AVAC Group is primarily a Limited Partner investor in select and diversified venture capital funds, and collaborates, finances and directly assists in the formation, commercialization and growth of Canadian agricultural technology companies.
For more than 20 years, we have supported companies at all stages: startup to scaleup to exit. Our roles have been diverse: from funding, to business management, to sales development to technology commercialization to name a few. AVAC Group provides expertise to technology companies at every stage of entrepreneurship.
Seeding New AgTech Ventures.
Carrot is AVAC Group's company formation platform. It is a business model to attract experienced leadership to vetted agricultural technology and form new companies.
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Canada is home to some of the world’s top Ag Tech innovators and experienced entrepreneurs who have led successful businesses. Carrot brings the two together to launch new Ag Tech companies. Guidance and seed funding from the AVAC Group will springboard these new companies on the fast track to success. Funding from Carrot will only be allocated to these newly formed companies.
Attracting a competent management team
and board of directors.
Ensuring a market focus.
Providing adequate seed
financing to support
the company.
AVAC Ltd. is the General Partner and Alberta Enterprise Corporation is the sole Limited Partner of Accelerate Fund I.
Accelerate Fund supports the growth of early-stage Alberta technology companies with a venture capital fund that matches angel investment. The capital for Accelerate Fund I is fully invested in these forward-looking businesses.
Our fund of funds investing is a balanced mix of technology and Ag Tech fund investments. We have formed partnerships with top venture capital firms with proven records of success both in Canada and abroad.
AVAC Group is an investor in the following funds:
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Launched in 2017, BridgeCo Capital is an exit stage syndication fund for third-party venture capital funds. BridgeCo Capital invests in venture capital-backed technology companies with near term exit timelines.
For company founders and executive leadership, expression of exit intent is often confidential. The identities of BridgeCo Capital portfolio companies are only shared upon completion of exit.
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*Portfolio logos only from the "exited" companies.
Our team brings venture capital and entrepreneurial experience valued by our investment partners and portfolio companies. Collectively, we are entrepreneurs, investors, science and technology experts, company builders, and business drivers.
Our management team is fully immersed in the entrepreneurial and venture profession across all technology domains. We apply our agriculture industry experience and knowledge to match the challenge of advancing agriculture technology commercialization in Canada.
AVAC’s Board of Directors provides governance and contributes to its entrepreneurial finance and agricultural knowledge through their professional and entrepreneurial experience in agribusiness and technology.
We invest broadly using venture capital principles and discipline.
We invest in specific areas across the continuum of entrepreneurship.
We accelerate the establishment, development and growth of innovative and disruptive Canadian Ag Tech companies.
Warren began his work at AVAC Ltd. in 2011 and was promoted to President of the organization in 2015. He established AVAC’s BridgeCo Capital Fund I with Mark Carlson in 2017. Warren is a member of the Limited Partner Advisory Committee for iNovia II, iNovia III, iNovia 2015 and Yaletown Ventures II. Warren is a Partner of Accelerate Fund I, L.P., an early stage technology fund and continues to serve as a Director and/or advisor to Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute, Levven Electronics Inc., Serious Integrated Inc., and Tantus Solutions Group Inc.
Mark has led AVAC Group’s investment operations and team and in his senior role, he effected the transition investment functions at AVAC to become what it is today, an investment company with full venture capital DNA. Mark also devised and implemented strategic steps that are now fueling overall AUM growth. He co-founded BridgeCo Capital as an investment arm of AVAC and oversees several fund-of-fund investments including due diligence and development of definitive agreements and is a Partner in Accelerate Fund I, L.P. More broadly, Mark has managed the full cycle of venture transactions including serving as a Director on numerous boards.
Jim has over 15 years of experience building and investing in digital, life science and agricultural technology companies. Prior to the AVAC Group, he had a productive career as an academic in life sciences and published extensively in various areas of human and animal health. As a past company founder and entrepreneur himself, he has insight into the challenges of the entrepreneurial journey and actions needed to address them. In Jim’s role as co-lead of CARROT, his passion for mentoring innovative technology companies serves to identify and equip teams for significant commercial results.
Martin is passionate about bringing great products, technology and business model innovation to market, and working with the teams behind them on their journey to personal and professional success. With responsibility across the full lifecycle of portfolio management, Martin serves as a Director or advisor to several current AVAC investments including BlackSquare, Circle Cardiovascular Imaging, Leankor, LoginRadius, SAMdesk and Wedge Networks, and is a Partner of Accelerate Fund I, L.P. As co-lead of CARROT, Martin brings this experience to bear on sourcing technologies, recruiting talent, negotiating investment terms, and enabling investee success.
