• Plenary

The CoolIT Journey: Building, Defending & Scaling to a Landmark Exit

October 1, 2026 · 09:25 AM – 10:00 AM
Main Room (Palomino A-D)

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Moderator

Brent Holliday

Brent Holliday

Founder & CEO

Garibaldi Capital Advisors

Panelists

Cheri Corbett

Cheri Corbett

Partner

Pender Ventures

Brett Durante

Brett Durante

Director, Strategic Initiatives

CoolIT Systems, an Ecolab Company

Acquired By Ecolab for $6.52B CAD

Dean Prodan

Dean Prodan

Past Chair Of The Board Of Directors

CoolIT

CoolIT Systems engineered the liquid cooling backbone powering some of the world's most demanding AI and high-performance computing infrastructure, culminating in one of Alberta's most significant technology exits. But the final valuation is only the last chapter of a much longer story.

This fireside chat explores the strategic decisions, turning points, and moments of resilience that shaped CoolIT's journey over more than a decade. From building for a market that had yet to emerge, to navigating changing investors, protecting critical intellectual property, and resisting opportunities to exit too early, this is a conversation about what it truly takes to build enduring enterprise value.

Hear directly from the leaders who helped guide the company through its evolution as they discuss three defining themes:

  • Protecting the Competitive Advantage – Why defending intellectual property through lengthy and costly litigation became a defining strategic investment.
  • Financing Through Multiple Chapters – How successive investors, strategic partners, and capital providers each played distinct roles in helping the company survive, scale, and ultimately achieve an extraordinary outcome.
  • Knowing When to Hold—and When to Exit – The decisions, discipline, and market timing that transformed years of patient execution into one of Canada's landmark technology exits.

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