Bergen has led the technology lobby group, co-founded by Jim Balsillie, since its inception.
The head of Canada's most vocal tech company advocacy group is leaving to lead another key industry association at a pivotal time for tech company founders and the investors who bankroll them.
“Ben has done a great job of gaining the trust of policymakers. He plans to use the many valuable lessons learned to reinvigorate the CVCA.”
John Ruffolo
Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Benjamin Bergen, president and CEO of scale-up lobby group the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), will become the next CEO of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA), the organizations announced today. He will begin his new position on January 5 and will transition to a seat on the CCI Board of Directors.
In an interview with BetaKit on Friday, Bergen said the move was not an easy decision. “CCI has a really strong foundation and there are fantastic leaders in this organization,” Bergen said, adding that more details about his successor will be forthcoming.
Bergen has led CCI since the business council's inception, first as executive director and then as president. At CCI, Bergen passionately advocated for the interests of its 175 member companies on public policy issues. acquisition, tax incentive reformartificial intelligence and immigration.
Moving to CVCA, Bergen said, gave him the opportunity to shift his focus from representing Canadian technology companies to the investor ecosystem that funds them, at a time of global change and increased focus on Canada's economic sovereignty.
“Access to capital has been a huge issue for our member companies,” Bergen said, referring to CCI. “It’s really important to figure out how to recapitalize Canada.”
CCI was founded and co-chaired by former BlackBerry co-CEO Jim Balsillie and Maverix Private Equity founder and managing partner John Ruffolo. The group also helped launch a policy think tank. Canadian SHIELD and commercial lobbying group Signa Strategieswhich also represents technology companies.
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“He has become the most important voice on behalf of technology entrepreneurs in this country,” Ruffolo told BetaKit on Friday, crediting Bergen and vice presidents Dana O'Born and Patrick Searle. “Ben has done a great job of gaining the trust of policymakers. He plans to use the many valuable lessons learned to reinvigorate the CVCA.”
The CVCA, an industry association that lobbies on behalf of Canada's investor class, has been leaderless since July. In May the General Director Kim Furlong has resigned after six years at the helm. Furlong has led the organization through the economic turmoil associated with Covid-19, the tech investment boom of 2021, and the subsequent venture capital downturn that lasted for years.
When she announced her departure, Furlong told BetaKit that CVCA's three-year plan under her leadership was coming to an end and was preparing to develop a five-year strategy. “I just felt, both for myself and for the organization, that it was time for someone else to step in,” she said at the time.
Founded in 1974, the CVCA represents more than 350 venture capital and private equity firms and produces market reports on the state of Canada's investment landscape. Bergen is tasked with developing a new three-year strategy for CVCA, which was expected to be released this fall, CVCA Vice Chairman Dino DeLuca told BetaKit.
DeLuca, chief operating officer of private equity firm TriWest Capital Partners, told BetaKit they brought in Bergen for his strong advocacy background and “deep understanding of the private capital ecosystem.” DeLuca is scheduled to take over as CVCA board chairman in May.
Bergen joins CVCA at what some are calling a turning point for Canadian venture capital. Numerous reports pointed to pipeline cuts in the early stages. concerns about the fund's performanceand a cold fundraising market, especially for first-time managers. The first half of 2025 has peaked, according to the CVCA. lowest level of venture investment activity from 2020, while pre-seed and seed funding continued to decline. Smaller, larger deals increased numbers this past quarter.
Ruffolo told BetaKit that access to capital was again a “major issue” as it was in the years leading up to 2011. “We've had a good decade and we're going back to those dark days,” he said. “I'm very concerned.”
According to Bergen, there are “perennial” problems such as a lack of late-stage capital, as well as new headwinds related to the broader Canadian economy – both of which he plans to address. One of his first steps is a “listening tour” to find out what CVCA members care most about and then plan outreach efforts based on those suggestions.
“The role of the CVCA is to help its members achieve better returns,” Bergen said. “There are a huge number of policy levers that support this. If you have stronger firms, you get higher profits.”
DeLuca believes the Canadian venture capital ecosystem is “divided,” with member firms investing at different stages requiring different forms of policy support. “I think the CVCA needs to do a better job of protecting the different components of the venture space,” he said.
CCI and CVCA may be different organizations, but Bergen sees them as part of the same innovation flywheel, where policies that help investment firms breed success for domestic companies.
“It’s all connected,” Bergen said. “We need to get really good at all of this if we really want to place and get a gold medal.”
Image courtesy of the Council of Canadian Innovators.