Alex earned a BSc and an MSc from the University of Guelph. He combines business development experience with academic excellence in the nutritional sciences. Alex has a proven track record in identifying agriculture technologies with commercial potential, as well as conducting partnership and acquisition diligence. He has experience assessing value propositions, advising entrepreneurial teams and leading business development initiatives to ensure effective go-to-market strategies. Alex is well-qualified to expand Carrot’s role in the Canadian AgTech ecosystem.
Monte directs all back office reporting functions and audit procedures for AVAC’s operations, fund of funds and direct investment portfolio. He received his CPA CA designation in 1991 while employed by a national accounting and audit firm. Monte has past commercial experience as a Controller/CFO of a privately owned oil and gas services company as well as head office experience with a multinational environmental company and a multinational real estate company.
Lorna Sexsmith is the Office Manager and Corporate Secretary. Ms. Sexsmith joined the organization in 1998 with a background as a para legal and small law firm management.
Dr. Rennie has a successful track record creating new products and building businesses in both developed and emerging economies (Argentina, Brazil and China). His professional career focused on international agriculture and new product development (International VP for Agrium, CEO of Spur Ventures), with extensive experience working with investors and governments. Dr. Rennie has the unique ability to bridge academia and industry, having achieved success in both, working with academic researchers to access technology and to develop it into commercial successes.
Laurie Powers
Laurie Powers is a seasoned financial executive with over 25 years of experience in the private sector as well as with Saskatchewan Crown corporations. Ms. Powers is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Canterra Capital Corp., managing a diversified portfolio consisting of 175,000 acres of farmland on behalf of the CPP Investment Board. She has held senior positions with Assiniboia Capital Corp., Harvard Developments Inc., Victoria Park Capital Inc., Investment Saskatchewan and Information Services Corporation.
Jerry Bouma
Jerry Bouma is an experienced management consultant in the agriculture and food industry. His professional career includes 10 years with Deloitte (Guelph office and part of the national agri-business consulting practice); 3 years with Maple Leaf Foods; and 25 years with Toma & Bouma Management Consultants. Jerry’s specialities include strategic planning, governance reviews, business and marketing plans as well as market research.
Myles Hamilton
Myles Hamilton currently serves as President & Managing Partner of CanMar Foods Ltd, the largest producer of Food Grade Flax in Canada. He has over 30 years of consumer-packaged goods experience spending the first 6 years of his career at Procter & Gamble (P&G). Following P&G, he spent most of his 15-year career as the Western Canada Vice President at Frito Lay Canada. He was Managing Partner at Spitz International Inc. from 2006 through 2009 and he successfully initiated and led a company sale to PepsiCo Foods (Frito Lay). Myles has a passion for agriculture and he maintains Agricultural Holdings in South East Saskatchewan.
Bill McKenzie
Bill McKenzie has extensive experience in strategy, finance and alternative asset investments, including leading 20 investments with an aggregate value of $2 billion, and serving as a director of 20 private and public companies. Bill was Senior Vice President of AIMCo, then an $80 billion international institutional investor. For 15 years, he was Vice President of Vencap, then one of Canada’s largest venture capital and private equity investment funds. Bill is a director of infrastructure and private debt funds and holds designations as a CPA and a CFA.
Colette Miller
Colette Miller, a partner with Wilde and Company, CPA’s specializes in owner-managed business including taxation and estate/succession planning with a special interest in agricultural-related companies. Her expertise is enhanced by her personal experience of farming with her husband on their cattle and grain operation.
Her current governance roles, in addition to AVAC, include Canadian Business Growth Fund, Covenant Health Audit and Finance Committee and Elk Island Community Foundation. This follows a ten-year directorship with ATB Financial with experience as chair of HRC and Audit.
Michael Detlefsen
Michael Detlefsen is the Managing Director of Pomegranate Capital Advisors Inc., an active investor advisory firm with holdings in the branded consumer and food, agriculture, transportation and financial services sectors. Previously, Michael held senior executive positions at Organic Meadow, Ceres Global Ag Corp., Maple Leaf Foods, Bell Canada, Bell Canada International and Air Canada, with a focus on strategy development and execution, operational turnarounds, and mergers and acquisitions. He also provided strategic and operating consulting services with Pomegranate, Muir Detlefsen & Associates, Monitor Company and Price Waterhouse.
