ABOUT US

The Bridge Between Innovative SMEs and Market Success

Canada Innovative SMEs Association (CISA) is a non-profit, membership-based organization focused on helping Canada’s most innovative SMEs expand globally. We were founded in 2018 in Toronto by a group of seasoned entrepreneurs who have global business expertise, and who understand what companies need to do in order to expand into international markets.

We offer a growing range of services, such as facilitating connections to international investors, providing expertise in expanding Canadian businesses to other countries, and providing networking and promotional opportunities through events held by our association.

While any Canadian SME may apply to become a member, our efforts are focused on sectors of the economy with the greatest potential to drive Canada’s future prosperity and global competitiveness in areas such as: artificial intelligence; advanced manufacturing; advanced health technologies; energy and environment; agri-food; information and communications technologies.

Meet our team

Honorary Advisory Board

Dr. Reza Moridi

Chair

Dr Moridi has extensive business, technical and strategic planning experience gained in Canada and internationally. He served as Ontario Minister of Research, Innovation and Science, and Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities.

Dr. Moridi is a Senior Fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto and sits on several boards including Chair, Honorary Advisory Board, Canada Innovative SMEs Association; Chair, Board of Directors, Radiation Safety Institute of Canada; Trustee, Royal Canadian Institute for Science, Chair; York University Faculty of Science Dean’s Special Advisory Board; Honorary Governor, Mon Sheong Foundation and Senior Consultant, Foreign Expert Advisory Committee, Shenzhen (China) Municipal Government.

The Honorable

John McCallum

The Honorable John McCallum is one of Canada’s most distinguished citizens, having served as a politician, diplomat, respected academic, and banking executive. He was Canada’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, and served as a Member of Parliament for Markham for 17 years.

Over the course of his political career, he held six ministerial portfolios, including National Defence and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. As Minister of Immigration he was responsible for welcoming 40,000+ Syrian refugees to Canada.

He is currently a Senior Strategic Advisor at McMillan LLP, and will serve as a Distinguished Academic Visitor at Queens’ College, Cambridge in January 2020.

Prior to his political career, John McCallum served for almost 2 decades in academia, as Dean of the Faculty of Arts at McGill University, and as an economics professor at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal, Simon Fraser University, and the University of Manitoba.

After academia, he served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at the Royal Bank of Canada for 6 years.

John McCallum has an MA from Queens’ College, Cambridge, Diplome d’Etudes Superieures, Universite de Paris, and a PhD from McGill University. He is married to his wife Nancy Lim McCallum and has three sons.

Brad Duguid

Mr. Brad Duguid is a well-respected Canadian business and political leader, currently serving as Vice President of Corporate Affairs for CFFI Ventures. He held elected public office for over 30 years serving on as Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Infrastructure, Research and Innovation, Energy, Training Colleges and Universities, Aboriginal Affairs, Labour and Accessibility.

He led Team Ontario during the successful national negotiations for the new Canada Free Trade Agreement, the most ambitious free trade agreement in Canadian history. During this time, he was responsible for US engagement, which included negotiating MOU’s with US State Governments, providing strategic advice on NAFTA and Buy-America Policies.

Mr. Duguid has been recognized for lifetime achievements in reducing red tape for businesses, and accomplished this while managing ministries with budgets of up to $1 billion.

His current work involves providing strategic advice, government relations and communications expertise to a number of CFFI owned companies, building partnerships with Indigenous communities and organizations, and engaging in Ontario and Canada’s innovation technology sector.

Mr. Duguid graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor ‘s degree in Commerce.

Board of Directors

Robert Bao

Robert Bao is a veteran entrepreneur whose company has over 10,000 employees in China, with a primary focus on textile manufacturing and international trading. Robert and his family immigrated to Canada in 2010 and call Toronto their new home. He is an angel investor who has supported high-tech start-ups both in North America and in China.

Max Xiong

Max Xiong is a successful entrepreneur with extensive business experience. Before moving to Canada with his family in 2018, he was the Chairman of Evergrande Group’s Southwest Division for 18 years. During his time with Evergrande, he grew his division from scratch, to sales of $8 billion. Evergrande’s Southwest Division’s net profit in 2017 was $1.4 billion, leading Evergrande Group to become the largest real estate company in China. Over the years, Max has developed a deep knowledge and strong connections with the business community. Max holds a Master’s Degree in Business Management from Sun Yat-sen University in China.

Jerry Liu

Mr. Jerry Liu is a senior financial expert with widely-recognized expertise in financial services, and has worked with multiple financial consultancy companies including London Life. Jerry is also committed to social responsibility programs, focused mainly on youth community leadership development. For his outstanding contributions, Jerry was awarded the Canada 150 Medal – a special commendation medal for the 150th Anniversary of Canada- in 2018.

Helen Liu

Ms. Liu is a successful investor and entrepreneur. She has invested in multiple early-stage companies in China, and one of them went public in the Shanghai Stock Exchange in early 2000. She and her husband own a large retail chain in China selling pharmaceuticals and medical devices, with over 50 stores and 500 staff. Helen and her family moved to Canada and settled in Toronto in 2013.

Volunteers

At CISA, we are very fortunate to have the support of volunteers, like you, who are eager to help Canadian companies grow overseas. Volunteers have been able to help us in many different areas, such as building business connections, translating documents, and helping us out at CISA events. Below are just a few of the accomplished people who are part of the CISA family. We want to thank you for your time and energy - we could not run this non-profit without you!

Annie Hu

Ms. Annie Hu is a Master’s student at the University of Toronto, majoring in data science and analytics. She has industry experience in data analytics, having completed projects in data science research across different industries. She is passionate about data and how it can be used to tell stories.

Before coming to Canada, she spent 7 years in Boston, completing both her Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, and a Master’s degree in applied mathematics from Northeastern University.

Sandy You

Sandy You is a high-energetic, ambitious and result-driven professional with a demonstrated history of working in the banking industry. Sandy You is currently enrolled in Queen’s University’s MBA program, and is a holistic private banker at Scotia Wealth Management. She is skilled in risk management, banking, financial planning, and investments.

She has a strong finance professional, with a double degree in Arts & Business, focused on Business and Commerce from Memorial University in Newfoundland.

In her community, Sandy is on the Board of Directors for the Chinese Canadian Heart and Brain Association, a registered non-profit organisation which promotes healthy living and provides health information on the prevention and treatment of both heart and brain diseases for the Chinese Canadian community.

Millie Li

Ms. Millie Li is a senior investment professional with over 7 years experience in private equity investment and the investment banking industry. She has extensive knowledge of capital markets and the healthcare industry, having led several private equity investment executions in both China and Hong Kong.