The51 Fund I and Fund II
General Partner Advisory

The51 leverages a network of highly skilled, influential and well-regarded women to guide their investment decisions. These women are leaders amongst The51 network and play a significant role in sharing their knowledge and passion through The51 programs.

Judy Fairburn
Co-Founder and General Partner

Judy is a corporate board director and Creative Destruction Lab Fellow. She has C-suite business experience, recently as Chief Digital Officer and EVP Business Innovation. A pioneer in corporate/ entrepreneurial open innovation, she co-founded a $100 million digital/cleantech venture fund. Judy also led substantial change as the first Chair of the consolidated Alberta Innovates, enabling innovation across the health, energy, agriculture and digital sectors.

Elizabeth Cannon

Dr. Elizabeth Cannon is president emerita and professor, geomatics engineering at the University of Calgary after serving as president and vice chancellor from July, 2010 until December, 2018. Prior to her term as president, Dr. Cannon served as dean of the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary. An expert in Geomatics Engineering and Professional Engineer, Dr. Cannon’s research has been on the forefront of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) since 1984 in both industrial and academic environments, and she has commercialized technology to over 200 agencies worldwide. Dr. Cannon is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Canadian Academy of Engineering as well as an elected foreign associate of the National Academy of Engineering. Previously, she was a member of the federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development’s Science, Technology and Innovation Council (STIC) in addition to many other boards and advisory councils.

In 1998, Dr. Cannon was selected as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 and in 2006 was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network.

Kelly Matheson-King

Kelly is a pioneer in renewable energy with over 20 years’ experience, playing a key leadership role in the development of many wind, solar and hydropower “firsts” in Canada. Leveraging her strong technical and athletic background, Kelly builds successful teams and companies which achieve outstanding results from a foundation of strong culture. Kelly is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of BluEarth Renewables, a leading North American renewable energy company with a portfolio of over 1 GW operating and 5 GW of projects in development, and consistently recognized as one of Canada’s top employers. Kelly is a mentor at Creative Destruction Lab, a founding member of and mentor with Nature Canada’s Women for Nature, and a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors.  

Manpreet Deol

Manpreet Deol is passionate about elevating the Canadian technology ecosystem, with a keen focus on supporting the underserved. Currently, Manpreet is an investor on Inovia’s Venture Team, where she supports category-leading Seed and Series A technology startups in North America. Manpreet has previously designed next generation fitness wearable devices and is involved in multilateral policy making, most recently with the OECD’s Youth Advisory Board, where she focused on the future of work, digital connectivity, and emerging technologies. She is grounded in analytical methods, having completed her undergraduate degree in Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Calgary. As a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, she completed an MBA and an MSc, where her thesis examined the development practices of Facial Recognition Technologies at the Oxford Internet Institute.

Dr. Niki Panich, MD, FCFP, MDSA, MSx

Dr. Niki Panich is a family physician with specialized skills in women’s health, antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, and newborn care. She enjoys working with a diverse, high-needs patient population in Calgary, Canada.  

She has completed Master’s in Data Science and Analytics, and a Master’s in Management and Innovation at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Niki is passionate about levering data and technology to improve clinical outcomes. 

Dr. Panich is a Clinical Consultant for Carelon  Digital Platforms at Elevance Health (Anthem) providing clinical expertise in the development of cutting-edge technology for health care integration.  She also serves as a corporate medical director for Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Panich recently completed a seven-year term as the Board Chair of Mosaic Primary Care Network, where she oversaw operational risk mitigation and board governance for 400,000 patients and 350 physicians. She continues to work at the intersection of primary and specialty care.

Stacey Fruitman

Stacey Fruitman has been focused on sustainability for almost 20 years with an initial focus on Green Building. Stacey launched Style with Substance in 2015, to help bridge the gap between investment, innovation and sustainability in the fashion industry. She has a passion for working with entrepreneurs and has made over 20 angel investments, with the majority being female-founded. Stacey is an Advisor with the MaRS Women in Cleantech accelerator, an Advisor at the Toronto Metropolitan University Fashion Zone, and an Executive in Residence at the Fashioneering Lab. Earlier in Stacey's career she worked for 5 years at a NYC based internet start-up and then for Canada's largest condominium developer, Tridel.