Sheldon McCormick, formerly of proptech startup Properly and Uber Canada, has been tapped to serve as Communitech’s new permanent CEO.
The leadership change comes after a round of layoffs and as the Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. organization looks to refocus from an ambitious national agenda to its roots as a local effort.
McCormick most recently co-founded and served as COO of Properly, a Toronto-based digital real-estate brokerage and search platform.
McCormick will replace interim CEO Jennifer Gruber, who will return to her original role as CFO. Gruber was tapped to lead the Kitchener-Waterloo innovation hub in October after the departure of Chris Albinson at the end of 2024.
McCormick’s appointment follows a months-long search led by Communitech’s board of directors and executive search firm Korn Ferry, Communitech said.
McCormick most recently co-founded and served as COO of Properly, a Toronto-based digital real-estate brokerage and search platform. Properly was acquired by digital mortgage broker Pine in 2023 for an undisclosed amount, while McCormick and his co-founder exited the company in a separate transaction. Properly had raised roughly $60 million in funding, excluding a $100 million credit facility from Silicon Valley Bank and i80 Group.
Before founding Properly in 2018, McCormick launched UberX in Canada and was the general manager for Uber in Ontario. He worked as a consultant at Monitor Group (now Monitor Deloitte) after graduating from Queen’s University with a bachelor of commerce, according to his LinkedIn.
Michael Doughty, Communitech board member and chair of the selection committee, said in a statement that McCormick’s startup and large-scale business background made him “the ideal fit to help guide Communitech’s next chapter.”
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In an interview with BetaKit, McCormick said that his empathy for founders was a primary motivator in taking this job. “I have an understanding of what it’s like to go from zero to one,” he said. “I am really grateful to have the opportunity to be able to stand in their corner with Communitech.”
New leadership, renewed focus
McCormick takes over Communitech after a period of leadership changes and staff reductions. Multiple sources told BetaKit that more than 15 people were laid off in the weeks leading up to McCormick’s appointment. In a statement to BetaKit, Gruber confirmed that some roles had been “impacted” due to an “evolving and uncertain economic landscape,” but did not confirm how many. McCormick also acknowledged that the management team had to make “really tough choices” as all businesses, including startups, face uncertainty stemming from the Canada-United States (US) trade war.
McCormick said that under his leadership, Communitech plans to “reorient” towards supporting founders in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. An internal Communitech report viewed by BetaKit showed that company formation in the region was down 80 percent in 2022 from its peak in 2014. The report noted that company formation is a leading indicator for the long-term health of the innovation ecosystem.
“We’re going to take some time to embrace the community [and] spend the time to get to know where the challenges are and where folks need us to support them,” McCormick said.
This marks a slight divergence from his predecessor, Albinson, who spearheaded the True North Strategy that sought to help 14 founders across the country reach $1 billion in annual revenue by 2030.
As part of the strategy, Communitech launched the True North Fund, a $200-million, sector-agnostic, growth-stage-focused VC fund. At the time, Communitech told BetaKit that the fund would be a separate entity managed by members of the hub, designed to invest in 30 companies across Canada over 10 years, with initial cheque sizes of $1 million to $5 million and potential for follow-on investment of up to $30 million. With his departure, Albinson moved to managing the fund full-time alongside Sean Brownlee.
The Logic reported last year that Albinson’s True North Strategy for Communitech, and the True North Fund in particular, created rifts at Communitech and within the Kitchener-Waterloo tech community. Some questioned whether the fund’s national focus would exclude early-stage local investments—a notion Albinson rejected in his comments to The Logic.
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Initially branded as a Communitech-affiliated investment vehicle, Albinson confirmed to BetaKit in the fall that the fund is independent but maintains a partnership agreement with Communitech.
Albinson announced he would leave Communitech in October after three and a half years at the helm. Just before that, Communitech added four new members to its board: Magnet Forensics CEO Adam Belsher, Accelerator Centre CEO Ruth Casselman, Mappedin founder and CEO Hongwei Liu, and former National Research Council of Canada president Iain Stewart.
The hub’s 2024 annual report, unveiled in September, outlined a “refreshed vision for the next three years” that emphasized supporting “Canada’s high-performing companies as they scale into global superstars.”
McCormick told BetaKit that while his mandate aligns with some aspects of this report, Communitech will also embrace change under his tenure.
“I mean to approach the role with a founder mindset, and that means clarity of focus, ruthless prioritization, and embracing change,” McCormick said. “I can tell you that the board, which is made up of several local founders, have given me the mandate to ensure that we evolve.”
Founded in 1997, Communitech has sought to support tech founders in the Kitchener-Waterloo region through several iterations. Financed by a combination of government and private partners, Communitech’s website claims that the organization currently serves more than 1,200 members.
Feature image courtesy Communitech.