Ronald Chwang Entrepreneurs-in-Residence
Dr. Michael Avedesian
Serial Entrepreneur and Course Lecturer
Dr. Avedesian had three start-up companies for which two he was the founding CEO. Two of them were successful and one went IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors of TM4, a company which designs and manufactures electromechanical drive train systems for hybrid and electric vehicles. Complete profile available here!
Dr. Andrew Csinger 
Serial Entrepreneur and Advisor to Several High Technology Firms
Dr. Csinger is a curiosity-driven, gregariously introverted technocrat. His self-proclaimed role in the entrepreneurial ecosystem consists of the semi-systematic search for shiny pieces of intellectual property to develop into successful corporate undertakings. Complete profile available here!
Derrick Wong (MSc, MBA)
Course Lecturer
In addition to his role as course lecturer, Derrick provides guidance to students and researchers who are exploring technology entrepreneurship. Derrick has an undergraduate degree in applied mathematics and engineering, a Master of Science in Financial Engineering and a Master of Business Administration, and is a licensed professional Engineer in Ontario. Complete profile available here!
Volunteer TechAccel Mentors
Adrien Beyk
Founder, Quanta Vici
Adrien is the founder of Quanta Vici, a pioneering company in smart clothing technologies. With over a decade of experience in product management and full-stack engineering, Adrien excels in guiding early-stage startups towards market success. His expertise includes go-to-market strategic planning, product-market fit, DTC and B2B sales, and leveraging AI/ML for business optimization. Adrien has a track record of successfully raising funds for seed stage startups. His comprehensive technical background and business acumen make him a valuable mentor for innovative tech ventures. Complete profile available here!
Anibal Jodorcovsky
Independent Health Informatics Consultant
Anibal (BEng ‘95) is a Senior Executive with proven results in delivering high quality output and throughput via team development and sound engineering practices. He is skilled in diverse negotiation activities, growing teams, managing conflict and delivering results. Anibal likes talking to students and passing on experience that can help young entrepreneurs. Complete profile available here!
Ankit Mishra
Energy Contributor at Forbes and Head of Growth at Astreas
Ankit Mishra is a seasoned startup operator with over a decade of experience in launching high-growth tech companies. He is the Head of Business Operations at Astreas, a Fellow at Energy Futures Lab, and an Energy Contributor at Forbes, where he shares insights on economic growth, energy transition, and the future of work. His work has been featured in leading media outlets, including Forbes, CBC Canada, BNN Bloomberg, and Techcrunch.
Previously, he worked in venture capital and was an economist at the Ontario Government and the OECD. Ankit also mentors early-stage ventures at McGill Engine's TechAccel Program and coaches HBA and MBA students at Ivey Business School's New Venture Project. He holds a master's degree in international economics from Sciences Po Paris and a bachelor's degree in mathematics from York University.
Chaity Tarafder
COO & Co-Founder, NameShouts
Chaity Tarafder is the Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of NameShouts, a SaaS startup that is simplifying the way people make first connections, one name at a time. Her skills include building an early-stage startup, product management, and data analysis with a strong interest in data science. Chaity is a proud McGill alumna and would love to give back to her community. Chaity's time at McGill taught her many essential skills that have proved invaluable in her startup-founder journey. She is excited to share her experiences and support the next generation of entrepreneurs coming out of McGill. Complete profile is available here!
Chloë Ryan
CEO & Founder, Acrylic Robotics
Chloë co-founded Acrylic Robotics through Engine’s TechAccel Program back in 2020. Since then, she has been a part of Engine sharing her entrepreneurship experience to fellow McGill students who are passionate about Entrepreneurship and Innovation. McGill Engine was the springboard for building her venture and she would love to give back! Complete profile available here!
Ferhan Bulca
Founder, CEO, Tech Executive, Mentor, Advisor, Investor
Ferhan built and exited one company as an entrepreneur and four business lines as an intrapreneur, creating over $1B annual recurring revenue. Still active in value-creation, Ferhan focused his energy into two key areas: 1) medical technology innovation, 2) growth of Canadian technology commercialization. One component of Ferhan’s activities is mentoring startup founders and investing in early-stage companies. Complete profile available here!
