Jean-François Audet, C.Adm.

Drawing on nearly 30 years in technology-intensive sectors, I step in above all when the issues reach beyond a single function and call for connecting the business model, innovation, finance and the players in an ecosystem. That means talking as readily with technical teams as with executives, investors and outside partners, to help them settle on a common direction.

Over the course of my career, I have alternated between entrepreneurial and strategic advisory roles in information technology, engineering, manufacturing and the mobility industry. I have worked with start-ups, small and medium-sized businesses and large industrial groups on developing new markets, products and technologies, as well as on mergers and acquisitions and strategic realignments. I have also advised public sector organizations on their sector-level industrial development strategies. My work led a Big Four advisory firm to call on me as an independent sector expert. Today I continue to support, structure and lead technology innovation projects with international reach.

That range helps me tell which opportunities are genuinely workable, and then determine the resources and partners needed to move them forward.

An industrial or technology innovation project rarely succeeds on the strength of the company behind it alone. It depends on a configuration of players that has to be identified and brought together, from prime contractors and public buyers through to development partners, suppliers and funders. I bring to bear a business network built across Canada, Europe and India, along with hands-on experience of the public support mechanisms for international development, including within embassy and consular networks.