Clean Power, Smart Sovereignty: Driving Canada's competitive AI and quantum future

Joy Johnson is president and vice-chancellor of Simon Fraser University, and professor in its Faculty of Health Sciences. 

As president, Joy is committed to carrying out SFU’s vision to be a leading research university, advancing an inclusive and sustainable future.

Prior to her appointment as president, Joy served as SFU’s vice-president, research and international, and oversaw the evolution of cutting-edge research, innovation, and international engagement across eight faculties. 

Under her leadership, SFU’s achieved the fastest growth of any Canadian university research income of any university in Canada, with a focus on mobilizing knowledge to enhance the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of its communities. 

Prior to SFU, Joy had a distinguished career in academics and research. She is an elected Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and has co-authored more than 180 peer-reviewed articles.

Professor Johnson is a director and current vice-chair on the Universities Canada board.

Phil has been in the networking and data center industry for over 35 years at market-leading companies including Intel and Cisco. Prior to joining Rockport, he led the strategy, roadmap, and lifecycle for Intel’s differentiated systems-based solutions. He drove the market and industry adoption of Rack Scale Design as the leading platform for Hyperscale applications, as well as service development and deployment.

Phil also served as a Vice President and Senior Vice President for Riverbed Technologies, BMC Software, and Cisco Systems. He led groups within those companies in a variety of projects featuring cloud services, automation, and innovative service provider models. Phil holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Willesden College of Technology in the UK.

Craig Tavares is a seasoned leader with over 20 years in digital infrastructure and energy. As President of BUZZ HPC, he drives the company’s Sovereign AI Cloud and high-performance data center strategy, expanding Canada’s GPU capacity for demanding AI workloads.

He has held senior leadership roles at Cogeco, Aptum (DigitalBridge), and Apple, where he built and scaled global cloud, data center, and hybrid infrastructure businesses. Earlier, he co-founded Kingston Co-gen, leading M&A and development of 300MW of power generation while pioneering one of North America’s first HPC-enabled power-plant data centers.

Recognized as an innovator and growth driver across telecom, cloud, energy, and AI, Tavares combines technical depth with strategic vision. At BUZZ HPC, his leadership is instrumental in positioning the company as Canada’s leading sovereign AI cloud provider.

Seychelle Cushing champions innovation through partnerships with industry and government, driving economic growth and positioning Canada as a leader in AI, quantum, and advanced technologies. As founder of the Big Data Hub, she empowered organizations to leverage AI and data-driven solutions to scale.

As Chief Development Officer, Diego leads the company’s efforts to drive organic growth and develop new district energy systems across North America. Prior to joining Corix, Diego held various leadership roles in the energy, engineering and construction industries, overseeing strategic direction, partnerships, and development.

He brings over 15 years of experience in the energy sector, with deep expertise in district energy, electrification, and alternative investments. An active contributor to both industry and community, Diego serves on the Board of the UBC Alumni Association and previously served on the Board of the BC Construction Roundtable. In 2021, he was recognized as one of Canadian Construction’s 40 Under 40.

Diego holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia, a Certificate in Alternative Investments from Harvard Business School, and is a registered Professional Engineer.

Jaethan Reichel is COO of Bell AI Fabric, where he helps lead the development of Canada’s sovereign AI infrastructure.

He’s spent his career at the intersection of technology and critical systems: energy grids, communications networks, and disaster response. He has founded three companies, worked with governments on accelerators and policy, and advised companies and funds on challenges in climate, democracy, and security. He thinks we can still fix things.

At AI Fabric, he works to extend Bell’s nation-building tradition by creating infrastructure Canadians can trust, supporting researchers and companies, and ensuring that future technologies reflect shared values and strengthen the country’s role in the digital world.