History

CEO Fusion was originally conceived by Dr.Cindy Gordon and Robert (Bob) Wilson in the Abbott Pub (Toronto) on the back of a napkin in mid-2003. They were joined by Jennifer Ford, Dr. Steven Gedeon, Andrew Giblon, Har Grover, and Jeremy Nickerson to form the founding board of directors and incorporate the organization as a not-for-profit organization under the name CEO Fusion Center.

The Founders' vision was in many ways shaped by experiences from their own entrepreneurial adventures and with their own private equity investments - generally in early-stage companies in which many of the Founders have served as members of Boards of Directors and Strategic Advisors. Their firsthand knowledge and experience of how lonely it can be for a Founder or CEO to build an organization through all of its growth stages became a seminal factor in the creation of CEO Fusion.

The Founders believe that a need exists for CEOs of early-stage companies to come together in an informal peer-to-peer network, enabling them to share experiences, problem solve, to develop and to gather best practices, and to seek a safe haven for confidential discussion.

From its first peer-to-peer events hosted at the Toronto Cricket Club, CEO Fusion has steadily grown and matured. Starting with the initial "Growth and Learning" quarterly workshop sessions conducted with 10 to 15 CEOs, the first events were full of stories, knowledge sharing, and networking. Many deals were developed as a result of these early forums, generating new relationship contacts and revenue generation opportunities as members began doing business together. Since these early events, CEO Fusion has prospered with events regularly attracting 25 to 30 CEOs.

CEO Fusion hit a major milestone by obtaining the formal sponsorship support of Gowlings, which financially enabled the organization to hire Executive Director, Bryan Watson, and in turn led to additional sponsorships, growth in the number of attendees, and an increase in the frequency of events. Other major milestones were reached in 2007 with the formal support of the Ontario Partnership for Innovation and Commercialization (OPIC) and the Deloitte Fast 50 Award Program, resulting in the rebranding as CEO Fusion.

The core values of CEO Fusion envisioned by the Founders remain: Collaboration, Authenticity, Excellence, Diversity, and Openness. The Board of Directors continues to believe that these values enable member CEOs to strive to become the best executive leaders possible.