Erin Skimson

Director Centre for Business and Social Entrepreneurship

Guelph ON

Responsible for leading the University of Guelph's technology transfer and industrial liaison office.

Contact

Media

Social

Biography

Erin Skimson is the Director of the Catalyst Centre. Erin oversees the Catalyst Centre team, and all functions of the technology transfer managers and the Industry Liaison Officer. She has a strong background in management, marketing, and technology and business development having served for over 10 years in various management roles at Stryker Canada LP and Serono prior to joining U of G. She holds a B.Sc. in Health Education from Dalhousie University and an MBA from McMaster University. Erin is an alumna of the Guelph/Wellington Community Leadership program and has a strong interest in both community and international work. Her focus as director is on building partnerships to advance innovation at the University of Guelph.

Industry Expertise

Corporate Leadership

Program Development

Advertising/Marketing

Areas of Expertise

Entrepreneurship

Start-Ups

Business Planning

Strategic Planning

Marketing Strategy

Commercialization

New Business Development

Brand Management

Sales Management

Education

McMaster University

MBA

Marketing

2003

Dalhousie University

B.Sc.

Health Sciences

1996

Affiliations

Innovation Guelph : Board Director

Media Appearances

U of G touts food innovations

The Guelph Mercury online

2013-10-28

Erin Skimson, the university's Catalyst Centre, said that universities traditionally make discoveries and then put them on offer — or "find a solution and then hunt down a problem." The Catalyst Centre's industry liaison program takes an opposite approach, whereby the university connects with industry to identify what they need to do in order to be more productive, more efficient, and more profitable. "The industry liaison has the ability to connect with industry to understand their challenges and needs," Skimson said. "What we do is identify the expertise at the university that can help a particular industry meet that need."...

High-yielding research

Ontario Grain Farmer online

2013-02-01

The Catalyst Centre, Guelph’s own business development office, matches the university’s researchers and their innovations with commercial partners. Erin Skimson, Director of the Catalyst Centre, says research and innovation is far from a straight path. Just because there’s a new discovery, doesn’t mean it’s going to become a commercialized product. Plenty of hurdles stand in the way before a new seed can ever be considered a success or grown in the field...