival in Canada, he spent some time as Director of New Product Development for one of the large pharmaceutical companies.

Switching to the academic world, he has been both teacher and administrator in the community college system and university. Tony has taught marketing, statistics, and organizational behaviour at both the college and university level. He has held senior posts in both academic and support services such as admission and registration.

Tony holds a doctorate in administrative studies, focusing on organization theory and an MBA in Marketing, both from the University of Toronto, as well as a B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University College Dublin, Ireland.

Tony joined NRC-IRAP in 1998 and took over his position as the Regional Director for Ontario in 2001. He has now been leading the NRC-IRAP since September 2004.

Tony lives with his wife (Margrit) in Whitby and has two adult children, David and Andrea. His personal interests include the opera, musical theatre, live theatre, travel and reading especially history, science and mystery novels.

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Ed Alfke, Angel Investor

Ed is an internationally recognized businessman who has owned and operated many successful companies in U.S., Canada, and U.K. He is most renowned for the founding and success of Rent a Wreck, Practical Auto Rentals, and associated companies.

Most recently Mr. Alfke resided in Denver, Colorado, where he chaired Entrust Financial Services with banking licenses in 40 states. He purchased Allegro Software, completed a revamp of the company and led a successful business turn around, selling the company in May 2003.

He founded a Junior Capital Pool at 10 ¢ /share on the Alberta Stock Exchange and as a director and chairman of the audit committee, completed the successful sale of the public company at $2.00 a share in 2003.

Ed is the founding member and Director of the National Angel Organization. As an Angel he has been exposed to many business opportunities in all areas of business. He has extensive experience in investing and raising capital.

On Angel TV, Ed describes the most current investment opportunity with which he is involved, a high-tech power line technology company - Signalink Technologies Inc.

He has enjoyed mentoring four company presidents.

As a startup and early stage expert, his extensive entrepreneurial and company building experience has proven to work in numerous industries over the past three decades.

Ed enjoys contributing his expertise to growing and troubled companies some of which are listed below.

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Brent Decker

Brent is a Business Analyst with the Genesis Centre, a high-technology, high growth, business incubator. The Genesis Centre is a division of the GENESIS Group Inc., the technology commercialization arm of Memorial University. Brent has been working in the field of entrepreneurship and economic development for nearly 15 years and has helped hundreds of businesses get started and grow. He is currently on the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of Newfoundland and Labrador and is a member of the Canadian Youth Business Foundation Loan Approval Committee.

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Cathy Favre

Cathy Favre is the Project Manager for the Newfoundland and Labrador Angel Network (NLAN), www.nlan.nl.ca. NLAN connects Newfoundland and Labrador entrepreneurs with local angel investors who provide the capital and mentorship needed for high growth companies to succeed. Equipped with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Mathematics, Cathy has built a progressive career and is extensively involved in the community on a professional and personal level. Cathy has over 15 years experience in business with extensive experience in the technology, eLearning and training sectors.

Before joining NLAN, Cathy held a number of senior executive positions for a number of companies in Canada and the US providing products and services globally to clients such as Microsoft Corporation (Global Headquarters, Redmond, Washington) and the World Bank (Global Headquarters, Washington, DC).

Cathy's "passion" for Newfoundland and Labrador combined with her business savvy provide the combination of attributes that has helped shape and lead her career. At NLAN, Cathy puts all these attributes to work to help "bridge the capital gap" for local companies and foster an investment culture in Newfoundland and Labrador.

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David Foord, Director, Intellectual Property at University of New Brunswick

Mr. David Foord is the Director of Intellectual Property at the University of New Brunswick, and responsible for the university's technology transfer and industry liaison activities. Prior to coming to UNB he worked from 1993 to 1999 industry liaison office at Simon Fraser University. He is a member of the Association of University Technology Managers and Licensing Executives Society. In 2006 he was a co-chair of the Alliance for Commercialization of Canadian Technology (ACCT) Annual Conference, and in 2007 a co-chair for the ACCT Director's Forum. He has served as a faculty member with UNB's Shad Valley Program from 2006 to present. He holds a law degree from Dalhousie University.

