By: Jon Farrow
26 Jun, 2019
CIFAR welcomes three eminent Canadian business leaders to Board of Directors
June 26, 2019
Joining the CIFAR Board of Directors is Damon Williams (CEO, RBC Global Asset Management), Jason McLean (President and CEO, McLean Group) and Jordan Jacobs (Co-Founder, CEO and Managing Partner, Radical Ventures).
CIFAR is pleased to welcome three eminent Canadian business leaders to the CIFAR Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is responsible for the overall governance of the Institute, and is composed of distinguished individuals drawn from the Canadian business, research and professional communities.
Damon Williams is CEO of RBC Global Asset Management (RBC GAM). He is also a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. RBC GAM invests over $395 billion for individuals and institutions, primarily from offices in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. Damon is also the CEO and Ultimate Designated Person of RBC GAM in Canada and sits on that firm’s Board of Directors. His appointment to the CIFAR Board of Directors was confirmed in April 2019.
Jason McLean is president and CEO of the McLean Group, a real estate development and investment firm with operating businesses in film and television, telecommunications, construction and aviation. As CEO, Jason leads McLean Group’s businesses, overseeing strategic goals, capital decisions, and all major transactions in each of McLean Group’s operating and investment businesses, as well as coordinating dialogue between McLean Group ownership and company management.
Jason is particularly committed to supporting and empowering individual business leaders across the McLean Group portfolio and over the last decade, has focused on ensuring that the businesses have the right capital structure and financing to achieve their goals. His appointment to the CIFAR Board of Directors was confirmed at the June 2019 meeting.
Jordan Jacobs is co-founder, CEO and managing partner of Radical Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on investing in world-leading companies developing and applying deeply disruptive technology, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence. In May 2019, Radical launched a US $350M fund focused primarily on Series A investment.
Jordan previously co-founded Layer 6 AI and was co-CEO prior to its acquisition in January 2018 by TD Bank Group, where he joined as Chief AI Officer (Business & Strategy). Jordan is also a founder of the Vector Institute, a concept he devised and initiated with Layer 6 co-founder Tomi Poutanen and Professors Geoffrey Hinton and Richard Zemel. Jordan is an Associate at the Rotman School’s Creative Destruction Lab. His appointment to the CIFAR Board of Directors was confirmed at the June 2019 meeting.