Ryan Poissant

Biography

Ryan is Executive Lead, Corporate Engagement at MaRS Discovery District, where he helps corporate partners connect to the innovation ecosystem, delivers executive education programming on innovation and advises growth stage ventures. He was a mentor in the JOLT and Next36 accelerator programs and has more than 15 years of leadership experience with technology-focused organizations in the areas of strategy, business development, marketing, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), operations and product management. His experience includes speaking on corporate innovation, startups and customer engagement, and Ryan has appeared in TechCrunch, Backbone and the Financial Post. Prior to MaRS, he was vice-president of marketing and business development at Customer1, an enterprise software company in the CRM space, and was co-founder of Cobblestone, a technology startup. Ryan also held roles at eStara/ATG (purchased by Oracle) and Amex Bank of Canada. He was part of the leadership team that built Framework, a national non-profit organization that promotes volunteerism and community involvement, and has served on the Framework board for the past 10 years. Ryan is a graduate of the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University and lives in Toronto with his wife and two sons.

Research Interest

startups and customer engagement, and Ryan has appeared in TechCrunch, Backbone and the Financial Post.