News Release – Vanstones inducted into KW Entrepreneur Hall of Fame

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Dr. Sherry Shannon-Vanstone and Dr. Scott Vanstone Inducted into Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneur Hall of Fame

Celebrating the Legacy of Dr. Sherry Shannon-Vanstone and Dr. Scott Vanstone in Innovation and Community Leadership

WATERLOO, ON | JUNE 13, 2024 — Profound Impact™ Corporation (“Profound Impact”), a technology company that has developed an AI-powered researcher-to-funding matching platform, is proud to announce the induction of its Founder and CEO, Dr. Sherry Shannon-Vanstone, along with her late husband, Dr. Scott Vanstone, into the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. This prestigious honour, awarded by the Waterloo Region Entrepreneur Hall of Fame in partnership with JA South Western Ontario, recognizes the extraordinary contributions of the Vanstones to entrepreneurship, innovation, and the local community.

Sherry is a visionary leader in business and philanthropy, with a career spanning multiple successful ventures in Silicon Valley and Canada. With a MS in Mathematics from the University of Tennessee, she has held significant positions including Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Certicom Corp., Vice President Electronic Commerce at MasterCard International and CEO of Arcamatrix Corp. Her entrepreneurial spirit led to the founding of TrustPoint Innovation and Profound Impact Corporation. Sherry is also renowned for her mentorship and advocacy for women in STEM fields, playing a key role in initiatives such as the Emmy Noether Circle at Perimeter Institute and the Waterloo Region Chapter of Women in Communications and Technology (WCT-WR).

“Sherry was an amazing connector to the whole [tech] community, keeping our company connected to all the people that needed to believe in the technology we had,” said Phil Deck, former CEO of Certicom. “Sherry’s a cryptographer, so she knew the science but she also knew the personalities involved, and that was key. She was an essential part of Certicom right from the beginning. We built a software stack that could be embedded in other people’s software to do elliptic curve cryptography. It was extremely valuable. It was the most advanced cryptographic toolkit in the world. It’s actually the signing algorithm for Bitcoin today,” he adds. 

Scott was a prolific researcher and pioneer in Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), with a profound impact on the field of cryptography during his tenure at the University of Waterloo. He supervised numerous Ph.D. candidates and co-founded Certicom, a leader in ECC technology, which was later acquired by Blackberry. His work with TrustPoint Innovation, acquired by the Robert Bosch Group, further cemented his legacy in cybersecurity and the Internet of Things (IoT). Scott’s journey from Ph.D. student to renowned researcher and company co-founder can be traced back to his early recognition of ECC’s potential in 1985. His career, rooted in the academic lineage of distinguished individuals such as William Tutte and Ron Mullin, led to significant advancements in cryptography. Scott was not only an innovative researcher but also a mentor who inspired and guided future leaders in the field. His contributions continue to influence the development of cryptography and cybersecurity, showcasing a legacy of profound impact through connections and collaborations.

Scott’s daughter Andrea Mclean commented: “I am very proud of him for this special recognition for the Kitchener-Waterloo Region Entrepreneur Hall of Fame, and I think he’s very deserving of that for all the hard work he put in over the years as being a math professor and Certicom and TrustPoint after that. Sherry’s always giving back to the community, supporting the University of Waterloo along with my dad, hosting International Women’s Day events, always wanting to connect people within the region.” 

“Being inducted into the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneur Hall of Fame is a deeply meaningful recognition of our lifelong commitment to innovation and community,” said Dr. Shannon-Vanstone. “Scott’s vision and passion for cryptography and information security continues to inspire our work at Profound Impact, and I am honoured to continue our legacy of fostering technological advancement and supporting the next generation of innovators.”

The couple’s contributions have significantly impacted the Kitchener-Waterloo region. Sherry’s leadership in local mentorship programs has empowered over 200 women professionals through WCT-WR Mentoring Circles. Additionally, their philanthropic efforts have supported educational and healthcare initiatives, including the Emmy Noether Council at Perimeter Institute, the University of Waterloo Math Faculty, St. Jerome’s University, the University Health Network and the Milton Hospital capital campaign.

