The head of Canadian tech’s loudest advocacy group is leaving to lead another key industry association at a pivotal moment for tech founders and the investors who fund them.
John Ruffolo,
“Ben has done a great job capturing the trust of public policy makers. He’s going to use a lot of the great lessons learned to reinvigorate CVCA.”
CCI
Benjamin Bergen, president and CEO of scaleup lobby group the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), will become the next CEO of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA), the organizations announced today. He will start the new position on January 5 and transition to a board seat at CCI.
In an interview with BetaKit on Friday, Bergen said the move wasn’t an easy decision. “CCI is on really strong footing and there are fantastic leaders within that organization,” Bergen said, adding that more details on his successor would come soon.
Bergen has led CCI since the business council’s inception, first as executive director, then as president. At CCI, Bergen was an ardent advocate for its 175 member companies on government policy items on procurement, tax credit reform, artificial intelligence, and immigration.
The move to CVCA, Bergen said, was an opportunity to switch his focus from representing Canadian tech firms to the investor ecosystem that funds them, at a moment of global change and increased focus on Canada’s economic sovereignty.
“Access to capital has been such a huge issue for our member companies,” Bergen said, referring to CCI. “Figuring out how to recapitalize Canada is really critical.”
CCI was founded and is co-chaired by former BlackBerry co-CEO Jim Balsillie and Maverix Private Equity founder and managing partner John Ruffolo. The group has also helped launch the policy think tank Canadian SHIELD and for-profit lobbying group Signa Strategies, which also represents tech companies.
RELATED: Canadian tech sees #Budget2025 as “about-face” from last government’s stance on business
“It has become the single most important voice on behalf of technology entrepreneurs in this country,” Ruffolo told BetaKit on Friday, crediting Bergen and vice-presidents Dana O’Born and Patrick Searle. “Ben has done a great job capturing the trust of public policy makers. He’s going to use a lot of the great lessons learned to reinvigorate CVCA.”
CVCA, the industry association that lobbies on behalf of Canada’s investor class, has been without a leader since July. In May, CEO Kim Furlong stepped down after six years at the helm. Furlong led the organization through COVID-19-related economic upheaval, the tech investment boom of 2021, and a subsequent downturn in VC investment that has lasted years.
When she announced her departure, Furlong told BetaKit that the CVCA was nearing the end of its three-year plan under her tenure and was gearing up to develop a five-year strategy. “I just felt, for me, but also for the organization, that it was time for someone else to step in,” she said at the time.
Founded in 1974, CVCA represents the interests of more than 350 venture capital (VC) and private equity firms and produces market reports on the state of Canada’s investment landscape. Bergen is tasked with setting up CVCA’s new three-year strategy, which was meant to drop this fall, CVCA vice-chair Dino DeLuca told BetaKit.
DeLuca, chief operating officer at private equity firm TriWest Capital Partners, told BetaKit that they tapped Bergen for his strong advocacy background and his “deep understanding of the private capital ecosystem.” DeLuca is set to take over as CVCA board chair in May.
Bergen is joining CVCA at what some call a pivotal moment for Canadian VC. Multiple reports indicated a shrinking early-stage pipeline, anxieties about fund performance, and a chilly fundraising market, particularly emerging managers. According to data compiled by the CVCA, the first half of 2025 hit its lowest level of VC investment activity since 2020, while pre-seed and seed funding has continued to decline. Fewer, larger deals boosted numbers this past quarter.
RELATED: Fewer, larger financings give Canadian VC a boost in Q3 as domestic PE stays hot
Ruffolo told BetaKit that access to capital has become a “serious issue” again, similar to the years leading up to 2011. “We had a good decade, and we’re reverting back to those dark days,” he said. “I’m very concerned.”
In Bergen’s view, there are “perennial” problems, like a lack of later-stage capital, as well as new headwinds related to Canada’s wider economy—both of which he plans to tackle. One of his first moves is a “listening tour” to figure out what’s top of mind for CVCA members, then to plan out advocacy based on these suggestions.
“The role of CVCA is to help its members get superior returns,” Bergen said. “There’s a tremendous amount of policy levers to support that. If you have stronger firms, you get superior returns.”
DeLuca sees the Canadian VC ecosystem as “divided,” as member firms investing at different stages require different forms of policy support. “I think the CVCA has to do a better job of advocating for the different components within the VC space,” he said.
CCI and CVCA may be different organizations, but Bergen sees them as part of the same innovation flywheel—where policy that helps investment firms begets domestic company success.
“It’s all interconnected,” Bergen said. “We’ve got to get really good at all of it if we want to actually place and get a gold medal.”
Feature image courtesy Council of Canadian Innovators.