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Shirley Speakman

Investor

Managing Partner at BDC Venture Capital · Senior Partner at Cycle Capital · Board director at MineSense

Greater Toronto Area, Canada

Find your path to Shirley

980 people in our graph share verified history with Shirley — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Tobi CokerunlockedShirley: together at Kauffman Fellows (2023–2025)
×10Shirley: together at Kauffman Fellows
Shirley: together at Ernst and Young Corporate Finance

About

Shirley Speakman is Managing Partner of the Climate Tech Fund and Sustainability Venture Fund at BDC, a $1.2B platform investing in Canadian companies addressing climate and sustainability challenges. Previously, she was a senior partner at Cycle Capital and Director of Investments for the MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, where she led investments and transactions across sectors including clean technology, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing. Speakman holds an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and a BA in Economics from the University of Waterloo, and serves as Chair of the Research Innovation and Commercialization Center.

Contact· self-published, not guessed

Board director at MineSense

Intro paths

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In turn, Shirley can intro founders to MineSense's investors below.

MineSense's investors · 8

BDC Industrial Innovation Venture FundMontréal · since 2022ChrysalixDelft · $36.5K – $2.9M checks · since 2016Cycle CapitalMontreal · since 2022Evok InnovationsVancouver · since 2022Export Development Canada (EDC)OttawaJ.P. Morgan Asset Managementsince 2022JP Morgan ChaseNew YorkPrelude VenturesSan Francisco · $100K – $5M checks · since 2018

Co-founders at MineSense

ABAndrew Bamber
Andrew BamberExecutive Officer, Director

Experience

  1. BDCManaging Partner, Managing Partner for the Climate Tech Fund and Sustainability Venture Fundcurrent2025 — presentToronto, Ontario, Canada
  2. Cycle CapitalSenior Partnercurrent2018 — presentGreater Toronto Area, Canada
  3. Cycle CapitalPartner2014 — 2025Greater Montreal Metropolitan Area
  4. Kauffman FellowsKauffman Fellow Class -26current2021 — present
  5. Social Venture Connexion (SVX)Investment Committee Advisorcurrent2017 — presentGreater Toronto Area, Canada
  6. MaRS Catalyst FundAdvisorcurrent2017 — presentGreater Toronto Area, Canada
  7. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)Advisorcurrent2017 — presentGreater Ottawa Metropolitan Area
  8. MineSense Technologies Ltd.Member of the Boardcurrent2015 — present
  9. GreenMantra TechnologiesMember of the Boardcurrent2014 — present
  10. YWire Technologies Inc.Member of the Boardcurrent2014 — present
  11. SheEO™ IncActivatorcurrent2015 — presentToronto
  12. Infront - Impact Investing in Frontier MarketsMentorcurrent2014 — present
  13. AceTech OntarioAdvisorcurrent2015 — present
  14. To be announced soonInvestment Professional2025
  15. ESS, Inc.Board Member2017 — 2022Portland, Oregon, United States
  16. MaRS Discovery DistrictInvestment Committee Advisor, MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund2014 — 2018Greater Toronto Area, Canada
  17. Investment Accelerator FundInvestment Director2008 — 2014
  18. Foragen Technologies Management Inc.Advisor2001
  19. Women in Capital MarketsMember1999 — 2001
  20. Ernst and Young Corporate FinanceCorporate Finance Analyst1997 — 1999
  21. Ernst and Young Corporate FinanceAnalyst1997 — 1999

Skills & more

Strategy44Strategic Planning24Management8Negotiation2Entrepreneurship69Start-ups87Corporate Development25Business Planning22Business Strategy53Business Development15Venture Capital99Strategic Partnerships12
+12 moreCorporate FinanceProduct ManagementPrivate EquityInvestmentsE-commerceMarketing CommunicationsCRMNew Business DevelopmentMergers & AcquisitionsMergersDue DiligenceValuation

From Shirley's professional profile.

Colleagues at BDC Venture Capital

Aadit Parikh
Associate Director at BDC Fund Investments (Fund-of-Funds)
Aashna Kumar
Associate Principal at BDC Fund Investments (Fund-of-Funds)
Aditya Aggarwal
Senior Managing Partner at BDC Venture Capital
Alexa Goldhar
Senior Analyst at BDC Fund Investments (Fund-of-Funds)
Alexander Fried
Principal at BDC Venture Capital
Alexandra Hastings
Associate at BDC Fund Investments (Fund-of-Funds)
Alexandre Préfontaine
Principal at BDC Venture Capital
Alroy Almeida
Associate Principal at BDC Fund Investments (Fund-of-Funds)

Frequently asked questions

Who is Shirley Speakman?
Shirley Speakman is Managing Partner of the Climate Tech Fund and Sustainability Venture Fund at BDC, a $1.2B platform investing in Canadian companies addressing climate and sustainability challenges. Previously, she was a senior partner at Cycle Capital and Director of Investments for the MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, where she led investments and transactions across sectors including clean technology, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing. Speakman holds an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and a BA in Economics from the University of Waterloo, and serves as Chair of the Research Innovation and Commercialization Center.
Where does Shirley Speakman work?
Shirley Speakman is Managing Partner at BDC Venture Capital and Board director at MineSense.
Where did Shirley Speakman go to school?
Shirley Speakman studied at University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management (ICD.D); Wilfrid Laurier University (Master of Business Administration (MBA), finance); University of Waterloo (Bachelor of Arts - BA, Economics).

Same school

Shared employers