Today, the DIGITAL team recognizes and celebrates the extraordinary leadership of Sue Paish as she announces her retirement as Chief Executive Officer.
As DIGITAL’s inaugural CEO, Sue has been instrumental in building one of Canada’s leading innovation organizations. Since launching in 2018, she guided DIGITAL’s growth from a bold vision into a national platform that helps Canadian companies adopt and commercialize advanced technologies, strengthen productivity, and compete globally.
During Sue’s tenure, DIGITAL has delivered transformative outcomes for Canada’s innovation ecosystem, generating a 12x return on investment, contributing more than $4 billion in GDP growth, supporting the creation and retention of over 730 intellectual property assets in Canada, and creating more than 34,000 jobs across the economy.
Sue’s leadership has been particularly impactful during pivotal moments for Canada and DIGITAL’s growth. She successfully guided DIGITAL through the COVID-19 pandemic, leading the rapid deployment of $60M in 60 days to support urgent innovation efforts when they were needed most. She was instrumental in securing more than $400M in funding to date, including $125M Phase 2 renewal in 2023.
Beyond DIGITAL, Sue has made significant contributions to Canada’s business, public policy, and community sectors through a distinguished career that includes senior leadership roles at LifeLabs, Pharmasave, and Fasken Martin DuMoulin LLP, as well as extensive board service and community engagement.
Her contributions have been recognized through numerous honours, including appointment to the Order of British Columbia, designation as King’s Counsel, an Honorary Doctorate of Technology, the Influential Women in Business Lifetime Achievement Award, the YWCA Women of Distinction Award, and the Peter Lougheed Award for Public Policy.
Everyone on the DIGITAL team thanks Sue for her remarkable contributions and wishes her every success in the years ahead. While her impact on Canada’s innovation ecosystem will endure for generations, we know her next chapter will be focused on the people and places she holds most dear: her husband, daughters, grandchildren, and Canada’s great wilderness.