“I think the inevitability of Scott and Sherry co-founding TrustPoint was going to be a legacy for what they were going to create together,” said Dr. Deborah Rosati, Chair of Profound Impact Board and Investor. “Profound Impact was a passion project for Sherry originally. She just leaned in. It started with community impact and as it evolved it became more of we can really create this AI platform to connect researchers with funders.” 

Profound Impact’s AI-powered platform, Research Impact, exemplifies the ongoing innovation inspired by Scott and Sherry. The platform facilitates seamless connections between researchers and funding opportunities, streamlining the path to groundbreaking discoveries. “This recognition motivates us to continue driving technological progress and supporting academic and industry researchers globally,” said Sherry.

“To aspiring entrepreneurs in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, I encourage you to pursue your passions relentlessly and leverage the power of community and collaboration. Innovation thrives where diverse minds come together to solve complex problems,” she added.

Dr. Shannon-Vanstone extends her heartfelt gratitude to the mentors, colleagues, and community members who have supported her and Dr. Vanstone throughout their careers. Special thanks to the team at Profound Impact, whose dedication and expertise are vital to advancing their mission. 

Dr. Shannon-Vanstone accepts the Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame award at the JA South Western Ontario ceremony, celebrating her outstanding contributions to innovation and business leadership.
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ABOUT PROFOUND IMPACT™ CORPORATION

Based in the Toronto-Waterloo technology corridor, Profound Impact’s AI-powered platform – Research Impact – helps academic and industry researchers find the perfect funding match. With over $2.5 Trillion in research funding opportunities, 100,000s industry partners and 25 Million researchers globally, finding the optimal grant for academic and industry innovators is often overwhelming and unnecessarily time-consuming. More than just a search engine, Research Impact offers automatic, targeted and timely matching. Profound Impact’s customers include top North American research institutions, universities and industry partners. CEO and Founder Sherry Shannon-Vanstone is a serial technology entrepreneur with an unparalleled track record. She has had five successful start-ups and exits in Silicon Valley and Canada, including two IPOs and acquisitions. To learn more, visit www.profoundimpact.com. 

For Profound Impact media inquiries, please contact:

Alex Hebert

Durrell Communications

alexh@durrellcomm.com

media@profoundimpact.com

Connect with Profound Impact: 

Facebook: @aprofoundimpact

Instagram: @aprofoundimpact 

LinkedIn: Profound Impact Corporation

Twitter: @aprofoundimpact

YouTube: @profoundimpactcorporation

CEO Message

Message from the CEO

May was a month of celebration for the Profound Impact team, our partners and our communities.

I was honoured to be recognized, along with my late husband, Scott Vanstone, renowned mathematician, researcher and co-founder of Certicom Corporation, as a Laureate in the 2024 Waterloo Region Entrepreneur Hall of Fame for our founding of TrustPoint Innovation Technologies. The Entrepreneur Hall of Fame celebrates local business founders who have made a positive, lasting impact in the community and I’m delighted to join this group of innovative leaders.

Profound Impact Corporation was proud to sponsor the 2024 KW Oktoberfest Rogers Women of the Year Awards, an event that celebrated, recognized and paid tribute to the collective accomplishments and of 123 incredible women in the Waterloo Region. As sponsor of the STEM category, we’re pleased to congratulate award recipient Linda Li, an Environmental Engineer and Associate with Dillon Consulting. Linda has contributed to complex and multidisciplinary projects in the area of water, energy, and climate change.

I was pleased to be interviewed by Disruption Magazine Canada to share how Profound Impact leverages AI to provide the perfect match of funding opportunities with academic researchers and corporate partners. You can read about my career journey and the work we’re doing at Profound Impact in this Women in Tech article as well as a feature in the I Am Unbreakable magazine.

Guardian Women, a community built by Guardian Capital Advisors LP to focus on bringing women together to learn from one another, presented a Women Disrupting with Purpose event on May 29, where I participated in a fireside chat with Micha Choi, Client Portfolio Manager at Guardian. It was a pleasure to share stories of my experience as an entrepreneur and philanthropist at this exciting event.

