Barry Gekiere joined Ventures West in 1996 and focuses on investments in the Communications sector as well as investigating Cleantech opportunities in Eastern Canada.

Prior to joining Ventures West in 1996, Barry had an equal mix of hands-on operating experience and private equity investing. In operating roles, Barry has served as president of an automotive after-market parts company and president of a publicly traded industrial holding company. Barry has also been a partner in two private equity investment firms, specializing in expansion stage financing and leveraged buyouts. He utilizes his extensive direct operating and venture capital experience to work closely with entrepreneurs as an active director and sounding board on operating and strategic issues.
 
Barry has served on the boards of several private and public companies and has worked with companies through the IPO and strategic sale process. He is a past director of the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association and currently sits on the boards of Activplant Inc. and AudienceView.  Barry’s past investments include LinkAge Software (acquired by Microsoft Corporation), Avantas Networks (acquired by Exfo Electro-Optical) and Novadaq Technologies (TSX:NDQ).

Barry has a B.A. (Honours) in Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario.

Location: Toronto, ON

Activplant Inc. - Develops web-based software that gathers, analyzes and reports data from manufacturing plant floor equipment. www.activplant.com

AudienceView - Provides a fully integrated Ticketing, Customer Relationship Management, and Fundraising system with real-time reporting. www.audienceview.com

Novadaq Technologies Inc. - Develops and commercializes medical devices based on its proprietary imaging platform for the diagnosis and treatment of human vascular and ophthalmic diseases and conditions. (TSX: NDQ) www.novadaq.com