Ilse Treurnicht

Ilse Treurnicht’s career spans research and commercialization, venture and impact investing, public policy, and the development of health and cleantech firms. She is managing partner of TwinRiver Capital (an impact investment firm), a general partner at North South Ventures (a health impact fund), chair of the Board of the Public Policy Forum, and a director of the Equality Fund and Zentek.

Ilse was CEO of MaRS Discovery District in Toronto from 2005-2017 as it developed from a nascent organization into a leading urban innovation hub. She joined MaRS from her role as CEO of Primaxis Technology Ventures, a seed stage venture capital firm (1999-2005).

She was chair of the Canadian Task Force on Social Finance (2010). She served on the Government of Canada’s Science, Technology and Innovation Council (2014-2016), Canada’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth (2016-2019), and the Advisory Committee on Open Banking (2018-2021). She currently serves on the Council of Expert Advisors, Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences. She has been a board member and advisor to technology firms, universities, non-profits, and international organizations.

Ilse holds a doctorate in chemistry from Oxford University, which she attended as a Rhodes Scholar, and undergraduate and master’s degrees from Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

---