Judy Fairburn
Roles: Associate, Fellow
Site: CDL-Rockies
Streams: AgriFood, Energy
As the co-CEO of The51, Judy Fairburn is a change-maker with a track record of building collaborative, cutting-edge business ventures. Together with Shelley Kuipers (co-CEO), Alice Reimer (co-founder) and an amazing team, The51 has built a democratized financial feminist platform and venture fund with over 100 investors (90% women) and investments in 14 women led/co-led Canadian/U.S. startups. The51 is now launching its next fund, focused on food and agtech.
She also sits as a director on energy (Petronas Energy Canada, MEG Energy), public policy (Business Council of Alberta) and tech boards (VEERUM, DeNova). Judy was the first chief digital officer and EVP of business innovation of a Canadian energy company and co-founded Evok Innovations, a $100 million digital/cleantech venture fund. She also led substantial change as the first board chair of the consolidated Alberta Innovates.
Judy is a fourth generation farm owner, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and a member of Abundance 360, a select group of global executives and entrepreneurs focused on capitalizing on transformative digital change. She is also honoured to receive the 2021 Schulich School of Engineering Alumni Leadership Excellence Award, Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 and 2020 Calgary Influential Women in Business Lifetime Achievement Award.