Jane Bachynski of President of MPB Communications

Family businesses form the backbone of the world economy, yet very few of them are able to survive the management transition to the second generation.  Jane Bachynski, assumed the leadership of the family business from her late father, Morrel Bachynski founder of MPB communications Inc.  She shares her experience in working in and growing MPB, a leading supplier of innovative, high performance fiber laser and fiber amplifier subsystems to the international high-tech industry. 

Biography:

Jane Bachynski is president of MPB Communications Inc.  Jane is responsible for formulating and executing the business plan for the company including the strategic direction.  She has been essential in negotiating key OEM agreements, directed development contracts, and strategic partnerships with international customers.

Prior to her appointment as president, Jane was the Director of Marketing and Sales at MPB Communications.  Under her guidance, MPB established itself as the leading supplier of Raman fiber lasers for undersea telecommunications industry.  Jane has a degree in business from the University of Western Ontario.

Chris Kent of CEO of ODS Medical

Chris will be discussing the challenges and lessons learned in developing new technology for medical applications both from an engineering and entrepreneurship perspective. 

Biography:

Chris has served as the CEO of ODS Medical since its’ founding in 2015. Prior to ODS, he worked with Dr. Kevin Petrecca, building a translational research program at the Montreal Neurological Institute focused on working with industry partners to accelerate the discovery and pre-clinical development of a wide variety of small molecules and biologics for treatment of brain cancers. He has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles. Prior to his work at the MNI, Chris was involved with a start-up that specialized in stimuli-responsive polymer materials. As Director of Business Development and IP strategy, he developed the company’s business model, leveraging strategic industry collaborations in sectors such as packaging, textiles, energy and life sciences, into a growing patent portfolio which through subsequent development and out-licensing deals grew the company’s revenue ten-fold.