SECURITY & DEFENCE INVESTING MANAGEMENT TEAM

GLENN R. COWAN

Glenn Cowan is a Canadian venture capitalist, retired special operations officer, accomplished investor, adventurer, father, and skydiving world record holder.
Glenn founded ONE9 in 2013 while serving as an Assaulter Officer in Joint Task Force 2 and has grown ONE9 into one of Canada’s leading defense and security ecosystems with a focus on investing in dual-use technologies that are validated by national security end-users.
Having deployed on multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, sensitive information operations in the Middle East and hostage recovery efforts in Africa, he experienced first-hand how decisive action, technological implementation and high-functioning teams are a force multiplier for success. Glenn sits on the board of Ventus Respiratory Technologies, and holds board observer positions with Tomahawk Robotics, Strider, and Hidden Level.
Glenn is a graduate of McGill University, The Army Operations Course, The Special Operations Assaulters Course, Canadian Securities Course, and Ivey’s Executive Leadership program.

WES BLACKWELL

Wes Blackwell has nearly a decade of experience investing in dual-use and defense technology across two leading platforms. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy and holder of an MBA from University of Virginia Darden School of Business, he is a former U.S. and U.K. Naval Aviator, having completed a four-year diplomatic exchange with the Royal Navy. He maintains an active U.S. TS/SCI clearance and has multiple combat deployments, including two with NATO as the lone American.
Following early operating roles in technology and private equity, he transitioned into venture capital at Scout Ventures, where he led the firm’s strategic pivot into national security, now a core leader in national security technology. He was subsequently recruited to Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH), where he founded and built Booz Allen Ventures, a $300M corporate venture platform, deploying nearly $100M into high-impact companies. He also co-founded AIN Ventures, the only investment syndicate and fund comprising alumni from all five U.S. Service Academies.
He is based in Cascais, Portugal, strategically positioned between Washington, D.C., the U.K., Ukraine, and the broader European market, where he is happily married and the father of two young children.

WIN BEAR

Win Bear is a Managing Director on Kensington’s venture capital investment team. Prior to joining Kensington, Win spent 20 years in commercial banking, specifically focused on the innovation sector. Win has worked closely with Canadian and US-based VC firms and growth equity firms, while actively supporting tech and life sciences/healthcare companies ranging from seed- stage companies to large private companies and public companies.
Win joined Kensington after a 15-year career with Silicon Valley Bank, where he led SVB’s Canada growth initiatives, relocating to Toronto as Head of Business Development for all SVB business units across Canada. He previously held senior business development roles at SVB in the Boston and Carolinas region.
Win holds a BA in English and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

MICHAEL M. SMITH

Prior to joining ONE9 in 2022, Michael spent over 12 years in the Canadian Armed Forces as a member of the Office of the Judge Advocate General, advising commanders in multiple roles, including Military Justice Policy, Information and Intelligence Operations, as well as a secondment to the Privy Council Office – Legal Services Sector.
Michael deployed on the first rotation of Operation IMPACT in 2014 as part of Canada’s contribution to the fight against ISIS. It was during his time advising on Royal Canadian Air Force targeting operations in the Combined Air Operations Centre that Michael was able to see first-hand the possibilities, and limits, of technology in the modern battlespace.
Michael is a graduate of Upper Canada College, Western University, Michigan State University College of Law, the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, and the NATO School. He completed a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in 2019 with a concentration in National Security and International Humanitarian Law, focusing on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems. He is a returning lecturer on the Law of Targeting at Carleton University.

MATTHEW LOMBARDI

Matthew is a former partner at TELUS Global Ventures (TGV), one of the world’s most active corporate VCs. He stood up the fund’s platform services team, responsible for driving value creation across TGV’s global portfolio of direct equity investments (AUM $950M).
He is the co-founder of The Icebreaker, Canada’s defence innovation network.
Prior to TGV, Matthew was the Managing Director of OneEleven, a post-seed accelerator in Toronto. Before leading OneEleven, he co-founded GroceryHero, worked in Europe for the United Nations, and as a management consultant at Deloitte. He served 4 years as a Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
He is an instructor in the Schulich School of Business MBA in Technology Leadership at York University, a board director of the Toronto Zoo, and an active angel investor. He holds an MSc from the London School of Economics.

