Bio
Melissa Chee is an award-winning business and tech executive, entrepreneur, and independent director who has created global companies and transformative technologies.
A champion of diversity, inclusion, and the advancement of women and girls in STEM, Melissa is a respected thought leader at the strategic intersection of critical technology sectors and the imperative for a more inclusive tech ecosystem. Melissa has extensive board governance experience and currently serves as an Independent Director on the boards of EllisDon, the Vector Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and Scientists in School. She also serves on the national advisory boards of Canada’s Semiconductor Council and the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP). She is a past board director at NGEN - Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster for Advanced Manufacturing, Mackenzie Health Innovation Institute and Make-A-Wish Canada’s Corporate Cabinet. Melissa has been previously recognized as one of Canada’s Top 3 Women to Watch by Canadian Manufacturing and Top 18 Pandemic Pivoters by The Peak.
Building on a 25-year career scaling global technology multinationals and start-ups, Melissa most recently was the CEO of ventureLAB, a leading global founder community for hardware and enterprise software companies in Canada. At ventureLAB, she elevated Canada in the global semiconductor industry as the founding CEO of the Hardware Catalyst Initiative, Canada’s first and only hub for semiconductor and hardware tech companies and a founding member of Canada’s Semiconductor Council. During Melissa's tenure the organization was recognized as one of Canada's most Admired Corporate Cultures and thrice as a Great Place to Work for Inclusion, Technology, and Managed by Women.
Melissa holds a MBA with Honours from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Computer Engineering from McGill University.
