Twelve leaders who represent pension plans, banks, endowments, venture-capital firms and private equity funds will form Toronto-based TMX Group Ltd.’s inaugural Advancing Innovation Roundtable (AIR), according to an announcement from the firm on Tuesday.

The roundtable, which was initially announced in August, will deliver actionable recommendations on ways to increase access to scale up capital for companies in Canada’s innovation economy in areas such as clean technology and advanced manufacturing as they grow beyond the seed and start-up stages.

“TMX is delighted to bring together leading capital providers and contribute to the efforts of this ground-breaking independent working group,” says Lou Eccleston, CEO of TMX Group, in a statement. “The [AIR] is a unique collaborative opportunity to explore vital new later-stage funding solutions for Canadian companies and, in doing so, strengthening the foundation of Canada’s business growth ecosystem.”

The chairman of the roundtable is Salil Munjal, general partner at Vancouver-based Yaletown Partners. The other members include:

  • Geoffrey Beattie, CEO of Toronto-based Generation Capital
  • Helen Beck, senior vice president, Canadian equities and indexed management, equity markets at Montreal-based Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
  • Michael Denham, president and CEO of Montreal-based Business Development Bank of Canada
  • Paul Desmarais III, vice president of Montreal-based Power Financial and Power Corp.
  • Lou Eccleston, CEO of TMX Group
  • Stephen Forbes, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Toronto-based Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
  • Hugh O’Reilly, president and CEO of Toronto-based OPSEU Pension Trust
  • Gerry Pond, chairman and co-founder of Saint John-based Mariner Partners Inc. and co-founder, the Pond-Deshpande Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of New Brunswick
  • Lisa Porlier, lead of the technology sector and deputy country manager in the Toronto office of Russell Reynolds Associates
  • Kevin Uebelein, CEO of Edmonton-based Alberta Investment Management Corp.
  • Tamara Vrooman, president and CEO of Vancouver-based Vancouver City Savings Credit Union

A financing advisory subcommittee of representatives from investment banks that are experienced in assisting companies raise scale up capital has also been created to help inform the work of the roundtable.

The AIR’s inaugural meeting takes place on Tuesday in Toronto, with forthcoming meetings to occur in Montreal and Vancouver during the fourth quarter of this year.

The group will produce recommendations in early 2017 regarding measures and initiatives that Canada’s capital formation community, federal and provincial governments and other stakeholders should take to successfully scale high-impact and globally competitive companies in innovation economy sectors such as technology, clean technology, life sciences and advanced manufacturing.

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