Sabrina Geremia is taking over as head of Google’s Canadian operations, according to a report from The Financial Post.
Geremia has been filling in as interim-leader since July when Sam Sebastian, the company’s previous country director, left to work for The Weather Network’s parent company Pelmorex.
“We are at this moment with machine learning and artificial intelligence really taking off, and there are a lot of conditions for success here with the government really leaning into it, and lots of interesting startups,” Geremia told the Post.
“The solutions of the future are made with creativity, diverse perspectives and people from different places working together.”
Geremia has a longstanding relationship with Google — 11 years to be precise — including her role as managing director of integrated solutions. In her new role as the Canadian head, she will be focusing on three main goals: helping businesses grow in the country using Google services, supporting the Canadian tech sector, and providing resources for growth in digital skills among youth and young women.
Geremia has 22 years of international experience in marketing, public relations, and sales at companies including Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, and Ask Jeeves. She believes Canada’s diversity is what makes it a leader in new technology like machine learning and artificial technology.
“The really neat thing setting us apart is our ability to collaborate, and really our ability to also leverage our diversity,” she said. “A lot of incubators are getting together to help startups go further faster, such as through sharing playbooks, trying to find out how they can work together to connect to funding or even bringing Google in to deliver training.”
In addition to her role at Google, Geremia is a board member with Ryerson University’s DMZ, an advisor on the City of Toronto Innovation Economy Advisory Council, and a member of Move The Dial, which encourages more women to enter the tech space.
“The solutions of the future are made with creativity, diverse perspectives and people from different places working together. If we can do that and we can execute it… then I think we are on to a winner,” Geremia said.
