We invite you to meet the Innovation Park leadership team. Each member brings with them a unique background and a passion for innovation. Together, our leadership team embodies the very model of dynamic synergy we intend to foster – a productive collaboration that engages some of the brightest minds from academia, industry, government and the community, in a common focus on transforming discoveries and supporting them along their various pathways to market.

Management

The Innovation Park management team combines seasoned research, business, commercialization and entrepreneurial expertise, with deep knowledge of what it takes to make innovation succeed. Under their direction and stewardship, Innovation Park is becoming the facility of choice where innovative companies and leading edge researchers work side-by-side and benefit from access to the resources and support systems to transform their discoveries and realize commercial success.

Janice Mady, Director

Janice Mady comes to Innovation Park from her role as Director of the $50 million BIOCAP Canada Foundation. Prior to this, she enjoyed a 17-year career with Procter & Gamble Inc. in a variety of roles with Canadian, North American and global responsibilities.

Through her unique combination of industry and not-for-profit experience, Janice has demonstrated the ability to lead change, attract resources, enroll stakeholders, build teams, and remove barriers; unique skills that will be key to building a successful Innovation Park.

Janice has delivered proven results across management disciplines in operations and finance, customer service, marketing, human resource development, as well as project and change management – including cultural, philosophical and physical change. Building partnerships, leading teams and inspiring people to meet challenging goals are the hallmarks of Janice's success and will continue to be vital assets in her role as Director of Innovation Park.

Rick Boswell, Assistant Director

Rick Boswell brings deep research and development experience from his previous role as the laboratory manager for the Queen's University Department of Chemistry for 12 years. He was one of the innovative forces behind the successful Chernoff Hall Chemistry building development at Queen's, which was the recipient of the 2003 High Honours Laboratory of the Year award from R&D Magazine.

In addition to his work at Queen's, he has worked as a private Laboratory Consultant, focusing on non-traditional solutions to common problems in laboratory planning. Rick specializes in integrating environmental health and safety into laboratory planning strategies for a seamless approach in this often overlooked area. He has assisted numerous institutions and companies across Canada in meeting their design and budget goals in this complex environment.

Advisory Board

Innovation Park's Advisory Board oversees the broad strategic objectives and outreach programming for the Park in a manner that is consistent with its vision and mission. Board members include a diverse and experienced line-up of high profile stakeholder representatives, each contributing a wealth of insight and access to a wide range of invaluable resources.

Caroline Davis

Caroline Davis joined Queen’s University as Vice-Principal (Finance and Administration) in January 2010, after a successful and wide-ranging career in the federal public service.  Her last position in the government was Assistant Deputy Minister, Resolution and Individual Affairs at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), where she oversaw the implementation of the $1.9B Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.  She previously served as INAC's chief financial officer for five years, and also worked on First Nations land management and on comprehensive land claims in the north and the west of Canada.  She also occupied in a variety of other positions in the federal government, primarily in the field of financial management.

In the spring of 2009, as an adjunct professor in Queen’s University’s School of Policy Studies, she taught a course in the Masters of Public Administration program.

Ms Davis was recently elected Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. This is the Institute's highest designation, awarded for outstanding career achievements and service to the community and the accountancy profession.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree with Honours in chemistry from the University of Wales. 

 

John Fielding

John Fielding joined Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) in 2006 as a Business Development Manager for the Centre for Photonics.  Currently, John is the Regional Director of Business Development for Eastern and Northern Ontario. He heads a team of Business Development Managers responsible for industry and academic engagement, support for the Regional Innovation Centres (RICs), OCE program delivery and overall business development.

John has over 24 years experience in the high technology industry with Nortel, Mitel and Bookham Technology, dealing with many aspects of semiconductor and optical components fabrication including Life Cycle Management, cost analysis, new product / technology introduction and process engineering.

He has held senior management positions dealing with strategic relationships as well as mergers and acquisitions ranging from small, less than 100 persons, to large several billion dollar investments. 

 

Jeff Garrah

Chief Executive Officer, Kingston Economic Development Corporation

A graduate of Queen's University, Jeff began his career with the federal government in 1997 working as a Constituency Assistant to the Honourable Peter Milliken, Speaker of the House of Commons and Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands.  Garrah served as Special Assistant and then Senior Political Advisor to Mr. Milliken and in 2002, he was appointed Chief of Staff.

