Salim Popatia
Role: Associate
Site: CDL-Vancouver
Stream: Biomedical Engineering
Salim Popatia spent the beginning of his career in various senior commercial roles in the pharmaceutical industry where he drove national and global impact with the help of big budgets, large sales teams and plenty of resources. Switching gears, he became a partner in a small cleantech software startup that initially had next to no resources, budgets or employees. Salim and his partners spent the next five years generating millions in revenue and bringing on several of the largest North American utility companies as their customers. Their company grew to 40 dedicated people who were making a significant impact on decarbonization and climate change. They were purchased by a private equity firm who merged them with five other start-ups, forming a new company with over 400 employees, more products and the same mission to accelerate decarbonization. Salim spent the next several years with this new company (Uplight) as the Vice President of Business Development where he was focused on driving innovation and strategic partnerships. Salim now spends his time as an investor, strategic advisor and a mentor for high growth companies.