John Molloy | Chair
John Molloy has been widely recognized for his contributions both to Queen’s and to the technology transfer landscape across Canada.
He pioneered the creation of startup companies as a means of adding value to university discoveries, and he nurtured a generation of high-tech entrepreneurs at a time when support for such activities at universities was nonexistent.
In 2009 his vision for Canada’s first national, collaborative, sector-specific commercialization centre was realized when PARTEQ became the first university-based technology transfer office to be awarded a national Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research, namely GreenCentre Canada. His leadership led to the formation of 48 companies based on Queen’s research, with more than $1.3 billion invested to date in those companies. At the same time, PARTEQ’s activities returned more than $33 million to the university and its inventors.
In 2001, Mr. Molloy received the Queen’s Distinguished Service Award, including Honorary Life Member status on University Council, and also received the Kingston Technology Council’s Champion Award. In 2013, Mr. Molloy was presented with the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) AUTM Canada Award in recognition of his outstanding service to the technology transfer community. Also in 2013, he was inducted into Kingston’s Business Hall of Fame (“Visionary” category).
Janice Mady
Janice is the Director of the Research & Innovation Partnerships team within QPI. Janice develops and facilitates partnerships with industry consortia with focus on those that receive funding from government and have a mandate to engage with academia, and frequently acts as the first point of contact for external organizations seeking to learn more about the research expertise and resources at Queen’s. She also develops partnerships and proposals with other academic organizations to advance multi-institutional initiatives and research collaborations, and works closely with regional not-for-profit organizations and federal, provincial, and municipal governments to strengthen the innovation ecosystem in Eastern Ontario and the economy in Southern Ontario. Janice is currently responsible for QPI’s role in attracting funding and delivering four strategic, multi-year innovation ecosystem projects: the ScaleUp Platform Project in the Kingston region in collaboration with Invest Ottawa, the WE-CAN Project at Queen’s University, the Venture Builder Program in collaboration with TIAP, and the Kingston Health Innovation Project in collaboration with the City and other local partners. Janice recently assumed oversight of strategies and opportunities to advance the commercialization of research and inventions that are disclosed to Queen’s.
Janice sits on the boards of directors for GreenCentre Canada and Launch Lab, and formerly sat on the boards of directors for CUTRIC, AURP Canada, and the Kingston Technology Exchange Council.
Janice’s previous roles at Queen’s included responsibilities as Director of the Research Contracts Unit (2013-2020), Director of Innovation Park (2008-2019) and Industry Partnerships (2010-2019), and Director of the BIOCAP Canada Foundation (2005-2008). Prior to joining Queen’s in 2005, Janice enjoyed a 17-year career with Procter & Gamble in product launch, project management, and supply chain leadership roles with global responsibilities.
Roger Bowes
Roger is a Canadian serial entrepreneur, investor and advisor. He is currently President of Annapurna Research and Director of Next Urban Group. In 2012 he co-founded Laser Depth Dynamics, an industrial laser technology company, and was President and CEO until it was acquired by IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) in 2017. He is the former CEO of ESG Solutions, a startup micro-seismic technology company, which was acquired by Spectris plc (LON:SXS). He currently serves on the Investment Review Committee for the Southern Ontario Fund for Investment in Innovation (SOFII) and is a founding board member of the Southeastern Ontario Angel Network (SOAN). In 2021 he receive the Legacy Award at the GKCC Awards for Business Excellence. He acts as an advisor to early-stage companies and is an active angel investor.
Peter May
With 12 years of experience working in the palaeontology departments at the Royal Ontario Museum and Royal Tyrrell Museum, Peter saw an opportunity to establish a company that could service the technical needs of museums locally, throughout Canada, and internationally. Incorporating Research Casting International Ltd in 1987, 35 years later with 50,000 sq ft and 40 employees it is the largest company in the world providing technical services for museums internationally. Specializing in building dinosaurs, the largest visitor draw in all major museums, Research Casting has worked within the wave of new constructions of museums and exhibits that has been going on throughout the world since 1990.
In-house capabilities consist of fossil preparation and conservation, molding, casting bronze and aluminum casting, mounting original fossil skeletons with hand-forged external armatures, paleontological reconstruction, 3D laser scanning and printing. Research Casting has mounted well over 900 hundred skeletons over the past 35 years for museums throughout the world. RCI has received major commissions from the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the British Museum of Natural History in London, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and the National Science Museum in Tokyo. RCI’s work is represented in many other museums in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, China, Japan and South America.
RCI, in June of 2019, finished a five year project with the Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History in Washington to dismantle, conserve and remount over 50 skeletons for their new fossil halls. The installation of various skeletons at the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History, installing new exhibits at the University of Michigan just finished mounting the Jurassic Mile exhibits at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis which included going in the field and collecting, preparing and mounting two new sauropods from the badlands in Wyoming. Presently working on conserving and reinstallation of 10 skeletons for the new galleries at the Yale-Peabody Museum along with a refurbishment of galleries at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Lesley Thompson
With 12+ years of extensive experience in financial services, banking, and higher-risk patient capital lending and investing, Lesley provides support and guidance to new entrepreneurs and holds a particular interest in the Cleantech and Ag-tech sectors. She is also the Director of Government Relations and Partnership Programs with Food Cycle Science Corporation, an award-winning Canadian cleantech company based out of Ottawa, Ontario. There, she leads a team of dedicated professionals on a mission to eliminate food waste globally.
Before her current role, Lesley was Executive Director of ACCFutures and CEO of Community Venture Capital Fund, where she led a specialized team of finance and economic development professionals, providing business grants, loans, and equity investments. She also held the position of Senior Account Manager with the Business Development Bank of Canada, where she supported entrepreneurs with loans and advisory services. Lesley holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Guelph, where she specialized in International Development, focusing on politics and economics.
Lesley is on the Board of Launch Lab, a Regional Innovation Centre which fosters entrepreneurship and the commercialization of innovations to help build globally competitive companies in Eastern Ontario. A dedicated leader, Lesley strives to ensure that her mentees gain valuable insight, counsel, and ongoing business guidance to support the growth of Canada’s critical industries.
Charlie Mignault
Charlie Mignault is the Commissioner for the St. Lawrence Corridor Economic Development Commission – an independent, not-for-profit organization focused on fostering, supporting and helping to deliver a coordinated and integrated approach to economic development for the prosperous communities along the shore of the St. Lawrence River. A graduate of Queen’s University he is a certified management consultant and an Adjunct Professor at Smith School of Business at Queens University. Charlie has over 20 years of management experience in sales, marketing, strategy, business development and economic development. He has a passion for growing and strengthening our region’s economy with the goal of creating long-term sustainable jobs. His private sector experience includes executive roles with innovative, growth orientated companies in the biotechnology, real estate investment and environmental service sectors.
Charlie also has an extensive background in coaching; having coached rugby at the provincial, College and University level, but spends most of his free time coaching his three children basketball, football and baseball.