Financier John Ruffolo is one of Canada’s most well-known investors in the tech sector. On Sept. 2, he was struck by a transport truck while riding his bike north of Toronto, but despite paralysis from the waist down, he remains as committed as ever to Canadian innovation.
“Thankfully my head was unaffected but despite several surgeries, it is unlikely that I will regain the use of my legs,” wrote Ruffolo on LinkedIn.
“I am as committed, and as able as always, and will be back in full force as soon as humanly possible on the pending launch of my Private Equity fund and to continue my advocacy work for Canadian Innovation.”
Ruffolo is the former chief executive of the OMERS Ventures, the venture capital arm of the pension plan for Ontario’s municipal employees. They back ambitious entrepreneurs who are building early stage, disruptive technology companies, like Shopify and Hootsuite.
That was a powerful position for a decade of enormous growth in Canadian tech. In his role, he greatly expanded infrastructure for Canadian start-ups. He left OMERS in late 2018, and since then has been working on the launch of Maverix Private Equity, a growth equity fund for Canadian innovation that he and his partners hope to launch in early 2021. The expected size of the fund is estimated at several hundred million dollars.
He’s also the co-founder of the Council of Canadian Innovators, a business council dedicated to helping high-growth Canadian technology firms scale up globally.
Ruffolo is also a big supporter of basic science, as he understands the value of government-funded research that feeds into the disruptive technologies that keep Canada at the leading edge.
He continues to be a force for positive growth in Canada, and we are wishing him a swift recovery.
