President & CEO's Message

OCE: A Passion for Innovation, a Partner in Your Success

June 2010

I'm writing to inform you of some recent, internal changes at Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE). I am confident that these changes will establish stronger relationships with our industry and research institution partners, as well as our stakeholders.

The streamlining will allow OCE to become stronger, more nimble and ffective and better prepared to assume new opportunities and challenges, and will also facilitate the organization's emerging role in administering the Industry-Academic Collaboration Program (IACP) as part of the Ontario Network of Excellence (ONE).

Under the new structure there will be two Senior Vice Presidents reporting directly to me as President and CEO.

Bob Civak will be the Senior Vice President of Business Development Operations, which will oversee the delivery of services and programs and be organized regionally. Each region will be led by a Director with eight to twelve Business Development Managers in each. The regions will deliverthe full range of OCE programs and services.

Dr. Mario Thomas will be the Senior Vice President Centres of Excellence, which will be responsible for program and operational funding, client and stakeholder programs, and sector management and planning. The six existing Centres of Excellence will continue as sectors of expertise and will be managed by Dr. Thomas and his team. Dr. Thomas and his team will also have the accountability of working with OCE Sector Boards of Management who will continue to be a key resource in the sector focus of OCE.

Our new structure focuses on client service, efficiency and the new, regional focus. We will continue to provide and broaden our sector expertise that has been the hallmark of OCE's success in the past. Put simply, we will see to it that every project benefits from whatever resources are needed to get the job done.

OCE finds itself at pivotal point in its history. Since 1987, Ontario Centres of Excellence has been at the forefront of Ontario's innovation sector operating in a dynamic space that requires it to react to the ever-changing needs of the marketplace.

There's no doubt that the innovation ecosystem we all operate in is moving faster than ever. With our new structure, OCE is ready to react quickly and effectively, to take the very best innovative ideas and play a key role in the growth of new and existing companies resulting in the growth of economic prosperity in Ontario and Canada.

We look forward to working with you in this exciting endeavor.

Dr. Tom Corr
President and CEO
Ontario Centres of Excellence