AI and Entrepreneurship: What's Changing, What's Working, and What's Next

Chris Wynder

Chris Wynder is the Executive Director of Western Research Parks, where he supports founders in key regional industries. Chris and his team at Western Research Park manage property and support programs across two campuses, providing laboratory, industrial and office space to over 80 companies.  As small management team, Chris used AI to simplify the operational support allowing the team to pivot to support start-up growth through a mix of different programs (the Convergence Programs). Before leading Western Research Parks, Chris was the Director of Marketing; Developer Cloud for OpenText owning developer outreach and supporting the OpenText's Aviator (AI) products. During this time, he worked closely with product teams and small companies selling OpenText products in niche industries. Chris has his Ph.D in Molecular Biology from The Rockefeller University (2002) and spent four years as an Assistant Professor at McMaster University before co-founding a biotech company and then transitioning to IT consulting and marketing, where he has worked with founders since 2012.

Riccardo Badalone

Riccardo is the High-Tech Stream Lead at District3, where he works closely with the Gina Cody Innovation Fund to support and accelerate the growth of deep-tech startups. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Concordia University and has been a Mentor with the MentorConnect program since its inception. Prior to joining District3, Riccardo spent more than 25 years founding and leading Deep Tech companies, building multidisciplinary teams and scaling technology businesses across North American, the EU, and China. Most recently, as CEO and CTO of C2RO Cloud Robotics, he led the development and commercialization of privacy-aware, non-biometric AI computer vision technology, establishing a new approach to video analytics designed to address evolving data privacy requirements. Previously, as Co-Founder and CEO of Diablo Technologies, Riccardo pioneered Software Defined Memory, a technology that helped enable new architectures for hyperscale and cloud computing. He built the company into a vertically integrated technology organization spanning ASIC design, hardware, embedded firmware, and operating-system-level software across major platforms. Riccardo has also contributed to Canada's technology ecosystem as a member of the Board of Directors of AIoT Canada, the national technology cluster focused on advancing artificial intelligence and IoT innovation.

Suchit Ahuja

Suchit Ahuja is Associate Professor of Digital Innovation and Transformation in the Business Technology Management department at the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, Montreal (Canada). In January 2026, he was appointed Co-Director of Concordia's Applied AI Institute. Previously, he has served as the founding Director of the MSc Program in Business Analytics and Technology Management at John Molson School. During the 2024-2025 academic year, he served as the Academic Lead of the Steering Committee of the Quebec Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub hosted at Concordia University. In 2026, he was shortlisted among Global Top 100 Voices to Follow in Higher Education by Vevox Inc. and also listed among Top Education Leaders to Follow by The Prime Today magazine.

Moderator:

Arman Sadreddin

Arman Sadreddin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Supply Chain and Business Technology Management and Director of the John Molson Perspectives at the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University. His research focuses on digital innovation and digital entrepreneurship. Arman is the recipient of the 2025 Dean's Award for Distinguished Scholarship (Emerging Scholar) at JMSB, along with research grants from SSHRC and FRQSC. He holds a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from the Smith School of Business, Queen's University.