Media release

Communitech names new interim chair of board of directors

KITCHENER, ONT., March 12, 2020 — Today Jennifer Smith informed the board and management team of Communitech that she will be stepping back as board chair, though remaining as a board member, as she takes up a new professional post at Google Canada.

“I’m writing to let you know that within the coming weeks I will be making a career change,” wrote Smith, who will soon leave Cineplex Digital Media to take on the role of Director of Product, Google Cloud for Google Canada.

“Communitech has had a senior leader from Google as chair of the board only recently. From a brand and fiduciary perspective, Communitech stands for a diverse technology ecosystem, and no one company should be seen as having a disproportionate influence on this important work.”

Communitech has named past chair Dave Caputo to serve as interim chair until the next-full time chair can be named, no later than the organization’s annual general meeting in September, 2020. Caputo, who previously co-founded and led Waterloo-based Sandvine as its CEO, served as Communitech’s board chair from 2018-2019, preceding Smith.

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Kevin Crowley
Director, Communications and Editorial
kevin.crowley@communitech.ca

About Communitech

Communitech was founded in 1997 by a group of entrepreneurs committed to making Waterloo Region a global innovation leader. At the time it was just a wild idea, but somehow this community managed to pull it off. Today, Communitech is a public-private innovation hub that supports a community of more than 1,600 companies — from startups to scale-ups to large global players.

Communitech helps tech companies start, grow and succeed in three distinct ways.

  • Communitech is a place – the centre of gravity for entrepreneurs and innovators. A clubhouse for building cool tech and great companies.
  • Communitech delivers programs – helping companies at all stages with access to capital, customers and talent. We are here to help them grow and innovate.
  • Communitech partners in building a world-leading ecosystem – making sure we have all the ingredients (and the brand) to help companies go from a small startup to a global giant.