Mark Sutcliffe was born at the Riverside Hospital to parents John and Florence, who were both immigrants to Canada. Mark has lived his whole life in Ottawa. He was elected Mayor of Ottawa on October 24, 2022.

Prior to entering municipal politics, Mark was an award-winning journalist, entrepreneur, volunteer, and community activist.

For over 30 years, Mark covered politics and current events as a broadcaster for CFRA, CityNews, Rogers TV, and CPAC, and as executive editor and columnist for the Ottawa Citizen.

Mark started his first business when he was 19 years old. He co-founded the Ottawa Business Journal in 1995 and founded and led several other small and medium-sized businesses. He has been a coach, mentor, and adviser to more than one hundred CEOs, entrepreneurs, small-business owners, and not-for-profit leaders.

Mark has been a passionate volunteer and fundraiser. He served as chair of the board of United Way Ottawa, the Ottawa Board of Trade, OrKidstra, the Great Canadian Theatre Company, Ottawa Community Housing Foundation, and Run Ottawa. He also served as board member for Algonquin College, Invest Ottawa, Kind Ottawa, the Ottawa International Writers Festival, and the Royal Ottawa Hospital Foundation. His contribution to the city was recognized in 2016 when he was inducted into the Order of Ottawa and named the United Way’s Ambassador of the Year. In 2018, Mark delivered a highly regarded TEDx Talk about the role of luck in his life.

Mark is an avid marathon runner who has raised more than $250,000 for Ottawa charities with his fundraising runs. He is the author of four books, including Long Road to Boston, which chronicled his quest to qualify for the Boston Marathon, which he completed in 2015 and 2018. Mark and his wife Ginny have three children.

Devan Pennell is an accomplished senior executive and Chartered Professional Accountant with more than 15 years of leadership experience spanning multiple industries and diverse roles across high-growth companies in Ottawa. This includes expertise in private financing, go-public strategies and transactions in Canada and the US, Integrated Business Management, and mergers and acquisitions.

Throughout his career, this Ottawa 40 Under 40 winner has built many high-performance teams and companies from startup to scaleup and operationalization. He is currently President of Northern Counselling & Therapeutic Services (NCTS). This high impact company specializes in providing counselling services, crisis and event support, training/workshops, and broader mental health support services to Northern and Indigenous communities. Previously, Devan has served as both Chief Strategy Officer Chief Financial Officer of Flow Beverage Corporation, Interim President of Brane Digital Assets Custody; Senior Vice President of Integrated Business Operations of HEXO; Director of Finance for Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG); and Director of Risk at EY.

Deeply committed to our local and global community, he has also served as a Director of the Board and Treasurer for the Ryan’s Well Foundation, a Canadian charitable organization providing effective and sustainable solutions to the water crisis in the poorest regions of the world’s developing countries. Devan will play a pivotal role in supporting Invest Ottawa, the founders, companies and community it serves, as a Director of the Board and member of the Audit Committee.

A 35-year veteran in defence and security, France serves as the Division President of Defence & Security (D&S) Canada, and Global Operations Lead with CAE. Her expertise and experience in this sector are bolstered by 17 years as a business leader with General Dynamics Mission Systems Canada and as a veteran of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Her appointment as the board’s first Vice-Chair is a testament to her leadership and capabilities. She will play an instrumental role in pursuing Invest Ottawa’s strategic goals, including long-range market opportunities in the defence and security sector.

“Claude Brulé was appointed as Algonquin College’s ninth President and Chief Executive Officer in August 2019. Prior to taking on this leadership role, Claude served the College at every level of its leadership team from Department Chair, to Faculty Dean, to Senior Vice President Academic where, for the past twenty years, he has been a champion for student success and an innovator in the higher education sector, providing leadership to the advancement of digital learning.

Prior to joining the College, Claude served 22 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, in the Air Force occupational branch of Communication and Electronics Engineering, retiring at the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Among his many tours of duty, he was an instructor at the Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics (CFSCE), and subsequently, its Senior Staff Officer for Strategic Planning and Chief of Staff. Between tours at CFSCE, he lectured in the Mathematics and Computer Science department as an assistant professor at the Royal Military College.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics and a Master’s of Science degree in Mathematics from the Royal Military College in Kingston. He is also a graduate of the Command and Staff College, and holds a certificate in Management and Leadership in Education from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.

Claude is an active member of the community and serves on several boards, including Invest Ottawa, the Ottawa Network for Education (ONFE) and the Ottawa Community Loan Fund (OCLF). He is also a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and was promoted to Senior Member in 2018 for his significant contributions to the profession.

