Grace Lee Reynolds: Steering Canada’s Innovation Hub Forward

In an exclusive interview with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Grace Lee Reynolds, CEO of MaRS, shares her vision for advancing Canada’s innovation ecosystem. With nearly three decades of experience across the public, private, and philanthropic sectors, Grace has played a key role in transforming MaRS into North America’s largest urban innovation hub. Now at the helm, she discusses the strategic priorities that will drive MaRS forward, from scaling high-impact ventures in climate and health to strengthening global innovation networks and ensuring long-term financial sustainability. With a deep understanding of finance, entrepreneurship, and placemaking, Grace is committed to fostering an inclusive, purpose-driven innovation economy that positions Canada as a global leader in emerging technologies.

Grace Lee Reynolds is CEO of MaRS, leading the organization through its next phase of growth and impact. With nearly 30 years of experience in the public, private and philanthropic sectors, Grace is passionate about fostering economic potential and social impact through innovations and placemaking.

Grace has been a key leader at MaRS for more than a decade, previously serving as CFO of MaRS Discovery District and president of MaRS Discovery Enterprises. She played a pivotal role in transforming MaRS into a globally recognized innovation hub, helping develop and scale the 1.5-million-square-foot MaRS Centre, driving its social purpose business model and advancing early-stage investment funds and innovation programming. Most recently, as head of development and programming, she oversaw the strategies and activities essential to MaRS’ mission reach, growth and financial sustainability.

Since 2010, MaRS-supported ventures have collectively raised $19 billion in capital, generated $11.5 billion in net revenues and contributed $29.6 billion to the GDP. MaRS ventures currently employ 33,000 individuals across a range of sectors — a testament to their innovation, resilience and impact.

Beyond MaRS, Grace served as CEO of Toronto Artscape, a social enterprise operating unique spaces and programs for creatives across Toronto. Prior to that, she spent 15 years in finance leadership roles at major Canadian academic hospitals, including SickKids Foundation and University Health Network, where she worked across clinical operations, corporate services and fundraising. She began her career in the entrepreneurship services group at Ernst & Young.

Her diverse interests span the intersection of science, technology, arts and inclusive innovation, reflecting her belief that Canada needs robust infrastructure to drive economic well-being for future generations. Grace’s extensive background includes expertise in strategy, finance, fund and partnership development, commercial operations, and people leadership in both scaling enterprises and large complex organizations.

MaRS Discovery District has evolved significantly over the years, now supporting over 1,200 ventures and generating substantial economic impact with $19B in capital raised by supported startups. As you step into the role of interim CEO, what specific strategies do you envision to enhance MaRS’s position as North America’s largest urban innovation hub?

MaRS has always been a champion of bold ideas, and as we enter this next phase, our focus will be on three key priorities: deepening our support for high impact ventures, strengthening Ontario and Canada’s position in global innovation networks, and ensuring long-term financial sustainability for MaRS itself.?

First, we will continue to enhance our impact sector-specific activities in climate, health, and emerging tech, to provide the support that helps ventures scale faster. Second, we’ll collaborate to ease the pathways for Canadian startups to access international markets, capital and talent and to bolster the placemaking required to anchor our innovation districts. Lastly, we are optimizing MaRS’ social-purpose business model to ensure that we remain a strong and independent force in Canada’s innovation ecosystem.?

By reinforcing our role as a convenor – bringing together government, industry, academia, philanthropy,entrepreneurs and all who care about Canada’s innovation future – we will continue driving systemic change that fosters innovation-friendly policies and accelerates the commercialization of world-class technologies developed here.?

Your journey with MaRS spans a decade, during which you’ve served in various leadership roles, including CFO and President of MaRS Discovery Enterprises. How has this extensive experience prepared you to lead MaRS through this transition period, and what key lessons from your previous roles will you apply to your new position?

Having worked across multiple facets of MaRS – from finance and real estate to venture growth and systems initiatives– I’ve gained a thorough understanding of both the internal workings of the organization and the broader innovation landscape. This perspective allows me to balance long-term strategic priorities with the immediate needs of our ventures, innovation hub tenants and government, corporate and philanthropic partners.?

