Photo courtesy of Monique Simair
The University of Saskatchewan has brought in Monique Simair as the first director of the Slogotski Hunt Centre for Entrepreneurship, which supports researchers and students in developing startups and spinouts.
Simair is a graduate of Saskatchewan. She previously worked for the institution as an adjunct professor from 2011 to 2023, first in the School of Environment and Sustainability and, from 2019, in Civil, Geological, and Environmental Engineering.
She also contributed to the development committee for the university’s Health Sciences complex.
“Effective innovation starts with understanding how people will actually use a technology. Entrepreneurship is about being curious, listening closely, and enabling the innovation that already exists within communities. When we collaborate with the people who use the technology, everyone benefits.”
Monique Simair
Simair has founded and successfully exited two environmental technology businesses — Contango Strategies and Maven Water and Environment.
Since 2021, Simair has been a mentor with Creative Destruction Lab, which supports seed-stage science-led startups on their path to large companies.
She also hosts a podcast focused on people with unusual career paths, Outlier Mindset, and offers her expertise as an independent consultant.
