Terry Rock is stepping down as president and CEO of Platform Calgary.
The organization announced today that Rock will leave his role on October 14.
He will take on a new role as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Alberta Innovates.
Platform Calgary Chief Operating Officer, Jen Lussier, will step in as interim-CEO effective October 15 while the board begins the search for a permanent leader.
Rock has been a central figure in Calgary’s innovation story for the past seven years. When he joined Platform Calgary in 2018, the organization was still shaping its identity and looking to anchor the city’s emerging startup community.
Under his leadership, Platform took on a more visible role, helping to connect entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, and industry partners at a time when Calgary was seeking to diversify its economy.
The opening of the Platform Innovation Centre in June 2022 was a major milestone during Rock’s tenure. Located in Calgary’s downtown, the centre has welcomed more than 200,000 visitors in just over two years and has become a focal point for the city’s technology community. Its launch marked a shift from scattered networks to a more coordinated presence in the city’s core.
During Rock’s tenure, Platform Calgary expanded its membership to more than 800 companies.
In 2024, those firms created 6,750 jobs and generated $235 million in revenue, a sign of how quickly the sector is scaling.
“On behalf of the board, I want to sincerely thank Terry Rock for his exceptional leadership and contributions to Platform Calgary and the growth of Calgary’s innovation ecosystem,” Dean Prodan, Platform Calgary Board Chair, said in a statement. “Terry has left a strong legacy, and we wish him the very best in his next chapter.”
That next chapter will see Rock stay inside Alberta’s innovation ecosystem.
By moving to Alberta Innovates, the province’s innovation agency, he will shift from a city-focused role to one with provincial scope.
Alberta Innovates recently outlined a new business plan focused on sharpening its role as a collaborator and streamlining how innovators access support. The agency has set three priorities for the next three years: making it easier for startups and researchers to navigate programs, accelerating commercialization so Alberta-made technologies reach markets faster, and modernizing its own operations so more dollars flow directly to innovators.
Its work centers on four broad focus areas: digital and emerging technologies, health and life sciences, natural resource recovery, and advanced materials and aerospace. These reflect the intersections where new industries are most likely to emerge.
“Terry is a builder at heart, and many know him from his leadership at Platform Calgary creating one of Canada’s most vibrant tech ecosystems,” Alberta Innovates said in a LinkedIn post. “Now, he’ll help us do the same on a provincial scale — strengthening collaboration, operationalizing our strategic plan, and ensuring Alberta is recognized as one of the best places in the world to start and grow an innovation-driven business.”
As Rock departs, Platform Calgary will be led on an interim basis by COO Jen Lussier. Lussier joined Platform in 2019 as a startup advisor, then moved into director and vice president roles before becoming COO two and a half years ago.
Lussier brings more than three decades of experience in Calgary’s business community, including co-founding a local startup in the construction industry. She has also been active in the community, serving on the boards of Product Calgary and the Calgary Innovation Coalition, and currently sits on the Board of Trustees for Bethany Seniors, one of Alberta’s largest not-for-profit providers of seniors’ services and affordable housing.
“The Platform Calgary Board has absolute confidence in Jennifer Lussier’s ability to step seamlessly into the interim-CEO role,” said Prodan. “Her deep knowledge of the organization and Calgary’s innovation community will ensure stability and continued support for Calgary innovators during this transition.”
Platform’s board will now begin an executive search for a permanent CEO, considering both internal and external candidates.
The transition comes at a time when Calgary’s technology sector is gaining national and international recognition. The city was recently ranked among the world’s Top 50 Emerging Ecosystems in the 2025 Startup Genome Global Startup Ecosystem Report. CBRE’s Scoring Tech Talent 2025 report placed Calgary 17th in North America for tech talent, highlighting a 61% increase in tech jobs over three years, the fastest growth rate among all markets studied.
Platform Calgary is part of a broader story of growth that includes expanding talent pools, more capital flowing into startups, and increasing visibility on the global stage. As Digital Journal reported earlier this year, Calgary’s tech sector has been able to sustain momentum despite wider economic headwinds.
