Almost half the executive team of OMERS’ OneEleven tech hub has departed, The Logic has learned.
George Eichholzer, chief technology officer; Pearl Chiu, chief people officer; and Sandy Perlman, chief marketing officer are no longer with the firm. Perlman joined OneEleven six months ago. Eichholzer joined in July 2018.
The departures follow a difficult few months for the startup-support firm. In May, OneEleven said it will shut down its Ottawa location on July 31; it also put its London expansion plans on hold.
CEO Dean Hopkins said the moves will help OneEleven focus on the Toronto market, but did not provide specific details of the firm’s plans. “I can’t really talk about them at this time, but we are working through a series of initiatives to invest and grow the capabilities that we have determined, with feedback from the membership, that are valued by them,” he said. “This set of changes allows us to make those investments to double down on the things that we know the membership are very interested in.”
OneEleven was founded as a non-profit and became a for-profit corporation in September 2018, said Hopkins. He said the company is an investment vehicle of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System’s (OMERS) Growth Equity division, under managing director Mark Shulgan.