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Thursday, April 9, 2026

Inauguration + Opening Remarks

9:30 - 9:35 AM

Introduction – ClimateTech Innovation Forum

Simon Olivier

Senior Partner, Water Tech
Cycle Capital

9:35 - 9:50 AM

Preliminary Remarks:
The Cycle Capital platform

Andrée-Lise Méthot

Founder and Managing Partner
Cycle Capital

9:50 - 10:15 AM

State of Net-Zero By BloombergNEF

Portrait de Ethan Zindler

Ethan Zindler
BloombergNEF

Resource Resilience: Investing in the Metals That Power the Future

10:15 - 11:00 AM

Moderator
Maya Hassa

Principal Circularity/New material
Cycle Capital

As geopolitics, supply shocks, and industrial policy collide, circularity is moving from buzzword to necessity in critical minerals. This panel cuts through the hype to examine where venture and strategic capital can be deployed, what makes circular mineral startups bankable, and how investors underwrite capital intensity and risk. Drawing on investor and operator perspectives, speakers will debate circularity as a strategic hedge for supply chain resilience—and the hard limits of reshoring in practice.

Tina Tosukhomwong

TDK Ventures

Pierre Paffenhoff

Fonds FTQ

Amrit Jalan

Fine Structure Ventures

Mohammad

Doostmohammadi

PH7

Pitch session of the companies in our portfolio

11:00 - 11:45 AM

Claude Vachet

Managing Partner
Cycle Capital

An opportunity to discover the impact-driven companies in our portfolio through concise presentations highlighting their value proposition and growth potential.

Michel Besner
Prevu3D

Niraj Mathur
Blumind

Alan Liu
Quintessent

Joshua Green
Mysa

11:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Energy

Guillaume Bouthillier

Hydro-Quebec

Gerd Goette

Cycle Capital

Lunch

12:15 – 1:30 PM

Pitch session of the companies in our portfolio

1:30 - 2:00 pM

Pascal Drouin

Partner, Deep Tech
Cycle Capital

An opportunity to discover the impact-driven companies in our portfolio through concise presentations highlighting their value proposition and growth potential.

Philippe Cantet
SPRiNG

Leif Tiltins
AON3D

Gabriel Damant-Sirois
Local Logic

2:00 - 2:30 PM

Executive leadership in times of uncertainty: the dynamic between the CEO and their team.

Rodgers Palmer

TalentScape Partners

Andrée-Lise Méthot

Founder and Managing Partner
Cycle Capital

A new agenda for water: investing in a secure water future

2:30 - 3:15 pm

Moderator
Carolina Sanchez-Badini

Associate, Cycle H2O
Cycle Capital

Exploring initiatives and innovations that secure water for future generations

This panel highlights the role of investments and innovative companies in securing water resources. Through concrete examples, the speakers will discuss the financial, technological, and strategic levers that support a sustainable water future.

Alejandro Gaviria
RegenEAU

Paul O’Callaghan
BlueTech Research

Guillaume Clairet
H2O Innovation

Break

3:15 – 3:45 PM

Startups Showcase

3:45 - 4:15 pm

Animated by

Marc-Antoine Ducas
Cycle Momentum

AGAPYO

Agapyo develops and offers a compostable alternative to fossil-based plastics through its thermoplastic lignocellulose product, jam™.

PHYCUS BIOTECHNOLOGIES

Phycus Biotechnologies develops sustainable active ingredients for cosmetic and personal care products.

PLANETARY

Planetary removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in a safe, sustainable, effective, and large-scale manner.

Fasken Cycle Momentum ClimateTech Innovation Grant

Presented by

Portrait de Guillaume Synnott

Guillaume Synnott

Fasken

4:15 - 4:45 PM

Details to come

Rachel Barre

L’Oréal

Catherine Bérubé

Partner, Circularity/New material

Circular Innovation Fund

Closing Remarks

4:45 - 5:00 PM

Claude Vachet

Managing Partner
Cycle Capital

Cocktail

5:00 - 7:00 PM

Sponsored by

André-Lise Méthot

Founder and Managing Partner

Cycle Capital

Andrée-Lise Méthot is the Founder and Managing Partner of Cycle Capital – an impact investor and Canada’s leading ClimateTech investment platform with 600 million under management. In addition to serving on portfolio companies’ boards of directors, she’s active on the board of the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the Paris Fonds Vert Advisory Board, the Canadian Government’s Task Force on Women in the Economy, and she is the founder and chairperson of the Accelerator Cycle Momentum.

Exceptionally involved in the progression of women in science and technological entrepreneurship, she was named Officière de l’Ordre du Québec (2018), and she received numerous honours, including from the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, the Laval University Faculty of Science and Engineering, and Association of Quebec Women in Finance. She was also recognized as one of the 16 Canadian personalities of Clean16 and among the Top 20 of cleantech investors by CleanTech

Simon Olivier

Senior Partner

Cycle Capital

Simon Olivier is Senior Partner at Cycle Capital and leads the Cycle H2O Fund, a venture capital fund dedicated to innovative watertech companies to accelerate business growth and create positive impact on the environment. 