The Profound Impact team was busy connecting with our academic partners in May. Sherryl Petricevic, our Director of Strategic Alliances and Partnerships, presented at CARA 2024 on Revolutionizing Grant Funding Using AI, sharing insights from current users of our Research Impact platform. CARA, the Canadian Association of Research Administrators, serves as the national voice for research administrators in Canada, uniting professionals from diverse roles in this ever-evolving field. We’re proud to have been a part of this informative event, featuring expert panelists and fostering innovation in research administration.

Jacqueline Watty, our Business Development Manager, hosted a round table discussion at the Polytechnics Canada Conference on May 15th. Topics included the challenges and opportunities faced by polytechnics and colleges when it comes to securing funding, working with industry partners and tackling a growing to-do list on a shrinking resource budget.

We’re pleased to introduce you to Joanne McKinley in this month’s Impact Story. Joanne, who is Director of Software Development at Google and Co-Site Lead of Google Waterloo, is an established industry leader, passionate advocate and mentor, recognized innovator, a role model for women in technology and an inspiration for young women considering careers in computer science.

In this month’s Researcher Spotlight, you’ll meet Professor Anita Layton, the Canada 150 Research Chair in Mathematical Biology and Medicine, and Professor of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Pharmacy and Biology at the University of Waterloo. Anita has been recognized as an influential figure in applied mathematics research at the interface of mathematical computation and biomedical sciences, has inspired new experimental and clinical studies in the area of renal physiology and associated medical care and has highlighted the importance of gender differences in mathematical models for biological systems.

As we move into June, we look forward to participating in the Collision Conference in Toronto on June 17-20 and the NCURA AI Symposium in Alexandria, VA on June 24.  We look forward to seeing many of you at these events.

As always, thank you for your support and we hope that you enjoy this month’s edition of Profound Connections.

Sherry Shannon-Vanstone

CEO Message

Welcome to the May edition of Profound Connections. 

In this issue’s Impact Story, you’ll meet Dr. Ronda Frueauff, a 2023 Impactful Action Award nominee whose 40-year career in education focussed on advancing the use of technology in schools, designing creative classroom environments to engage students in experiential learning, mentoring and coaching. Ronda’s love of learning continues in retirement as she conducts research on laughter and how it affects brain growth.

In our Researcher Spotlight, we profile Dr. Kelly Lyons from the University of Toronto. In addition to being recognized for her outstanding research, Kelly is known for her leadership as head of IBM’s Centre for Advanced Studies (CAS) Toronto. At CAS Toronto, Kelly was responsible for applied collaborative research projects with universities across Canada as well as CASCON, Canada’s premier international general computer science conference.

Profound Impact is pleased to announce our strategic partnership with AI Partnerships (AIP) Corporation. Research Impact, our AI-driven platform, uses proprietary and patented AI-powered algorithms to match industry and academic researchers to grant funding in an automatic, targeted and timely manner. We’re excited to partner with AIP and look forward to providing opportunities for AIP’s affiliate network to engage with our platform and add their AI-based research projects to Research Impact’s database.

On May 1, Sherryl Petricevic, Profound Impact’s Director of Strategic Alliances and Partnerships, moderated the panel Unlock Innovation Dollars Through Academia, presented by Innovation Factory. Representatives from BDO Canada, McMaster University, Sheridan College and Mohawk College showcased real-world examples of successful projects and industry/academic partnerships and how companies can successfully access this source of innovation. Sherryl will also participate as a panelist in a discussion on Research Intelligence Solutions at the Canadian Conference on Research Administration, presented by CARA, in Calgary on May 12 – 15.  

The 2024 Oktoberfest Kitchener-Waterloo Women of the Year event will take place on May 23 and we are honoured to sponsor the STEM award for outstanding advancement to the field of Science, Technology, Engineering & Math. Profound Impact team member, Martha Breithaupt is nominated in that category and will also be a keynote speaker at the event. And the innovative Mentoring Circles program offered by the Waterloo Region Chapter of Women in Communications and Technology, an organization I am proud to have co-founded with Sherryl Petricevic, is nominated in the Group Achievement category.

