Richard Florizone currently heads the Quantam Valley Ideas Lab in Waterloo. Dr. Florizone, 11th President of Dalhousie University, focused on developing partnerships between academia, governments, and corporations on issues of global significance. These collaborations resulted in the investment of billions of dollars in both the public and private sectors. He has been recruited by some of the world's leading institutions, including MIT, the World Bank Group, Cambridge University, the Boston Consulting Group, and Bombardier Aerospace. His leadership has been recognized with local, regional and national awards, including being a 2015 Top 50 CEO Award Winner by Atlantic Business Magazine and by Saskatchewan Business Magazine as one of the Top Ten Men of Influence in 2009.