OSMO announced today that Patrick Gagné—most recently the General Manager of Téo Taxi—has joined the team as the new CEO-in-Residence.

With more than 20 years of tech and entrepreneur experience, Patrick will help showcase OSMO to the rest of community and ensure it has access to the necessary funding to continue its mission in support of entrepreneurship and innovation.

A pillar of the startup ecosystem, OSMO acts a Montreal hub for collaboration and innovation that helps to develop entrepreneurs and create businesses. The foundation’s first initiative was the acquisition and renovation of the historic Notman House in 2012. Since then, OSMO has helped create more than 150 companies which have received over $250 million in venture capital financing and generated more than 1,000 jobs. The value of these companies today exceeds $1 billion.

“The Montreal ecosystem is dynamic and has abundant resources, but it’s hard to navigate. Through its open protocol, OSMO strives to guide the various stakeholders in the ecosystem and offer them access to the best practices proven in recent years,” said Alan MacIntosh, Chair of OSMO’s Board of Directors.

“Notman House is a real hub of startup activity. I think it’s a great example of an organization that can bridge the gap between the french and english speaking community. I think it’s a hub largely because of that. It’s an expression of Montreal business culture, having the ability to bring together those two communities around the startup ecosystem.”

Until two months ago, Patrick was the GM of Téo Taxi, owned by Taxelco, a company he cofounded in 2014. Patrick was also cofounder of InnoCité MTL, Canada’s first smart city accelerator, launched in 2015 in collaboration with the city of Montreal’s Bureau de la ville intelligente et numérique and the members of OSMO.

“It’s a combination of factors including good timing and a will to contribute again in the community,” Patrick told MTLinTECH. “I did co-found Innocite de Montreal a few years ago with the folks at OSMO and Intelligent City Bureau of Montreal. It’s an accelerator in the smart city segment. I think when I exited from Téo Taxi two months ago, I wanted to get involved again. I had a chat with some of the folks at OSMO, and I guess the planets all aligned there. It’s a great way to get back into the startup ecosystem. While developing Teo Taxi I didn’t have that much time to contribute, so this is a good window for me.”

Patrick will act as CEO-in-Residence on a shorter-term basis, raising awareness of OSMO, helping it access the necessary funding, and searching for a more permanent CEO for the foundation in the long-term.

“Essentially I’m going to help the foundation in reaching out to the ecosystem partners, the government institutions, the corporate institutions, the foundations as well, to ensure that OSMO keeps going and to help it raise its profile and promote itself. I’ll be making sure that OSMO has the ability to grow stronger for the next few years. Part of my mandate will be to identify and find a CEO that will be there on a more permanent basis.”

After the renovation of Notman House, followed by the establishment of OSMO Café, OSMO was also instrumental in the launch of Startupfest, the Montreal Startup Ecosystem Report, TechAide for Centraide and the Montreal Startup Community Awards.

“I’m really happy. It’s a great group and it’s really a lot of fun to be active again in the community. Notman House is a real hub of startup activity. I think it’s a great example of an organization that can bridge the gap between the french and english speaking community. I think it’s a hub largely because of that. It’s an expression of Montreal business culture, having the ability to bring together those two communities around the startup ecosystem.”