Check out the recently released Lead Like a Woman podcast to hear my views on the importance of being risk-aware rather than risk-averse and how culture, inclusivity, and diversity shape leadership and success in start-ups.

Finally, I’m pleased to announce that my late husband, Dr. Scott Vanstone, renowned mathematician, researcher and co-founder of Certicom Corporation, and I will be recognized by the 2024 Waterloo Region Entrepreneur Hall of Fame laureates at a gala ceremony in Kitchen for co-founding TrustPoint Innovation. 

Thank you for your support and we hope that you enjoy this month’s edition of Profound Connections!

Sherry Shannon-Vanstone

Profound Impact and AI Partnerships Announce Strategic Partnership

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PROFOUND IMPACT AND AI PARTNERSHIPS ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP TO ADVANCE THE CANADIAN AI ECOSYSTEM

Strategic partnership aims to bring new sources of grants and industry partnerships to AI research projects.

TORONTO, ON | April 25, 2024 — Profound Impact™ Corporation (“Profound Impact”), a technology company that has developed an AI-powered researcher-to-funding matching platform, and AI Partnerships Corporation (“AIP”), an affiliate network of Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions providers and researchers, announce their strategic partnership aimed at efficiently and effectively matching available grant funding with AI-focused companies and researchers looking for non-dilutive project funding.

“Our robust AI-driven platform, Research Impact, uses proprietary and patented AI-powered algorithms to match industry and academic researchers to grant funding in an automatic, targeted and timely manner,” said Sherry Shannon-Vanstone, President & CEO of Profound Impact. “We are excited to partner with AIP as this provides an opportunity for AIP’s affiliate network to add their AI-based research projects to Research Impact’s database and engage with the platform.

“At AIP, we have over 80 Canadian companies in our Affiliate Network and approximately  130 worldwide Affiliates, all engaged in providing SaaS-based AI services or products,” said Dr. Tom Corr, cofounder and CEO of AI Partnerships Corporation. “Our strategic partnership with Profound Impact will allow our Affiliate Network to discover additional funding, as well as the possibility of finding a research partner for their projects.”

The partnership also provides the opportunity for the development and facilitation of interactions and collaboration with industry and academic institutions who are already working with or interested in AI. 

Through the partnership, both organizations will continue to promote the Canadian AI technology ecosystem, increasing their own presence in the robust AI marketplace and concurrently supporting the growth of Canadian AI companies. Additionally, with AIP’s worldwide reach, this partnership will provide the opportunity for an increased impact on the AI ecosystems in the US and globally.

ABOUT PROFOUND IMPACT™ CORPORATION 

Based in the Toronto-Waterloo technology corridor, Profound Impact’s AI-powered platform – Research Impact – helps academic and industry researchers find the perfect funding match. With over $300 Billion in research funding opportunities, 100,000s industry partners and 25 Million researchers globally, finding the optimal grant for academic and industry innovators is often overwhelming and unnecessarily time-consuming. More than just a search engine, Research Impact offers automatic, targeted and timely matching. Profound Impact’s customers include top North American research institutions, universities and industry partners. CEO and Founder Sherry Shannon-Vanstone is a serial technology entrepreneur with an unparalleled track record. She has had five successful start-ups and exits in Silicon Valley and Canada, including two IPOs and acquisitions. To learn more, visit www.profoundimpact.com. 

For Profound Impact media inquiries, please contact:

Alex Hebert

Durrell Communications

alexh@durrellcomm.com

media@profoundimpact.com

Connect with Profound Impact: 

Facebook: @aprofoundimpact

Instagram: @aprofoundimpact 

LinkedIn: Profound Impact Corporation

Twitter: @aprofoundimpact

YouTube: @profoundimpactcorporation

ABOUT AI PARTNERSHIPS CORPORATION 

AI Partnerships Corp. matches small to medium businesses or enterprises with an Affiliate Network of 130+ companies experienced in delivering Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning-powered solutions to solve various business needs. Whether it is a specific task that needs to be automated to increase revenue or a robust set of processes that reduce costs. Together, AIP and its Affiliates develop  winning strategies for enterprise customers in the Finance, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Retail, Sales and Marketing, Data Science, and other sectors. Learn more at www.aipartnershipscorp.com.