Garrah returned to his hometown in 2004 to join the Kingston Economic Development Corporation's senior management team as Director of Government Relations.  In this position, he liaised with municipal, provincial, and federal governments to develop relationships and initiate funding support for Kingston businesses and capital development projects. In 2005, Garrah assumed the role of Interim President and in 2007, was appointed the Corporation's Chief Executive Officer.  As CEO, Garrah oversees a team of 18 staff in the Business Development and Tourism Marketing divisions. He has advanced initiatives which have seen over $1billion invested in capital projects in the community; taken a lead role in the servicing and sale of the municipality's industrial and business parkland; supported the growth of a knowledge-based cluster with specific focus on green and alternative technologies; and advanced the Corporation's vision to be the premier service provider for local business growth and investment.  Garrah serves as an advisor to the Mayor of Kingston on designated files. 

He has been actively involved in all aspects of the community working to support social, economic and environmental advancements for Kingston.
Garrah has served on the Board of Directors for Correctional Services of Canada's Penitentiary Museum; as an Executive Member of the Downtown Kingston! Febfest Committee to support the Boys and Girls Club of Kingston; a Board Member for Volunteer and Information Kingston; a member of the City of Kingston's sub-committee for the Recruitment, Recognition, and Retention of Family Physicians; and, served on the Planning and Resources Committee for the Kingston General Hospital.
Currently, he serves as a Governor of the Kingston General Hospital; a Board Member of the Kingston Technology Exchange Centre; and a member of the Innovation Park at Queen's University Advisory Board.

Doug Girvin

Mr. Girvin is President of Stantive Technologies Group. He has built innovative relationships by using a collaborative approach to leveraging the best of private and public sectors.

In 1992, Sun Microsystems of Canada asked Mr. Girvin to establish a Sun presence in Eastern Ontario. Through his company, he represented Sun directly, giving him access to all of Sun's resources as he sat in Sun's organizational structure, yet he remained an independent business. Based on his success, Sun asked Doug to establish a similar presence in Ottawa to serve the research, municipal and hi tech communities in the National Capital Region. This operation grew from $2 million to over $30 million in sales within 3 years. In March of 2007, Mr. Girvin divested the Ottawa business to focus on opportunities, both within Sun, the Southeastern Ontario region, and beyond.

Mr. Girvin's passion for innovation in public/private partnerships has culminated in his success as the private sector lead in the research partnership of High Performance Computing Virtual Laboratory (HPCVL), based at Queen's University. Over the past 9 years this public/private partnership has grown to be one of Canada's most successful with approximately $150 million (audited) invested by all parties, including Stantive Technologies Group, Sun Microsystems, CFI (Canadian Foundation for Innovation), ORDCF (Ontario Research Development Challenge Fund), ORF (Ontario Research Foundation), OIT (Ontario Innovation Trust), NSERC (National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada), Entrust and others. There are currently 6 institutional partners, including the founding members, Queen's, Royal Military College of Canada, University of Ottawa and Carleton University.

Mr. Girvin's volunteer work has included membership on the Boards of the Kingston Economic Development Corporation, The Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund ($1B research granting agency), the President's Advisory Council of the Royal Society of Canada, the OCRI (Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation), Research Management Board and others. As well, he has served as a guide and mentor to numerous early-stage companies on product, sales and infrastructure strategies. In 2000 he was named 'Business Person of the Year' by the Kingston Chamber of Commerce. Currently, Mr. Girvin is a member of the Imagine Kingston Round Table, a group of institutional, business and community leaders dedicated to the advancement of Kingston. He is also a member of the Industry Canada Roundtable on Canada's Science and Technology Strategy. As well, he is a Governor of the Kingston General Hospital.

Mr. Girvin was born into the family of one of Canada's leading Research Health Scientists. The son of a neurosurgeon and an emergency nurse he grew up immersed in academic language and thought and while he studied economics at the University of Waterloo and consequently developed his career in business, he retained an ongoing fascination for academic and health care research and innovation. 

  Brad Ross

Bradley N. Ross is a private investor and business consultant specializing in new venture creation.   After completing studies in Mathematics and Engineering at Queen's University (B.Sc.'80, M.Sc. '82), Mr. Ross worked at Bell-Northern Research in software development and R&D management.  In 1988, Mr. Ross won a Nortel scholarship to study management science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (S.M. '90).  With this foundation in technology, business and team leadership, Mr. Ross co-founded Entrust in 1993, Nortel's most successful intrapreneurial start-up, growing the business through to spin-out and eventual IPO, finally serving as the President of Entrust Technologies Europe.  To foster entrepreneurial activity in Kingston, Mr. Ross established a local network of angel investors and a business plan competition (www.firstcapitalchallenge.com) that is now the First Capital Community Business Loan Fund. He also served as chairman and interim CEO for Pathogen Detection Systems.