  

Simon is an executive Leader with an international track record in innovation, strategy, operations, and financial services. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies and mid-sized companies in various industries such as renewable energy, finance, water, and food. Simon spent 20 years at GE, initially at GE Capital in financial services, then heading GE Renewable’s business in Canada and the Northeastern United States for nearly 10 years, building a multi-billion-dollar franchise. Subsequently, he spent 4 years as Executive Vice President Strategy (M&A) and Venture Capital for GE Canada.  

  

Simon holds an engineering degree from Polytechnique Montreal and an MBA in finance from McGill University, where he is a member of the McGill Global Leadership Council. In 2009, he was named young international leader of Quebec by the Arista organisation. Simon serves on several boards including BioAlert Solutions Inc, S3nergy Inc. (d./b./a. RegenEAU), EcoFilter Tek Inc. and previously as directors of Aqua Action, C2 Montreal, the Canadian Wind Energy Association, and the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montréal. He supports its community through engagement and leadership with Centraide. 

Andrée-Lise Méthot

Founder and Managing Partner

Cycle Capital

Andrée-Lise is the Founder and Managing Partner of the largest investment platform in climate technologies in Canada, Cycle Capital. She is an engineer by training and an active member of l’Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec, with a master’s degree in science and training in physics of the atmosphere and climate science. Cycle Capital has experienced exponential growth since its foundation in 2009, including 8 funds and the Cycle Momentum accelerator. Andrée-Lise believes that the key to facing the climate crisis is through funding breakthrough technological innovations.

She currently sits on different boards, such as 5N Plus, and l’École de la Technologie Supérieure and many Cycle Capital portfolio company boards. She was involved, as board member, in different organizations such as the Montreal Heart Institute, the Infrastructure Bank of Canada, University Laval, Société québécoise des infrastructures and the Pointe-à-Callière museum, to name a few.

She also sat on many advisory boards for her expertise. For example, she co-chaired the Task Force under the United Nation Environment Program (UNEP) from 2004 to 2009. She was the ambassador in clean technologies for Investissement Québec from 2021 to 2025. She was a member of the Task Force for Women in the Economy for the Department of Finance Canada in 2021, and a member of the Pioneer’s Selection Committee for Bloomberg from 2018 to 2022. She is currently a member of the Advisory Committee for Paris Fond Vert.

She received numerous awards, such as Officière de l’Ordre Nationale du Québec in 2018 and the 2019 Grand Prix d’Excellence from the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec. She also received the Summa Carrer Prize from University Laval in 2021 and was the recipient of the Trailblazer Award at the Women’s Private Capital Summit Canada in 2023.

Portrait de Ethan Zindler

Ethan Zindler

Head of Americas

BloombergNEF

Ethan Zindler serves as Head of Americas at BloombergNEF (BNEF), a provider of data, research and analysis on clean power, electric vehicles, carbon credit markets, commodities, and other aspects of the transition to a lower-carbon economy. In this role with BloombergNEF, Zindler managed BNEF research analysts in New York, Washington, London, and Sao Paulo.

He previously led the Treasury Climate Hub, reported directly to and advised the Secretary on a broad range of climate matters, and was in charge with leading Treasury’s efforts to facilitate and unlock the financing needed for investments to achieve a net-zero economy at home and abroad.

Maya Hassa

Principal

Cycle Capital

 

Maya Hassa is a Principal at the Circular Innovation Fund. Having joined CIF as a founding member in 2022, Maya was previously on the investment team at Cycle Capital since 2021 and began her VC career at another Montreal-based climate tech investment platform in 2018. In April 2022, she joined the Circular Innovation Fund investment team, where she was initially involved in the fundraising process, and now serves as a Board Observer for Evoco Ltd. and is on the Investment Committee for the CIF Accelerator Program with L’Oreal, where she serves as a Board Observer for Novobiom and Aplantex. Maya manages CIF’s North American deal flow and due diligence processes and her perspectives on the circular economy investment landscape have been featured on Circularity.fm and Climate Solutions Festival. Maya has a BSc in Renewable Resource Management from McGill University, is a Clean Energy Leadership Institute Fellow, and a Mentor at Third Derivative, a global climate tech ecosystem and innovation engine. 

Tina Tosukhowong

Investment Director

TDK Ventures

Tina Tosukhowong is an Investment Director at TDK Ventures, where she leads advanced materials and climate tech investment areas.

Her background spans two decades as an operator in the biotech and materials industries, as well as a deep-tech investor across multiple industrial verticals. Prior to joining TDK Ventures, she led the investment practice at GC Ventures America, a corporate ventures arm of PTT Global Chemical.  