For AI Partnership Corp. media inquiries, please contact:

AIP Marketing

info@aipartnershipscorp.com

Connect with AIP:

LinkedIn: AI Partnerships Corp.

YouTube:@AIPartnershipsCorp

Twitter: @AIPartnerships

CEO Message

March was a busy month for showcasing Profound Impact, our focus on AI, and how our Research Impact platform uses AI and machine learning to disrupt the research funding industry.

I am pleased to have joined the Advisory Board of AI Partnerships Corporation, whose mission is to make AI more accessible and affordable to businesses of all sizes in order to further the mass adoption of enterprise AI. I look forward to working as a member of the Advisory Board to leverage the technology and expertise of the organization’s Affiliate Network of more than 120 AI solutions providers.

On March 21, I joined the Ivey Alumni Network at the sold-out AI Open House themed Insights from the Leading Edge of AI Adoption in Canada. This successful event, hosted by Deloitte and curated by and for Ivey Alumni, provided insight into the world of AI while helping demystify it. It was an honour to participate as a panelist, alongside others shaping Canada’s AI landscape, to share my insights on how we need to adopt a spirit of inclusion and lifelong learning related to how people affect AI.

To hear my thoughts on the need for companies to consider AI’s potential in automating their processes and the significance of staying informed about AI developments, check out Business Challenges Female Entrepreneurs Face In The Modern Economy, the newest episode of The Business of Intuition podcast I recorded with host Dean Newlund last month. You’ll also learn about Profound Impact’s mission of using AI technology to connect great people to do great things by matching researchers and corporations with relevant grants and funding options.

Looking forward to April, a report on why I joined forces with Deborah Rosati, Profound Impact board chair and founder and CEO of Women Get On Board, and Lara Zink, VP of Client Service and Development at Delaney Capital Management to create Women Funding Women (WFW) is featured in the April issue of the I Am Unbreakable magazine. Click on the link to learn about my entrepreneurial journey and how the WFW network is working to address the persistent funding gap faced by women entrepreneurs in North America.

In this month’s Impact Story, you’ll meet Jennifer Lee, Vice-Chair at Deloitte Canada. A bold, inspiring leader, Jennifer creates global transformation for her clients at Deloitte through her extensive expertise in a wide range of areas. You’ll also learn about her incredible passion for driving local and global impact through her international volunteerism and board work.

You’ll also meet Tomasz Bednarz, Director of Strategic Researcher Engagement at NVIDIA, and the subject of this month’s Researcher Spotlight. Tomasz’s rich background as a researcher, lab director and active volunteer in the computer graphics community provides him with the technical and managerial skills to lead a team that is discovering the new research superstars and helping those researchers to take their innovations to the next level by using NVIDIA-developed technology, tools and hardware.

Profound Impact’s mission is to revolutionize the way researchers work by simplifying grant applications and fostering industry collaborations. For a limited time, we are offering a free evaluation of Research Impact to individual researchers, colleges and universities. Sign up for an evaluation or join us for a Research Impact Demo Day, where we demonstrate the matchmaking features of Research Impact.

Finally, are you curious about this month’s solar eclipse on April 8? I have had the honour of being affiliated with Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics for many years and am pleased to share an article on the eclipse from their monthly newsletter.

Thank you for your support and we hope that you enjoy this month’s edition of Profound Connections!

Sherry Shannon-Vanstone

CEO Message

March is Women’s History Month, an annual celebration of the vital role and contributions of women to society. Profound Impact is proud to celebrate women through the stories you’ll read in this month’s issue of Profound Connections, as well as activities we’re sponsoring throughout the month.

