Staff Consultants

Stephen Daze
Executive Director, Entrepreneurship Centre

Stephen has worked with the Entrepreneurship Centre since 1998 and currently leads a team of 10 staff members dedicated to helping entrepreneurs succeed. The Centre provides support to 5000 clients annually through training, mentoring, consultations, special events, a resource library and web resources.

In his career with the Centre, Stephen has led the redesign of the Centre's popular seminar series, the development and writing of the eBusiness Handbook for Entrepreneurs in conjunction with Bell Canada, Heenan Blaikie and Watchfire, as well as the Second Edition of the best selling Entrepreneur's Handbook. Stephen also managed the successful redesign and re-launch of www.entrepreneurship.com (a SmartCapital project) and has been instrumental in the design and development of the Centre's online training initiatives.

In 2000, Stephen participated in a study of South Africa's small business support network as a result of his experiences with the Centre (Bloch and Daze. 2000. "A Review of the South African Local Business Service Centre Programme: Current Status, Future Prospects"). In addition, he has hosted and counseled numerous delegations from Ukraine, China, South Korea and Russia in their efforts to model the success of the Centre.

Previous to joining the Centre, Stephen operated his own training and consulting firm specializing in leadership development and training, project team leadership and team development. Stephen is the former Training and Recruiting Manager for TOYS'R'US Canada and Territory Manager with Second Cup Coffee Company.

Stephen graduated from the University of Regina with a Bachelor in Business Administration in 1987 and has since continued his studies with Athabasca University and Saint Francis Xavier University in the field of Adult Education. He has been a part-time professor at the University of Ottawa (2000, 2001) and is a past guest lecturer at Ryerson University and Sheridan College.

Michael Burnatowski
Manager, Entrepreneurship Centre

Michael is the current Manager of the OCRI-Entrepreneurship Centre based in Ottawa, Ontario. Michael’s vast experience in small business development ranges from over 15 years of teaching Marketing, Sales, and e-business management at the collegial level to having conceptualized and initiated three business startups, which have merged into the business of MiLearn.com, a social learning network helping college and university students collaborate and succeed in their fields of study. The Entrepreneurship Centre, with its wealth of experience on staff and through strategic partners and volunteer business mentors, provides entrepreneurs, from those in the start-up phase, to businesses experiencing growth demands, a one stop centre of expertise and excellence.

Michael holds a degree in Economics from the University of Waterloo and a certification in Adult Education from St. Francis Xavier University. Michael has been an active participant on several panels and workshops as an expert in the field of e-learning, and business at Carleton University, and numerous collegial initiatives in Ontario and Quebec. He is often requested to appear in the media for his advice and opinions as a both an entrepreneur and Internet spectator.

With a love of New England sports, he is a passionate fan of the Boston Red Sox, and New England Patriots. When not running with his friend Kiwi, Michael, his wife and 2 daughters live, play and shovel snow off their pond in Chelsea Quebec.

Dave Scollon
Manager, Ottawa Capital Network

As Manager of the OCRI’s Ottawa Capital Network, David is responsible for facilitating the establishment and growth of early stage enterprises through delivery of programs such as the Ottawa Venture and Technology Summit, the entrepreneur’s edge bootcamp program, and direct consultations. Previously, David has provided manufacturing and operations consultancy services and served in various management and engineering roles with JDSU, Nortel, Spar Aerospace and Leigh Instruments. He holds an MBA from the University of Ottawa, and a Diploma in Industrial Engineering from Algonquin College.

Manu Sharma
Business Development Manager

Manu is engaged with the Ottawa Centre for Research & Innovation (OCRI) as a Business Development Manager, a role in which he facilitates and supports collaborations between the technology industry and the research community in the Ottawa area. He also closely works with budding and established entrepreneurs in the community by providing them new venture creation support through OCRI’s Entrepreneurship Centre (EC).

Manu has a strong background in technology management and business development. His diverse background includes a degree in Engineering with a B-Tech in Electronics & Communication Engineering and a M.Sc. in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois. He also holds a MBA in Organizational Behavior & Technology Management and is currently on an academic hiatus from his Ph.D. program in Organizational Behavior & Change Management at Carleton University. Prior to his engagement with OCRI, Manu served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Trillium College as their Chief Operating Officer (COO), a role in which he led and managed strategic, tactical, and short-term operations of the forty people strong organization.

Marie Desjardins
Business Advisor

Marie Desjardins has been a business advisor with the Entrepreneurship Centre since 2000. She guides early-stage entrepreneurs through the initial stages of business planning, to address specialized business development issues. She also coordinates the Entrepreneurship Centre’s youth programs, which include the Summer Company Program and the Ontario Secondary School Business Plan Competition.

Her professional expertise includes market research skills, the coordination and delivery of training programs and a strong knowledge of government rules and regulations. She is also luent in both official languages.