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Welcome to CHIPS Month Canada
For now it’s just a “semi” celebration.
We’re passionate about Canada’s semiconductor sector. From the earliest days of the integrated circuit, ingenious Canadians have pushed the technology and created successful companies at every node along the value chain. Against all the normal Canadian odds – small domestic market, limited access to capital, for both start-ups and scale-ups and the siren song of Silicon Valley’s high-risk, high-reward adrenaline-soaked culture that entices our talent – there’s a rugged individualism that characterizes the men and women who built this industry.
Meet some of those people. Get a feel for what they’re doing; the conversations and conferences where new ideas are germinating. Get a glimpse of where they’re leading this country as a generational geographic shift in the supply chain collides with transformative technology change.
This country has all the critical elements for massive success. Watch what Canada does next.
Then we’ll have a full celebration.
Doug Suerich, Chair
Doug, with over 20 years of software expertise across various industries, leads PEER Group’s marketing team, focusing on digital content creation, thought leadership, and event management. He collaborates closely with factory and OEM clients to shape PEER Group’s product roadmap. Joining in 2011 as a senior developer, Doug evolved into PEER Group’s inaugural product evangelist in 2016, showcasing the company’s vision globally. Actively engaged in smart manufacturing advocacy, he co-chairs the SEMI® SMART Manufacturing Technology Community, Americas Chapter.Previously, Doug held roles as a software development manager, automation engineer, and consultant.He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in System Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University. Doug is a licensed professional engineer in Ontario.
Peter Stokes, Co-chair
Peter is the Director of Partnerships and Officer/Corporate Secretary at CMC Microsystems, a Canadian not-for-profit research support organization. He has over 35 years of experience supporting research and innovation across Canada. As a member of the senior leadership team, his responsibilities span across corporate strategy, planning, operations, risk assessment, partner development, and external liaison with stakeholders in universities, industry, and government. Prior to CMC Microsystems, Peter worked at Novatel with the cellular telephone engineering group and at DIPIX Technologies in hardware design for digital imaging via satellite. Peter is an Electronics Engineering Technologist, has an MBA from Queen’s University and is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Laura William, Co-chair
With a background in economics, international relations, book publishing and branding, Laura is skilled at identifying and analyzing the social, cultural, and political influences impacting industry. Applying these insights has enabled her to help both established and emerging organizations dealing with accelerated technological, social and market change develop effective competitive and commercial strategies. She has a particular talent for identifying existing but overlooked strengths, defining unique opportunities and operationalizing them.
Laura’s multi-disciplinary experience across diverse industries has given her the opportunity to work broadly in the innovation portfolio. Since founding Disruptor in 2001, she has worked nationally with private sector, academic, government and non-profit organizations in a wide variety of innovation-related roles.