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Austin Hill, Entrepreneur

Austin Hill is a Canadian entrepreneur who has been creating technology start-ups for 15 years. He is co-founder of Montreal technology startups Akoha and Standout Jobs, where he currently serves as CEO (Akoha) and Chairman (Standout Jobs).

Austin was a founder of Zero-Knowledge Systems (renamed Radialpoint in 2002) and as its President helped the company raise $75 million between 1997 and 2001. He also served as Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategy Officer of Zero-Knowledge Systems, CEO of Synomos Inc. (a Zero-Knowledge Systems subsidiary), and Executive-Vice President of Research for Radialpoint. Radialpoint was honoured by Deloitte & Touche as one of Canada's fastest-growing technology firms in their 2006 Technology Fast 50 award.

A serial entrepreneur, Austin was a founder of the Internet provider Total.Net in 1994 and built its Canadian network as its Chief Technology Officer. In 1990, while still a teenager, he founded security consulting firm Cyberspace Data Security. In 2001 Austin was awarded the 2001 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Emerging Entrepreneur in Quebec. In 2002 Austin was named a Technology Pioneer of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Austin is an advisory board member of the Electronic Privacy Information Center and a past Board member of the Information Technology Association of Canada. He serves on the advisory board of the Atwater Library Digital Literacy project, is a research fellow for Coburn Ventures, and through his angel investment firm Brudder Ventures advises a number of Canadian start-ups and entrepreneurs. He is a Board Member of Anges Quebec and a Venture Partner at iNovia Capital.

Austin's work on the issues of privacy, governance and technologies of social change have been profiled on 60 Minutes, CNN and ABC News and covered in Time, Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He speaks around the world on the issues of social entrepreneurship, civic society and the technologies of social change, and the role of entrepreneurs and corporations as agents of change in society.

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John O. Huston, Manager, Ohio TechAngels

John O. Huston, Principal, USPrivateCompanies, LLC — During his 30-year banking career, Mr. Huston held positions ranging from Chief Lending/Chief Credit Officer to CEO at five banks in five states. Since retiring from banking in 2000, he has been an advisor, conduit, columnist and frequent speaker in his area of expertise…..optimizing a private company's capital structure. An active business angel, he provides equity to entrepreneurs through his investment company, USPrivateCompanies, LLC. Mr. Huston was also pivotal in the formation of the Ohio TechAngel Fund and has been passionately engaged in the on-going success of the Fund.

Mr. Huston was one of seven Ohioans appointed by Governor Taft to the Ohio Venture Capital Authority, whose mission is to make professionally managed early stage capital more readily available to the state's entrepreneurs. He has also taught Finance at The Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business, and is a frequent judge for business plan competitions at Ohio's colleges and universities. In addition to serving on several Advisory Boards for his portfolio companies, Mr. Huston is an active member of The Ohio Venture Association, BioOhio, the Columbus Technology Council, and the Angel Capital Association ("The Professional Alliance of Angel Groups").

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Robert Koturbash, Manaing Director, Maple Leaf Angels (Toronto)

Robert Koturbash is currently the founding Managing Director of the Maple Leaf Angels, an angel investment group based in the Toronto area. He is an active investor and has invested in several early stage companies.

Prior to the Maple Leaf Angels, Rob served as VP Finance and Operations for Snipe Networks. Mr. Koturbash was also VP at Mobile and RFID Data Systems. Previously, he was involved with the analysis and finance of rapid growth technology companies at Woodmere Court Investments.

He was an associate at Helix Investments, a well established Canadian venture fund, and was a director of Agile Systems. Rob holds a BSME from Tufts University and a M.Sc. in Engineering Management from Stanford University.

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Joe Kremer

Joe Kremer is the director of the Wisconsin Angel Network (WAN), a public-private initiative launched in January 2005 to fuel the growth of entrepreneurial, early stage financing throughout Wisconsin. WAN, a division of the Wisconsin Technology Council, originated from Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle's Grow Wisconsin plan and the Wisconsin Legislature's Act 255 initiative. Since 2005 angel networks and funds in Wisconsin have grown from six to 22 and angel investing has increased steadily each year, 57% in 2007.

