A Company on a Mission

Geordie Rose

Co-Founder & CEO

Geordie Rose co-founded Sanctuary in 2018 and is our CEO. Prior to Sanctuary, Geordie founded D­-Wave, the world’s first quantum computing company, and was the CEO of Kindred, the world’s first robotics company to use reinforcement learning in a production environment. He has sold quantum computers and robots to Google, NASA, Lockheed Martin, Gap Inc., and several US government agencies. He was named the 2011 Canadian Innovator of the Year, was listed on Foreign Policy Magazine’s 100 Leading Global Thinkers in 2013, and won the 2014 Canadian Technology Leader award.

Geordie holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of British Columbia. He is a two-time Canadian national wrestling champion, is a member of the McMaster University Hall of Fame, and was the winner of the 2010 NAGA masters white belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu world championships in both gi and no-gi categories.

Suzanne Gildert

Co-Founder & CTO

Suzanne Gildert co-founded Sanctuary in 2018 and is our CTO. Before Sanctuary, Suzanne founded Kindred, the world’s first robotics company to use reinforcement learning in a production environment. The acquisition of Kindred by Ocado in November 2020 was the third-largest exit for a robotics company in Canadian history. Prior to Kindred, Suzanne ran technical marketing at D-Wave, where she worked on porting AI algorithms to D-Wave’s quantum annealing hardware. During that time Suzanne invented and implemented MAXCAT, the world’s first game ever played against a quantum computer, worked on the world’s first supervised classifier run on a quantum computer, and was the first person to control the motion of a robot using a quantum computer. 

Suzanne holds a Ph.D. in experimental physics from the University of Birmingham. Suzanne is a published digital artist and poet, has worked as a graphic designer, and pioneered a technique for creating art using a quantum computer. She loves painting using acrylic on canvas, mixed media, digital painting, and tapestry. She also creates electronic music, inspired by retro video games and the synthwave genre.

Ajay Agrawal

Co-Founder & Director

Ajay Agrawal co-founded Sanctuary in 2018 and serves as a director on our board. He is a scholar of the economics of machine intelligence and the commercialization of science. Ajay is a co-author of “Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence” (Harvard Business Press, 2018) co-editor of “The Economics of Artificial Intelligence: An Agenda” (University of Chicago Press, 2019), and co-author of "Power & Prediction: The Disruptive economics of Artificial Intelligence" (Harvard Business Press, 2022).

Ajay is the founder of the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) and co-founder of Next AI, both not-for-profit programs dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs in transforming their science projects into scalable, financeable businesses; graduates of these programs have generated over $20B in equity value. Ajay has served on the U.S. National Academies Committee on Science and Innovation Leadership for the 21st Century, on the International Advisory Committee for the National Institute for Information and Communications Technology, Japan’s sole R&D agency specializing in ICT, and on the Advisory Board of Carnegie Mellon University's Block Center for Technology and Society.

Ajay was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2022 for his contributions as a scholar, mentor, and entrepreneur. His work has been recognized for enhancing Canada’s productivity and prosperity through innovation and entrepreneurship. He has also been listed as one of the 50 Most Powerful People in Canadian Business by the Globe and Mail.

Martin Reed

Director

A longtime Silicon Valley executive and investor, Marty Reed moved to Vancouver in 2015 to launch Evok Innovations. Prior to Evok, Marty was a Partner with The Roda Group, a San Francisco Bay Area-based, early-stage venture capital firm focused on clean technology. In that capacity, Marty lead investments and served on the board of directors for mOasis, Inventys, Gridtential, and Axine. Prior to joining The Roda Group, Marty held senior leadership positions at Roda Group companies Cardstore.com (acquired by American Greetings), Game Ready, and Ask Jeeves (acquired by InterActiveCorp). Marty holds an MBA from John F. Kennedy University and a BSc in Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon, and began his career as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy.

Mark Evans

Director

Mark is currently on the Investment Committee at Kindred Capital, a European seed-stage venture fund, based in London. He was an EIR at Benchmark Capital and a partner at Benchmark Europe/Balderton Capital from 1999 through 2015. Prior to entering the technology startup world, he worked at Goldman Sachs. He studied Economics at both The University of Oxford and Queen’s University in Canada.

Dave Cummings

Director

Dave lives in Vancouver BC and currently leads the digital, technology revenue management functions for Finning, the world's largest caterpillar dealership. He is also an independent director currently serving on the board of the Canadian TSX listed Company ATS Automation as well as boards for not-for-profit technology organizations such as BCTech. Dave is passionate about the possibilities of technology with a focus as a positive force in traditional industries. Originally from the United Kingdom, Dave completed his B.Sc. and MBA in the UK before embarking on a multinational ex-pat career within the energy, chemicals, and heavy equipment industry.

John Watson

Director

John Watson leads Bell’s Customer Operations, Field Services, and other service teams as Group President, Customer Experience. Leveraging industry-leading investments in talent development, big data, analytics, and machine learning, Mr. Watson is delivering an improved Bell residential and wireless customer experience. A leader in organizational development, Mr. Watson has lectured on business strategy, customer experience, big data, marketing, leadership, and talent development. He holds an MBA from the Schulich School at York University.