  

At TDK Ventures, Tina currently oversees 10 investments across digital transformation and energy transition themes, including critical minerals, fusion energy, e-fuels, AI data center networking, AI chip cooling, etc. 

Tina holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and a Certificate in Management of Technology from Georgia Tech. She has been recognized by the Global Corporate Venturing as Top 50 Emerging Leaders in 2021, 2023, and 2024. 

Pierre Paffenhoff

Investment Director in Private Equity and Impact Investing

Fonds de solidarité FTQ

Pierre Paffenhoff is an Investment Director in Private Equity and Impact Investing at the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, where he focuses on climate, energy transition, and resource‑intensive sectors including mining and advanced materials. He has over 15 years of experience investing in climate tech, circular economy solutions, and industrial innovation, with prior roles at SecondMuse Capital and Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC). Pierre brings an investor’s perspective on how circular business models and responsible capital allocation can strengthen critical‑minerals value chains and support the energy transition. 

 

Amrit Jalan

Principal

Fine Structure Ventures

Amrit is Principal at Fine Structure Ventures, where he focuses on identifying high-potential technologies and partnering with leadership teams to translate scientific breakthroughs across multiple domains into scalable businesses. Prior to joining FSV, he was a Director at Eni Next, the venture capital arm of Eni S.p.A., where he led multiple investments from Seed to Series B across decarbonization, advanced materials, and the broader energy-transition landscape. Earlier in his career, Amrit spent several years at ExxonMobil in positions of increasing responsibility spanning technology development, strategy, and commercialization, giving him firsthand experience with deploying innovation at industrial scale. Amrit holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, MS/PhD degrees in Chemical Engineering from MIT, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from IIT Bombay.

Mohammad Doostmohammad

Founder and CEO

pH7

Mohammad Doostmohammadi is the founder and CEO of pH7 Technologies, leading the company’s strategic vision, business operations, and technical initiatives. 

As a serial entrepreneur with a passion for sustainability, Mohammad is committed to exploring new technologies that make existing processes and systems more environmentally friendly and economically viable for large-scale industrial applications. He advocates for the power of collaboration to drive meaningful impact, advancing solutions that create positive outcomes today and for future generations. 

Mohammad has a deep background in science and complex chemical processes, with over 15 years of experience in mineral extraction, mineral processing, metal recovery, and wastewater management. Before founding pH7 Technologies, he managed the development of five different processing plants globally, overseeing projects from ideation and R&D through to commercialization and launch. 

Mohammad has built strong industry relationships based on shared values and goals, envisioning a future where environmental footprints can be eliminated through innovative chemical processes. At pH7 Technologies, this mission is realized through the production of green metals with the lowest carbon footprint. 

Claude Vachet

Managing Partner

Cycle Capital

Claude is Managing Partner at Cycle Capital – an impact investor and leading cleantech venture capital investment platform with $600M AUM. He has 30 years of operational, Venture Capital and fund management experience of Venture Capital portfolios investing in high tech companies. Over the course of his career, he has built a solid track record of investments, led large team of investment professionals and has been involved in the execution of numerous exits, including GaN Systems who has signed an agreement to be acquired by Infineon AG for 830 m US.

Before joining Cycle Capital, he was Managing Partner of successful teams at both Kirchner and Multiple Capital managing large venture capital funds. He has also worked at Innovatech Montreal as VP of IT&C Portfolio, where he participated in the sale of the portfolio – the largest transaction of a Venture Capital portfolio in Canada with its 108 companies and 15 funds. Early in his career, Claude worked at Degremont in Clean technologies (water, energy and waste).

Claude holds a Chemical Engineering Bachelor’s degree from École Polytechnique (Montreal) and an MBA in Finance from HEC-Montreal.

Michel Besner

CEO

Prevu3D

Michel Besner brings over 20 years of experience in the development and commercialization of innovative solutions in fields such as digital twins, business intelligence, social media, news analytics, television, film, and video games. With strong expertise in strategic planning, product management, and business development, Michel has held executive roles at major software companies as well as successful startups. He has participated in more than eight acquisitions and several multi-million-dollar funding rounds. 

Before joining Prevu3D, Michel held leadership positions at MELS Studios, Meltwater, Kaydara, Alias, and Autodesk. Michel is a recognized product visionary and the recipient of several honors, including Personality of the Year 2003/2004, awarded by the Fédération de l’informatique du Québec (FIQ – Quebec Federation of Information Technology). 

Niraj Mathur

Founder and CEO

Blumind

Niraj Mathur is the CEO and Co-Founder of Blumind, a Canadian semiconductor company developing ultra-low-power and highly performant analog compute semiconductors for always-on AI at the edge. Niraj has extensive experience navigating deep-tech commercialization and scaling hardware companies from early innovation through customer deployment. He frequently engages with industry, investors and policymakers on edge AI, energy-efficient computing, and the business realities of bringing breakthrough semiconductor technologies to market.  

