Claude Carignan

Ciena

Senior Director, Fast Photonic Components

Panelist

Claude Carignan is an experienced professional with diverse experience in photonics and engineering.
Since 2024, he has served as Senior Director of High-Speed ​​Photonics Components at Ciena. He is also the site manager for the Quebec City group.
Mr. Carignan held several leadership positions at TeraXion Inc. over a period of 18 years. From 2022 to 2024, he served as Senior Director of Intellectual Property and Technical Advisor. Previously, he held the position of Senior Director of R&D from 2013 to 2022, Director of Quality from 2008 to 2013, and Director of Engineering and Project Management Office from 2006 to 2008.
Prior to his time at TeraXion, Mr. Carignan worked as a Program Manager at ABB Bomem, focusing on the development of aerospace instruments from 2004 to 2006. He also held the position of Director of Manufacturing Engineering and Logistics at CORVIS Corporation (originally Kromafibre) from 1997 to 2002.
Mr. Carignan began his career as an optics researcher at IREQ (Hydro-Québec) from 1991 to 1997. He holds a degree in Engineering Physics (Photonics) from Laval University. With his extensive experience in managing R&D and intellectual property teams, Mr. Carignan brings a wealth of expertise to his current role at Ciena.

Alexander Janta-Polczynski

IBM

Senior Advisory Engineer – Technology leadership – Business Development

Panelist

Alexander Janta-Polczynski is a Senior Advisory Engineer and technology leadership for IBM Semiconductors at IBM Bromont in Canada. His work focuses on advanced semiconductors packaging technologies, involving heterogeneous integration, chiplets, photonics, high reliability packaging, demanding thermal solutions and state of the art signal integrity / power delivery sciences. He also has an executive manager role for business development and is involved in the project sizing and risk mitigation of the most complex semiconductors assembly and test programs from technology demonstration to high volume manufacturing.

Avant de rejoindre Ansys, il était ingénieur en métrologie optique au sein de l’équipe Google AR Smart Glasses. Il y a développé des outils logiciels et matériels pour interroger et mesurer des dispositifs optiques aux niveaux nanostructurel et macroscopique.

Eric est titulaire d’un doctorat (optique quantique) de l’Université de Toronto et a poursuivi des travaux postdoctoraux (physique atomique, moléculaire et optique) au National Institute of Standards and Technology et à l’Université du Maryland.

Richard Oberreiter

Hamamatsu Ventures

General manager

Panelist

Richard Oberreiter has been a C-level executive at four medical device companies, three of which were related to photonic technologies. He is also a former U.S. Naval Officer and attorney in California. Currently, Richard manages the North American group of Hamamatsu Ventures focused on early-stage photonics start-ups and M&A opportunities. As a volunteer he is involved with veteran affairs and disaster response.

Stéphane Drouin

Anges Québec

PDG

Panelist

Stéphane Drouin has over 30 years of experience in business development and entrepreneurship, with a track record marked by remarkable achievements. Holding a degree in administration from Université Laval, Stéphane is recognized for his expertise as an investor and entrepreneur. His diverse experience includes key management roles in innovation, marketing, and business development, allowing him to provide strategic advice to several business leaders in strategic planning, market expansion, and organizational management.

Jean-Simon Cayer

Investissement Québec

Investment Director, Venture Capital

Partner Panelist

Jean-Simon Cayer is Investment Director, Venture Capital at Investissement Québec, where he works closely with Quebec startups to develop future global technology leaders.

Jean-Simon specializes in the industrial technology sector and leads an investment strategy focused on the development of specific high-potential sectors, including optics-photonics and industrial electronic systems. Jean-Simon has served as a lead investor in financing rounds for companies such as Laserax and SmartD.

Brian Gallant

Space Canada

PDG

Moderator

Frédéric Grandmont

ABB

Technology and Business Development Manager – Space Systems

Panelist

Holder of a bachelor’s degree in physics and engineering, Frédéric completed a doctorate in astronomical instrumentation, earning him the Plaskett Medal in 2007 for the best doctoral thesis in the country in astrophysics. He has been working since 1998 on the development of optical measurement solutions for the space industry at ABB Measurement Products based in Quebec City. Moving to business development in 2016, his role is now to grow business volume in a rapidly expanding market segment with the arrival of private capital for Earth observation constellations. Having participated in hundreds of international conferences as part of his work, Frédéric has unique knowledge in the field of space optical sensors.

Jean-Philippe MacLean

GHG Sat

Science and Systems Specialist

Panelist

Dr. Jean-Philippe MacLean is a science and systems specialist at GHGSat with more than ten years of experience in R&D leading technical projects with small and large teams in both industry and academia in the fields of remote sensing, quantum optics, and laser physics. Dr. MacLean has a B.Sc (Honours) degree in physics from McGill University, a doctorate in physics from the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo, and he was a postdoctoral fellow in Applied Physics at Stanford. He is now the technical lead on GHGSat’s next-generation instrument to detect and quantify methane emissions from space. In 2022, he was responsible for GHGSat’s successful detection and quantification of the methane leak from the offshore Nord Stream 2 pipeline explosion.

Odile Liboiron-Ladouceur

McGill/COPL/IEEE

Professor

Panelist

Jesse Vincent-Herscovici

Axelys

PDG

Panelist

Jesse Vincent-Herscovici is President and CEO of Axelys. He has over 15 years of experience building partnerships with governments, academic institutions, and industry in the innovation community.

Jesse Vincent-Herscovici is passionate about advancing the innovation ecosystem, collaborative research, and connecting talent and business opportunities. His expertise helps businesses, organizations, and universities navigate a competitive world to support the knowledge economy and create new strategic partnerships for the benefit of an increasingly innovative and prosperous Quebec society.

Before joining Axelys, he held the position of Vice President, Business Development at Mitacs since 2009. He was also Chair of the Executive Team. JesseVincent-Herscovici has served on numerous advisory committees and boards of directors, including the Concordia Institute for Water, Energy, and Sustainable Systems as Chair of the Board, the Centre for Applied Mathematics in Bioscience and Medicine at McGill University, and BioFuelNetCanada. He is currently a member of the Banting Research Foundation and the Canadian Institute for Mobility and Aerospace.

JesseVincent-Herscovici holds a Bachelor of Psychology and a Master of Arts in Human Services from Concordia University.

Jorn Smeets

Photon Delta

Speaker

Jorn Smeets is Managing Director – North America for PhotonDelta. Based in Silicon Valley, his mission is to accelerate the photonic chip industry by building collaborations between North America and the PhotonDelta ecosystem. Prior to his role in the USA, Jorn was Chief Marketing Officer and Board Member of PhotonDelta, where he was closely involved with the organisational strategy and overall business operations since 2020. Jorn has a background in business management, with extensive international working experience throughout various industries in China, Singapore, France, Italy, and the Netherlands.