Kremer is the co-founder and former CFO of Madison-based PowerDesigners LLC, a high-tech power electronics firm. He served as an economic development policy advisor for the Wisconsin State Legislature, worked in the European headquarters' finance departments of Kraft and PepsiCo Restaurants International, and consults for entrepreneurial and non-profit organizations on business and financial strategies.

Kremer, an MBA in Finance, is also a graduate of the University of Wisconsin's Weinert Applied Venture in Entrepreneurship. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin.

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Ron Layden, Executive Director, Industry Liaison and Innovation at Dalhousie University (NS)

Dr. Layden is the Executive Director of the Industry Liaison and Innovation office at Dalhousie University.  Dr. Layden holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Western Ontario and has carried out research in the USA and in Europe.  Dr. Layden has more than 15 year of industrial experience on a global level in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, venture capital, and financial valuations.  In the past 3 years, Dr. Layden has developed a new office at Dalhousie for tech transfer, commercialization, and industry liaison.

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Iain A. Robb, Partner, Gowlings

Mr. Robb is a member of the corporate finance practice group within the business law department in the firm's Toronto office. Mr. Robb has participated in a number of public offerings and has dealt with both stock exchanges and securities regulators on various registration and qualification issues. He provides advice to a variety of clients including funds and technology companies in particular. Mr. Robb has also had experience with a variety of acquisitions, mergers, divestitures and secured financings.

He received his law degree from the University of Toronto in 1988 and joined the firm as an associate upon his call to the Bar in 1990. He became a partner in the firm in 1996.

Mr. Robb is bilingual and is a member of the Canadian Bar Association.

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Dr. Ian Sobieski, Founder and Managing Director, Band of Angels

Dr. Ian Sobieski, is a founder and managing director of the Band of Angels Fund, L.P., a $50M venture fund raised in 1999 exclusively from major institutions, and has helped lead the Band of Angels since 1997. Immediately prior to joining the Band, Ian served as an executive and director at internet start-up Evite.com and in engineering positions at medical device company Enact Health Management and Kaman Aerospace.

Ian has managed more than 40 direct investments totaling $30M, has served on fourteen boards of directors, and currently serves on three. He has a Ph.D. and M.S. in Aeronautics from Stanford University, a B.A. degree in Philosophy and a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Tech. Ian is a founding board member of the Angel Capital Association and is a member of the Young Venture Capitalists Association, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the National Ski Patrol.

He is the author of a dozen technical publications and is an appointed Lecturer in the Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology at the University of California at Berkeley, where he teaches a course in Entrepreneurial Finance.

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Randy Thompson

R Stewart (Randy) Thompson has been working in the start up venture space since 1992 when he started the first ISP in Alberta. In 1999 he started working on developing Angel Groups in Alberta, starting with an organization that matched deals for Western Canada investors on the Internet. Since that time, he led a team that started Deal Generator, an Edmonton based Angel group, and in 2003 Randy started Keiretsu Forum Calgary, an internationally affiliated angel group with over 400 accredited investors.

In 2001, Mr Thompson began to work as a Venture Capital Advisor to the Province of Alberta, starting the Alberta California Venture Channel, bringing together investors and companies in both regions. He has also introduced Alberta as an investment region to investors in New York, London, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Seattle, and Dallas.

In March 2007 this year, Randy parlayed his Angel experience into a new role- General Partner in a new cross border Venture Fund, Argon Venture Partners. With two General Partners in Silicon Valley, and one in Western Canada the fund is uniquely positioned to support early stage companies. The fund is focused on Information Technologies in both regions (Western Canada and Silicon Valley). Randy also sits on the board of four companies and one not for profit.

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Michael Volker, Director, Simon Fraser University Industry Liason Office

Mike is a high-technology entrepreneur and investor involved in the development of technology-based businesses. He is Director of Simon Fraser University's Industry Liaison Office (since Dec'96) and President and Founder of WUTIF Capital (VCC) Inc - the Western Universities Technology Innovation Fund.

