Kim Furlong, previous leading external relations for Amgen Canada, has been named the new CEO at the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA).
Furlong will be the first woman to hold the title of CEO at the CVCA, and does so after about 20 years of experience in public policy and communications. She is also a member of Equal Voice, an organization dedicated to electing more women to all levels of government, and a board member of Canada 2020, a progressive think-tank.
Furlong will be the first woman to hold the title of CEO at the CVCA.
Prior to joining CVCA, Furlong was at Amgen Canada, and was also the Vice-President Federal Government Relations for the Retail Council of Canada. She has held positions such as the Director of Communications for the Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, Pierre Pettigrew, and had an advisory role for James. S. Peterson, the Canadian International Trade Minister.
Having worked as both an official for the government and as a political appointee, Furlong said in a statement that there is “significant value in having experience on both sides of government and understanding how policy is made, and how decisions are made.”
According to The Globe and Mail, Furlong has great interest in Ottawa’s efforts to support venture investment in Canada, such as the Venture Capital Action Plan (VCAP) and Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI).
“When I hear Minister Bains talk about scaling up, I think that’s something CVCA’s members can help the government do,” Furlong told The Globe. “What does Canada need to do and the government need to do, to enable our industry to scale – to not only have the ability to start companies but to grow them?”
Mike Woollatt, previous CEO of CVCA, left in August of last year to join OMERS as the director of strategic partnerships.