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Alison Nankivell is CEO of MaRS Discovery District, North America's largest urban innovation hub and Canada's leading science and technology ecosystem. MaRS supported companies have raised over $19B in capital, generated over $11.5B in net revenues and contributed over $29.6B to Canada's GDP since 2010, now employing over 33.000 across various sectors including climate, health and AI.

With over 25 years of experience in business, investment and fostering innovation, Alison has held pivotal roles at institutions such as the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Export Development Canada where she managed multi-billion dollar portfolios.

Until March 2024, she served as Senior Vice President, Fund Investments and Global Scaling and led the indirect investments of BDC Capital, which is one of Canada’s largest venture and growth equity fund investors with more than $5 billion of assets under management. In this role she was also responsible for BDC Capital's strategic initiatives focused on environmental, social and governance and the global expansion strategy for the bank’s most high potential direct investments, particularly as it relates to the Asia market.

Before joining BDC, she was Director, Funds Asia with Teachers’ Private Capital, the private investment arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. She also spent 14 years with Export Development Canada (EDC), where she helped build out its Canadian and Asian private equity and venture capital fund investment platform. She spent seven years on Beijing-based postings with EDC, including as Chief Representative for Greater China and as Principal and Head of Asia Fund Investments.

Alison has also served as Chair of the Board for the Institutional Limited Partners Association (June 2019 to June 2023) a global association of institutional investors with over 600 members representing more than $2 trillion of private equity assets under management.

Ms. Nankivell has an undergraduate degree in business and economics from the University of Toronto and a Masters in Public Policy and Public Administration from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She has also obtained her Charter Financial Analyst Designation.