Aquilas Kapend Dapaah is a multifaceted professional with a diverse background. She is a lawyer, executive director, entrepreneur, and fierce advocate for economic empowerment. She has served as both a crown attorney and a commercial litigator, representing individuals and large corporations. Throughout her career, she has accumulated more than a decade of legal experience and financial literacy. As a mentor and Founder of Financially Savvy Girl Inc., she dedicates herself to empowering professionals to take charge of their personal finances, develop passive income streams, and build generational wealth. In addition, Aquilas is the Co-Founder of The Women Investors Network Canada, an organization that equips women with the confidence, network, and knowledge to invest in real estate.

Jason Flick is a CEO, serial entrepreneur, investor, and advisor with successful exits such as YOU.i TV (sold to HBO/AT&T), and N-able (sold to solarwinds). Jason brings 25 years of technical and business leadership to his mentoring, executive and director roles. His most recent company, You.i TV doubled in size each year of operation and called the biggest media and technology companies in the world as their customers. In addition to his role as Board of Director with Invest Ottawa, Jason also lends his expertise to the boards of a number of non-profit entrepreneur focused entities and private sector companies.

Shavonne Hasfal-McIntosh is the Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Wealthsimple. With a career in human resources spanning over fifteen years, Shavonne brings to the board expertise in workplace diversity and inclusion and understands what it takes to establish a sense of belonging within an organization.

Shavonne believes the importance of work comes from the ability to connect with and impact people. She is a developer who recognizes the potential in others and a relater who finds deep satisfaction in working collaboratively towards a collective goal. Over the past six months, Shavonne has been an invaluable member of the Female Founders and Women-Owned Business Sub-Committee of the board.

An accomplished serial entrepreneur, Adam is one of less than a hundred Canadians to have launched and scaled a business valued at $1+ billion as the Co-Founder and former Director of HEXO. He is the Interim CEO and Chair of Brane Inc. & Brane Trust, the digital asset custody startup; an avid mentor and investor in high-risk, early-stage startups from music to fashion and furniture; and a well-known public figure in politics and media. As the Co-Chair of Invest Ottawa, he will play a pivotal role in supporting the organization’s strategic direction.

Dobrila Rancic Moogk is SVP, Marketing at Giatec Scientific, an Ottawa IoT company revolutionizing the construction industry by bringing smart testing and AI technologies to every job site.  Through her work in and with startups and scale-ups on strategy and business models, customer development and strategic marketing, Dobrila’s passion for accelerating commercialization of innovation results in significant growth and scale-up.  This is combined with her drive to lead her undergraduate and graduate students to stellar career starts by passing on her cutting-edge marketing skills to the next generation of business leaders.

Over her career, Dobrila has contributed to over a dozen boards and committees.  She is a member of the Community Impact Cabinet at United Way Ottawa, past chair of Volunteer Ottawa, and past vice-chair of the Women in Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Ottawa.

Susan Rohac had an extensive 34+ year career at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), where she held various leadership positions. Her most recent role was as Managing Partner of the Climate Tech venture capital fund, a position she held from 2017 to May 2025. In this capacity, she oversaw a nationwide team of investment professionals and managed a portfolio of over $1 billion in assets. This portfolio encompassed a fully deployed $600 million fund I and a $500 million fund II launched in 2022, which focused on investing in Canada’s most promising clean technology companies. Susan has invested in a diverse spectrum of climate technologies across various sectors, including energy, mobility, built environment, carbon management, and industry and resource spaces, including advanced materials and critical minerals. In 2024, Susan was recognized as a Climate Leader by the Clean50 and received the Clean16 award. She holds undergraduate degrees in both science and finance and an executive MBA from the University of Ottawa. In 2024, she also obtained her ICD.D governance designation from the University of Toronto. Passionate about the environment and climate technologies, Susan currently serves on several governance and advisory boards and actively engages with organizations that align with her interests.  

Benoît Rousseau is Vice President of GaN Automotive and Managing Director of Infineon Technologies Canada Inc., a global semiconductor leader in power systems and IoT, enabling solutions for green and efficient energy, clean and safe mobility, as well as smart and secure IoT. 

In Benoît’s current role, he leads Infineon’s Canadian operations and drives global expansion of Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology for automotive, advancing the electrification of mobility and sustainable innovation. 

Previously, Benoît held senior leadership positions at Infineon’s global headquarters in Germany, including Vice President of IoT Security and Head of Strategy for the Automotive Division. Across these mandates, he built expertise in scaling innovation in e-mobility, security, and sustainable technologies, while shaping and executing long-range strategies to accelerate digitalization and decarbonization. 

