Jim Balsillie (B.Comm. Toronto, FCA Toronto, MBA Harvard) is a former Chairman and co-CEO of Research In Motion (BlackBerry), a Canadian company he scaled from an idea to $20 billion in sales globally.

He is a co-founder of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) based in New York City and Council of Canadian Innovators based in Toronto. He currently chairs the Board of Directors of Sustainable Development Technology Canada. He is also the founder of the Centre for International Governance Innovation, the Balsillie School of International Affairs and Arctic Research Foundation.

Mr. Balsillie was the only Canadian ever appointed to US Business Council and the sole private sector representative on the UN Secretary General’s High Panel for Sustainability. He is the only Canadian member of the US Council on Competitiveness and an internationally renowned voice on innovation strategy, competitiveness and international economic policy. His awards include: several honorary degrees in Canada, Mobile World Congress Lifetime Achievement Award, India’s Priyadarshni Academy Global Award, Time Magazine World’s 100 Most Influential People, three times Barron’s list of "World’s Top CEOs".

Mr. Ruffolo is the Chief Executive Officer of OMERS Ventures, the venture arm of OMERS, one of Canada’s leading pension funds. OMERS Ventures invests in early to late stage companies in the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications sectors. In addition, he is also the Executive Managing Director with OMERS Platform Investments, the innovation investing arm of OMERS.

Mr. Ruffolo serves as a board member of both Hootsuite and D2L (Desire2Learn). He is the Chairman of OMERS Energy and serves on the Member Council of Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC). John is the co-founder and Vice-Chair of the Council of Canadian Innovators. He also serves as a board member of OneEleven and Communitech, respectively, both leading innovation hubs in Canada. John is the Vice-Chair of the David Suzuki Foundation and is a board member of Canadians for Clean Prosperity and The Next Big Thing Foundation. He is a member of the Toronto chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization.

Prior to joining OMERS Ventures, Mr. Ruffolo was a Partner at Deloitte, as well as the Global Thought Leader, the Global Tax Leader and the Canadian Industry Leader for Deloitte’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) practice. He was also a member of the firm’s Tax and TMT Global Leadership teams and a member of Deloitte’s Board of Directors. A chartered accountant, Mr. Ruffolo was formerly a partner with Arthur Andersen LLP and has also spent time as an instructor for both the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and York University’s Schulich School of Business, from which he holds a Bachelor of Business Administration.