In 1966, as a student entrepreneur, he was awarded the National Junior Achievement President-of-the-Year award. He received the University of Waterloo Alumni Achievement Medal in September, 1995. He served a maximum term as a Governor of the University of Waterloo from 1987-1993. His business career started in 1973 when he founded Volker-Craig Ltd., a computer terminals company that was acquired in 1981. Since then he has been active in various early-stage businesses as a founder, investor, director, and officer. Mike was the first Chairman of Shad International in 1980. He frequently writes and speaks on management and technology issues and is active as a member of various charitable and educational boards.

In 1988, he moved to British Columbia to serve as the first full-time Executive Director (1988-1991), and later as Chairman (2001-2003), of the BC Advanced Systems Institute, an organization dedicated to technology development and technology transfer. From 1991-1996 he was Chairman & CEO of RDM Corporation (TSX:RC), formerly Mindflight Corporation), a publicly-listed company he founded in 1987.

From 1996 to 2001, he was Chairman of the Vancouver Enterprise Forum and continues to manage the Vancouver Technology Angel Network. Mike is very active on the B.C. high tech scene, serving on non-profit boards of Telus New Ventures BC and the Canadian Listed Companies Association and public company boards of Plutonic Power Corporation (TSXV:PCC), Visiphor Corporation (TSXV:VIS) and GraphOn Corporation (OTC:GOJO) as well as various private company boards.

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Marnie Walker, Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur, Marnie Walker launches her next business venture, The 401 Bay Centre, located in Toronto's influential downtown financial centre. 401 Bay Centre is the workplace of the future. Opening in the fall, this dynamic full service Centre features office space, meeting rooms, virtual office solutions, state-of the- art amenities, professional services and skilled support staff to ensure your operations run smoothly — so you can stay focused on your business.

From personal experience, Marnie knows the challenges of starting and running a business. 'It was a constant struggle to find time to do the work that really mattered to my customers and the business. My dream was that I had the facilities and support I needed without the cost or hassle.'

After selling Student Express, Marnie decided to make this dream a reality for professionals, businesses and branch offices struggling to do it all.

Marnie Walker is best known for her entrepreneurial achievement in building Student Express from a start-up in 1990 to a multi-million dollar school bus company with 300 employees, a fleet 250 buses, and annual revenues of over $10 million. She was named Canadian Women Entrepreneur of the Year and ranked 37th in the Profit W100 Canada's Top Women Entrepreneurs in 2004.

She teaches entrepreneurship at the Schulich School of business, is a keynote speaker, an 'angel' investor and founding and board member of Maple Leaf Angels Inc. investment group.

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Andrew Wilkes, Chairman, National Angel Organization

Mr. Wilkes is an active Angel investor who looks for high-growth opportunities in traditional industries with a technological edge (including manufacturing and distribution, energy, water, financial services, and biotechnology). He is a partner in Management Initiatives Inc., a business advisory and investment firm located in Toronto, Ontario where he invests, mentors, raises capital and advises business owners and investment funds.

Mr. Wilkes is the Chairman and a founding member of the National Angel Organization (NAO), and past-Chairman of the NAO Public Policy Committee. He is active on numerous Boards of Directors with private and public businesses (including capital pool company Software Growth) and volunteer organizations.

Mr. Wilkes holds an MBA from the Ivey School of Business (1998 Dean's Honours List), a Bachelor of Commerce degree, and a Chartered Accountant designation. He is an active long distance runner having completed numerous half and full marathons — just recently completing the Boston Marathon in April 2008.

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Ross Finlay, Summit Co-Chair and Director, First Angel Network

Ross Finlay is a recognized facilitator, senior business consulting professional and strategic change consultant who has an extensive background in public, private and not-for-profit sectors. He has implemented major business changes in a number of organizations and has experience in conducting organizational reviews in both the public and the not-for-profit sector. He has extensive business networks throughout Atlantic Canada.

In 1988, Ross was appointed Executive Director of the Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario. In 1991 Ross was appointed President of a national consulting company specializing in human resource consulting, primarily in scientific, engineering and technical fields. For the last thirteen years since his move home to Nova Scotia, Ross has managed his own successful consulting practice. He returned to the corporate world for a time with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and more recently, as Director, Corporate Services, SolutionInc Ltd. — a Halifax based software development company.