Gilles Fayad
Director, Initiatives, AI Commons
Fayad would like to give back to the community that gave his the opportunity to succeed, and he can't help but be active in the emerging technologies and taking them to market as disruptive solutions and startup entities. Complete profile available here!
Hassan Hanano (B.Eng., MBA)
CEO, World Assurance
Hassan is the founder and CEO of World Assurance, a software solution provider for the Insurance Market, most notably the Marine & Aviation Insurance industry, focusing on making processes easier for insurers and clients. Prior to this role, Hassan worked as an Investment Director at the Venture Capital division of CDP Capital and as an Engineer at Matrox. Hassan Graduated from McGill University (BEng in 1996 and MBA in 2000) and is a CFA Charterholder. Complete profile available here!
Kamran Ahmed
Technology Entrepreneur, Mentor, Investor
After a very successful professional and entrepreneurial career including a major exit, he is now focusing his efforts on giving back to the community. One aspect of this is through mentoring and advising entrepreneurs. Complete profile available here!
Dr. Nicholas Nadeau
Founder & Fractional CTO, Nadeau Innovations
Nicholas Nadeau is a dynamic CTO and seasoned professional engineer specializing in next-gen technology development and executive leadership. With a Ph.D. from École de technologie supérieure, Nicholas has a strong background in AI/ML, biomedical, collaborative robotics, humanoid robotics, Industry 4.0, and additive manufacturing.
As a trusted mentor in the Montréal startup community, he supports accelerators like NextAI, Techstars, Creative Destruction Lab, and FounderFuel. Nicholas is dedicated to empowering hard-tech startups and driving corporate innovation by providing expert guidance, strategic direction, and access to cutting-edge technology, fostering inventive solutions, building high-performance teams, and inspiring confidence in clients. Complete profile available here!
Odero Otieno
Sr Director of Platform & Experience Engineering, Humana
Odero is the Sr. Director of Platform & Experience Engineering at Humana, where he spearheads innovation in cloud environments and data platforms to enhance personalized healthcare services. With a robust background in full stack software development, architecture, and deployment, he leads efforts to elevate member experiences across various health services. Previously, Odero held key roles at Microsoft and founded DawaSwift, a digital healthcare platform streamlining interactions between patients, pharmacies, and insurance companies. He holds a Master of Engineering from McGill University and has completed advanced programs at Stanford University and the University of Toronto. His expertise in cloud engineering, data analytics, and machine learning is pivotal in driving Humana's digital transformation. Complete profile available here!
Roger Tambay (B.Sc., MBA, BCL/LLB)
Serial Entrepreneur
Roger is a serial entrepreneur and intrapreneur with extensive experience in developing business unit strategies incorporating competitive issues, trends in industry, and growth from new external factors. He has a comprehensive view of all aspects involved in both growing a successful manufacturing business and in acquiring businesses, with experience covering a wide range of products and verticals such as chemicals, plastics, packaging, agriculture, and food. Roger most recently built a cleantech company from scratch and took it to the expansion phase before exiting. Complete profile available here!
Dr. Samuel Suss (B.Eng., M. Eng., PhD)
Principal Consultant
Dr. Suss is currently an independent consultant for operations and execution in private and public organizations. Dr. Suss began his career in the aircraft industry developing, adapting and implementing computational mathematics techniques for the improvement of design and manufacturing methods. He later went on to build a contract manufacturing firm which he and his partner grew to an industry-leading company of over 300 employees, operating in the United States and Canada. In 2007 Dr. Suss returned to McGill to complete a PhD in engineering management. Since then, Dr. Suss has worked as a consultant to government, hospitals, and industry on various projects to improve operational performance. Complete profile available here!
Sarim Malik
CEO & Co-Founder, Neat
Sarim co-founded Neat through Engine’s TechAccel Program back in 2020. Since then, Sarim received his BEng in Mechanical Engineering and has been working on building next-generation software at Neat. Sarim would love to give back to the Engine community and be there for other student startup teams beginning their journey. Complete profile is available here!
Thomas Karatzas
Software Engineer in Silicon Valley
Thomas was a part of McGill Engine back in 2016. It was a huge part of his university experience and helped him a lot. He wants to give back to the community and build the next generation of McGill Alumni! Complete profile available here!
