Dr. Shane Saunderson

A veteran of the start-up space, Shane’s perspective is coloured by his wealth of experience in engineering, social research, and management consulting. He spent the earlier part of his career as an entrepreneur in North America and Europe focused on product design, mobile robotics, connected devices, and automation. Shane then spent over a decade consulting for Fortune 500 clients on digital strategy, disruptive innovation, and technology development, primarily within the healthcare and financial services spaces.

Shane uses his unique blend of intuition and analytics to help people work through some of their most wicked problems and innovate in unforeseen directions. Part engineer, part artist, part businessman, part storyteller, and part battery-licker, Shane approaches each project with a hunger to learn and create something new. He is a prolific writer and confident presenter who is frequently asked to lecture or give keynotes on topics such as robotics, AI, design thinking, and the future of technology in society.

Shane is a former Vanier Canada scholar who holds a PhD in Robotics with a specialization in psychology from the University of Toronto, an MBA in Technology and Innovation from the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University, and a B. Eng. from McGill University in Montreal. Shane is the founder of Artificial Futures, a digital strategy and user experience firm focused on AI as well as a lecturer on digital transformation and emerging technologies with Schulich Executive Education at York University. Previously, he was the VP of Technology with Idea Couture, a strategy & innovation consultancy, the Chair of the Microsoft Canada Artificial Intelligence Partner Advisory Board (aiPAB), and a co-founder of Babbly, an AI-powered infant tech start-up.