As President and Chief Executive Officer, Suzanne Gill leads Genome BC in applying the power of genomics in ways that better the lives of all British Columbians. Suzanne has been at the forefront of catalyzing sustainable, public-private partnerships across the life sciences ecosystem for more than 20 years. She provides a wealth of experience in the Canadian innovation environment, including economic development and stakeholder relations, and in helping to shape and implement strategy for organizations at the nexus of research, innovation and commercialization.
Suzanne is passionate about the important work of integrating genomics into society by supporting responsible research and innovation and fostering an understanding and appreciation of the life sciences, helping BC rise to the challenges of the 21st century.
Working with our partners, Suzanne’s focus is on building upon Genome BC’s successes in precision health, natural resources and education while growing BC’s thriving life sciences research and innovation ecosystem. Genomics has proven to be an important tool in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, rare diseases and the prevention of adverse drug reactions. Genomics is also providing new and transformative ways to address BC’s environmental challenges, such as determining which plants and trees will be better able to adapt to new environmental conditions as well as identifying and managing invasive pests and disease-causing pathogens that pose threats not only to forests but also many fruit crops.
Previously, Suzanne was a founding executive as the Vice President, Government Relations and Public Affairs with the Digital Supercluster (2018-2022), an industry-led organization that aims to accelerate economic growth and position Canada for global leadership in transformative digital technologies. In addition to fostering an essential relationship between industry, academia and government, she also led the development and launch of Digital Supercluster’s inaugural Capacity Building Pilot Program aimed at connecting employers to job ready digital talent.
Prior to joining the Digital Supercluster, Suzanne was at Genome BC for over a decade and last held the role of Vice President, Corporate Development, responsible for corporate strategy, corporate performance management and government relations. She moved to BC following her work at the Ontario Genomics Institute as part of the start up team and was responsible for oversight of a $300 million research portfolio at the time when Canada was making its first large scale investments in research in the sector.
Suzanne holds an MSc degree from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto. She has been on the Board of Directors of Innovate BC since 2018.
