George Roter
Head, Research Strategy & Operations
About
George is a leader dedicated to organizational growth, technology and social change, excelling at designing and leading diverse teams across non-profits, businesses and government. He co-founded and led Engineers Without Borders Canada for 14 years, expanding it into an organization with thousands of members focused on combating poverty and inequitable development globally. Later, as Director of Open Innovation Programs at Mozilla, he championed open internet technologies, notably leading the Common Voice project, now used as a global standard for testing and training AI-based speech recognition engines.
His career also includes managing a significant political campaign and serving as the inaugural Managing Director of the Canada Plastics Pact, where he united businesses, governments and non-profits to advance a circular economy for plastics. He then served as the Chief Operating Officer for Generate Canada, CPP’s parent organization, where George continued to tackle complex environmental, economic and societal challenges.
He has received numerous accolades, including Meritorious Service Cross (Civil) and four honorary Doctorate degrees. Based in Toronto, George and his spouse are also deeply committed to honouring the memory of his daughter, Aliyah, who died suddenly in 2022. Starting a new chapter, he recently welcomed twin boys in November 2024.