Digital Journal is thrilled to welcome Benjamin Bergen, President of the Council of Canadian Innovators, to its editorial advisory committee.
This recently formed committee supports Digital Journal’s goal of connecting editorial coverage to the real conditions shaping Canadian innovation. Each advisor brings direct experience from inside companies, policy environments and leadership roles, helping surface what’s changing, what’s overlooked, and where Canada needs to pay closer attention.
Splitting his time between Vancouver and Toronto, Bergen brings a national perspective to this work.
As one of the country’s most active policy voices on innovation, he works directly with entrepreneurs and governments to address the structural challenges that affect Canada’s ability to scale its own companies and compete globally.
“Journalism about Canadian business is so important, especially in a world increasingly dominated by global multinational tech companies,” says Bergen. “Digital Journal’s work to promote and cover Canadian business and Canadian economic issues is valuable, especially in a moment where Canada’s sovereignty relies on a strong and resilient national economy.”
Bergen is President of the Council of Canadian Innovators, a national, non-partisan business council led by more than 150 CEOs of Canada’s fastest growing homegrown technology scale-ups. His work focuses on executing an ambitious economic development agenda, advocating for policy reforms and investment strategies that strengthen Canada’s innovation economy.
His collaboration with leaders in sectors such as artificial intelligence, cleantech, cybersecurity and fintech gives him a cross-sector understanding of where Canadian firms are gaining ground, and where they continue to face friction. From procurement reform and intellectual property to digital sovereignty and global competitiveness, Bergen helps turn complex policy into real-world outcomes for Canadian companies.
“Benjamin has spent years helping shape the environment Canadian innovators operate in,” says Chris Hogg, CEO and Executive Editor of Digital Journal. “He understands how policy decisions translate into business realities. His experience with the Canadian Council of Innovators adds depth to our reporting and helps ensure our editorial lens stays connected to the practical decisions that shape growth, resilience and national strategy.”
For Digital Journal, Bergen’s involvement will strengthen its ability to cover not just the ideas driving innovation, but the systems those ideas depend on. His insight will help ensure topics like economic policy, domestic procurement and regulatory clarity stay part of the national conversation about innovation and leadership.
“I look forward to discussing the importance of supporting scale-up technology companies, as a vitally important piece of Canada’s 21st century economy, driving productivity growth and wealth creation,” Bergen adds. “I’m also excited to talk about government procurement, and the role that economic policy plays in supporting Canada’s national sovereignty.”
Bergen joins Kamales Lardi, Terry Rock and Kirstine Stewart on the editorial advisory committee.
Lardi, who serves as Chair, is a digital transformation strategist based in Zurich. She brings two decades of experience helping multinational companies design and execute human-centred change with a global and corporate lens.
Rock is President and CEO of Platform Calgary. His focus is on building strong startup ecosystems and supporting founders with the resources they need to scale, especially across Western Canada.
Stewart, a Canadian media and tech executive now based in Los Angeles, brings a cross-border view shaped by leadership roles at the CBC, Twitter and the World Economic Forum. Her work connects innovation to media, policy and the future of work.
Additional committee members will be announced in the coming weeks. The group begins meeting this fall, and Digital Journal will share takeaways from those discussions to help shape a more informed national dialogue.
