I have spent well over a decade in and around the oil and gas industry across multiple geographies, starting off as an exploration Geophysicists tasked with analyzing seismic data that is used for oil and gas discovery. The depth of analysis and technical rigour that goes into ensuring high fidelity subsurface images upon which millions of dollars of investment decisions are based are some of the skills that I picked up early in my career at Schlumberger, and which have been immensely useful in my professional journey. That said, technical rigour alone is not enough, one needs to be able to craft a compelling story that captures the essence of the solution their product or service offers. Working in the United Kingdom in product commercialization opened my eyes to the world of effective storytelling that focuses on customer pain points and how the technology/service being proposed alleviates those pains instead of focusing on the “disruptive wonders” of the technology/service. This skill makes the best entrepreneurs stand out from the rest, and I am hopeful that as an entrepreneur-in-residence, I will be able to share my learnings with the next generation of founders within our ecosystem.

The desire for problem-solving has led me through various paths, including spending some time as a management consultant with Deloitte helping clients solve some of their most nagging operations issues, to building a team at Suncor tasked with educating senior leadership on the carbon market to inform strategy toward meeting regulatory compliance and charting a course towards net-zero. While I cannot answer every question, I have built a network of subject matter experts that I can reliably call on for answers, and I always look forward to sharing this network.

I hold a Bachelor of Technology degree in Geophysics and an MBA from Ivey Business School.