York University’s associate vice-president research, Professor Pina D’Agostino, has been appointed Chair of the board of directors at the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI), becoming the first woman to hold this position in the organization’s history.
D’Agostino joined OCI’s board in 2023 and was named vice-chair and secretary in 2024. Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s minister of economic development, job creation and trade, described the appointment as timely, stating it “comes at a turning point in Ontario’s innovation history, where renewed vision and focused determination will prove vital to keep the province’s economy competitive.”
A leader and expert in intellectual property (IP), emerging technologies, including AI, and innovation ecosystems, D’Agostino will work to advance OCI’s mission to unite industry, academia and government partners to invest in research and development, technology development and commercialization opportunities that benefit Ontarians.
“I am so grateful for this incredible honour and look forward to working with the amazing team at OCI to boost the innovation ecosystem and support homegrown, local companies across our province,” says D'Agostino.
She is the founder and director of the IP Innovation Clinic, Canada’s largest pro bono IP clinic, and Osgoode Hall Law School’s Intellectual Property Law & Technology Intensive Program. She is also the founding director of IP Osgoode, a program and research centre at Osgoode.
In addition, D’Agostino serves as scientific director of the Connected Minds initiative – a $318-million program funded by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund and is a Tier 1 York Research Chair in Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies.
“Pina brings extraordinary vision and leadership that will help guide OCI into its next chapter,” says Claudia Krywiak, president and CEO of OCI. “This is an exciting moment for our organization, our ecosystem and Ontario’s innovation economy.”
Beyond her academic and research leadership, D’Agostino is the founding Chair of the Alectra Green Energy & Technology Centre and serves on the board of Alectra Inc. She is a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and sits on the art advisory committee at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, having previously served on its board of trustees from 2017-20.
Her contributions have earned numerous accolades, including being named one of Canada’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers by Canadian Lawyer magazine, receiving the Government of Ontario’s Minister’s Award of Excellence in Innovation and Entrepreneurship and being recognized as the Canadian Italian Business & Professional Association’s 2024 Woman of the Year.
With files from the IP Innovation Clinic