GEORGE HOYEM

George Hoyem is a seasoned leader with over 25 years of experience in venture capital, entrepreneurship, and the national security intelligence markets. As the recent EVP of Investments at In-Q-Tel (IQT) for the past 15 years, the strategic venture capital arm of the CIA and broader Intelligence Community, George has been instrumental in bridging the gap between startups and national security technology needs. He Led IQT’s investment team, overseeing strategies for +70 new investments annually in critical areas such as GenAI, Advanced Analytics, Cloud, Cybersecurity, Advanced Compute and IT infrastructure. George has personally led +40 investments and served on their boards providing market, financial and strategic guidance. His leadership extends to the broader venture capital community, having served on the Board of Directors of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) for four years, where he advocated for policies supporting entrepreneurship and VC-backed companies.
His prior roles include leadership positions at VC firms like Blueprint Ventures, Redleaf, and El Dorado Ventures, and serving as a General Manager at Verifone and Hewlett Packard. George’s extensive leadership experience, including his TS-SCI Top Secret Clearance, positions him as a valuable asset for companies seeking to expand in the national security and defense markets.

DAVIN MICHAELIS

Davin Michaelis was raised in Albuquerque New Mexico and enlisted in the US Army in 1999. He began his distinguished career with the 75th Ranger Regiment and, in 2008, was selected for a subsequent US Army Special Operations posting. Throughout 20+ deployments to the Middle East and North Africa, Davin played pivotal roles in all phases of the post-9/11 conflicts to include the evacuation of Afghanistan during the August 2021 withdrawal.
In recognition of his extensive national security and operational expertise, Davin was appointed as the Special Operations Liaison Officer to the Intelligence Community in Washington, DC for his final assignment. In this capacity, he coordinated special operations missions and intelligence at the highest levels of government.
His exemplary service has earned him numerous accolades, including the Bronze Star with V Device and multiple FBI Shields of Bravery. His unique background and experience in the most sensitive and high-risk national security and intelligence operations makes him a highly authoritative and battle proven leader in the National Security domain.
Davin holds a Master of Business Administration from Georgetown University and is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society. Davin additionally holds a BS in Arabic from Excelsior College and maintains the ability to read, write and speak Arabic at a 1+/2 level.
Davin was a venture fellow at Squadra Ventures, a DC-based National Security investment fund.
For the next few years, Davin will be based in Warsaw, Poland where he will support numerous military innovation networks.

DANIEL WEINAND

Daniel Weinand is a German-born Canadian entrepreneur, investor, photographer, poker player and music composer.
In 2004 Daniel co-founded and launched Shopify, an online business based in Ottawa, Canada. This modest business was shaped into a publicly-traded company, a globally renowned, award-winning e-commerce software giant.
Following his retirement from Shopify in 2017, he redirected his creativity and business acumen to other areas including co-founding a film studio in L.A., launching a new indie video game studio in 2019 called “No Cartridge”, and becoming more heavily involved in philanthropic activities.

INSTITUTIONAL GOVERNANCE

TOM KENNEDY

Tom Kennedy is the founder of Kensington Capital Partners and Chair of the Investment Committee. Tom serves on the Advisory Boards of several private equity funds and private companies and has been an active supporter of the Private Equity and Venture Capital business in Canada.
His public service and philanthropic work has been longstanding and focused on education and healthcare.
Tom’s previous experience includes 10 years in operational and management positions with Consolidation Coal Co and Alberta Energy Company. He has investment banking experience as a senior executive with Bunting Warburg, Lancaster and TD Securities.
Tom holds a B Sc Eng. from Queen’s University and a DBA from the University of Edinburgh and is a professional engineer.

ASH LAWRENCE

Ash Lawrence is Head of AGF Capital Partners, AGF Management Limited’s multi-boutique diversified alternatives business with extensive capabilities across both private assets and alternative strategies. He is also a member of AGF’s Executive Management Team (EMT) where he participates in the development and execution of AGF’s overall business strategy providing insight and vision that promotes AGF’s long-term growth. Additionally, Ash serves as AGF’s EMT sponsor for AGF Investments’ Office of the CIO (OCIO). In this role, he provides counsel and direction to the OCIO on corporate direction, strategic planning and decision-making. Ash is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of experience and a wide breadth of expertise in alternative investments and portfolio management across sectors. As Head of AGF Capital Partners, Ash and his team identify tenured managers with demonstrated investment expertise in their fields, structuring partnerships to offer long-term strategic support, resources and capital to sustain and enhance the partners’ growth. Ash and his team are continually looking to diversify and expand the business’ capabilities and alternatives offerings to meet clients’ evolving needs. Prior to joining AGF Investments, Ash spent 16 years with Brookfield Asset Management working in real estate investments and portfolio management in North America and Brazil, ultimately leading the Canadian real estate business. Ash also has experience in financing municipal infrastructure projects and developing infrastructure and transportation solutions for private and public sector clients.
He earned an MBA from the Rotman School of Management and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Waterloo. Ash sits on numerous Boards and is a member of the America’s Executive Committee and a Global Governing Trustee for the Urban Land Institute.

