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The Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation announces leadership changes

Johannes Dyring to join Ryerson University as assistant vice-president, business development and strategic initiatives
Category:From the Vice-President, Research and Innovation
February 07, 2020
From left: Richard McCulloch and Johannes Dyring

Richard McCulloch (left) has been appointed executive director, research services and Johannes Dyring will join Ryerson as the inaugural assistant vice-president, business development and strategic initiatives. 

I am pleased to announce changes to the leadership at the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (OVPRI).

In October 2019, the OVPRI launched a national search process to recruit two key leadership positions. I am delighted to report on the outcome of those searches and to welcome Johannes Dyring to Ryerson as the inaugural assistant vice-president, business development and strategic initiatives. I am also pleased to share with you the promotion of Richard McCulloch to executive director, research services. I’d also like to take the opportunity to let you know that Vivian Chan has taken on additional responsibilities to become OVPRI’s chief administrative officer.

These changes in leadership ensure that the OVPRI is well positioned to implement Ryerson’s new Strategic Research Plan, and that we can continue to scale our support for scholarly, research and creative (SRC) activities and collaborations.

Johannes Dyring

Johannes Dyring is a seasoned and diversely experienced business executive, entrepreneur and nurturer of startups, with a career defined by recognizing untapped markets and responding with innovative products and technology.

He joins Ryerson from the University of Saskatchewan, where he was the managing director of Innovation Enterprise. In that role he was responsible for applying an entrepreneurial approach to developing and strengthening the University of Saskatchewan’s innovation, intellectual property and commercialization capacity.

Before joining the University of Saskatchewan, Johannes was CEO of SLU Holding AB (Inc.), providing seed investment and business development services to spin-off companies emerging from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Previously, he was engaged as a founder, CEO or board member/chairman in several high-tech or knowledge-intensive organizations in materials technologies, machine-to-machine communications, agricultural and environmental engineering, advisory networks, finance and early stage investments. Johannes is a board member of Emissions Reduction Alberta, a Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry and has also held board positions at several growth companies in Sweden and the U.S.

During his career, Johannes has worked with innovators, entrepreneurs and investors in several countries and established international networks across Europe, Asia, the U.S. and Canada. Since 2007, Johannes has been closely engaged with early-stage investment and business development in the natural resource and broader sustainability sectors comprising agriculture and food, water, energy and environment, and human and animal health.

Johannes holds a post-graduate diploma in financial strategy from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and a PhD in subatomic physics from Uppsala University, Sweden, and has completed several leadership programs at Harvard Business School and the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

Richard McCulloch

Richard has been overseeing the Research Services portfolio within OVPRI as interim director since September 2019, and prior to that position he served as a research facilitator from 2012-2019. In his time at Ryerson, Richard has played a central role in the development of a number of important and complex research funding successes, including the NSERC Energy Storage Technology Network, Future Skills Centre, and other institutionally significant programs such as the NSERC Industrial Research Chairs and the Canada Foundation for Innovation.

Richard holds a BSc from the University of Waterloo, a PhD from the University of Guelph and an MBA from Ryerson. He has more than 10 years of advanced molecular biology research experience in leading research laboratories and institutions. He also brings a wealth of knowledge of the Ryerson SRC community to the role, and a strong passion for connecting researchers from diverse disciplines and backgrounds to foster innovative ideas, seize potential opportunities and solve complex challenges.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to the members of the search committee who generously contributed their time and effort to these appointments.

Search Committee:

  • Naomi Adelson, Associate Vice-President, Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation
  • Patrizia Albanese, Associate Dean, Faculty of Arts
  • Vivian Chan, Chief Administrative Officer, Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation
  • David Cramb, Dean, Faculty of Science
  • Aziz Guergachi, Professor, Ted Rogers School of Management
  • Michael Kolios, Associate Dean, Faculty of Science
  • Glenda Mallon, Assistant Vice-President, Facilities Management and Development
  • Alexandra Mazalek, Professor, Faculty of Communication and Design
  • Sharareh Taghipour, Associate Professor, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science
  • Kathryn Underwood, Professor, Faculty of Community Services

Please join me in welcoming Johannes to Ryerson and in congratulating Richard on his new role.

Vivian Chan

Vivian Chan has an expanded role as chief administrative officer, OVPRI. For the past 10 years, Vivian has been the senior director, research planning, finance and administration, and her knowledge of Ryerson, as well as her deep financial planning expertise, will serve her well as she takes on her new responsibilities.

Known for her strategic counsel, support and subject-matter expertise, Vivian advises research and non-research centres/units on matters related to the development of large-scale complex institutional proposals and the financial management of large-scale institutional projects. She oversees the operational, human resources and financial administration of the OVPRI and its related centres/units. She also leads the strategy development and implementation of a performance evaluation system to measure Ryerson’s research performance and to raise Ryerson’s profile on a national and global scale.

Vivian joined Ryerson in 2010 and is a seasoned university administrator. She is a chartered professional accountant, certified general accountant, and holds a PhD in higher education from the University of Toronto, an MBA from Laurentian University and a BA in economics from the University of Toronto.

The changes in leadership to the OVPRI enhance our ability to provide a dedicated shared service and support for the institution’s growth trajectory.

Steven N. Liss
Vice-President, Research and Innovation

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