A key lesson I’ve learned is the importance of agility – innovation moves quickly, and MaRS must remain flexible to adapt to shifting economic conditions, emerging technologies, and evolving venture needs. Another lesson is the value of partnerships and relationships. The most successful ventures don’t succeed in isolation, they thrive in ecosystems that connect them to capital, customers, and talent.?

I am excited to continue to foster these high-impact collaborations while ensuring MaRS itself is operationally strong, flexible, resilient, and poised for future growth.?

Under your previous leadership roles, MaRS has demonstrated impressive growth in supporting startups, which now employ over 33,000 people and have contributed $29.6 billion to Canada’s GDP. Looking ahead, what do you see as the most significant challenges and opportunities for Canadian innovation, and how will MaRS address them under your leadership?

Canada has incredible talent and world-class research, but we face a critical investment gap that is holding back our ability to scale companies, grow productivity, and create long-term economic opportunities. While we’ve seen progress in early-stage funding, many promising startups struggle to secure the capital needed to scale and compete globally. This is especially true in high R&D sectors like cleantech, biotech, and deep tech, where patient capital is required to commercialize breakthroughs.

We need targeted investments that focus on scaling companies, not just starting them. That means more later-stage venture capital and non-dilutive funding, procurement policies that prioritize innovation, and financial mechanisms that help Canadian companies grow into global leaders rather than being acquired too early. Small businesses and startups are the backbone of Canada’s economy, they generate jobs, drive productivity, and fuel economic growth. Ensuring they have the funding, infrastructure, and policy support to thrive must be a national priority.

At MaRS, we are working to bridge this gap by:

• Expanding access to capital through stronger VC and private sector engagement.?
• Strengthening commercialization pathways so more research-driven startups can turn breakthroughs into viable businesses.
• Advocating for procurement reform so that Canadian startups can sell their innovations.

Canada has the potential to lead in industries like AI-driven health tech, climate solutions, and advanced manufacturing, but only if we commit to investing in innovation at scale. This is not just about supporting startups, it’s about building a stronger, more competitive economy for the future.?

Your background includes significant experience in both the innovation sector and creative industries, including your role as CEO at Artscape. How do you plan to leverage this unique perspective to foster collaboration between different sectors and drive innovation across the ecosystem?

Innovation doesn’t happen in silos, it thrives at the intersection of different disciplines, perspectives, and industries. My experience in the creative sector has reinforced the importance of design thinking, inclusive innovation, breaking barriers and community-building, all of which are critical to fostering a thriving startup ecosystem.

We already see the power of cross-sector collaboration in areas like healthtech, where entrepreneurs, clinicians, researchers, data scientists, designers, fabricators and creators? are working together to revolutionize medical devices, diagnostics and treatment. I believe that the arts and creative practices can actively inform innovation in health and climate – broad challenge areas where scientific and tech solutions must be paired with societal and cultural benefits.

My goal is to further integrate creative problem-solving and multidisciplinary collaboration into MaRS’ initiatives. Through fostering engagement between the tech ecosystem and new sectors, I see immense opportunity for a uniquely Canadian form of innovation, reflecting our culture and inclusivity

MaRS plays a crucial role in supporting entrepreneurs tackling real-world challenges in climate, health, and the economy. Could you share your vision for how MaRS will continue to evolve its support for startups while maintaining its commitment to creating a lasting impact on Canada’s innovation economy?

Startups have the potential to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges, but they need the right support to do so. At MaRS, we are committed to ensuring that Canadian entrepreneurs have the tools, networks, and resources they need to scale their solutions. Going forward, we are focused on:

• Enhance impact sector-specific activities in climate and health, ensuring startups receive the support tailored to the challenges of these industries.?
• Strengthening commercialization pathways, so startups can more easily access funding customers, and regulatory support.?
• Bolstering the community networks and placemaking that makes Canada a magnet innovation destination.

Most importantly, MaRS will continue to champion mission-driven innovation, ensuring that economic growth goes hand-in-hand with social and environmental impact. By doubling down on purpose-driven entrepreneurship, we can help build a more resilient, prosperous, and sustainable economy for Canada.