OPERATIONS

JEREMY CONSTANTINEAU

Jeremy is a multidisciplinary creative specializing in brand identity design, typographic systems, and visual communication.
His work focuses on helping organizations communicate clearly and effectively through intentional, purpose-driven design. Throughout his career, Jeremy has conceptualized and designed the visual identity of multiple startups and small businesses across Canada and the US. Jeremy’s work is characterized by a strong emphasis on objective, functional design with clear hierarchical structure.
At ONE9, Jeremy leads creative initiatives across the full scope of visual execution, including brand identity, graphic design, and photo/video production. As the son of a JTF2 Assaulter/Sniper, Jeremy is passionate about supporting the emerging and disruptive technologies that enable the warfighter.

ANI TOURIAN

Ani Tourian is a CPA, CA with over 30 years’ experience in public accounting and industry including a five-year stint as a tax specialist.
Ani is currently the principal at Ascentrack and has been providing virtual CFO services to companies operating in different industries, including service organizations, product and technology companies, not-for-profits and retail.
Prior to that, Ani was the CFO at SkyWave, a satellite communications company, where she during different times of her 9-year tenure she led the Manufacturing, Corporate Development, IT/IS services, Human Resources and Accounting and Finance Groups. In her role at SkyWave Ani helped manage the process that resulted in the sale of SkyWave producing strong returns for its shareholders.
Ani strongly believes, and has proven, that Finance can become a business partner and that communication, transparency and proper planning can help set a company up for success.

KELLY MOULTON

Kelly Moulton is an accomplished entrepreneur and investor with over two decades of experience across technology, venture capital, and corporate strategy. A co-founder of Bottle Rocket, a SaaS pioneer acquired by NASDAQ-listed ACTV Inc., Kelly has a proven track record of building and scaling innovative businesses. He further honed his expertise as part of the capital formation and investment team at Antfactory, a $350 million pan-European seed-to-Series A tech fund, and as the Founding CEO of a gaming company backed by the Barclay family, where he achieved profitability in the first year and the company resulted in a successful trade sale.
In 2007, Kelly moved to Norway and established a co-investment partnership with Vegard Sævik, Chairman of Havila, a leading shipping enterprise. His advisory roles include guiding National Grid Partners on a fund spinout and currently serving as Head of Capital Formation (consulting) at WAVE Equity Partners. He also advises Lerøy Seafood on their venture investment initiative, “100% Fish.” He holds a BA and MA from the University of Virginia.

STRATEGIC ADVISORS

GEN (RETD) RICK HILLIER

General Rick Hillier is a retired Canadian Forces officer who served as Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) from 2005 to 2008. His strong leadership and direct communication style, were pivotal in reshaping the Canadian military, emphasizing its combat readiness and modernizing its capabilities. He led Canadian forces during key operations in Afghanistan and was instrumental in fostering public support for the military. Post-retirement, Rick Hillier remains an influential figure, working as a public speaker, author, and advocate for veterans' causes. His leadership legacy continues to impact Canada’s military and defence policies.
Always putting the needs of his soldier’s first, General Hillier supports ONE9 in our quest to invest and innovate the best technologies and capabilities for the next generation of the Canadian Armed Forces.

PETER MACKAY

Peter MacKay is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who held several high-profile Government roles, including Minister of National Defence, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Justice and Attorney General. He was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and played a crucial role in uniting his Party and the Canadian Alliance, which led to the formation of the modern Conservative Party of Canada. During his tenure as Minister of Defence (2007-2013), he oversaw Canada's mission in Afghanistan and implemented strategically important defence reforms. Since leaving politics in 2015, MacKay has worked in law and public affairs, remaining a prominent voice in Canadian politics.
One of Canada’s most prolific modern-day statesmen, MacKay gives Canada a strategic and credible voice on the global stage. MacKay was the founder of the Halifax International Security Forum, hosted annually and helping to elevate Canada’s role in global security discussions. He remains a staunch supporter of the Canadian Armed Forces, veterans, and the community through his involvement with Special Olympics Canada, Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada and Wounded Warriors Canada.
Peter lives with his wife Nazanin, a human rights advocate, and their three children in Nova Scotia

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