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Home > About > Who We Are > Leadership
Meet the Alberta Innovates Leadership Team.
Dr. Michael Mahon, Chief Executive Officer
With over 35 years of experience in Alberta and Manitoba’s post-secondary sectors, Dr. Michael (Mike) Mahon brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of research and innovation leadership to Alberta Innovates as the CEO.
President of the University of Lethbridge for 13 years, Dr. Mahon spearheaded the University’s largest capital campaign, during his tenure, for construction of the Science Commons, a major science and innovation facility.
Before his appointment in Lethbridge, Dr. Mahon served as a Dean at the University of Alberta for 10 years during which time he also served in a dual role of Chair of the Health Sciences Council. Prior to that Dr. Mahon led a Health and Sport Performance Research Institute at the University of Manitoba and served as an Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies. Dr. Mahon has contributed leadership provincially and nationally including as Chair of Universities Canada. His own research is focused in Disability Studies and Health and has been funded by federal and provincial granting agencies along with foundations and federal and provincial governments.
In 2012, the Kainai Nation honored him with a Blackfoot name, iipisowaahsiiyi, for his work with Indigenous communities. He received the Queen’s Diamond and Platinum Jubilee medals. Dr. Mahon holds a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an M.Sc. from the University of Alberta, and a B.P.E. from the University of Manitoba.
Kari Bilyk, Vice President of People and Culture, Alberta Innovates
Kari Bilyk serves as the Vice President of People and Culture at Alberta Innovates, where she oversees all aspects of human capital strategic development as part of the senior leadership team. She is passionate about fostering engaging, inclusive, and high-performance work cultures, while also supporting the communities in which we live and operate. Proudly born and raised in Alberta, Kari has a deep commitment to her roots.
Prior to her current role, Kari led Organizational Change Management at Canadian Western Financial Group (CWBFG). In this position, she was responsible for creating and executing their award-winning culture and engagement strategy, as well as their inaugural diversity and inclusion strategy, which has been nationally recognized as a key cultural differentiator for the bank. Kari also has extensive experience in leadership roles focused on organizational effectiveness and HR programs, with a strong track record in labour relations and HR business partnerships within the energy and utilities sector, spanning over 20 years.
Kari holds an MBA with a focus on organizational leadership and has completed various research projects aimed at enhancing organizational commitment. She is a sought-after thought leader in change management and organizational culture. Additionally, she serves on the Board of Governors at Waterstone Human Capital, where she annually selects best-in-class organizations recognized for fostering cultures that enhance performance and create a sustained competitive advantage.
Tina Giesbrecht, General Counsel
Tina brings over 25 years of experience in private and public sector to the Alberta Innovates team. She is a principled leader and trusted advisor with extensive expertise in board governance, commercial transactions, litigation management and labour and employment law.
Tina leads the legal, contracts, corporate secretarial and information management teams and serves as Chief Privacy Officer for Alberta Innovates and its wholly-owned subsidiaries.
Prior to joining Alberta Innovates in 2025, she served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Alberta Health Services and was a partner in a law national law firm. She holds a Juris Doctor degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba and has completed a joint Executive Leadership Program at the University of Alberta and University of Calgary. Tina has served on numerous boards and lead governance committees including the Local Authorities Pension Plan (LAPP), HIROC (Health Insurance Reciprocal of Canada) and Carewest.
Bryan Helfenbaum, Vice President, Clean Energy
Bryan Helfenbaum is a leader who has made a career challenging the status quo and empowering high-performance teams. Having spent more than 25 years in the energy industry, he brings a wide breadth of technical, economic, and strategy acumen to the Clean Energy division. With a passion for technology and the environment, Bryan uncovers creative solutions through collaboration, courage, and fun.
His leadership of Clean Energy initiatives encompasses a broad range of meaningful opportunities for Alberta and Canada, including cleaner oil & gas, hydrogen, carbon capture utilization & sequestration, digital energy, energy storage, grid modernization, critical minerals, geothermal & renewables, small modular nuclear reactors, and bitumen beyond combustion. Bryan provides strategic and tactical leadership to advance technologies for future economic, environmental, and social benefits in the province and beyond.
Prior to joining Alberta Innovates in 2017, Bryan spent nearly two decades in the private sector in a variety of technical, business, and innovation roles with increasing responsibility. His diverse background includes reservoir engineering, mergers & acquisitions, corporate planning, and technology development. He has been a people leader for more than 15 years, with his final industry role leading the Technology Innovation team at Devon Energy.
Bryan has won numerous industry awards and is a sought-after speaker. He was a Strategic Advisor at C-FER Technologies, a theme lead for the Clean Resources Innovation Network, and an Ambassador with the Energy Futures Lab. His passion for innovation also extends outside the office, where he has taught courses on innovation at the University of Calgary and worked on innovative community residential development projects.
Bryan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Waterloo and a Master’s in Business Administration, with a specialization in Global Energy Management & Sustainability, from the University of Calgary.
Find Bryan on Linkedin.
Raja Mita, Vice President, Health
Raja is a seasoned leader in health and life sciences innovation, driving economic development through strategic investments and partnerships. With over a decade of experience spanning research, commercialization, and venture philanthropy, he has led high-impact initiatives in digital health, oncology, and industry-partnered innovation challenges. Raja has negotiated major partnerships with industry, academia, and government, leveraging funding to accelerate health technology adoption. He holds a PhD in Experimental Oncology, an MBA in Innovation and Commercialization from the University of Alberta and is a graduate of the Innovation Governance Program through the Council of Canadian Innovators.
Nicole Shokoples, Vice President, Stakeholder Relations and Communications
Nicole Shokoples is a leader with 15+ years of experience in corporate strategy, marketing, communications and organizational transformation. She has led large-scale change initiatives, organizational programs, digital campaign development and executive-level strategic planning. She has extensive expertise in transforming business, operating and talent models to drive impact within organizations. Nicole holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Grant MacEwan University, with subsequent studies in Public Relations, Change Management and the French language.
Mark Summers, Vice President, Agriculture and Environment, Investments
Mark Summers is the Vice President of Agriculture and Environment and Interim Vice President of Investments at Alberta Innovates. Mark leads the strategic development and oversight of funding initiatives for Alberta Innovates in agriculture and food innovation, sustainable materials, and environmental sustainability. He was Chief Innovation Officer and Chief Strategy Officer at Emissions Reduction Alberta prior to his current role.
Mark serves in various volunteer capacities professionally, including as Chair of the Faculty Advisory Committee for the Faculty of Business, Environment, and Technology (FBET) at NorQuest College, as a member of the Future Energy Systems Strategic Leadership Advisory Board (FES SLAB) for the University of Alberta, and as a representative on the Energy Futures Lab Partners Council.
Mark is passionate about technology, innovation, collaboration, and perpetual betterment across all facets of professional and personal endeavor. Mark is a Professional Engineer who holds a BSc in Engineering Physics and a PhD in Nanostructured Engineering from the University of Alberta.
Find Mark on LinkedIn.
Tom Whalen, Vice President, Applied Research, Engineering & Specialized Testing Services
In this role, Tom oversees both C-FER and our sister company, InnoTech Alberta, in derisking technologies through applied research and specialized testing. He continues to act as the Managing Director of C-FER Technologies, a position he has held since January 2023. In this position, he acts as C-FER’s Chief Executive Officer and reports directly to C-FER’s Board of Directors.
Find Tom on LinkedIn.