A multi-faceted cross-Canada team serving entrepreneurs
Sustainable Development Technology Canada is the single-biggest investor in Canadian sustainability entrepreneurs. SDTC is a foundation created by the Government of Canada in 2001 to invest in technologies that will create economic and environmental prosperity for all Canadians.
The individuals at SDTC are experts on how sustainable technology is being advanced in Canada through hundreds of projects and companies we’ve worked with, as well as our leading private sector experts who sit on our board of directors.
Meet our Executive Team
From coast to coast, we have built a highly skilled team who are driven by our mission.
Ziyad Rahme
Interim CEO
As the Vice President of Investments, Ziyad provides leadership for SDTC’s strategy and approach to the investment process, ensuring that SDTC is sourcing and nurturing innovative companies that have the potential to deliver strong environmental and economic benefits to Canada. Ziyad oversees the day-to-day operation of SDTC’s start-up and scale-up investment streams, including intake, due diligence, recommendation of investments to SDTC’s Project Review Committee and Board, and post-approval monitoring and support. He is also responsible for overall portfolio management, monitoring and outcomes assessment.
Previously the Vice President of Partnerships, Ziyad provided leadership for engaging SDTC’s key stakeholders, with a focus on finding ways to effectively support SDTC’s portfolio companies, ensuring they grew and contributed to Canada’s competitive advantage in the global sustainability technology market.
Prior to joining SDTC, Ziyad spent 18 years at Iogen Corporation, a leading developer of advanced low-carbon biofuels, where he contributed in various roles involving progressive and expanding leadership responsibility.
Ziyad holds an M.B.A., an M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering and a B.A.Sc. in Chemical Engineering.
Sheryl Urie
Vice President Finance
Sheryl joined SDTC in 2019 as the Director, Finance & Administration and was promoted to Vice President, Finance in 2023. Building on 25 years of experience in financial diligence, contracting, financial management and performance management, Sheryl provides leadership to ensure appropriate financial health monitoring, risk assessments and contracting of the projects within SDTC’s portfolio.
Prior to joining SDTC, Sheryl grew her experience in the public and private sectors, with senior leadership roles at Lockheed Martin, PPP Canada and Mitel, overseeing the finance, risk management and contracting functions to ensure a high level of accountability for the management of public funds. Sheryl also spent a number of years at Deloitte in the Financial Advisory Service group providing advice on mergers, acquisition, business plans and equity valuations across many business sectors.
Sheryl serves as the Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair for Meals on Wheels (Ottawa). She is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Ottawa Girls Hockey Association and the Glebe Cooperative Nursery School, serving as Treasurer and Registrar, respectively.
Sheryl has her Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University. She also holds a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant designation, Chartered Business valuator designation in addition to being Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder.
Zoë Kolbuc
Vice President Ecosystems
Driven by her love of innovation and collaboration, Zoë leads SDTC’s efforts to seek out ambitious entrepreneurs developing sustainable solutions in every region of Canada. She also leads the development of communications and business growth strategies to tell the stories of these innovators throughout their journey to commercialization.
As Vice-President Ecosystems, Zoë focuses on SDTC’s early-stage investments including our Seed Funding and conveying SDTC’s internal and external messaging. Zoë recognizes that companies, especially early-stage companies, need a network of support and funding to grow their emerging businesses. Since joining SDTC she has developed new approaches to build partnerships and entrepreneurial capacity across Canada, was pivotal in establishing SDTC’s first equity, diversity and inclusion strategy and maintains a diverse network of relationships with key stakeholders in Canada’s leading economic sectors.
Zoë is an expert problem-solver and a curious leader and with a diverse background in government, energy and sustainability. Prior to joining SDTC, Zoë held leadership roles in global energy companies. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Zoë and her partner are the proud parents to three future SheEOs.
Steven Engel
Vice President People & Technology
As Vice President of People & Technology, Steven brings his leadership of integrated business, technology and data teams and projects to SDTC. A seasoned executive with extensive experience from a variety of innovative business and government sectors, Steven has directed transformation and growth initiatives, leveraging people, processes, data and information technology for the purposes of value aggregation.
Prior to joining SDTC, Steven was the Senior Vice President, Information Technology at Greystone Managed Investments Inc. When Greystone was acquired by the TD Bank’s Asset Management division in 2018, Steven served as a leader in the transformational integration of the two entities. Holding leadership positions with international consulting and technology firms progressing from western Canadian to Canadian to global responsibilities over a 20-year period, Steven has gained hands-on experience in education, healthcare, energy, utility, transportation, finance, asset management and government sectors.
Steven is the incoming Chair of the Board of Directors for Group Medical Services——a Canadian purpose driven provider of health and wellness insurance–related services. An active community member, Steven is a Coach and Board Member on the Regina Alpine Race Team and now is the Past President of Alpine Saskatchewan.
Steven holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Queen’s University and a Bachelor of Administration degree from the University of Regina.
