Director General
Canada Science and Technology Museum
SHOWCASE 2019
Moderator and Panelists
Lisa Leblanc
Moderator
Biography
Biography
Lisa Leblanc became Director General of the Canada Science and Technology Museum in October 2018. Before joining Ingenium, Lisa worked as Director, Learning and Canadian Children’s Museum Renewal at the Canadian Museum of History. Prior, she was responsible for program development and visitor experience of the Canadian History Hall at the Canadian Museum of History. Lisa was part of the team that developed the new Canadian War Museum. After the Museum opened in 2005, she was responsible for its visitor experience and program development. Lisa’s professional experience and development include working at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal, as well as at private art dealer, Miriam Shiell Fine Art in Toronto.
Lisa holds a Master of Arts in Art History with a specialization in museology from York University, as well as a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art History and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre from Concordia University.
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Thusha Agampodi
Engineering Manager
Magnet Forensics
Biography
Biography
Thusha Agampodi is the Engineering Manager at Magnet Forensics’ Ottawa office, where she has helped build a diverse, collaborative engineering team. Prior to Magnet, Thusha has over a decade of technical and leadership experience at BlackBerry. She holds a Computer Systems Engineering degree from Carleton University and collaborates with universities and high schools to help advance women in STEM and is a mentor and advocate for diversity in tech. Thusha has two children, aged 6 and 8, and is the co-founder of Friends in Knead, a charity event raising money for the Ottawa Food Bank.
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Dimple Thomas
Systems Verification Engineer & theme driver of Diversity and Inclusion
Ericsson
Biography
Biography
Dimple Thomas is a Systems Verification Engineer and theme driver of Diversity and Inclusion at Ericsson; a global leader in providing mobile communication solutions. She graduated with honours from McMaster University in Bachelors of Mechatronics Engineering. Dimple currently leads a team of engineers responsible for end-to-end performance of 4G and 5G cellular networks. She is also the theme driver of Diversity and Inclusion initiatives in Ottawa – high-school & university outreach, maintaining employee resource groups (ERGs), spreading awareness and creating diverse and inclusive workspaces.
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Eli Fathi
CEO
MindBridge Ai
Biography
Biography
Eli Fathi is CEO at MindBridge Ai, developer of the world’s first auditing tool based upon artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies – Ai Auditor – to uncover errors in financial data. Eli has been a technology entrepreneur for over 30 years, having founded or co-founded many successful technology companies. Eli was recognized as the 2018 AI Leader of the Year by the Digital Finance Institute and is a prolific speaker, including talks at the AICPA, Startup Canada Day on the Hill, and TEDx. Eli also gives back to the community by mentoring future business leaders and sitting on the boards of various non-profit organizations.
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Suzanne Grant
CEO
CATAAlliance
Biography
Biography
Suzanne is a Canadian veteran with a military communications engineering and intelligence background. She has served mission-driven non-profits on boards and within think tanks, advisory and governance committees, and has decades of entrepreneurial experience. Her diverse business trajectory includes founding a digital publishing and strategic communications agency in the frontier market of Qatar, and co-founding an award winning, state of the art, brain-machine interface med tech company in Canada and Australia. She’s conducted business in 17 countries, signing dozens of multinational clients, as well as, celebrities and royals, and has closed and executed deals worth tens of millions of dollars. Her multiple awards include WISE 50 over 50, Female Founder, Local Hero, the Startup Canada National Innovation Award and the Canadian National winner of the international Creative Business Cup. She was cited as Entrepreneur to Watch in 2019 by Success Insights. Suzanne applies her mantras, The Art of the Possible and Solve for Human, to CATAAlliance’s vision of Canada as a growth innovation nation serving the homegrown tech sector.
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Sheila Harris
Head of Business Transformation
Farmers Edge
Biography
Biography
Sheila Harris is an experienced Business Architect, Project Manager, and Change Management Specialist with nearly 20 years of experience in the design and delivery of IT solutions to meet business requirements. She has successfully deployed IT solutions in HealthCare, Telecommunications, Financial Services, Public Insurance, Municipal Utilities, and Digital Agriculture industries with specialization in the area of system initiation, development, deployment, and adoption. She started her career as a software developer and has worked in Information Technology as a Senior IT Consultant specializing in business transformation projects for nearly a decade, prior to joining Farmers Edge as the Head of Business Transformation.
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