Solmaz is an Operating Advisor at Bessemer, an executive and advisor in data and product, and a founding partner of Backbone Angels, a collective focused on funding more diverse and women-founded companies. Most recently, she served as the Vice President and Head of Data at Shopify, helping it grow from 100K to over 1.75 million merchants from 2013 to 2022. In this role, Solmaz was the voice of data in the senior leadership team. She played a critical role in Shopify’s successful IPO, and later built and scaled their portfolio of data and AI products. Prior to Shopify, Solmaz worked as an analyst at Morgan Stanley and a data scientist at McGill University, in the latter role she contributed to cancer research.

Andrew Waitman is a distinguished entrepreneur, C-suite executive, and investor renowned for his exceptional contributions to the technology sector and his capacity to drive high-impact growth in emerging companies. With a proven record of visionary leadership, Waitman has played a pivotal role in scaling multiple startups into global enterprises, earning widespread recognition as a transformative figure in tech innovation. 

His technology career began in the late 1980s as a software engineer, where he spearheaded pioneering projects in telephony and data communications. In 1996, Waitman co-founded Celtic House Venture Partners and served as Managing Partner, leading the firm to achieve Top 10 IRR results globally with Fund IIA—cementing Celtic House’s reputation as one of Canada’s most successful venture capital firms. 

As CEO of Pythian from 2008, Waitman expanded the company from less than $5 million to more than $50 million in revenue within five years, transforming it into a global leader with 400+ employees across several countries. Later, as a founding executive and CEO of Assent, he propelled the organization from under $1 million in ARR to over $125 million and grew the team to more than 1,000 members. Remarkably, across sixteen years in dual CEO roles, he delivered a record 64 consecutive quarters of growth with no declines. 

In 2024, Waitman was honored as CEO of the Year by the Ottawa Board of Trade and the Ottawa Business Journal and inducted into the Order of Ottawa, reflecting his lasting impact on the business community. 

Waitman continues to shape the industry today as a highly sought-after advisor and investor, mentoring founders and early-stage innovators. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, an MBA from Ivey Business School, and is recognized as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). 

Sean Webster is a senior public affairs and government relations executive with over 35 years’ experience in Canada, the United States and Europe.  He is currently a Principal with GT & Company and is the Managing Director of the Chelsea Strategy Group.   

Sean most recently served as the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Premier as Head of the Ontario Office in Ottawa.  In this position, his mandate was to establish Ontario’s first regional office in Ottawa, where he was responsible for liaising between the province and the federal government, the City of Ottawa and municipalities in eastern Ontario, as well as key business and community stakeholders in the region.   

Sean has also served as Vice President Government and Stakeholder Relations for Canopy Growth Corporation, a leading licensed producer of cannabis products.  He has also held similar leadership positions at Shoppers Drug Mart, Eli Lilly, Enbridge, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.  He began his career as a Ministerial Assistant at the House of Commons. 

Michael is the former CEO of Clearwater Clinical, a medical health IT company, and a serial entrepreneur and investor with over 25 years of leadership experience and successful exits. He served as the Founder and CEO of three venture-backed startups, including Watchfire (acquired by IBM), Blaze (acquired by Akamai) and SHOEBOX (acquired by WSA). Michael has served as a board member for many startups and non-profits. He is also a seed investor and partner at Fundfire.co, which supports 40+ startups with early-stage funding.

David brings over 30 years of experience in technology-enabled business transformation programs and is currently a leader in PwC’s Tech Strategy & Transformation Practice. Throughout his career, David has held numerous leadership roles, including National Public Sector Strategy & Consulting Lead, Digital Business Unit Lead, and Global Business Transformation and Change Management expert. He brings a wealth of knowledge on how technology, data, insights, and digital services come together to deliver sustainable business transformation and outcomes for clients. Although he primarily focuses on the Government and Public Sector, he has worked across a broad spectrum of industries, including Natural Resources, Retail, Financial Institutions, and the Startup/Innovation sector. 

Within the community, David is chair of Invest Ottawa’s Strategic Refresh Committee and chair of Technation’s Federal Public Sector Business Committee. He has previously been a member of Toronto Board of Trade’s Smart City committee, a founding member of the USA-Canada Innovation Partnership, and a co-founding partner of Ottawa’s Area X.0 innovation facility. David is passionate about helping clients envision the world of tomorrow, believing that our future will increasingly be defined by how technology is understood and applied for societal benefit.