Adrien Cote
InvestorBoard of Directors; CEO of Existent at Waterloo Accelerator Centre
Greater Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo Metropolitan Area
About
Adrien Cote is Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Existent, which develops industrial separation and carbon capture technologies using next-generation sorbent materials. Previously, he served as Executive Director of Velocity, the University of Waterloo's entrepreneurship center, where he expanded programming and oversaw development of the Innovation Arena startup facility and Velocity Fund; companies from that ecosystem have achieved over $40 billion in combined enterprise value. His background includes materials science research and commercialization experience at Xerox, where he co-invented and scaled a materials platform and contributed to over 50 patents, as well as academic work in inorganic chemistry and porous materials with publications in Science and Nature.
Experience
- ExistentChief Executive Officer, Co-Foundercurrent2025 — presentGreater Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo Metropolitan Area
- University of WaterlooSpecial Advisor, Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Strategy2025 — 2026Waterloo, ON
- VelocityExecutive Director2020 — 2025Greater Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo Metropolitan Area
- VelocityBusiness Advisor, Velocity2017 — 2019Kitchener, Canada Area
- Xerox Research Centre of CanadaPortfolio and Strategic Relationship Manager; Senior Scientist2012 — 2017Toronto, Canada Area
- Xerox Research Centre of CanadaResearch Scientist2007 — 2012Toronto, Canada Area
- UCLA, California NanoSystems InstitutePrincipal Investigator - Group Manager2006 — 2007Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
- University of MichiganNSERC Postdoctoral Fellow - w/ Omar M. Yaghi - Materials Design and Discovery Group2004 — 2006Greater Detroit Area
- ValeResearch Associate1997 — 1998Toronto, Canada Area
- Teck Resources LimitedResearch Process Technician1996Vancouver, Canada Area
- City of BrantfordResearch Assistant (Water Treatment)1996Ontario, Canada
Education
- University of WaterlooB.Sc., Applied Chemistry1994 — 1999
- University of CalgaryPhD, Inorganic Supramolecular Chemistry; NSERC Postgraduate Scholar1999 — 2003
- Lazaridis School of Business & Economics at Wilfrid Laurier UniversityM.Sc., Executive Masters Technology Management2016 — 2017
- University of TorontoCertificate in Business Innovation, Business2011 — 2013
Skills & more
Cross-functional Team LeadershipStrategic LeadershipFundraisingLaboratory ManagementOperations ManagementScientific ResearchEngineering LeadershipMaterials ScienceInorganic Materialsorganic materialsQualitative ResearchInterdisciplinary Collaboration
+3 more
Cross-team CollaborationStrategic PartnershipsVenture CapitalLanguages English
From Adrien's professional profile.
Colleagues at Waterloo Accelerator Centre
Adam Dougall
Program Manager at Waterloo Accelerator Centre
Angela Larraguibel
Board of Directors; Chief Operating Officer at Toronto Business Development Centre at Waterloo Accelerator Centre
Ben Richmond
Manager, Coworking and Facilities at Waterloo Accelerator Centre
Benton Leong
Board of Directors; Archangel Funds; Investor at Golden Triangle Angel Network at Waterloo Accelerator Centre
Brenda Halloran
Board of Directors; District Governor at Rotary International at Waterloo Accelerator Centre
Catalina Ochoa
Director, Finance at Waterloo Accelerator Centre
Charmaine Dean
Board of Directors; Vice-President of Research and International at University of Waterloo at Waterloo Accelerator Centre
Claudia Krywiak
Board of Directors; President and CEO at Ontario Centre of Innovation at Waterloo Accelerator Centre
Frequently asked questions
- Where does Adrien Cote work?
- Adrien Cote is Board of Directors; CEO of Existent at Waterloo Accelerator Centre.
Same school
Also attended University of Waterloo343
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Also attended University of Calgary72
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Also attended Lazaridis School of Business & Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University21
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Also attended University of Toronto321
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Shared employers
Also worked at Existent1
Also worked at University of Waterloo66
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Also worked at Velocity4
Also worked at Xerox Research Centre of Canada45
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