Ilse
Treurnicht
Ilse Treurnicht is the CEO of the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto. She joined MaRS in early 2005 from her role as President & CEO of Primaxis Technology Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on the advanced technologies sector.
Prior to joining Primaxis, Ilse was an entrepreneur with senior management
roles in a number of emerging technology companies. She serves as a Director
of a number of organizations, including the Canadian Institute for Advanced
Research
(CIAR), the Canadian
Venture Capital Association (CVCA), BIOTECanada, Optimer Photonics,
MaRS and Primaxis. She is a member of the National Advisory Board of
CATA's Women in Technology Forum, and founding chair of the Toronto
chapter. She obtained BSc Hons and MSc degrees (both cum laude) from
tellenbosch University, and a doctorate in chemistry
from Oxford University, which she attended as a Rhodes Scholar. Ilse
is a regular speaker on innovation, commercialization and the knowledge
economy.