Dr. Ilse Treurnicht

CEO MaRS

  • Toronto ON

This extraordinary CEO and Rhodes Scholar leads an organization dedicated to developing the next generation of Canadian growth companies

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Financial Post: Empowering women in venture capital firms correspondingly empowers entrepreneurial women

The new U.S.-Canada council on women in business, unveiled at Justin Trudeau’s first meeting with Donald Trump last month, has been dismissed by some as little more than a symbolic photo op. But that’s a mistake. Symbols matter. Source:

Dr. Ilse TreurnichtKrista JonesMariana Andrews

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Biography

Ilse Treurnicht is the CEO of MaRS Discovery District, a leading innovation centre located in Toronto. She oversees both the development and operations of the MaRS Centre and its broad suite of entrepreneurship and innovation programs. MaRS offers advisory services, market intelligence and entrepreneurship education to emerging companies in health care/life sciences, digital media/ICT, cleantech and social purpose businesses across Ontario.

Ilse has worked closely with the leadership of Toronto’s academic institutions and teaching hospitals to create MaRS Innovation, an integrated commercialization platform for 14 Toronto Institutions and served as the interim Managing Director for a year following its formal launch in early 2008.

Ilse joined MaRS in early 2005 from her role as President & CEO of Primaxis Technology Ventures, a start-up stage venture capital fund focused on the advanced technologies sector. Prior to Primaxis, Ilse was an entrepreneur with senior management roles in a number of emerging technology companies.

She is an active member of Canada’s innovation community and has served on the boards of private companies, industry associations and research organizations. She has also been a member of several government advisory panels.

Ilse holds a DPhil in chemistry from Oxford University, which she attended as a Rhodes scholar. She has twice been honoured with the prestigious Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100™Award—the first time in 2009 and again in 2011.

Industry Expertise

Government Relations
Research
Corporate Leadership
Training and Development
Cleantech
Market Research
Biotechnology
Investment Management
Information Technology and Services
Public Policy

Areas of Expertise

Encouraging Creativity and Innovation
Social Innovation and Culture
Venture Capital Management
Advanced Technologies
Emerging Technologies
Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Innovation & Economic Development
Social Entreprise

Accomplishments

Board of Directors – Cogniciti

Cogniciti is a joint venture formed in 2009 through a partnership between Baycrest, one of the world’s leading cognitive science institutes, and MaRS, Canada’s premier innovation centre.

Recipient – The Toronto Awards

Dr. Treurnicht was the recipient of The Toronto Awards in the Science category.

The Toronto Awards recognized 10 people who rose above the fray. They turned heads, ignored convention and made us proud to call ourselves Torontonians.

Nominee – 25 Transformational Canadians

Dr. Treurnicht was nominated as being one of 25 Transformational Canadians by The Globe and Mail.

The Globe and Mail partnered with CTV and Cyberpresse to celebrate Canadians who have sought to make a difference – not just by doing what they do, but through the demonstrable impact they've made on the world around them, whether in Canada or beyond.

Through their vision, leadership and actions, each of these people has immeasurably improved the lives of others.

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Education

Oxford University

DPhil

Chemistry

Dr. Treurnicht attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar

Event Appearances

KEYNOTE INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS

MaRS Innovation Summit 2010  Toronto

KEYNOTE SPEECH: Public/Private Partnerships

Build, Buy or Ally: Partnership Models for Enterprise Growth  Toronto, Ontario

2010-11-02

KEYNOTE SPEECH – Innovation and Collaboration: Canada`s Challenges and Opportunity

Innovators in Action Speaker Series  University of Waterloo

2010-06-16

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Sample Talks

The Future of Innovation

Dr. Ilse Treurnicht, CEO MaRS Discovery District, presents on the importance of innovation for national productivity, and the crucial role women play in building and supporting innovation.

Models of Social Innovation Collaboration

Canadians already understand that innovation of all kinds is critical to our country’s future prosperity. Our response will require much more than the contributions of individual innovators and companies, and must include communities, institutions and government.

Dr. Treurnicht will explore models for collaboration - between silos of specialization, and the cultures of academe, business, and the public sector - as we embark on a shared journey towards a resilient innovation nation.

Women and Canada's Innovation Economy

Innovation represents a challenge and an important opportunity for Canada’s economic future: strengthening our competitive advantages where we are already well positioned, and making a new generation of knowledge based businesses possible.

Today, women are modest participants in Canada’s innovation economy, and its leadership. For Canada to succeed, we need to mobilize our best ideas and our skilled resources. Women engineers have a very important contribution to make, now and in the future.

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Style

Availability

  • Keynote
  • Moderator
  • Panelist
  • Workshop Leader
  • Host/MC