FOUNDERS & PHYSICIANS
Founders & Physicians is a unique series of fireside chats that brings together medical doctors and tech entrepreneurs from Waterloo Region and beyond. It's a chance to explore big ideas and problems related to healthcare. It's also a space for founders and doctors to learn from each other and build stronger connections across both worlds.
Dr. Amol Verma, MD, MPhil, FRCPC
Clinician-Scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital, Temerty Professor of AI in Medicine at University of Toronto, Provincial Clinical Lead at Ontario Health, Co-Lead of VITAL and GEMINI Platforms
Dr. Amol Verma is physician and scientist in General Internal Medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital, the Temerty Professor of AI Research and Education in Medicine at the University of Toronto, and the Provincial Clinical Lead for Quality Improvement in General Medicine at Ontario Health. Dr. Verma co-founded and co-leads GEMINI, Canada’s largest hospital clinical data research network, which partners with over 40 hospitals in Ontario, that care for over 60% of the province’s population. He is also the co-lead of VITAL, that has been funded to build a pan-Canadian platform for innovation with hospital data.
He has published over 140 peer-reviewed papers and has received over $300M of research funding. Dr. Verma completed medical training at the U of T, a Masters degree at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and research fellowships through the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the Canadian Frailty Network, and AMS Healthcare. He serves on numerous federal and provincial advisory bodies, including as the Chair of the Researcher Council of the Digital Research Alliance of Canada (DRAC) and is a Board Member of DRAC and AMS Healthcare.
Sheldon Fernandez
Founder & CEO, DarwinAI (acq. Apple), Founder & CTO, Infusion (acq. Avanade), AI Strategist, Thinker and Philosopher
Sheldon Fernandez is a seasoned executive, strategist and respected leader in the entrepreneurial and academic communities. He has successfully built and exited numerous businesses, including DarwinAI, which was acquired by Apple. Prior to that, Sheldon co-founded Infusion, a leading technology and consultancy firm, and helped grow the company to 700 people before its acquisition by Avanade. Beyond his business ventures, Sheldon is an accomplished author and speaker. He has spoken at numerous conferences in numerous contexts, including Singularity University, Elevate and the MIT technology conference, and is a frequent author on articles relating to AI.
Sheldon has a BASc in Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo, Master’s degree in Theology at the University of Toronto and pursued creative writing at Oxford University. He also underwent professional training at the Montreal Institute for Genocide Studies at Concordia University. At present, Sheldon is advising enterprises, startups, PE firms and VCs, on transformational opportunities around AI, and maintains advisory positions with the Montreal Institute for Global Security (MIGS), the CleanAI initiative and is a board member of The Walrus.
FOUNDERS & PHYSICIANS
OCTOBER 8, 2026, 5:30 PM
Kitchener-Waterloo
Founders & Physicians is a unique series of fireside chats that brings together medical doctors and tech entrepreneurs from Waterloo Region and beyond. It's a chance to explore big ideas and problems related to healthcare and building strong communities. It's also a space for founders and doctors to learn from each other and help forge a better future.
Schedule
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