Niraj holds a Bachelor of Computer Engineering from McGill University and an MBA from Cornell University. 

Josh Green

Chief Executive Officer

Mysa

Josh Green is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mysa, which he co-founded in 2014 immediately after completing his Mechanical Engineering degree at Dalhousie University. Together with his brother and co-founder, Zach, Josh has successfully led the Mysa team in bringing to market a range of smart thermostats, including those for baseboard heating, in-floor heating, and mini-split heat pumps. Mysa has shipped over 300,000 devices across Canada and the United States, a testament to the company’s innovative and effective products. Based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Josh is an avid hiker and enjoys spending quality time with his family.

Guillaume Bouthillier

Vice President – Treasury, Investments and Risk

Hydro-Québec

Guillaume Bouthillier is Vice President – Treasury, Investments and Risk at Hydro-Québec. In this role, he leads the implementation and execution of the organization’s financing strategy. He oversees capital allocation and investment monitoring, and is responsible for activities related to acquisitions, partnerships, and subsidiaries. He also ensures the management of treasury operations, the company’s integrated risk management, and the governance of Hydro-Québec’s pension fund.

Mr. Bouthillier is an executive with more than 25 years of experience in the transportation, infrastructure, and energy sectors. Before joining Hydro-Québec, he served as Vice President – Commercial at Alstom Group. He has extensive experience in business development with an impressive international track record, as well as in financing and investing in major projects for companies such as Bombardier and Alstom.

A seasoned leader, he is recognized both for his achievements in large-scale infrastructure projects worldwide and for his ability to mobilize and develop highly specialized, high-performing teams. Collaboration and innovation are central to his priorities.

Mr. Bouthillier serves on several boards of directors, including as Chair of the Board of Great River Hydro, LLC, an electricity generation company and subsidiary of Hydro-Québec.

Gerd Goette

Venture Partner

Cycle Capital

Gerd is a seasoned board member, strategic advisor and venture capital investor with deep domain expertise in energy, transportation and the built environment. He joined Cycle Capital in November 2022 as a Venture Partner, focusing on deal sourcing and portfolio management. On behalf of Cycle, Gerd is a director at Powerside and a board observer at Vutility.

Gerd is also the Managing Director of Lupine Growth Advisors, an advisory helping start-ups navigate the growth challenges from minimum viable product to tens of millions in revenue. Currently Gerd serves on the board of directors at 60Hertz Energy and Sunverge Energy; he was a director at Rhombus Energy Solutions through their acquisition by Borg Warner in 2022 and the chair at Zen Ecosystems through their acquisition by Mysa in 2023. He also serves on the Investor Advisory Board of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Investment Committees of Virescent Ventures (f.k.a. the Clean Energy Finance Corporation’s Innovation Fund) and Evergreen Climate Innovations (f.k.a.Clean Energy Trust, CET).

Previously, Gerd spent 18 years at Siemens Venture Capital, where as a Managing Partner he was the global head of the energy practice. During his tenure, Gerd invested over $100m in 55 transactions and was responsible for managing another $100m in invested capital.

Portrait de Pascal Drouin

Pascal Drouin

Partner

Cycle Capital

Pascal Drouin joined Cycle Capital in 2013 and has 17 years of experience in finance and portfolio management.

He started working as a Financial Analyst at Multiple Capital where he was involved in numerous investments transactions in high-tech, information technology and biotechnology. He then joined GE Capital, where he was responsible for the development and implementation of commercial credit scoring models for the Canadian portfolio.

Pascal has broad expertise in finance, risk management as well as analysis and financial modeling. Active as a board member of several companies, Pascal is also involved as a mentor with CDL-Montreal and the Cycle Momentum accelerator.

Pascal holds a master’s degree in administration science (M.Sc.) and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from HEC Montreal.

Leif Tiltins

VP, Sales and Marketing

AON3D

Leif Tiltins joined AON3D as one of the company’s first employees over 9 years ago and has been responsible for building and leading revenue functions ever since. With a mechanical engineering degree from McGill University and 15 years in enterprise sales environments, he translates technical value into commercial growth. 

Gabriel Damant-Sirois

Co-founder & Chief Product Officer

Local Logic

Gabriel Damant-Sirois is the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Local Logic, a proptech company that provides location, market, and demand insights to improve real estate decision-making. Gab has a background in data science, management, and urban planning and has worked in the startup world for over a decade. Before co-founding Local Logic, he worked as a researcher, consultant, project manager, and co-founded a real estate consulting firm. As a researcher, he analyzed the links between the built environment and transportation behavior and residential choice behavior. He has worked for the MTQ in traffic modeling and for major companies in public consultation, urban planning ,and real estate. At Local Logic, Gabriel establishes and communicates the vision for its products, elaborates a strategy for their development, and leads the development team. 

