About Esch
The Norman Esch Awards has continuously promoted a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within Toronto Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science (FEAS). Through these awards, FEAS students continue to be enabled to explore their potential - whether that be by pursuing their own startup idea, or making an impact in their communities. Since its launch in 2013, Norman Esch winners have raised $15.6 million, reported more than $2.14 million in revenue, and employed 67 paid individuals in 2019.
To further support the Norman Esch community, the Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CEIE) has developed an ecosystem that helps to nurture innovation and creativity in students by breaking the barriers into entrepreneurship, and supporting every step of the student startup journey. Through this collaborative ecosystem between the Norman Esch Foundation and CEIE, students are able to explore their potential beyond academia and gain an entrepreneurial perspective during their academic endeavours.
The Norman Esch Awards is made possible with the generous donation made by the Norman Esch Foundation and the 37 members of our Esch committee who volunteered to review each and every application.
For more information about the Esch Awards – please see our Esch Governance document (external link) .
Our Esch Committee
Each Norman Esch Award application is carefully considered and reviewed by three independent reviewers in our committee. We take pride in our diverse committee that is composed of professionals representing various specializations within the startup ecosystem. Our members range from serial entrepreneurs, first-time founders, investors, all the way to Toronto Metropolitan University’s professors that are experts in both the technical and entrepreneurial realm.
Committee Chair
| John MacRitchie | Assistant Vice-President Zone Learning and Strategic Initiatives |
Esch Committee Members
| Alex Angevaare | Head of Finance - Portfolio Companies at Siemens Canada Limited |
| Alex Kjorven | VP Corporate Development at Neighbourhood Capital | UofT Lecturer | SheEO Activator |
| Brian MacDonald | Senior Business Advisor, Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure, Government of Ontario |
| Charles Boulakia | Patent Lawyer, Rideout & Maybe |
| Constance OBrien | Senior Innovation Advisor - Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada |
| Dominic Talalla | Managing Partner, Trellis Capital Firm |
| Hadeer Hassaan | Vice President, Field Shared Services - Bell |
| Holly Gardner | VP Ops, Researcher, Cofounder |
| Joel Liederman | Startup Company Consultant |
| John Enright | Associate Professor, Aerospace Engineering, FEAS, Toronto Metropolitan University |
| JP Silva | Manager, Zone Learning, Toronto Metropolitan University |
| Karen Killeen | Senior Business Advisor, Business Advisory Services |
| Manfred Koo | Life Sciences & Health sector consultant. |
| Mark A. Farrow | Chief Information & Privacy Officer |
| Martin Croteau | President and CEO at Aventis Consulting Group Inc. |
| Mo Shahin | Founder / Chief Technology officer -Trade Capital Partners (TCP) |
| Nicholas Burgwin | Co-Founder - Fibos Inc. |
| Pushkar Kumer | Founder, CSO & Board Director, GreenMantra Technologies |
| Stan Ossias | Strategic Partner at Schooley Mitchell / Spend Management Advisor |
| Stephen Pumple | Consulting Engineer |
| Suresh Madan | President & CEO MyHealth |
| Tony Redpath | PhD (Physical Chemistry) - Trained Scientist, Entrepreneur |
| Usha Srinivasan | Chief of Staff - Elevate / Co-founder Hauschef |
| Valerie Fox | Chief Innovation Consultant at The Pivotal Point |
| Vigen Nazarian | Senior Director, Business Development and Commercialization, Toronto Metropolitan University |
| Vincent Hui | Associate Professor, Architectural Science, FEAS, Toronto Metropolitan University |
| Zohair Khan | Co-Founder and COO at Orchid and Temple |