This month’s Impact Story profiles Zainab Azim, a young woman whose passion for space, education, neuroscience and public policy has inspired her to found an organization that works towards providing access to quality education, serve as a mentor in the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs Space4Women program and present her research to audiences around the world – all before completing her undergraduate degree!  Read about Zainab and her plans for expanding her work in mentoring and in the policy space to empower young girls and women interested in pursuing space and STEM fields.

In this month’s Researcher Spotlight we feature Julita Vassileva, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Saskatchewan. You’ll learn about Julita’s passion for promoting the status of women in computer science and in all areas of science and engineering where women are underrepresented. You can also learn about her ground-breaking research on applying AI to solve educational and social problems.

International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8 each year and the theme for IWD 2024 is Inspire Inclusion. Profound Impact is proud to be a sponsor of IWD 2024 events presented by WCT-WR, the Waterloo Region Chapter of Women in Communications and Technology. WCT-WR will host two live events on March 8 and March 27 that will include conversations featuring trailblazing professionals in the arts and culture sector, entertainment, and musical interludes.  Full information about those events and registration information is available here.

In last month’s newsletter, we announced the launch of Women Funding Women (WFW).  Founded by myself, Profound Impact board chair Deborah Rosati and Lara Zink, VP of Client Service and Development at Delaney Capital Management, WFW is a collective working to address the funding gap faced by women-led ventures.

We’re excited about the incredible energy generated by WFW’s two-day launch event on February 7 and 8. Our keynote speaker was Joanna Griffiths, founder and President at Knix, who shared her story with our collective.  

You can also tune into the From Fear to Fire podcast, where I speak with Heather Hansen O’Neill about how WFW is leading the charge to challenge established norms within the venture capital sphere, redefining the landscape for women founders and funders.

Are you a researcher looking for the perfect funding match? For a limited time, Profound Impact is offering a free evaluation of our AI-powered tool, Research Impact, to individual researchers, colleges and universities. You can view a video here or sign up for a live demonstration during one of our Demo Days.

Thank you for your support and we hope that you enjoy this month’s edition of Profound Connections!

Sherry Shannon-Vanstone

CEO Message

The first few weeks of 2024 have been busy as the Profound Impact team continues to work with universities and colleges and industry partners across Canada to deploy our AI-powered Research Impact tool, which matches researchers with the best research funding opportunities in their field and helps find industry partners to support successful grant applications. Through our innovative new partnership with CS-Can|Info-Can, the first of a series of collaborations with researchers across Canada, Profound Impact is providing CS-Can|Info-Can member Computer Science departments and researchers with free evaluations of Research Impact. Interested in learning more about Research Impact? You can view a video here or sign up for a live demonstration during one of the bi-weekly Demo Days that the Profound Impact team will be presenting throughout 2024.

I was pleased to share my insights on building Profound Impact’s team and our successful and healthy small business culture in the Grow a Small Business podcast. Profound Impact and my work were also featured in an edition of Women’s Biz podcast, where I talked about my journey in information security, my role in commercializing Elliptic Curve Cryptography, and the inspiration behind founding Profound Impact.

In August of 2023, Profound Impact announced the successful close of a $3.125 million pre-seed funding round of nearly all female investors, including many first-time angel investors. Inspired by this achievement, I joined forces with Profound Impact board chair Deborah Rosati and Lara Zink, VP of Client Service and Development at Delaney Capital Management, to create Women Funding Women Inc. (WFW). This collective, which challenges the status quo in the venture capital world and with first-time female angel investors by breaking barriers and building bridges for a more inclusive investment community, will launch in Toronto on February 7. You can read more about how WFW plans to change the VC landscape in Disruption Magazine’s recent article.

In this month’s Impact Story, you’ll meet WFW co-founder Lara Zink and learn more about her journey from working as a political aide to a successful career in finance. In our Researcher Spotlight, we profile Dr. Luigi Benedicenti, Professional Engineer, researcher and Dean of the Faculty of Computer Science at the University of New Brunswick, whose career took him from Genoa, Italy to Regina, Saskatchewan to Atlantic Canada.

We hope you enjoy this month’s edition of Profound Connections!