Brian Scott
Acting Vice-President, Investments
Brian Scott is the Acting Vice President, Investments at SDTC. He is an experienced leader, with a proven track record of building high performing, multi-disciplinary teams in small and large organizations in Canada and the US. Brian joined SDTC as a Director in 2018 and has helped lead the transformation and operations of the Investments team, growing new approvals by 65%.
Prior to joining SDTC, Brian was a senior leader with Novozymes, a world leading industrial biotechnology company, where he held roles in product development, IP and business strategy. Brian began his career with Iogen Corporation, a Canadian bioenergy and biocatalyst company where he held various leadership roles in technology and product development.
He is passionate about mentoring and helping others perform at their best, as he is about sustainable development and helping Canada become a world leader. Brian has a MSc from the University of Ottawa.
SDTC EDI Values Statement
SDTC recognizes that equity, diversity, and inclusion enable organizations to leverage the range of perspectives needed to address today’s complex challenges. As a result, equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) is an important consideration for optimal operation of our organization, as well as for SDTC funded companies.
– Equity – SDTC ensures that equal opportunities to be successful are provided for all.
– Diversity – SDTC values diversity because it generates more ideas and possibilities for improvements.
– Inclusion – SDTC encourages collaboration to optimize inclusion in all that we do, internally and externally.
Goverance
SDTC is accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED).
Paul Boothe
Chair
Dr. Paul Boothe is an economist with a long career of public service at the provincial and federal levels. Dr. Boothe’s public sector career includes serving as Deputy Minister of the Environment (2010 to 2012), Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Industry (2007 to 2010), Associate Deputy Minister of Finance and G7 Deputy for Canada (2004 to 2005), and Deputy Minister of Finance and Secretary to Treasury Board for Saskatchewan (1999 to 2001).
His work experience includes university research and teaching, and acting as an independent consultant to Canadian and international organizations. He is a retired professor at the Ivey Business School, past director of the Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management and a former faculty member at the University of Alberta. He is the author, co-author or editor of more than 80 articles, monographs and books. In 2016, he was appointed a member of the Order of Canada.
Cassie J. Doyle
Cassie lives in Victoria, BC, and serves as a director for several Crown and non-profit organizations. She enjoyed a long and diverse career in public service with all three orders of government. She was the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Canada and Associate DM of Environment Canada as well as DM of various ministries in the BC government. She represented Canadian interests in California as Consul General in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley and was the CEO of the Canadian International Resources and Development Institute at UBC.
Cassie has extensive governance experience. She recently completed a term as the founding Chair of the Canada Energy Regulator as well as the Chair of BC Housing. She is a director of the Institute for Research in Public Policy and the Fraser Basin Council. She chaired an expert panel for the Council of Canadian Academies on Integrated Natural Resource Management and was a member of several boards of charitable organizations including Oxfam Canada and the United Way in both Ottawa and San Francisco, and currently the Threshold Housing Society in Victoria.
Cassie holds a master’s degree in social policy and administration from Carleton University and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Victoria.
Marta Morgan
Marta Morgan was the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2022. Prior to that she held a number of senior positions in the Government of Canada including Deputy Minister of Immigration, Citizenship and Refugees, Associate Deputy Minister of Finance and Associate Deputy Minister of Industry Canada.
She played a key role in the Government of Canada’s response to significant foreign policy challenges including the international dimensions of COVID, an evolving approach to Canada-China relations and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
She has deep experience in the development of economic policy, including telecommunications, autos, and aerospace. She served 6 years as Vice President Competitiveness and International at the Forest Products Association of Canada, where she worked effectively with Canadian industry and government to advance the economic competitiveness of the sector. Marta is currently Senior Advisor to the President of the Public Policy Forum and the Co-chair of the International Economic Policy Council at the C.D. Howe Institute.
Kathleen Sendall
Corporate Director
Location: Calgary, AB
Council Member Since: 2015
Kathleen Sendall is a Corporate Director, serving on the Board of CGG (based in Paris), Enmax Energy Corporation, Alberta Innovates – Energy and Environment Solutions and the Hatch Advisory Board. In January 2015 she was appointed the Chair of Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation for the Province of Alberta. She also participates on two federal advisory councils –Sustainable Development Technology Member Council and Advisory Council for Promoting Women on Boards.
Kathleen has advised federal and provincial governments on climate change, carbon capture and storage, environmental legislation and Arctic foreign policy. She also chaired the Canadian Council of Academies Assessment Panel on the State of Industrial R&D in Canada. Previously, she led Petro-Canada’s North American Natural Gas Business Unit and was responsible for the company’s North American conventional oil and gas production and exploration.
Kathleen contributes her time to a number of not-for-profit Boards, currently as Vice Chair of the executive of the Calgary Chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors and as a Director of the Manning Foundation for Innovation. She is past President and former Director of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and a former Governor and Board Chair of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
Kathleen has received many awards including the YWCA Women of Distinction Award, an honorary Bachelor of Applied Industrial Ecology degree, and twice named as one of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People by Alberta Venture.
