Alan Winter
Position
Credentials
BSc, Queen's University, Belfast, UK; Ph.D Queen's University, Kingston, ON
Contact
Dr. Winter has wide experience at senior levels in the technology sector and in government, including such roles as the President and CEO of Genome BC from 2001 to 2016, the founding President and CEO of the New Media Innovation Centre in Vancouver, the President of the ComDev Space Group in Ontario, and the President and CEO of MPR Teltech Ltd. in Vancouver. During his tenure as CEO, six companies were spun out of MPR, including PMC-Sierra and Sierra Wireless.
Prior to MPR, Dr. Winter worked for Telesat Canada and the federal Communications Research Centre in Ottawa, where he was responsible for the satellite-aided search and rescue project (SARSAT). The international COSPAS/SARSAT system continues to be instrumental in saving many lives.
Alan Winter is currently a director of Discovery Capital, the BC Business Council and Geoscience BC, and a member of UBC’s Research and Innovation Council. Dr Winter was a Trustee of the Providence Health Care Research Institute, and Chair of the BC CDC Foundation for Population and Public Health. In 2007, he received a Leadership Award from LifeSciences BC, and in 2017 he received the Don Rix Award for Lifetime Achievement. He was also a director of over 30 organizations, including Alberta Innovates Technology Futures, Blackbridge Corporation, Zedi Corporation, and Oceans Network Canada.
On the federal side, he was Chair of the board of the Communications Research Centre (CRC), Deputy Chair of the Council of Science and Technology Advisors (CSTA), and a member of the Expert Panel on Research Performance and Science Funding, Council of Canadian Academies. Dr. Winter is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (FCAE) and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (FAAAS). He is a Fellow of the Canadian Astronautics and Space Institute (FCASI) and received their inaugural Alouette team Award. Dr. Winter received his B.Sc. (Hons) from Queen's University, Belfast; his Ph.D. from Queen's University, Kingston and was recognized by the Queen's alumni Legacy of Achievement.