Rodgers Palmer

Founder and Lead Partner

TalentScape Partners

With over 20 years of experience helping people make better decisions on organizations, teams, and individuals, the goal of TalentScape Partners is to help individuals become more effective leaders, make better hiring decisions, work more effectively with their teams, and design their businesses for success.  

Founder and Lead Partner, Rodgers Palmer, advises CEOs, investors, and board members when they see an opportunity and want to make sure that they have the right people in the right roles working together with the right tools.  His focus areas include organizational diagnostic and design, executive development, assessment, 360 degree feedback, and coaching.  He specializes in working with founder/entrepreneur CEOs who are learning to scale and with asset managers who are building their own talent capabilities or who are guiding their portfolio investments on talent. 

Previously, Rodgers built his career at ghSMART and McKinsey learning how people and organizations tick.  He has seen effective and ineffective decisions in large public companies and small private startups and across periods of rapid growth and turnaround.  He has worked with executives in diverse industries, including energy, healthcare, consumer goods, software, and professional services.  At ghSMART, Rodgers spent over 10 years helping private equity investors, founders, and CEOs solve some of the most important human capital decisions, including leadership selection and development, board feedback, organizational design, and due diligence.  He also spent nearly 10 years at McKinsey, advising CEOs and CHROs on organizational health while helping build McKinsey’s capabilities to diagnose organizations, improve performance, and lead change. 

Rodgers holds an AB in Molecular Biology from Princeton University and a PhD in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University.  

Carolina Sanchez-Badini

Associate

Cycle Capital

Carolina Sánchez Badini is an Associate at Cycle H2O, an early-stage water tech venture capital fund managed by Cycle Capital and H2O Innovation. She has over six years of experience in environmental consulting, research, and impact investing. Before joining Cycle H2O, Carolina was an Impact Investment Fellow at CapShift and worked with the climate deal team at the Yale SOM Meng Impact Investment Fund. Earlier in her career, she served as an Environmental Specialist at Hatfield Consultants, where she assessed aquatic impacts of industrial and municipal projects. Carolina holds an MBA and a Master of Environmental Management from Yale University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Ecology from the University of British Columbia. 

Alejandro Gaviria

CEO

RegenEAU

 Alejandro Gaviria is the CEO of RegenEAU, a clean technology company specializing in recovering heat from wastewater for multi-residential buildings. He defines the strategy and accelerates the commercialization of solutions aimed at reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in real estate, combining analytical rigor, technological innovation, and business development. 

With over 15 years of experience in business intelligence, innovation, and strategic analysis, Alejandro has supported more than 300 organizations in identifying growth opportunities and structuring data-driven strategies. His background in innovation management, digital transformation, and regulated market analysis gives him a systemic perspective, strong strategic execution capabilities, and results-oriented leadership at RegenEAU. 

Paul O'Callaghan

Founder and CEO

BlueTech Research

Paul O’Callaghan is an environmental scientist, researcher, and documentary producer whose career has focused on understanding and accelerating the adoption of sustainable water technologies. He is the founder of O₂ Environmental and the founder and CEO of BlueTech Research, the global intelligence firm that helps utilities, corporations, and investors navigate innovation trends in the water sector. Through two decades of research, advisory work, and public communication, Paul has become a widely referenced voice on how new water technologies move from invention to real-world implementation. Paul earned his PhD at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, where he developed the Water Technology Adoption (WaTA) model. This framework examines the drivers, barriers, and timelines that influence how technologies progress through each stage of development. His research continues to inform how policymakers, innovators, and industry leaders understand innovation velocity in the water sector. He is also the co-author of The Dynamics of Water Innovation, published in association with Wageningen University & Research, which expands on these insights with global case studies and data-driven analysis. Alongside his scientific work, Paul is the executive producer and co-founder of the Brave Blue World Foundation. He produced two feature documentaries—Brave Blue World (2020) and Our Blue World (2024)—which highlight examples of water innovation, circular solutions, and community-driven change around the world. The films have been screened internationally at festivals, educational institutions, and policy events, and have contributed to a broader public conversation around freshwater sustainability. In recognition of his contributions to research, innovation, and public communication on global water challenges, Paul received the Stroud Award for Freshwater Excellence in 2025. His work continues to connect science, industry, and storytelling, promoting new ways of understanding and addressing water issues worldwide.

Marc-Antoine Ducas

Entrepreneur | High-Technology and Innovation Salesperson | Business Development Specialist | Mentor | Speaker | Motivator | ESTJ

Cycle Momentum

Founder of Amilia, Mobilogie and Netlift, with more than 15M$ raised, 70 employees operating in 30 cities globally. 

