Cliff is a successful executive with more than 25 years of leadership experience in academia and business. He is passionate about commercialisation of university discoveries to improve the quality of life. He founded three companies (Biomechanics Corp., UTEK & Tekcapital) which subsequently listed, where he served as CEO and Chairman and co-founded numerous private companies including HumanCAD, Salarius, Belluscura and Guident. Previously he was President and CEO of Innovacorp, the provincial venture capital fund of Nova Scotia. Cliff was Acting Director of the graduate program in Biomechanics and Ergonomics at New York University, Chairman of the Nelson Rockefeller Department of Biomechanics at the New York Institute of Technology and Research Professor at the University of South Florida. He has authored several books including Too Good to Fail: Creating Marketplace Value from the World’s Brightest Minds and is a named inventor on more than 30 issued patents. A number of the ergonomic products he has developed became significant commercial successes including the DeWalt Cordless Drill for Black & Decker, The Parachute Chair for Knoll, the ergonomic mouse for Logitech, HumanCAD, the first PC based human CAD software and the flexible back belt, which is used to reduce back stress for individuals worldwide. Several of his products were included in a Smithsonian exhibit on ergonomic design. Cliff is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. He received his Ph.D. from New York University and an Executive MBA from Oxford University.