Ross brings added value to his consulting through his unique blend of experience and competence. His background includes business planning, full P & L accountability, strategic planning, development of new visions and initiatives, budgeting, and financial planning, and human resource management. Ross has helped raise private equity for a number of companies in the region and in 2005 co-founded the First Angel Network Association.

In 2002 Ross was a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal for outstanding community service through his volunteer efforts in numerous charities.

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Brian Lowe, Summit Co-Chair and Director, First Angel Network

As an accomplished entrepreneur and businessman with over thirty years experience, Mr. Lowe brings invaluable expertise to NAO, having been responsible for the incorporation and funding of several startup companies.

In January 2002, Brian became a founding Director and the Chief Operating Officer of ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. Mr. Lowe is recognized for the incorporation and initial funding of approximately $3 million for IVT. Previous to IVT, Mr. Lowe raised over $10 million in startup funding. Past experience include serving as the President/CEO/Founder of three environmental companies based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Mr. Lowe successfully negotiated the sale of these companies to Laidlaw Environmental Services Ltd. of South Carolina.

He is currently a shareholder and Director of several operating companies in Nova Scotia. Mr. Lowe is co-founder and a director of the First Angel Network Association, Atlantic Canada's Association for Private Investors. He is also a director of BioNova, Nova Scotia Life Sciences Association, which is a not-for-profit organization.

A resident of Nova Scotia since 1967, attended Queen Elizabeth High School in Halifax from 1969 - 1972. Brian then attended St. Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia where he studied for his Bachelor of Commerce, Business Administration until 1975.

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Daniel Mothersill, President & Founder, National Angel Organization

Daniel Mothersill is a serial entrepreneur and a serial Angel investor, keynote speaker, and lecturer with hands-on experience in industries ranging from telecommunications, to green technologies, to resources, to IT. In the last decade, he has founded and financed seven companies and spun off three of these as profitable enterprises.

He is founder and chair of the Ciris Group of Companies and president and founding member of the National Angel Organization (the national voice of Canadian Angels). He also serves as an advisor to a number of technology companies, and specializes in organizational and positioning strategy, financing methodologies, communications, and investor relations for emerging and early-stage North American companies.

At the same time, Daniel created and heads the Angel Network Program for Ontario's Ministry of Research and Innovation dedicated to developing core standards for Angel investments in the province and seeding the formation and expansion of formal Angel groups. Through the National Angel Organization, he received $2.5 million from the Premier to launch this initiative. He is also working with the Federal Government to roll out these standards and best practices across Canada, which will be unveiled in October during Alberta's Innovation Week. In addition, he is forming the first Canadian Angel trade mission in collaboration with UK Trade and Investment.

Daniel studied at York University (political science), The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (finance and accounting), Humber College (journalism), and the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto).

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Bryan Watson, Executive Director, National Angel Organization

Throughout his career, both in Canada and the UK, Bryan J. Watson has been a champion of entrepreneurship as a vector for the commercialization of advanced technologies.

Upon his return to Canada in 2004, Bryan established his venture development consulting practice to help emerging-growth companies overcome the barriers to success they face in the Canadian commercialization ecosystem.

As demonstrated by his concurrent roles as Executive Director of a number of non-profit emerging-growth venture-fostering organizations including the National Angel Organization, CEO Fusion Centre and BioCEO Canada, Bryan takes an active role in the entire entrepreneurial spectrum, from idea-generation to financing to liquidity event.

Bringing youth and vigour to the commercialization sector, Bryan, as co-founder of the 4th Pillar Council, is actively engaged in turning the Ontario Commercialization Network into a globally competitive, efficient, commercialization engine capable of transforming advanced Canadian innovations into market-ready technologies and companies.

After concluding his BA (Hons.) in Economics at the University of Western Ontario, Bryan went on to complete his Masters in Management, Economics and International Relations at St. Andrews University, Scotland on the only full British Council Chevening Scholarship awarded in Canada. During this time he also worked with the Scottish Institute for Enterprise, fostering entrepreneurship and venture development on the local and national level.

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