Wendy is responsible for leading High Q’s vision to harness the power of quantum technology to aid scientists in developing life-saving treatments. She is a global business executive who delivers unprecedented results by understanding unmet market needs and expanding strategic partnerships with customers. She brings more than 20 years of executive leadership expertise in the healthcare capital equipment, biotechnology and pharmaceutical markets across large public, privately held, and venture-funded organizations.
Prior to joining High Q, Wendy was Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing at United Imaging Healthcare heading the company’s launch and rapid scale into North America. Previously, she was Global Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Product Management at Rapid Micro Biosystems, where she transformed the global commercial organization for the company’s innovative product line of rapid microbial detection methods for pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturing. She has also served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Freudenberg Medical, a global contract manufacturer of medical devices and as Vice President of Sales at GE Healthcare.
Wendy holds an MBA and Master of Finance from Tulane University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Louisiana State University.
In her spare time, Wendy enjoys keeping active with spin classes and adventure travel with her family.
David Cory is a Professor of Chemistry & Canada Excellence Research Chair Laureate, Quantum Information Processing, at the University of Waterloo. He is also principal investigator for the Canada First Research Excellence Fund in Transformative Quantum Technologies.
David is a physical chemist working to develop quantum devices for sensing and computation. Earlier sensors have found applications in fields as varied as
cancer diagnostics, materials processing for tires, improved sensitivity for oil exploration, and a sensor for dark matter searches. Startups spun out of his lab develop quantum sensors with medical, biochemical and materials applications. His current research involves magnetic resonance and its applications, spin-based quantum information processors, quantum complexity, and neutron interferometry.
David has a PhD in chemistry from Case Western Reserve University. Prior to his appointment at the University of Waterloo, he was a Professor of Nuclear Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Doug Fregin is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Quantum Valley Investments.
Mr. Fregin served as the Vice President of Operations and as a Director of RIM until he retired in 2007. He was instrumental in evaluating various materials, fabrication technologies and design of the first circuit boards used in early versions of the company’s wireless technology that became standard in the BlackBerry.
Mr. Fregin studied electrical engineering at the University of Windsor. He was awarded the Queen’s II Diamond Jubilee Medal and is a Member of the Order of Canada. He also shares a Technical Emmy Award (1994) for Development of a Keycode Reader with Kodak and the National Film Board of Canada.
Currently, Mr. Fregin devotes a significant amount of his time and resources assisting various African Charitable Projects, including the establishment and operation of a Vocational School in rural Uganda. He also has made contributions to a number of other philanthropic endeavours, including donations to the Nanotechnology Initiative and the Quantum-Nano Centre at the University of Waterloo, as well as the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.
Cosimo Fiorenza has played a major role in the development of the Quantum Valley in Waterloo Region. Mr. Fiorenza is the Vice-President and General Counsel of Quantum Valley Investments, where he has helped to establish numerous quantum technology start-up companies. He serves as a director and officer of several of the start-ups, actively supporting them in a spectrum of matters, including recruitment, finances, intellectual property, fundraising, and government relations.
He is a founding member of the Perimeter Institute Board of Directors. In addition to his role as Vice-Chair of the Board, Mr. Fiorenza is a member of both the Finance Committee and the Investment Committee, and previously served as Co-Chair of the Perimeter Institute Leadership Council. He also is the Chair of the Board of Directors of Friends of Perimeter Institute and a member of the Board of Directors of AIMS-NEI Canada, one of Perimeter’s global outreach partners.
Mr. Fiorenza also helped to establish the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo and remains an active member of the IQC Board of Directors and Finance Committee. In 2016, he helped establish Quantum Valley Ideas Lab, a charitable organization focused on applied quantum research and specifically the development of new quantum technologies that will be the basis for new products and new businesses in Canada. Mr. Fiorenza serves as Vice-Chair of Ideas Lab and is also a member of its Finance Committee and Investment Committee.
Previously, he spent approximately 20 years with major Toronto law firms, advising some of Canada’s leading corporations and entrepreneurs on income tax and commercial matters, with a focus on technology and international structure. Mr. Fiorenza holds a degree in business administration from Lakehead University and a law degree from the University of Ottawa. He was called to the Bar in Ontario in 1991.
Mike Lazaridis is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Quantum Valley Investments.
Mr. Lazaridis co-founded and served in various positions at BlackBerry (formerly Research In Motion), including Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of RIM from 1984 to 2012 and Board Vice Chair and Chair of the Innovation Committee from 2012 to retirement in 2013.
In addition to founding the Quantum-Nano Centre, Mr. Lazaridis established in 2000 the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI), where he serves as Board Chair. PI has been widely recognized as a leading international centre for Physics research, training and outreach. His efforts also have helped generate important private and public sector funding in support of the Institute. He has donated more than $170 million to Perimeter and more than $100 million to IQC.
He is a Fellow of both the Royal Societies of London and Canada and has been named to both the Order of Ontario and Order of Canada. He was awarded Canada’s most prestigious innovation prize – the Ernest C. Manning Principal Award. He also was listed on Maclean’s Honour Roll as a distinguished Canadian in 2000 after opening the Perimeter Institute, was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People, was honored as a Globe and Mail Nation-Builder of the Year and received the 2018 IEEE Honorary Membership.
Mr. Lazaridis holds an honorary doctoral degree in Engineering from the University of Waterloo (where he formerly served as Chancellor), as well as a doctor of Laws from McMaster University, University of Windsor, Université Laval and University of Western Ontario.
Mr. Lazaridis was born in Istanbul, Turkey. He and his family moved to Canada in 1966, settling in Windsor. At age 12, he won a prize at the Windsor Public Library for reading every science book in the library. In 1979, he enrolled at the University of Waterloo to study electrical engineering. During his last year at university, he co-founded RIM.