Ken Knox is chair of the Canada First Research Excellence Fund selection board. He also serves as chair of the Science, Technology and Innovation Council, an independent advisory body mandated by the Government of Canada to provide confidential advice on science, technology and innovation policy issues.
Knox recently served as president and CEO of the Ontario Innovation Trust and the Innovation Institute of Ontario (IIO), a not-for-profit corporation, established as an alternative service delivery agency promoting research excellence by increasing the research and development capacity of Ontario universities and other research institutions through public and private partnerships. He currently serves on IIO’s board of directors.
In the past, Knox has served as a deputy minister of Energy, Science and Technology for Ontario, and led the transformation of Ontario’s public energy service (Ontario Hydro). He also served as assistant deputy minister for the Ministry of Transportation, and has served on a number of other boards, including for the Ontario Science and Innovation Council, and on the Special Advisory Panel on Creating an Innovation Culture.
Knox was the founding general manager of the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto. He led the establishment of the district as a centre of convergence where science, technology and social entrepreneurs could get the help they need, and where all kinds of people could meet to spark new ideas.