 

Specialties: Marketing and Selling High-Technology Innovations 
Business Development and Account Management 
Partnerships Engineering and Channel Management 
Sales Team Management 
R&D Coordination

Portrait de Guillaume Synnott

Guillaume Synnott

Partner

Fasken

Guillaume Synnott is a partner in the Corporate and Commercial Group. He focuses his practice on venture capital and private equity financing, mergers and acquisitions and public offerings for high-growth technology companies.

Guillaume distinguishes himself by his ability to provide creative solutions to his clients’ strategic and business objectives. He represents companies ranging from startups and emerging companies to well-established public companies. He also represents angel investors venture capital and private equity funds, and institutional investors.

Guillaume acts as legal counsel in a wide range of industries,
including SAAS software, big data, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, medtech, nanotechnology artificial intelligence (AI), neurotechnology, blockchain and cryptocurrency.

Guillaume provides a range of legal advice covering the entire life cycle of companies, from their creation to the completion of a liquidity event liquidity event, including strategic planning,
governance, financing rounds, corporate reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings and company sales.

Guillaume completed the first part of his professional training in Shanghai. He was the first member of the Quebec Bar to complete part of his articling with a Chinese law firm in mainland China.

Rachel Barre

Environmental Leadership Director, Corporate Responsibility

L’Oréal

Rachel Barré is a passionate advocate for sustainability and social empowerment at L’Oréal Groupe, where she currently serves as the Vice President of Sustainability, Environmental Leadership. Her career reflects a deep commitment to making a positive impact. Barré began at L’Oréal’s Research & Innovation department, pioneering the company’s sustainable innovation strategy and leading on sustainable sourcing for biodiversity-based ingredients. In 2015, she transitioned to the Corporate Responsibility team, where she architected “L’Oréal for the Future,” the company’s comprehensive sustainability program launched in 2020. Additionally, she is leading the representation of L’Oréal on the Circular Innovation Fund, and the Group’s newly launched Sustainable Innovation Accelerator.

Catherine Bérubé

Partner

Cycle Capital

Catherine Bérubé is a Partner at Cycle Capital, a leading impact venture capital firm specializing in climate technologies.

Since joining Cycle Capital in 2014, Catherine has been instrumental in shaping the firm’s impact investing practice. She plays a key role in investor relations and public affairs, leveraging her expertise to build strategic relationships and promote sustainable investment practices.

Claude Vachet

Managing Partner

Cycle Capital

Claude is a Managing Partner at Cycle Capital—an impact investor and leading venture capital investment platform in the cleantech sector, with $600 million in assets under management. He brings 30 years of operational, venture capital, and VC portfolio management experience, investing in high-tech companies. Over the course of his career, he has built a strong investment track record, led large teams of investment professionals, and been involved in numerous exits, including GaN Systems, which signed an agreement to be acquired by Infineon AG for US$830 million.

Before joining Cycle Capital, he was a Managing Partner of high-performing teams at Kirchner and Multiple Capital, where he managed major venture capital funds. He also worked at Innovatech Montréal as Vice President of the IT&C portfolio, where he participated in the sale of the portfolio—the largest venture capital portfolio transaction in Canada, comprising 108 companies and 15 funds. Earlier in his career, Claude worked at Degrémont in the cleantech sector (water, energy, and waste).

Claude holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from École Polytechnique (Montréal) and an MBA in Finance from HEC Montréal.

Simon Olivier

Senior Partner

Cycle Capital

Simon Olivier is Senior Partner at Cycle Capital and leads the Cycle H2O Fund, a venture capital fund dedicated to innovative watertech companies to accelerate business growth and create positive impact on the environment. 

  

Simon is an executive Leader with an international track record in innovation, strategy, operations, and financial services. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies and mid-sized companies in various industries such as renewable energy, finance, water, and food. Simon spent 20 years at GE, initially at GE Capital in financial services, then heading GE Renewable’s business in Canada and the Northeastern United States for nearly 10 years, building a multi-billion-dollar franchise. Subsequently, he spent 4 years as Executive Vice President Strategy (M&A) and Venture Capital for GE Canada.  

  

Simon holds an engineering degree from Polytechnique Montreal and an MBA in finance from McGill University, where he is a member of the McGill Global Leadership Council. In 2009, he was named young international leader of Quebec by the Arista organisation. Simon serves on several boards including BioAlert Solutions Inc, S3nergy Inc. (d./b./a. RegenEAU), EcoFilter Tek Inc. and previously as directors of Aqua Action, C2 Montreal, the Canadian Wind Energy Association, and the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montréal. He supports its community through engagement and leadership with Centraide. 

Mohammad Doostmohammad

Founder and CEO

pH7

Mohammad Doostmohammadi is the founder and CEO of pH7 Technologies, leading the company’s strategic vision, business operations, and technical initiatives. 

As a serial entrepreneur with a passion for sustainability, Mohammad is committed to exploring new technologies that make existing processes and systems more environmentally friendly and economically viable for large-scale industrial applications. He advocates for the power of collaboration to drive meaningful impact, advancing solutions that create positive outcomes today and for future generations. 

