Kimberley Neutens appointed interim executive director of the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking

On June 1, the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking was established thanks in part to an incredible $40-million gift from the Hunter Family Foundation, helping spark transformational change, enriching the student experience and empowering innovation across the institution.

I am pleased to announce that Kimberley Neutens will step into the role of interim executive director of the Hunter Hub for a six-month term, effective July 1, 2017, and will be reporting to me. As the director of the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation since 2013, Neutens brings a diverse background and valuable experience to the position.

The hub will encourage and teach students to think differently, identify opportunities, collaborate and build partnerships, value diversity and embrace sustainability — all key abilities in today’s workforce. It will build on what is already happening on our campus, including work at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, an initiative made possible in part by a separate gift from the Hunter Family Foundation in 2012.

“The Hunter Centre, through the unique vision at the Haskayne School of Business, has enabled the development of distinctive learning experiences for students across campus. We’ve proven that entrepreneurial thinking is a valuable skill that can be taught, one that creates new and different opportunities for our changing economic landscape. The hub is a natural extension of the centre and will create new opportunities for interdisciplinary learning, unique programs, hands-on mentorship from the incredible entrepreneurial community in Calgary, and so much more,” says Neutens.

During Neutens’ secondment to the Hunter Hub, her position as director of the Hunter Centre will be filled by Claire Dixon, associate director (operations) of the Creative Destruction Lab – Rockies (CDL-R). Dixon has been at the Haskayne School of Business for four years, most recently as director of the MBA programs. CDL–R is a dynamic program that facilitates entrepreneurial growth over nine months with measurable outcomes along the way, further advancing the University of Calgary’s commitment to entrepreneurship and innovation.

Neutens has worked at the University of British Columbia and York University and spent 10 years at the University of Toronto, where she was the director of MBA program services at the Rotman School of Management. She has a BA in Political Science from McMaster and an MBA from the Sauder School of Business at UBC.  

In her role at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, she supported the launch of a first-of-its-kind in Canada required course in entrepreneurial thinking and the RBC Fast Pitch Competition, providing a forum for exposure, networking, pitch practice and the opportunity to compete for more than $100,000 in cash and in-kind support for students to launch their business. Neutens was also instrumental in the introduction of the entrepreneurship and innovation option for graduate students from across campus. 

To date, more than 2,000 UCalgary students have had exposure to entrepreneurial thinking and the world of startups through these courses, and hundreds more engaged locally through the Summer Incubator Program, and nationally through the Energy New Venture Competition and startup mentorship programs. The new Hunter Hub is the catalyst to reach students in all disciplines and exponentially grow the opportunities for collisions and collaborations.

The new executive director will hold the strategic and operational responsibility for the development and launch of the Hunter Hub, execute entrepreneurial initiatives and help embed entrepreneurial thinking into the student experience and campus culture at the University of Calgary. The executive director will also build extensive networks for collaboration and will engage with our internal and external community to create an inspiring long-term strategic direction for the hub. The search for a permanent executive director will begin in the fall.

Ed McCauley
Vice-President (Research)