New presidents at both NRC and CFI

Ottawa, ON – New presidents have been announced for both the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

John McDougall was recently named as the new president of the NRC, and has now assumed his position. He succeeds Dr Pierre Coulombe, whose five-year term as president ended in February.

Dr Gilles G Patry has been named the fourth president and CEO of the CFI. He will succeed the current president and CEO, Dr Eliot A Phillipson, who announced last year that he would be stepping down on June 30, 2010 after six years in the position.

Mr McDougall was most recently chair of Innoventures Canada and a director of PFB Corporation, and from 1997 to 2009, he served as CEO of the Alberta Research Council. From 1991 to 1997, he served as the inaugural chair in management for engineers in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Alberta. In addition, he founded and served as senior executive of the DALCOR companies from 1976 to 1998.

Dr Patry is professor of civil engineering at the University of Ottawa with a joint appointment in the School of Information Technology and Engineering. He was president and vice-chancellor of the University of Ottawa from 2001 to 2008. He holds a PhD from the University of California at Davis in environmental engineering.