She was named four times as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the Corporate Executive category and inducted into Canada’s Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame. Kathleen was awarded the 50 Key Women in Energy Global Award and Women Who Make a Difference Award from the International Women’s Forum, named as a Member of the Order of Canada in 2011 and awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2012.
In 2013 she received an Honorary Doctorate of Law degree from the University of Calgary and was named the Jarislowsky Fellow at the Haskayne School of Business for 2014/15. Kathleen graduated from Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Mechanical Engineering and attended the Ivey Executive Program at the Ivey School of Business.
Ed Vandenberg
Partner, Corporate, Osler
Location: Ottawa, ON
Council Member Since: 2021
Ed practices corporate and securities law with an emphasis on private equity fund formation as well as venture capital financing and mergers and acquisitions. His practice focuses primarily on private equity funds and emerging technology companies. Ed advises a wide range of Canadian and international clients in the private equity sector. He advises clients in structuring private equity funds and has acted for fund managers as well as investors. Prior to entering the legal profession, Ed worked for fifteen years in the food industry, seven years of which he served as president of a meat processing company.
Members
The Members review SDTC’s annual report, approve SDTC’s auditors and approve independent directors to the Board.
Our Partnerships
SDTC’s goal is to support the entire entrepreneurial journey: seed, start-up and scale up. Our approach is to think bigger, bolder and better by working with a network of partners, including accelerators and incubators, provincial and federal governments and the private sector to seek out talent across Canada.
With our partners, we streamline funding opportunities and actively work to identify companies that may be eligible for funding.
Provincial – Federal – Seed
Provincial Partnerships
BC Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) Fund
www2.gov.bc.caThe ICE Fund is a Special Account, funded through a levy on certain energy sales, designed to support the Province’s energy, economic, environmental and greenhouse gas reduction priorities, and to advance B.C.’s clean energy sector.
Alberta Innovates
www.ai-ees.caAlberta Innovates – Energy and Environment Solutions (AI-EES) is the lead agency for advancing energy and environmental technology innovation in Alberta.
Emissions Reductions Alberta
www.eralberta.caEmissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) evolved from Alberta’s Climate Change and Emissions Management (CCEMC) Corporation. ERA works collaboratively with Government, industry and the innovation community to secure a lower-carbon future for Alberta.
Ontario’s Target GHG Collaborative Technology Development Program
www.oce-ontario.orgOntario Centres of Excellence (OCE) drives the development of Ontario’s economy by helping create new jobs, products, services, technologies and businesses.
Transition énergétique Québec (TEQ) – Technoclimat
www.transitionenergetique.gouv.qc.caTransition energetique Quebec (TEQ), through the Technoclimat program, and SDTC have partnered to support and strengthen companies developing innovative clean-energy projects and technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).
Federal Partnerships
Clean Growth Hub
https://ic.gc.ca/eic/site/099.nsf/eng/homeThrough Budget 2017 the Government of Canada created the Clean Growth Hub, an interdepartmental team co-chaired by Natural Resources Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development with a mandate to help clean technology producers and users navigate the Government of Canada’s clean technology programs. SDTC is providing in-kind staff support to the Hub.
Export Development Canada
www.edc.caExport Development Canada provides Canadian exporters with the trade financing, export credit insurance and bonding services, as well as foreign market expertise.
Business Development Canada
www.bdc.caBDC is Canada’s business development bank and the only financial institution dedicated exclusively to entrepreneurs. Its mission is to help create and develop strong Canadian businesses through financing, advisory services and indirect financing, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.
Innovation Asset Collective
www.ipcollective.caInnovation Asset Collective (IAC) is an independent, membership based not-for-profit selected by the Canadian Government’s Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) to assist Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the data driven cleantech sector with their intellectual property needs. All SDTC-funded companies are offered membership with the IAC, granting them access to workshops, market intelligence and other resources to strengthen their IP strategies.
Innovation Governance Program
igp.canadianinnovators.orgResponding to Canada’s need for qualified directors and increased diversity on corporate boards, the Innovation Governance Program (iGP) is a new executive leadership program that will train current and future board members in key areas of importance in the intangible economy. Through the iGP, company leadership teams, advisors and board directors can take executive training to build the skills and resources they need to scale up globally.
Seed Funding
Our investments in Canadian start-ups and scale-ups are creating jobs while having real impact on Canada’s environment.
Our seed funding matches promising early-stage sustainability entrepreneurs with a one-time contribution of $50,000 to $100,000.
SDTC works with Canadian accelerators to identify entrepreneurs who will become tomorrow’s sustainability leaders. Interested? Contact our current accelerator partners.
Curious about the companies we’ve funded? Visit Our Companies page and click SEED on the categories tab.
Think your company might be eligible for one of our funding streams but you have more questions or concerns ? Fill out our inquiry form and we’ll be happy to answer any of your questions.
