Stephen Hartlen

Stephen Hartlen is the Assistant Vice-President, Industry Relations and leads the Office of Commercialization and Industry Engagement (OCIE), at Dalhousie University. Dalhousie’s OCIE team commercializes research at the university, engages industry and facilitates collaborations between companies and university researchers, promotes entrepreneurship, and assists in the creation of spin-off ventures.

Prior to joining Dal in his current role 2011 he spent the previous eight years at Innovacorp, (now Invest Nova Scotia), Nova Scotia's crown corporation for early stage venture capital, serving as vice president of mentoring and in his final year as interim president and CEO.

Earlier in his career, Stephen spent 15 years in the private sector with experience in business development, sales, and go-to-market strategy development in both the corporate financial services and the information technology sectors.

Stephen is the Vice Board Chair for Springboard Atlantic and Chair of the Nominations and Governance Committee. He is presently Chair of the Board of NetZero Atlantic and Board Member of Life Sciences Nova Scotia. He is the past chair of the Advisory Committee for the Conference Board of Canada’s Council for Innovation and Commercialization.

Stephen was the productivity lead at the 4Front Atlantic Conference series. Has presented at the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers Conference. He currently sits on several Dalhousie steering committees overseeing the University’s Innovation and Entreprenuership strategy.

Stephen is a graduate of Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Commerce in Economics and Saint Mary's University with a Master of Business Administration in Finance.