Chris Albinson is leaving Communitech, after three and a half years as CEO of the Waterloo, Ont.-based tech hub. The move will allow him to focus on the venture capital fund he began raising when he took the top job at Communitech in 2021, according to a press release. 

Albinson returned from Silicon Valley to lead Communitech, one of Canada’s most high-profile accelerator centres, in May 2021, and immediately began raising the True North Fund. He initially targeted between $200 million and $350 million to invest in high-growth Canadian companies. 

Fundraising hasn’t been smooth, sources told The Logic, with concerns that Albinson’s personal investment interests would conflict with his job at the government-funded tech hub, which is meant to support local startups. 

In a press release Tuesday, the True North Fund said it has raised $100 million over two raises, and has invested in three companies so far. The fund, which is focused on buying secondary shares in scaling companies, has never disclosed its investors or the companies it’s backed. 

A press release from the True North Fund said Albinson is leaving Dec. 21. Communitech’s announcement did not include a departure date. A personal post from Albinson said he’s leaving at the end of the year. He no longer has the CEO title on Communitech’s website. 

Albinson did not respond to The Logic’s request for comment. Neither did Communitech’s board chair Catherine Graham, nor a spokesperson for the True North Fund. Communitech spokesperson Rosie Del Campo declined to comment. 

The Logic reported in June 2023 that Albinson had misled business leaders in Kitchener-Waterloo, overstating support for the fund to compel them to invest. 

Under Albinson’s leadership, Communitech has had high employee turnover and a drop in membership, particularly after the pandemic, as well as an increased reliance on government money to operate. The organization has faced a backlash from local startup founders, some of whom told The Logic they felt Albinson’s focus on the True North Fund—and supporting large firms across the country—came at their expense. 

The links between Communitech and the True North Fund are murky. The fund was initially branded as a Communitech investment vehicle, but there’s no longer mention of the organization’s affiliation with the fund on its website. Albinson told The Logic last year that 20 per cent of the fund’s annual management fees will go to Communitech, plus 20 per cent of future profits on investments. With Albinson’s departure, it’s unclear if the organization will receive those fees and profits. 

In September, Communitech appointed a slate of new board members from local tech firms, including Adam Belsher, CEO of cybersecurity firm Magnet Forensics, Hongwei Liu, CEO and founder of MappedIn, and Ruth Casselman, CEO of the Accelerator Centre. 

The new appointments could help Communitech “return to its roots” of supporting local innovators, said Benjamin Bergen, president of tech lobby group the Council of Canadian Innovators. “Communitech will benefit from adding expertise of tech CEOs, who are best positioned to understand the operator’s perspective on driving growth in the digital economy,” he told The Logic at the time. 

Communitech chief financial officer Jennifer Gruber will serve as interim CEO, with the organization beginning its search for Albinson’s permanent replacement in the coming weeks.