Sherry Shannon-Vanstone

Lara Zink

Lara Zink
Co-Founder, Women Funding Women

It was serendipity that brought Lara Zink from Vancouver to the University of Western Ontario (now Western University) and the keen interest she developed in politics in grades 11 and 12 led her to study political science. “I visited a great aunt in London while in high school and thought the Western campus was amazing,” says Lara. 

Lara’s journey, from graduating with an Honours BA degree in political science to working as part of the federal government team that negotiated the NAFTA agreement to a long and successful career in finance, was a non-traditional one. Her experience makes her a role model dedicated to helping women overcome barriers to entry and to ensure that leadership, representation, and gender equity exist within the finance industry.  

Lara’s degree in political science and experience working with the Young Conservatives as a teenager led to a role as political assistant to federal Member of Parliament Michael Wilson, then Minister of International Trade and Industry Canada. “I loved my two years working in Ottawa,” says Lara. “I was able to speak with members of Parliament and their staff about the benefits of NAFTA to Canada and traveled to Washington for the final stages of negotiation of the agreement.”

After two years on Parliament Hill, Lara wrote the GMAT exam and applied to business schools, including the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto where she ultimately earned her MBA. Although she had hoped to return to Vancouver after graduation, job opportunities were more plentiful in Toronto. After considering options in marketing and private wealth, Lara chose to enter a corporate lending training program with RBC in Toronto. She started in business banking and moved to another lending group in RBC’s financial institutions group before embarking on a 20-year career in global equity sales and trading on the trading floor at RBC Capital Markets.

When she left RBC in 2019, Lara paused and considered her next career move. “While exploring job opportunities during the pandemic lockdown, I threw my name in the hat for the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Women in Capital Markets,” says Lara. She joined WCM, the largest network of women in finance whose mission is to accelerate equity, diversity and inclusion in finance, in 2021. Lara led WCM in developing programs to unite the finance industry in supporting EDI in capital markets and delivering research, programming and strategic value to the organization’s sponsors, members and stakeholders. 

Lara left WCM in September of 2023 to join a woman-led asset management company, Delaney Capital Management, where she currently serves as Vice President of Client Service and Development.

Lara’s commitment to embracing equity and helping women succeed, both in the finance sector and as company founders, is reflected in her role as a member of the board of Canadian Women’s Network, where she will work to help Canadian female founders grow and secure funding. She recently joined Sherry Shannon-Vanstone and Deborah Rosati to create Women Funding Women (WFW), a collective aimed at addressing the persistent funding gap faced by women founders in North America. 

WFW, which will launch on February 7 in Toronto, brings together organizations and resources committed to empowering women, offering gender equality, and catalyzing economic growth by increasing access to seed funding for women-led ventures. Lara’s vast experience in capital markets and her passion for driving change and ensuring women’s success is key to the work that WFW will do to increase access to funding for women founders. 

Lara’s professional success in the finance sector, her belief that strategy and culture differentiate organizations, and her work as a leader and mentor for women – as entrepreneurs, funders and investors – have made her an influential champion for equity, diversity and inclusion, and a powerful initiator of change for women’s access to venture funding.

Do you have an impact story to share? Let us know at connections@profoundimpact.com for a chance to be featured in an upcoming newsletter!

PARTNERSHIP TO TRANSFORM COMPUTER SCIENCE RESEARCH FUNDING IN CANADA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A recent partnership between CS-Can|Info-Can and tech startup Profound Impact creates the potential for Computer Science researchers to access new sources of funding.

WATERLOO, ON | JANUARY 23, 2024 — Profound Impact™ Corporation, a technology company based in the Toronto-Waterloo corridor, is excited to announce its partnership with CS-Can|Info-Can, an organization with over 60 member Computer Science departments across Canada that aims to foster excellence in Computer Science research and higher education. 

As part of this partnership, Profound Impact will provide CS-Can|Info-Can member Computer Science departments and researchers with free evaluations of Research Impact, Profound Impact’s AI-driven researcher to funding matching tool. Research Impact uses proprietary AI-powered algorithms to match industry and academic researchers with the over $300-billion available in funding opportunities worldwide.

