- Panelist
Dr. Monique Simair is a scientist-entrepreneur and two-time exited founder who has spent her career transforming scientific discoveries into real-world impact. She has commercialized world-first environmental technologies for the mining industry, taking them from research and development through deployment, with two successful exits.
Today, she is building Canada’s newest university entrepreneurship centre as the inaugural Director of the Slogotski Hunt Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Saskatchewan, applying lessons from company building to redesign how universities support entrepreneurs and commercialize innovation.
As a speaker, Monique draws on first-hand experience to explore the realities of commercialization, building valuable companies beyond software, navigating complex industrial challenges, and what it actually takes to move difficult technical ideas from discovery to lasting impact.
Monique was named the 2021 Eco Impact Winner by Eco Canada. Profit and Chatelaine magazines have profiled her as a top entrepreneurial leader. She was the youngest member appointed to Canada’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Council. Monique is also an adjunct professor at the University of Saskatchewan and mentors entrepreneurs and scientists through several venture-building organizations.