Name
Melissa M. Chee
Employer and position
President and CEO, ventureLAB
Education
- Master of Business Administration (MBA) with Honours, University of Toronto (2006) Bachelor of Engineering, Computer Engineering, McGill University (1998)
Employment history
- 2017 to 2018 Chief Operating Officer, ventureLAB
- 2015 to 2017 Director of New Initiatives, Trapeze Group, Division of Constellation Software, Canada’s largest publicly traded enterprise software company
- 2013 to 2015 Vice-President & Executive Officer, Spectra7
- 2006 to 2013 Director of Marketing, Fresco Microchip
- 1998 to 2006 Global Product Manager/Systems Engineering, Nortel
Activities in advocacy organizations
- 2018 NGEN Canada | Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing SuperCluster, Board Member
- 2006 to 2008 CATA Women in Technology Forum, Board Member
- 2002 to 2004 Canada25, Innovation Policy Team
Community service
- 2017 Make-A-Wish Canada® Corporate Cabinet Member
- 2017 Ontario Innovation Celebration Planning Committee | Team Mentor
- 2016 FIRST Lego League, Core Values Judge, Regional Competition
- 2014 University of Toronto Engineering / Rotman, Guest Speaker on CommercializingTechnology
- 2007 GoENGGirl, Ryerson University, Guest Speaker
- 2007 National Engineering Week, Volunteer
- 2001 to 2003 Ryerson University, Women in Engineering Programs, Mentor and Speaker
- 2002 to 2004 Halton Women’s Centre, Board Member and Chair of Fundraising Committee
Candidate Statement
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/melissamchee
Melissa Chee is an accomplished and visionary leader in the technology sector, with a proven track record in building successful organization at global companies, significant community leadership, and deep entrepreneurial experience.
Melissa is the President and CEO of ventureLAB, a leading innovation hub located in Markham at the heart of York Region, Canada’s densest technology cluster. ventureLAB has supported with over 2,000 tech entrepreneurs, building, growing, and scaling their companies in Canada for global markets in a region home to more than 1.8 million Canadians. Under Melissa’s leadership, ventureLAB expanded its accelerator footprint by 2X in its first year of full operation, where over 45 tech companies and partners are currently co- located in a 50,000 square foot innovation hub.
Prior to joining ventureLAB, Melissa was the Director of New Initiatives at a division of Constellation Software, one of Canada’s largest publicly traded enterprise software companies. As the Executive Officer and Vice-President of Product, Operations and Marketing at Spectra7, Melissa headed global business operations, product development and corporate marketing where the company’s products were designed into major consumer brands including LG, Panasonic, Samsung and Facebook (Oculus). In this capacity, Melissa played an important role in the company’s transition to public listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Melissa started her career at Nortel where she held roles in product management, marketing, and systems engineering spanning wireless, optical, and enterprise technologies.
Melissa is a passionate advocate for Innovation in Canada to advance our nation’s global competitiveness, technology commercialization, women in STEM and other community impact initiatives.
For more information visit https://www.ospe.on.ca/board-elections
