Benjamin Bergen (he/him)

Benjamin Bergen is the executive director of the Council of Canadian Innovators, a national, non-partisan business council for the 21st century economy, led by the CEOs of Canada’s fastest growing homegrown technology scale-ups. CCI is focused on optimizing the growth of Canada’s innovation-based sector, and Benjamin leads the execution of its ambitious advocacy agenda. Shortly after his appointment to the role in 2016, he spearheaded a national advocacy effort to address Canada’s shortage of highly skilled workers. Within months, Canada unveiled the Global Skills Strategy, which included a landmark decision to expedite the processing times for highly skilled global workers. Prior to his appointment, Benjamin worked for a federal and a provincial cabinet minister and worked extensively on issues of immigration, transportation and urban development. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Benjamin obtained a B.A. from the University of Toronto, where he studied economics and political science. An advocate for community health, Benjamin cycled from Toronto to Montreal in 2014 to raise donations for and awareness of people living with HIV/AIDS.