“We are thrilled to embark on this transformative partnership with Profound Impact™ Corporation, as it signifies a significant stride forward for our CS-Can|Info-Can members. Profound Impact’s commitment to providing free evaluations of Research Impact, their cutting-edge AI-driven researcher-to-funding matching tool, aligns perfectly with our mission to foster excellence in Computer Science research and higher education across Canada. This collaboration opens doors for our member Computer Science departments and researchers, addressing the funding challenges that often hinder the expansion of vital research initiatives. We believe this partnership marks the beginning of a fruitful series of collaborations, empowering our members to achieve their funding goals and contribute to the advancement of Computer Science research in Canada.” says Gina van Dalen, Executive Director CS-Can|Info-Can.

This partnership with CS-Can|Info-Can is the first of a series of collaborations with researchers across Canada as Profound Impact works with industry leaders and researchers to initiate new research funding connections to help Canadian research institutions and their partners meet their funding goals.

“Computer Science research drives technological innovation. Yet many researchers and departments struggle to find funding to continue and expand their research,” says Profound Impact President & CEO, Dr. Sherry Shannon-Vanstone. “We are excited to offer this solution to the CS-Can|Info-Can membership. We all succeed when researchers get the funding they need to continue to innovate.”

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ABOUT PROFOUND IMPACT™ CORPORATION 

Based in the Toronto-Waterloo technology corridor, Profound Impact’s AI-powered tool – Research Impact – helps academic and industry researchers find the perfect funding match. With over $300 Billion in research funding opportunities, 100,000s industry partners and 8.8 Million researchers globally, finding the optimal grant for academic and industry innovators is often overwhelming and unnecessarily time-consuming.  More than just a search engine, Research Impact offers automatic, targeted and timely matching.  Profound Impact’s customers include top North American research institutions, universities and industry partners.  CEO and Founder Sherry Shannon-Vanstone is a serial technology entrepreneur with an unparalleled track record.  She has had five successful start-ups and exits in Silicon Valley and Canada, including two IPOs and acquisitions.    

About CS-Can|Info-Can

CS-Can|Info-Can counts among its members more than 60 Canadian organizations active in computing research: academic departments of computer science and computer engineering; laboratories and centres in industry, government, and academia; and affiliated professional societies. CS-Can|Info-Can works with these organizations to represent the computing research community and to effect change that benefits both computing research and society at large.

Visit us at www.profoundimpact.com

Connect with us at 

Facebook: @aprofoundimpact

Instagram: @aprofoundimpact 

LinkedIn: Profound Impact Corporation

Twitter: @aprofoundimpact

YouTube: @profoundimpactcorporation

For media inquiries, please contact:

Durrell Communications

media@profoundimpact.com 

CEO Message

Happy 2024!

Profound Impact is excited to start the new year with the announcement of a new partnership with CS-Can|Info-Can, a professional organization representing more than 60 Computer Science departments and faculties across Canada.

CS-Can|Info-Can and Profound Impact worked together in 2023 to produce two webinars on researcher and industry collaboration. Recordings of those webinars are available for viewing here.

This new partnership provides an exciting benefit to the CS-Can|Info-Can members – a free evaluation of Research Impact, which uses advanced AI to match researchers with the best research funding opportunities in their field and helps find industry partners to support successful grant applications.

Would you like to see Research Impact in action? You can view a video here or sign up for a live demonstration during one of the bi-weekly Demo Days that the Profound Impact team will be presenting throughout 2024.

This month, we’re proud to present profiles of two 2023 Impactful Action Award finalists. These finalists exemplify what it means to make a profound impact in the world, and we are honoured to share their stories. You’ll meet Leigh Zachary Bursey, an activist, journalist, former three-term politician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and author, and Lynn Smith, a proud member of the Peavine Métis Settlement who is leading her northern community through a significant change to take control over monitoring the impact of climate change on their land and waterways.

The Profound Impact team is excited about our plans for 2024 and looks forward to sharing those with you. Enjoy this month’s edition of Profound Connections and best wishes for a productive and happy new year!

Sherry Shannon-Vanstone