Don Duval
Chief Executive Officer | NORCAT
Toronto, ON, CANADA
Experienced, dynamic, and engaging speaker on an array of topics related to innovation, commercialization, and entrepreneurship
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Biography
Don has spent more than two decades leading, growing and transforming organizations and businesses. A career innovator, he consistently identifies opportunities and addresses challenges to achieve meaningful and tangible results. Among Canada’s foremost thinkers on innovation, work and learning, and entrepreneurship, he works with multinational companies, tech start-ups, academic/research institutions governments and clients the world over.
Currently, Don defines the strategy and directs operations of NORCAT, a global, multi-faceted enterprise dedicated to advancing the dynamic and evolving needs of the new world of work and the innovation economy. In his role, he has transformed NORCAT to become a global leader for training and development, transformed NORCAT’s underground operating mine into the global one-stop shop for all that is the future of mining technology and innovation, pioneered the “Platform Effect” business model to support sustainable innovation in small to mid-sized cities, and continues to define the future of learning with NORCAT’s integrated experiential and simulation learning technologies. These achievements have generated community engagement and business partnerships, accelerated start-up tech firms and improved the operations of major clients across a myriad of industries.
Previously, Don served as VP of Strategy/Operations for the MaRS Discovery District, the world’s pre-eminent urban innovation hub that supports the growth of tech ventures in Canada. Prior to that, he was Senior Manager, Strategy & Operations Consulting, at Deloitte.
A former tech entrepreneur and engineering adjunct professor, Don is an active angel investor, serves on the board of several organizations and is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization. He was a Top 40 under 40 recipient, two-time TEDx speaker, and founding member of a non-profit theatre company in Toronto.
He holds an undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Queen’s University and a Master of Applied Science and Engineering from the University of Toronto.
Industry Expertise (9)
VC and Private Equity
Education/Learning
Cleantech
Health Care - Services
Construction - Commercial
Management Consulting
Mining and Metals
Information Technology and Services
Training and Development
Areas of Expertise (15)
Regional Competitiveness and Economic Development
Mentorship
Leadership
Strategy
Technology
Turnaround Strategies
Entrepreneurship
Academic
Research
Commercialization
Innovation
Innovation Strategy and Policy
Education
Mining
Economic Development
Accomplishments (1)
Governor General of Canada's Young Innovator Award (professional)
2003-09-01
The Young Innovator Awards Program was established by the National Centres of Excellence in 2004 to celebrate outstanding work by scientists who, while still in the early days of their careers, are already making waves. Award recipients are selected by a panel of judges on the basis of the overall excellence, leadership and vision of the nominee.
Education (2)
University of Toronto: MASc, Civil Engineering 2005
Queen's University: BScH, Chemistry 1998
Affiliations (3)
- Young Presidents Organization
- University of Ontario Institute of Technology
- Queen's University Alumni Association
Links (3)
Testimonials (1)
Don Li, Conference Producer | Strategy Institute, Cultivating and Sustaining Your Creative Economy Summit 2012
Don Duval spoke at our Cultivating and Sustaining Your Creative Economy Summit that took place on Feb 28-29 in Toronto. His presentation was insightful, lively, and clearly delivered. Don’s depth of industry knowledge provided extensive value to the conference and directly contributed to the success of the event.
Event Appearances (15)
Becoming the World's Leading Urban Innovation Centre - The MaRS Discovery District Experiment
MIT Conference - Innovation Centre Mentorship Strategy Cambridge, Massachusetts
2011-10-26
Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Greater Toronto Area
Civic Action and Emerging Leaders Network - Toronto Homecoming Toronto, Ontario
2011-06-10
Driving Commercial Outcomes from Research and Academic Institutions
BIOConnect Mexico - International Conference in Life Sciences and IT Mexico City, Mexico
2011-11-29
Leveraging the Community to Expedite Job and Wealth Creation
AURP International Conference (Association of University Research Parks) New Orleans, Louisana
2011-12-01
Accelerator Models for Digital Media, Online, and Mobile Ventures
BIOConnect Mexico - International Conference in Life Sciences and IT Mexico City, Mexico
2011-11-29
MaRS - Building One of the World's Pre-eminent Urban Innovation Centres
Enable U - Communitech Conference Waterloo, Ontario
2010-03-24
Why is Innovation so Profitable? Because it's Hard to do!
OIPMAC 11th Annual Conference - Supply Chain: The Core of Innovation Toronto, Ontario
2008-10-24
Driving Innovation and Prosperity through Community Engagement
Rotary International Toronto, Ontario
2012-02-24
Almost There -The Last Hurdle in Innovation
Queen's University Innovation Summit Kingston, Ontario
2012-03-09
Human Resources and Policy Levers to Encourage and Incentivize Employees to Contribute in the Innovation Process
Gearing Up For Growth London, Ontario
2012-03-27
Innovation, Immigration, and Engineering - Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Canada
Conference for Interational Engineers - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5ANX70njAY Toronto, Ontario
2012-03-30
Business Mentorship in the Creative Industries
Careers in the Cultural Sector - Work in Culture Canada Toronto, ON
2012-03-22
NORCAT - The Path Forward
Sudbury Chamber of Commerce - President's Luncheon Speech Sudbury, Ontario
2013-04-26
The Value of Mentorship in Entrepreneurship
TEDx Sudbury Sudbury, Ontario
2013-04-27
The Future of Advanced Manufacturing
TEDx Chatham Kent, Ontario
2014-02-13
Sample Talks (4)
Community Innovation - Leveraging your Regional Assets to Drive Economic Growth
As the keynote speaker, this presentation highlighted the importance of understanding and engaging your regional assets, from both the public and private sectors, to drive regional competitiveness and economic growth.
Leveraging the Community to Expedite Job and Wealth Creation
This presentation and workshop focused on the importance of place in supporting and driving the growth of entrepreneurial communities and commercial outcomes from research and academic institutions. In this interactive session, we explored how place, company culture and values, and community engagement are integral components to get aligned and integrated to be maximize success.
Why is Innovation So Profitable? Because it's Hard to Do!
This keynote presentation at the OIPMAC Conference focused on creative strategies that companies can deploy to create a culture of innovation and intra-preneurship. A handful of examples were provided to demonstrate new models in collaboration and how technology can be leveraged as a platform to share ideas more quickly, engage a broader audience, and ultimately expedite the process to translate interesting ideas into practice while gathering continuous feedback to make incremental improvements.
Driving Commercial Outcomes from Research and Academic Institutions
As the keynote speaker, this presentation focused on new strategies and innovative models to address the cultural challenges and limited incentive mechanisms that often limit researchers motivation to translate their basic and applied research into commercial opportunities. The development of MaRS Innovation, the MaRS EXCITE program, and the MaRS Life Sciences and Healthcare practice were collectively examined as leading practices globally.
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- Keynote
- Moderator
- Panelist
- Workshop Leader
- Host/MC
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