TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION & CHANGE

Phil McBride

Artsci’96 (History)

VP of Data & Technology, Global Investments at OMERS

Phil is a senior technology executive, specializing in designing breakthrough technology strategies, transforming business with data and analytics, and leading global IT teams to deliver with excellence.

Phil is currently VP of Data & Technology, Global Investments at OMERS, and was formerly Chief Information Officer at Molson Coors Canada and Norton Rose Fulbright Canada.  Before this, Phil was VP of Technology at Aeroplan, he sold data and loyalty platforms globally at Aimia, and he began his IT career with a variety of roles over 15 years at Procter & Gamble.

Phil graduated Queens in ’96 with a BAH in English & History, and now lives in Toronto with his wife Tricia (Artsci’97), and their twin boys. 

Kim Fennell

Artsci’79 (politics)

Senior tech executive and angel investor

J. Kim Fennell is a long-time executive of several iconic Silicon Valley companies. He was at Uber Technologies for 5 years as Head of Business Development for US & Canada until he left the company in November 2019. His team negotiated partnerships with major tech companies, airports & brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Live Nation, ASU, Toronto Pearson, etc.

Kim had previously been CEO of deCarta, the leading independent location-based services software platform company before he orchestrated its sale to Uber in March 2015. Before deCarta, he held CEO positions at Pinnacle Systems and StorageWay Inc. He was an early executive at Octel, the global leader of voice messaging systems. He first opened Octel in Canada in 1986, then moved to the UK for 6 years to open and lead EMEA before managing all International. He was then a corporate Vice President at Lucent Technologies following its acquisition of Octel in 1997, leading a 3,000 person $2B Business Unit. Much earlier he was National Marketing Manager, Canada with ROLM, acquired by IBM.

Kim is now an active Angel Investor, with seed investments in 21 tech startups in Canada, the US, and the UK. He is a Board Director of Ritchie Brothers of Burnaby B.C. (NYSE, TSX: RBA) as well as two private startups in Cape Town and Dallas. And, for 10 years he’s been a Board Director of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group Foundation. He most recently joined the Board of C100 a non-profit focused on supporting Canadian entrepreneurs.

Kim is originally from Oakville, Ontario, and graduated from Queen’s with a B.A. (Honours) in Political Science in 1979. He also studied at the Stanford School of Business. At Queen’s, he was active in student government as a member of Outer Council, ASUS Council as Judiciary chair, and a writer on the Queen’s Journal.

He lives in Los Gatos, California with his fellow Canadian wife and has two grown children. And yes, he still plays hockey three times a week and remains a troubled Habs fan.

Adrienne Down Coulson

Artsci’95 (English)

COO of Rakuten Americas

Adrienne Down Coulson is Chief Operating Officer at Rakuten Americas where she is responsible for the operations and corporate services across 10 business units operating in six countries with 3,500 employees. An astute operational leader with and deep digital marketing experience, Adrienne leads the corporate Human Resources, Information Technology and Security, Legal, Sports & Entertainment Marketing, Communications, and Facilities functions, among others.    Adrienne joined Rakuten Rewards (then Ebates) in 2012 to launch its Canadian business. Under her stewardship, Ebates Canada enjoyed explosive growth, attaining profitability and market leadership in the affiliate marketing sector within three years. In 2017, she transferred to San Mateo, California to take on the role of Chief Operating Officer at Rakuten Rewards (then Ebates Inc). Previously, Adrienne was President at several Toronto-based digital marketing agencies and technology start-ups, as well as Vice President, Operations at MacLaren MRM (now MRM McCann).  A graduate of Queen’s University and a Toronto native, Adrienne is a board member at Canada’s National Ballet School and a Toronto-based start-up called FlipGive. She lives in San Mateo, California with her husband and two children.

James Wu

Artsci’97, PhD’o4 (Computing and Information Science)

CEO & Founder of Inner space

James is the CEO & Founder of InnerSpace, an indoor location intelligence platform dedicated to creating Smart Office solutions that improve space utilization and workplace experience. 

James Wu has dedicated the last 20 years to building award-winning products for notable technology startups including Platform Computing, Rypple, and Kobo. Playing a pivotal role at each company, James built and led product development while honing his understanding of what it takes to develop a team, product, and company from the early days to global success. 

At Kobo, the primary competitor to Amazon Kindle, James was the conceptual visionary for the company’s unique and award-winning tablet user experience and primary inventor on more than 30 patents related to user experience design. He was responsible for setting the strategic direction for Kobo's complete portfolio of products, including websites, mobile apps, and award-winning eReading devices. Managing large teams of exceptionally talented experience designers, interaction architects, industrial and mechanical designers, researchers, and prototypers, James stewarded their abilities to deliver the world-class Kobo eReading experience across all platforms and with a localized experience in 22 countries.

Before beginning his professional career, James earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science at Queen’s University.