by Hessie Jones
Altitude Accelerator has had the honour and the privilege of attracting and retaining seasoned board members from the tech and investment ecosystem. These voices have been instrumental in guiding this organization forward well over 20 years since we launched as the RIC Centre in 2008.
We are pleased to announce Nick Kuryluk and Holly Gardner as our newly installed Board Co-Chairs for Altitude Accelerator. At the same time, Altitude Accelerator acknowledges and is grateful for the immense dedication from our long-standing Chairman, Andrew Opala.
Andrew Opala, Out-going Chairman: Altitude’s Achievements are Significant
We recognize and thank our outgoing Chairman, Andrew Opala, who joined the board in 2018 and was nominated for Chairman in 2021. Opala has been a long-standing advocate for the organization, someone who has been key to some enormous changes and achievements in the last seven years.
In his time with Altitude, Opala recalls the recent milestones that brought the organization to where it is today: “We completed our rebrand to move away from an old economy image of a government-funded, over-the-counter service organization to something more in tune with what the organization does — help companies accelerate, grow customers, develop products and gain critical funding.”
Opala adds the launch of Brampton Angels in 2023 — a new channel for organizations to find funding and get direct introductions. The work is not yet complete as he adds, “We’ve also committed to do much more work with organizations outside of Peel Region to grow our collective knowledge of startup trends, funding ideas, and startup access.”
Altitude’s positioning, according to Opala, is significant, “We sit right in the corridor between Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo and give access to startups. On an activity level, I would say we rank second or third among the regional innovation centres given the number of startups we help.
We also give back more to the province than they spend in terms of our relationship with the angel investing group. We can definitely say that a dollar invested by a municipality or province comes back as $1.50 in taxes, local spending and investment. Centres not associated this closely with angel groups take a $1 spend and return approximately $.075 to the local economy.”
About the New Co-Chairs
Nick Kuryluk is a seasoned life-sciences executive, entrepreneur and investor with more than three decades of leadership experience in biopharmaceuticals, advanced laboratory manufacturing and commercialization consulting. He cofounded and served as CEO ColdBlock Technologies, raising more than $4 million in capital to commercialize innovative sample-digestion technology to over 20 countries. Kuryluk also co-founded Virtus Insights and CoSality Executive Partners, where he mentors and advises early-stage medtech and life-sciences ventures, delivers commercialization and investor-readiness training, and provides fractional Chief-of-Staff services to CEOs and boards.
Holly Gardner is an experienced leader within the innovation ecosystem, entrepreneurship and government administration. She has built significant capacity to advance early-stage to growth startups across sectors. Currently, Gardner is the VP, Operations and ESG at NuPort Robotics, a leading company which is advancing autonomous trucking in Canada. She also holds a research position with the Cybersecurity Research Lab at TMU.
We asked Nick Kuryluk and Holly Gardner to weigh in on Altitude Accelerator’s value in the startup ecosystem and where it can meet the greatest challenges as technologies advance and sector transformation becomes an inevitability.
Experiencing, Firsthand, the Value of Altitude
Kuryluk was part of an early cohort of Altitude Accelerator—at that time, RIC Centre—and quickly understood the value it offered, as he states, “The experience taught me what it truly takes to build a startup from the ground up: how to structure and govern a company, commercialize an innovative product, and prepare for and execute a successful capital raise. I was fortunate to be guided by outstanding mentors who not only shared their expertise but also challenged me to raise my own performance and deliver results.
He is a current board member with both Altitude Accelerator and Brampton Angels and attests to the diverse strategic thinking at the board level, and has seen, firsthand, the impact Altitude Accelerator has made in advancing early-stage companies towards scale and economic growth.
The Greatest Opportunities in the Coming Decade: Sustainable Solutions, Advanced AI, and Quantum
For Gardner, who holds a PhD in Social and Ecological Sustainability from University of Waterloo, and a Master’s Environmental Studies (Sustainability) from Queen’s University, she sees a continued maturation and AI emergence as well as more advanced quantum computing and sees them unleashing great breakthroughs in the healthcare, sustainability, climate technology sectors. The local impact will be substantial as she states, “The velocity of these technologies will also underpin some of the more traditional local industries, food, packaging, transportation, logistics, etc. that will benefit from advancement of related solutions to guide transformative change, that will introduce new levels of efficiency, quality, competitiveness and security.”
She foresees Peel Region being able to attract worldclass researchers and technologists from local academic institutions and globally as she adds, “They will lead the continued introduction of high impact solutions and technologies into the global market and expand the startup/scaleup ecosystem. We will only be limited by the local level of investment and support there is to receive and encourage it!”
