Chris is the CEO and Co-Founder of Zero Point Cryogenics. He is an entrepreneur with a background in economics and extensive leadership experience. He began his career at Aecon Group, managing large industrial projects, and later led a land development, construction, and real estate company, overseeing asset completion and sales. He co-founded Fox Oilfield, a transportation company specializing in over-dimensional assets across North America. As CEO of Zero Point Cryogenics, he has grown the company from a university project into an advanced manufacturing facility, expanding the team to 24 professionals and establishing operational, financial, and cultural strengths. Beyond Zero Point Cryogenics, Chris developed a multifamily residential community in Fort Saskatchewan and is active in Edmonton's tech community. He participates in the Entrepreneur Organization's Edmonton Chapter, demonstrating his commitment to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship.

Dr. Michael Mahon, Chief Executive Officer 

With over 35 years of experience in Alberta and Manitoba’s post-secondary sectors, Mike brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of research and innovation leadership to Alberta Innovates as the CEO. President of the University of Lethbridge for 13 years, Dr. Mahon spearheaded the University’s largest capital campaign, during his tenure, for construction of the Science Commons, a major science and innovation facility. Before his appointment in Lethbridge, Mike served as a Dean at the University of Alberta for 10 years during which time he also served in a dual role of Chair of the Health Sciences Council. Mike has contributed leadership provincially and nationally including as Chair of Universities Canada. His own research is focused in Disability Studies and Health and has been funded by federal and provincial granting agencies along with foundations and federal and provincial governments.

Katanya is co-founder and CEO of Qubo Consulting Corp, and an experimental quantum physicist at the Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, Canada. Her main role with IQC is the Science Team Coordinator for Canada’s first quantum satellite mission: Quantum EncrYption and Science Satellite (QEYSSat). Katanya is an excellent public speaker, known for explaining difficult concepts in easy-to-understand language for business and government leaders.

Megan Lee is Managing Director of Calgary’s “Quantum City,” with nearly 20 years experience across the full spectrum of research, innovation and commercialization. She has a significant depth of experience in various organizations from operational leadership at a publicly traded biotech company, to the world’s top university-affiliated incubator to a large oncology research and care funder.  

She is a recognized expert in conducting technical and business due diligence, start-up creation, strategy and management consulting, investment portfolio management and organization management of a growth stage biotech company, where she led the development of new pharmaceutical products and recorded multiple consecutive years of record turnover and profit. She has a MBA in entrepreneurship and technology commercialization and a PhD in Biochemistry. 

Robert Lai, Vice President, Investments

Robert has extensive experience in executive positions from Bell West, Agriculture Financial Services Corporation to Fujitsu Consulting and 3Pillar Global. He's built, nurtured and led high performance teams to success in sales and business development. He was part of the team in Advanced Education and Technology that developed the Bringing Technology to Market Action Plan in 2008, the precursor to many of the programs that are delivered by Alberta Innovates today. He was instrumental in securing funding for the Alberta Ingenuity Machine Learning Centre, the predecessor to Amii. Over the course of his career, he has established a consistent track record of sales achievement and investment attraction that has positively impacted government services and Alberta’s priority sectors.

Dr. Terry Rock is the President & CEO of Platform Calgary, an organization focused on driving growth and velocity in Calgary’s tech sector. Terry’s previous experience has covered a wide variety of contexts and industries. He was the Executive Director of the Alberta Small Brewers Association and founding CEO of the Calgary Arts Development Authority. He worked on Civic Partnerships at the City of Calgary and was an Assistant Professor in Strategy at the University of Calgary. Dr. Rock holds a Ph.D. in Management with a focus on Strategic Management, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation from Texas Tech University and a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing (with Distinction) from the University of Saskatchewan. 

Coming soon

Tracy is dedicated to fostering community and business growth, with over 15 years of experience in economic development. She has worked across various sectors, including not-for-profits, private companies, education, and provincial and municipal governments. Her expertise spans financial appraisals for hotels across Canada, talent attraction and retention, student entrepreneurship support, and helping municipalities with business development and investment attraction. Currently, she is the manager for the APEX Regional Innovation Network (RIN) of Southeast Alberta. This collaboration is an alliance of local organizations focused on helping regional innovators and tech companies from ideation to scale. Tracy also collaborates with economic development, post-secondary, and innovation stakeholders across Alberta to grow the province's innovation ecosystem. She is excited to see more innovators come from rural Alberta and compete on the global stage than ever before.