$50k Student Entrepreneur Investment Prize

Christian Levan is entering his final year at McGill University, where he is pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Economics, Computer Science & Entrepreneurship.

He has been with FRV for nearly three years currently serving as the Director of Portfolio Support, previously holding roles in Business Operations and as Quebec Director of Investments. 

His experience includes business operations roles at fintech startups such as Optionality AI (backed by Inovia) and venture capital roles at Inovia Capital, Entrepreneur First, and White Star Capital.

Martin Chaperot is a Computer Science student at l'Université de Montréal with a personal interest in ML, game development, and open source software. He spent 2 years at FRV on the Quebec Investment Team before starting his current role as the Quebec Director of Investments. He has worked at multiple startups as a software engineer and has also started 2 businesses.

Recently, he worked at FRAMEWORK Venture Partners as a Junior Analyst/Software Engineer where he was not only exposed to Series B investing, but also built out an automated CRM suite and a suite of investor relationship tools to accelerate the firm's data driven approach to VC.

Jim Texier is a Partner at FRAMEWORK. He is a seasoned Product and Technology Executive with more than 25 years of experience in AI, digital businesses and e-commerce spanning both mature and emerging markets. 

Prior to Framework, Jim held several positions as Chief Technology and Product Officer around the world. Before becoming a seasoned CTPO, Jim acted as entrepreneur and founder of two startups specialized in natural language processing and digital transformation. Passionate about AI and digital products that matter, Jim is also acting as a mentor and business angel to selected ventures and entrepreneurs. Jim holds an MSc in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from ENSEEIHT, part of the Polytechnic National Institute in France.

Emmanuelle Coppinger is passionate about new technologies and the ability of startups to improve society. She mentors and sits on the advisory boards of different early-stage startups. She is the Managing Partner of Front Row Ventures (“FRV”), Canada’s leading university-focused VC firm with a presence in more than 20 campuses across Canada. With the recent closing of their pan-Canadian oversubscribed $5.5M fund, FRV has become the largest pool of capital in Canada exclusively dedicated to investing in student-led startups. 

Emmanuelle is a community leader. She built the Canadian chapter and has been the Ambassador for Canada of Women in AI (WAI), a non-profit do-tank whose mission is to increase female representation and participation in AI. She helped build Next AI Montreal, an early stage AI-focused accelerator, as the Director of Ventures, mainly in charge of the startups recruitment, portfolio management, founders growth as well as investors and mentors relationships. Before that, she founded a travel accessories brand that she ran for 8 years and a non-profit to help promote blood platelets donation towards students.

She holds an MBA from ESSEC Business School (Paris) and started her career in auditing in France, followed by 3 years in investment banking in Australia. As managing partner of Front Row Ventures, she practices her demonstrated passion for venture backing, mentoring, and community building. Emmanuelle’s vision for FRV is to make it THE foundational platform supporting the next generation of tech talent in Canada.

Eunice Pu is entering her 3rd year of Applied Mathematics and Computer Engineering at Queen’s University.

This is her second year at FRV, working on the Ontario Investment Team as an Associate before moving into her current role as the Ontario Director of Investments. Having previously built her own non-profit, she is interested in the intersection of business, social impact and new technologies. Currently she is completing her second term at TD Bank while also preparing to complete her research in Zurich surrounding path-finding algorithms and the financial viability of Hyperloop transportation systems.

After 20 years of experience in IT for hospitals, space agencies, and city-wide storage infrastructure, Alexandre Le Bouthillier transformed his understanding of large systems to tackle the inefficiencies in healthcare.

Now, Alexandre works with world renowned AI experts and physicians to revolutionize the speed, accuracy, and ultimately clinical outcomes of patients. He is a Board Member of Mila (honorific since 2023), IVADO, MEDTEQ, Health Innovation District & Montreal InVivo.

With a Ph.D. in Parallel Computing and Optimization from the Université de Montréal, Le Bouthillier co-founded Imagia to leverage advances in artificial intelligence and accelerate the advent of accessible personalized medicine. He is co-founder and general partner at Linearis, an AI health fund to foster a collaborative, accessible, equitable and durable end-to-end health continuum.