Kuryluk, with a strong background in life science, currently sits on the boards of the Brain Injury Association of Peel and Halton and Innscience. He recognizes the great potential for innovation in biotechnology and medtech given advances in AI and sensor technology: “It’s exciting to witness breakthroughs in robotics and automation in surgery, regenerative medicine, remote monitoring and wearable devices, precision medicine, immersive technologies, and 3D printing. Equally inspiring is the impact these advancements will have across the continuum of patient care—improving outcomes while driving greater efficiency in our healthcare system.”
Kuryluk also points to opportunities in cleantech and sustainable energy from next-generation battery storage to carbon capture and circular-economy innovation. He adds that smart materials and industrial automation will impact advanced manufacturing. Transportation, he says, will be shaped by future mobility, electrification, connected infrastructure and imminence of autonomous vehicles.
Altitude’s Greatest Strengths: It’s People and It’s Network
Kuryluk is also a former startup advisor and believes the greatest resource Altitude provides is its people and their impact on these emerging companies, emphasizing, “They share their own experiences, provide leadership coaching, open doors to critical stakeholders, and offer guidance on commercialization excellence and raising capital.” Altitude is active in industry events, “continuously learning and applying new ideas to stay ahead of industry trends, and they work to strengthen every element of the startup ecosystem.”
He adds that the curated network of investors and advisors span across diverse sectors—from life sciences to clean technology and advanced manufacturing, as well as information technology, AI, and smart mobility.” Kuryluk is clear, “This diversity is a strategic advantage: it allows startups in many fields to access targeted expertise, market insights, and funding sources that directly match their industry. Whether it’s a medical device entrepreneur refining a go-to-market plan, a cleantech founder scaling a sustainable solution, or a software innovator leveraging AI, Altitude’s cross-sector network provides the right mix of mentorship to help ventures grow and succeed.”
Gardner builds on the strength of this dynamic network of advisors and investors, adding this community is “steadfast in its goal to continue to elevate new business and give back. Altitude works with companies to get them in the best possible position to aggressively capture market share, raise capital and find new ways to realize competitive advantage.”
Gardner also sees Altitude as a springboard in the startup ecosystem as she states, “The organization is uniquely positioned to both provide access to support and guidance for the public, as well as being the next stop for those early companies that have benefited from foundational support from partners and institutions in the region.”
The Vision
Nick Kuryluk has served nine years on the University of Toronto’s Governing Council, is Chairman of the Board at ColdBlock Technologies. He is passionate about good governance and always “doing the right thing.”
“I hope to leverage this experience to ensure that Altitude Accelerator continues its journey as an exceptionally well-governed organization, building on the outstanding foundation established by former Chair Andrew Opala.
My vision as Co-Chair is to provide unwavering support for our Executive Director, Pam Banks, and the entire Altitude team to position Altitude as the premier innovation hub for the Greater Toronto Area and beyond—a place where entrepreneurs can access world-class mentorship, strategic investors, and the operational know-how to scale globally.
I want to see Altitude deepen its role as a catalyst for commercialization by expanding its reach across key growth sectors such as life sciences, clean technology, advanced manufacturing, and digital health; by strengthening partnerships with industry, academia, and government; and by fostering an inclusive, collaborative culture that empowers founders at every stage. I will work to ensure Altitude continues to thrive as both a trusted partner and a recognized leader in driving economic growth and innovation, while maintaining the highest standards of governance and impact.”
For Holly Gardner, she sees her role to strengthen partnerships among the industry organizations, academic institutions, investment community and municipal, provincial and Federal governments “with the ambition to continue to build more robust support systems for early and scaling start-ups. This is necessary and urgently needed— a path to building economic and social resilience across Peel region in an increasingly uncertain world.”
Pam Banks, Executive Director, is clear that the strength of the board is critical especially in these turbulent shifts in global trade and constrained capital markets: “The commitment of our members broadens the intellectual capacity of the organization, giving us a wide range of expertise and a broad network perspective. This ensures we stay relevant to the founders we serve and that we continue to play a meaningful role in Ontario’s innovation network of regional innovation centres.
Outgoing Chair Andrew Opala’s experience in investment was a critical resource in shaping Altitude Accelerator’s Investor Readiness Program and the Deal Flow Exchange. Looking ahead, Co-Chairs Holly and Nick’s backgrounds will help us build new alliances and partnerships that keep our programming aligned with the evolving markets we serve. By leaning on the diverse knowledge and commitment of our board, we’re building a foundation that creates lasting impact—not only for our organization, but also for the companies and communities we support.”
Altitude continues to develop opportunities to support the growth of startups in our ecosystem. If you’re interested in learning more, please visit our website or email us at info@altitudeaccelerator.ca.