Mohammad has a deep background in science and complex chemical processes, with over 15 years of experience in mineral extraction, mineral processing, metal recovery, and wastewater management. Before founding pH7 Technologies, he managed the development of five different processing plants globally, overseeing projects from ideation and R&D through to commercialization and launch. 

Mohammad has built strong industry relationships based on shared values and goals, envisioning a future where environmental footprints can be eliminated through innovative chemical processes. At pH7 Technologies, this mission is realized through the production of green metals with the lowest carbon footprint. 

Michel Besner

CEO

Prevu3D

Michel Besner brings over 20 years of experience in the development and commercialization of innovative solutions in fields such as digital twins, business intelligence, social media, news analytics, television, film, and video games. With strong expertise in strategic planning, product management, and business development, Michel has held executive roles at major software companies as well as successful startups. He has participated in more than eight acquisitions and several multi-million-dollar funding rounds. 

Before joining Prevu3D, Michel held leadership positions at MELS Studios, Meltwater, Kaydara, Alias, and Autodesk. Michel is a recognized product visionary and the recipient of several honors, including Personality of the Year 2003/2004, awarded by the Fédération de l’informatique du Québec (FIQ – Quebec Federation of Information Technology). 

Guillaume Bouthillier

Vice President – Treasury, Investments and Risk

Hydro-Québec

Guillaume Bouthillier is Vice President – Treasury, Investments and Risk at Hydro-Québec. In this role, he leads the implementation and execution of the organization’s financing strategy. He oversees capital allocation and investment monitoring, and is responsible for activities related to acquisitions, partnerships, and subsidiaries. He also ensures the management of treasury operations, the company’s integrated risk management, and the governance of Hydro-Québec’s pension fund.

Mr. Bouthillier is an executive with more than 25 years of experience in the transportation, infrastructure, and energy sectors. Before joining Hydro-Québec, he served as Vice President – Commercial at Alstom Group. He has extensive experience in business development with an impressive international track record, as well as in financing and investing in major projects for companies such as Bombardier and Alstom.

A seasoned leader, he is recognized both for his achievements in large-scale infrastructure projects worldwide and for his ability to mobilize and develop highly specialized, high-performing teams. Collaboration and innovation are central to his priorities.

Mr. Bouthillier serves on several boards of directors, including as Chair of the Board of Great River Hydro, LLC, an electricity generation company and subsidiary of Hydro-Québec.

Gabriel Damant-Sirois

Co-founder & Chief Product Officer

Local Logic

Gabriel Damant-Sirois is the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Local Logic, a proptech company that provides location, market, and demand insights to improve real estate decision-making. Gab has a background in data science, management, and urban planning and has worked in the startup world for over a decade. Before co-founding Local Logic, he worked as a researcher, consultant, project manager, and co-founded a real estate consulting firm. As a researcher, he analyzed the links between the built environment and transportation behavior and residential choice behavior. He has worked for the MTQ in traffic modeling and for major companies in public consultation, urban planning ,and real estate. At Local Logic, Gabriel establishes and communicates the vision for its products, elaborates a strategy for their development, and leads the development team. 

Carolina Sanchez-Badini

Associate

Cycle Capital

Carolina Sánchez Badini is an Associate at Cycle H2O, an early-stage water tech venture capital fund managed by Cycle Capital and H2O Innovation. She has over six years of experience in environmental consulting, research, and impact investing. Before joining Cycle H2O, Carolina was an Impact Investment Fellow at CapShift and worked with the climate deal team at the Yale SOM Meng Impact Investment Fund. Earlier in her career, she served as an Environmental Specialist at Hatfield Consultants, where she assessed aquatic impacts of industrial and municipal projects. Carolina holds an MBA and a Master of Environmental Management from Yale University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Ecology from the University of British Columbia. 

Alejandro Gaviria

CEO

RegenEAU

 Alejandro Gaviria is the CEO of RegenEAU, a clean technology company specializing in recovering heat from wastewater for multi-residential buildings. He defines the strategy and accelerates the commercialization of solutions aimed at reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in real estate, combining analytical rigor, technological innovation, and business development. 

With over 15 years of experience in business intelligence, innovation, and strategic analysis, Alejandro has supported more than 300 organizations in identifying growth opportunities and structuring data-driven strategies. His background in innovation management, digital transformation, and regulated market analysis gives him a systemic perspective, strong strategic execution capabilities, and results-oriented leadership at RegenEAU. 