 

Charlie Reid

Charlie Reid P.Eng is a senior strategic advisor to Private Equity and Venture Capital investors, public and private Boards, and senior executive teams of mature and emerging manufacturing enterprises.  His primary role is to assess operational strategies for the companies these clients have an interest in as well as to provide guidance on projections of likely costs to operate and the capital requirements to sustain growth.  His key strength is being able to put complex operational content into business strategy context.

His background spans almost three decades of direct industry experience, including Board positions, senior line executive roles, and front line manager jobs in both the manufacturing and consulting sectors.  Prior to entering private practice Charlie was a senior Partner at Ernst &Young, where he was considered one of the firms top global subject matter experts in Supply Chain Operational Execution.  In industry he worked in virtually all major operational disciplines.

While he works principally with client groups he has also acted in advisory roles to Federal and Provincial Ministers, Industry and Professional associations, and Educational Institutions.  He is sought out for the breadth of his insight and practical understanding of the complex issues that face today's manufacturing sector, from the tactical to the strategic.

He has held both public and private board positions.  He regularly teaches and lectures in the areas of operations management, organizational dynamics, advanced operational performance measurement, and new product development/launch.  He is an accomplished keynote speaker and media spokesperson.

 

Steven Liss (Chair)

 On September 1, 2010 Steven N. Liss became the Vice-Principal (Research) at Queen’s University at Kingston. Professor Liss was most recently the Associate Vice-President for Research at the University of Guelph, and had served as Interim Vice-President.  He holds an undergraduate degree in microbiology and immunology from the University of Western Ontario, and a Masters and Ph.D. in applied microbiology from the University of Saskatchewan.

Professor Liss has held positions, including a biotechnology training award, and visiting laboratory and OECD fellowships, at Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, and AFRC Cambridge, UK. He has held faculty and teaching appointments at Ryerson University and the University of Toronto, respectively. Professor Liss currently holds adjunct professorships in both Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry and Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto, the Graduate Program in Environmental Applied Science and Management at Ryerson University, and in the School of Environmental Sciences (formerly Environmental Biology) at the University of Guelph where he had been a tenured full professor. Professor Liss currently is a tenured full professor in the School of Environmental Studies and in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Queen’s.

He has progressively advanced in his career as both an academic and university administrator.  Professor Liss played a significant role in the transformation of Ryerson including leading and contributing to the development of the University’s research mandate, School of Graduate Studies, and establishment of research, CFI and CRC programs. At the University of Guelph, in addition to overseeing all aspects of research operation and strategic planning, he contributed to broader based issues in advancing research programs in the areas of funding, external partnerships, advancement and government relations.

Professor Liss has served, and continues to serve, on a variety of management boards and boards of directors, and has extensive experience in peer review processes and panels (provincial, national and international) including serving as Chair of the Peer Review Panel for the Ministry of Research and Innovation, Ontario Research Fund Research Excellence Panel (Environmental and Emerging Technologies) during the first two years of the program.

His own research area encompasses environmental biotechnology and engineering, and applied microbiology. He is an internationally recognized researcher and is well known for his work on microbial structures and processes in engineered and natural environmental systems including flocs, processes governing bioflocculation, and the characterization of extracellular polymeric substances. Working at the interface of biology, engineering, and environmental science, Professor Liss has a strong orientation to interdisciplinary and collaborative initiatives. He was recently elected to the Management Committee of the International Water Association Specialist Group on Microbial Ecology in Water Engineering (MEWE) (formerly Activated Sludge Population Dynamics (ASPD)). He has led numerous strategic research programs involving a range of collaborators, government and industry partners. His research has led to numerous publications and contributions including the book Flocculation in Natural and Engineered Systems. (2005, CRC Press, Boca Raton, USA). Professor Liss has supervised over 40 students at the Masters and Ph.D. level.  He has a strong interest in international work and has particular interests in Central and South America, China and India.

Originally from Toronto, Professor Liss is a graduate of Oakwood Collegiate Institute. He is married to Karen Anthony, and they are the parents of three children, Keenan, Kyra, and Savannah.

Mike Thomas

Responsible for the Novelis Global Technology Organization, as well as group R&D, Mr. Thomas has over 25 years of industrial and research experience.

His career has included a variety of roles with US Government laboratories, as well as extensive research leadership and management within Alcan and Novelis laboratories in the UK and Canada.

Mr. Thomas led Alcan Group Technology in recycling at Alcan headquarters from 1991 to 1996. Mike also led technology and subsequently manufacturing supply chain operations for Alcan automotive sheet through 2000. He was Business Development Director for Alcan, which then became Novelis Specialty Business through 2004. Mr. Thomas has been the head of Novelis' technology organization since July 2005.