Startup Accelerator Ryerson Futures Expands Adding Ray Newal as Managing Director

Ryerson Futures (RFI), the startup accelerator program based at Ryerson University, is welcoming Ray Newal, an experienced entrepreneur, business leader, and mentor, as its new managing director.

“I’m honoured to be joining a team that so deeply embodies my view that the right advice and mentorship can have an exponential impact on the trajectory of early-stage startups,” he says.

Newal brings more than a decade of growth and operations experience obtained at technology leaders DoubleClick, Microsoft, and Yahoo!. In 2009, he co-founded a Sequoia Capital-backed streaming video startup Jigsee where, as CEO, he led teams in India and Canada.

With Newal joining the RFI team, current managing director Alan Lysne will become COO & managing partner to focus on expanding Ryerson Futures’ and Zone Startups’ programs across Canada and internationally. These include Zone Startups India, Zone Startups Calgary, Zone Startups Sports + Media, as well as new initiatives.

“Ray comes with a depth of expertise as an entrepreneur who has been a founder and knows what it takes to help entrepreneurs build and scale their company,” says RFI president Matt Saunders. “We look forward to Ray’s experience and leadership to help our current and new portfolio companies.”

Following a successful exit from Jigsee, Newal has been active in the startup community advising, mentoring, and coaching teams to bring innovative products and solutions to market. Newal will now be joining RFI, focused on mentoring founders, helping companies find their footing, and building beneficial partnerships between startups and corporates.

“With the world so receptive to what Canada has to offer, we have a unique and unprecedented opportunity to accelerate the growth of our startup ecosystems,” says Newal. “In my new role at RFI, I look forward to working with the community to nurture our startups, and amplify the message that Canada is capable of establishing and supporting globally scalable technology companies.”