Ilse Treurnicht

After a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Western Ontario, Treurnicht held senior management roles in emerging technology companies, including work in green chemistry and medical device commercialization.^[4] From 1999 to 2005, she served as president and CEO of Primaxis Technology Ventures, a Toronto-based seed-stage venture capital fund, becoming one of Canada's first female venture capital fund CEOs.^[4][3]

Treurnicht was named CEO of MaRS Discovery District in 2005, succeeding John Evans, as the innovation centre was preparing to open its first phase.^[1] During her 12-year tenure, MaRS grew to a 1,500,000-square-foot (140,000 m²) campus housing approximately 6,000 people from 150 organizations across health, cleantech, fintech, and other sectors.^[3] Major tenants attracted during her leadership included Facebook Canada, Autodesk, and Johnson & Johnson.^[3]

Her tenure was marked by the West Tower Financial Crisis of 2013–2014. The Phase 2 tower, developed with Alexandria Real Estate Equities, had been unable to lease sufficient space to service its $224 million Infrastructure Ontario loan.^[5] The Government of Ontario ultimately committed $309 million in public funds.^[6] In a 2017 interview, Treurnicht described managing the crisis as the defining challenge of her tenure.^[7] By the time of her departure in June 2017, the tower was fully leased and MaRS had completed $290 million in private financing to repay the provincial loans ahead of schedule^[8]

Treurnicht's compensation as CEO drew public criticism. Her salary on Ontario's Sunshine list rose from $436,625 in 2009 to $532,500 by 2013, attracting scrutiny given MaRS's public funding.^[9][10] Treurnicht was succeeded as CEO by Yung Wu in 2017.^[11]

After leaving MaRS, Treurnicht became a general partner at North South Ventures, a cross-border health impact venture fund, and executive chairperson of Triphase Accelerator Corporation, a cancer drug development company.^[7]

In July 2021, she co-founded TwinRiver Capital, a Toronto- and Boston-based impact investment firm, with Eric Wetlaufer and Adam Jagelewski.^[12]

• Order of Ontario (2017)^[2]
• Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Toronto (2018)^[3]
• Honorary Doctor of Laws, Ontario Tech University (2014)^[4]
• Named one of Toronto's 50 Most Influential, Toronto Life (2012)^[3]