Paul O'Callaghan

Founder and CEO

BlueTech Research

Paul O’Callaghan is an environmental scientist, researcher, and documentary producer whose career has focused on understanding and accelerating the adoption of sustainable water technologies. He is the founder of O₂ Environmental and the founder and CEO of BlueTech Research, the global intelligence firm that helps utilities, corporations, and investors navigate innovation trends in the water sector. Through two decades of research, advisory work, and public communication, Paul has become a widely referenced voice on how new water technologies move from invention to real-world implementation. Paul earned his PhD at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, where he developed the Water Technology Adoption (WaTA) model. This framework examines the drivers, barriers, and timelines that influence how technologies progress through each stage of development. His research continues to inform how policymakers, innovators, and industry leaders understand innovation velocity in the water sector. He is also the co-author of The Dynamics of Water Innovation, published in association with Wageningen University & Research, which expands on these insights with global case studies and data-driven analysis. Alongside his scientific work, Paul is the executive producer and co-founder of the Brave Blue World Foundation. He produced two feature documentaries—Brave Blue World (2020) and Our Blue World (2024)—which highlight examples of water innovation, circular solutions, and community-driven change around the world. The films have been screened internationally at festivals, educational institutions, and policy events, and have contributed to a broader public conversation around freshwater sustainability. In recognition of his contributions to research, innovation, and public communication on global water challenges, Paul received the Stroud Award for Freshwater Excellence in 2025. His work continues to connect science, industry, and storytelling, promoting new ways of understanding and addressing water issues worldwide.

Marc-Antoine Ducas

Entrepreneur | High-Technology and Innovation Salesperson | Business Development Specialist | Mentor | Speaker | Motivator | ESTJ

Cycle Momentum

Founder of Amilia, Mobilogie and Netlift, with more than 15M$ raised, 70 employees operating in 30 cities globally. 

 

Specialties: Marketing and Selling High-Technology Innovations 
Business Development and Account Management 
Partnerships Engineering and Channel Management 
Sales Team Management 
R&D Coordination

Portrait de Guillaume Synnott

Guillaume Synnott

Partner

Fasken

Guillaume Synnott is a partner in the Corporate and Commercial Group. He focuses his practice on venture capital and private equity financing, mergers and acquisitions and public offerings for high-growth technology companies.

Guillaume distinguishes himself by his ability to provide creative solutions to his clients’ strategic and business objectives. He represents companies ranging from startups and emerging companies to well-established public companies. He also represents angel investors venture capital and private equity funds, and institutional investors.

Guillaume acts as legal counsel in a wide range of industries,
including SAAS software, big data, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, medtech, nanotechnology artificial intelligence (AI), neurotechnology, blockchain and cryptocurrency.

Guillaume provides a range of legal advice covering the entire life cycle of companies, from their creation to the completion of a liquidity event liquidity event, including strategic planning,
governance, financing rounds, corporate reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings and company sales.

Guillaume completed the first part of his professional training in Shanghai. He was the first member of the Quebec Bar to complete part of his articling with a Chinese law firm in mainland China.

Rachel Barre

Environmental Leadership Director, Corporate Responsibility

L’Oréal

Rachel Barré is a passionate advocate for sustainability and social empowerment at L’Oréal Groupe, where she currently serves as the Vice President of Sustainability, Environmental Leadership. Her career reflects a deep commitment to making a positive impact. Barré began at L’Oréal’s Research & Innovation department, pioneering the company’s sustainable innovation strategy and leading on sustainable sourcing for biodiversity-based ingredients. In 2015, she transitioned to the Corporate Responsibility team, where she architected “L’Oréal for the Future,” the company’s comprehensive sustainability program launched in 2020. Additionally, she is leading the representation of L’Oréal on the Circular Innovation Fund, and the Group’s newly launched Sustainable Innovation Accelerator.

Catherine Bérubé

Partner

Cycle Capital

Catherine Bérubé is a Partner at Cycle Capital, a leading impact venture capital firm specializing in climate technologies.

Since joining Cycle Capital in 2014, Catherine has been instrumental in shaping the firm’s impact investing practice. She plays a key role in investor relations and public affairs, leveraging her expertise to build strategic relationships and promote sustainable investment practices.

Claude Vachet

Managing Partner

Cycle Capital

Claude is a Managing Partner at Cycle Capital—an impact investor and leading venture capital investment platform in the cleantech sector, with $600 million in assets under management. He brings 30 years of operational, venture capital, and VC portfolio management experience, investing in high-tech companies. Over the course of his career, he has built a strong investment track record, led large teams of investment professionals, and been involved in numerous exits, including GaN Systems, which signed an agreement to be acquired by Infineon AG for US$830 million.

Before joining Cycle Capital, he was a Managing Partner of high-performing teams at Kirchner and Multiple Capital, where he managed major venture capital funds. He also worked at Innovatech Montréal as Vice President of the IT&C portfolio, where he participated in the sale of the portfolio—the largest venture capital portfolio transaction in Canada, comprising 108 companies and 15 funds. Earlier in his career, Claude worked at Degrémont in the cleantech sector (water, energy, and waste).

Claude holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from École Polytechnique (Montréal) and an MBA in Finance from HEC Montréal.