TIAP Strengthens Leadership Team with Appointment of Prakash Gowd as Vice President
Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners (TIAP) is pleased to announce the appointment of Prakash Gowd MBA, BSc Pharm, C.Dir. as Vice President, bringing over 25 years of experience in executive management, corporate development, and financial markets focused on the healthcare and biopharma sectors to the organization.
Prakash has held numerous executive positions including Chief Operating Officer and Head of Corporate Development at Novamind, a mental health company operating a network of clinics in the U.S. specializing in psychedelic medicine to treat challenging mental health conditions, where he was deeply involved in advancing the business, leading the planning and execution of acquisitions for growth, building and optimizing value of the U.S. operations, taking the company public, and managing its successful sale. Additional previous positions include President and Co-founder of a direct-to-consumer genetic testing company and Chief Business Officer of a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization specialized in custom viral vectors.
Beyond the start-up environment, Prakash has deep experience in biopharma investing and financial markets attained through 12 years in senior equity research and investment banking roles at CIBC World Markets, National Bank Financial, and Canaccord Capital, where he provided in-depth, insightful, and actionable investment recommendations, and helped to finance numerous companies. He also previously held progressive positions in commercial operations at GlaxoSmithKline and undertook marketing and new product development consulting for a number of multinational pharmaceutical industry clients.
Parimal Nathwani, TIAP President and CEO commented, “We are very excited by what Prakash brings to TIAP. As a highly accomplished leader and strategist in both private and public companies, from start-ups to large corporations, as well as a seasoned capital markets professional, he will be a tremendous asset for TIAP as we move forward as an organization and continue to build on our critical role in making Ontario a world-leading life sciences hub.”
Prakash holds an MBA from McGill University, a BSc Pharmacy from the University of British Columbia, and a Chartered Director designation.
About TIAP
Since 2008, TIAP has been building relationships with innovators and entrepreneurs at Toronto’s top universities, hospitals and research institutes to identify the most exciting sparks of ground-breaking therapeutic, medical device and digital health/AI innovation; and then providing the tools, resources, and know-how to transform this work into successful commercial ventures. With a 15-year track record that includes the launch of more than 70 new companies, the raising of over $1B in private investment, and the creation of more than 1,000 jobs, TIAP has generated significant commercial and social return on our Member Institutions’ research — making a measurable impact on the growth of the Ontario life sciences sector and a significant contribution to Canada’s economic prosperity. TIAP is partially supported through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.