Xavier-Henri Hervé believes that “crafting and engineering a better world is a powerful mission. Combining perseverance, alignment of emotions, true leaders, a global perspective, and your team will bring you the heaven of innovation.” Guided by this mission and his passion for advancing emerging technology, he has created programs and communities where anyone can unlock innovation across various levels of society.

That was the case with Margaret Magdesian, Ph.D and co-founder of Ananda Devices. Margaret was a scientist all her life but lacked the entrepreneurial experience needed to build a successful business. That’s where Xavier-Henri Hervé and the District 3 team supported her to overcome the challenges along her journey.

Margaret transformed herself from a leading researcher to a proven entrepreneur capable of securing joint product development contracts with Fortune 500 companies, an international network of influencers, and raising over $ 2 million capital from key investors. Ananda’s technology connects neurons on a chip 60 times faster than they can grow in vivo. Their patented devices have reduced reagent costs by 90% and increased experimental yield by 200x. The company has sold over 3,000 organs-on-a-chip, with the global market expected to grow 69.4% a year to reach over $6 billion by 2025. Margaret said "I had been a scientist all my life. Patents and papers have a major impact only when they become a product, therapy, or tool. I’ve grown tremendously since thanks to the right support to guide me along my entrepreneurial journey.”

"I never lose sight of my mission to combine technology, entrepreneurship and hard work as powerful engines to craft, create and engineer a better world for all.

Along my trajectory, new opportunities emerged to realize this mission. And as leaders, we need to create space and momentum for such opportunities. For example, last year I worked hard with a multidisciplinary team to create more space for social and environmental endeavours, to broaden our support and empower entrepreneurs who pursue more than just economic impact, for those who balance it with social and environmental ideals. As a result we launched Balsam Impact, an incubator that serves as a fertile ground to shape a new wave of entrepreneurs.

In my most recent endeavour I continue to focus on the same mission: how to combine technology, entrepreneurship and hard work this time to improve the life of autistic community. Approximately 1 in 66 children and youth are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Canada. For the whole society, the diagnosis can involve significant emotional and financial challenges. There is an urgent opportunity to improve the health and well-being of Canadian children, youth, adults and their families and communities, and to better foster a pluralistic society.

Being focused and true to a mission that is powerful enough to guide your actions and dreams is my leadership advice. To pursue an honest and powerful mission can lead you to incredible results but more importantly, a positive impact in the world"

"The future is uncertain - and will always be, no matter how well we plan for it. Still, at Concordia University we want to shape our present and look positively ahead with a sense of agency. As a next-generation university, we intentionally exercise our future thinking capacity and use it to rethink rigid structures, improve our competitive advantage and, more importantly, dream boldly.

What will the 6-10 year-olds of today want or need in 2035 and what will higher education look like for them? By 2030, 1 in 6 people in the world will be aged 60 years or over. Immigration will overtake growth in the population, not childbirth. What will be the role of education, entrepreneurship, science and innovation in that scenario?

With my team, I lead a Foresight Initiative that within our university fosters a mindset that encompasses creative thinking about future possibilities and systematic analysis of patterns that affect change. Foresight tools help us sense a change, communicate vision, and identify future opportunities.

What we are sure about the future is that we will continue to anticipate and influence it. This requires continual reimagining of how we measure innovation impacts and outcomes. We are not afraid to strive to think outside of the box. Even in a regulated space such as education, many times we can find that there is no box at all."