On November 17, 2022, Shawn Abbott was recognized with the Rod Charko Service Award as part of the 2022 Start Alberta Tech Awards. The Rod Charko Service Award recognizes an individual who has gone above and beyond for the venture capital and technology ecosystem in Alberta.
Shawn Abbott is a Partner and Co-founder of Inovia Capital and an active member of the Alberta tech community. Shawn leads the firm’s Alberta presence and contributes extensive experience as a coach and advisor to portfolio companies in Alberta including Symend. He also mentors founders through CETAC-WEST and Venture Mentoring Services in Alberta, and is a founding member of The A100.
Allie Charko accepts the Rod Charko Service Award on Shawn Abbott’s behalf.
“I co-founded Inovia capital about 15 years ago and we’ve grown to a team of 50 people, which allows me to focus on what I find most rewarding these days: working with those founders that are really committed to building enduring global leaders in their category,” explains Shawn. “I partner with founders to build companies that really do matter and that create thousands of high-quality careers. And I’m just honoured to have this great platform of Inovia with our ops team across multiple areas to support in that.”
Shawn is also past Chair of the Venture Capital Association of Alberta and Banff Venture Forum. Shawn is also a long-time associate of Creative Destruction Lab and a member of Dean Meddings’ advisory board at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine.
The Rod Charko Service award was created by the VCAA and community members to honour the late Rod Charko, the former CEO of Alberta Enterprise Corporation. Rod had a vision for the Alberta Technology Ecosystem where technology companies, investors and mentors would collaborate and work towards a common goal of enhancing the ecosystem in Alberta. Rod was instrumental in the formation of many of the groups that have gone on to continue his work, including The A100, AccelerateAB, the Accelerate Fund, and the VCAA. Rod passed away mid-2012 before he could see his vision come to fruition.
The VCAA sponsors this award in an effort to support the entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to positively impacting Alberta’s tech and investment industry. Previous winners of this meaningful award include John Pinsent, Carey Houston, Alice Reimer, Ray Muzyka, Evan Hu, and Zack Storms.
The VCAA works tirelessly as the industry association for venture capital, private equity, angel investors to grow the investment industry in Alberta, and provides networking and educational opportunities and events for those interested in furthering the industry in the province.
Start Alberta is committed to helping the businesses and communities within our province’s tech sector thrive and grow. Since 2018, the Start Alberta Tech Awards have recognized individuals and organizations for their contributions to Alberta’s innovation ecosystem and those significantly impacting the province’s tech sector. The Start Alberta Platform connects our province’s innovation and tech ecosystem with data to help investors, entrepreneurs and policymakers with the insights needed to make their next, big move.
View the full list of 2022 winners here.
