This program is designed as both an incubation and acceleration program for Canadian Veterans. Beyond professional development training and personalized coaching, this program offers significant support to Veteran entrepreneurs in scaling and commercializing their products, technologies, or services, ensuring they have the necessary resources to thrive in the civilian life as successful entrepreneurs. The objective is to cultivate a vibrant entrepreneurial community and ecosystem for Canadian Veterans, enhancing their success through this program, which fosters commercialization, networking, and collaboration.

Entrepreneurship can have a positive impact on the mental health and wellness of Canadian Veterans. This program will facilitate your integration into the broader Canadian and global entrepreneurial ecosystem. Drawing upon the values of discipline, teamwork, and hard work that are intrinsic to military life, you will develop an entrepreneurship mindset and a cultural framework that can be seamlessly translated into the business world.

Through this program, you will be equipped with the essential tools, training, and mentorship needed to transform your business ideas into tangible realities.

Entrepreneurs-in-Residence

Our "Mission Entrepreneur: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program for Veterans" is specifically tailored for Canadian veterans. We take pride in having three University of Ottawa MBA and EMBA alumni who are Canadian veterans and entrepreneurs to serve as our inaugural Entrepreneurs-in-Residence and advisors, ensuring our program is closely aligned with the needs of the Canadian veteran community. This alignment helps veterans pursue their entrepreneurial goals and dreams, as well as aids in their transition to civilian life. We are honoured to introduce our inaugural Entrepreneurs-in-Residence.

Dr. Cheryl Netterfield, CEO of POMMe-Health

Dr. Cheryl Netterfield is a physician-entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of POMMe-Health, a digital healthtech startup in Ottawa. POMMe-Health delivers a customizable, patient-centric communication platform that rapidly measures and tracks functional outcomes to eliminate gaps in collaborative healthcare communication.

Cheryl is a family physician with clinical interests in sports, occupational and disability medicine and more recently, in CBT psychotherapy. She was a Regular Force Medical Officer in the Canadian Armed Forces for over 24 years, having served across Canada and on several tours overseas. Her current clinical practice includes psychotherapy and Independent Medical Assessments for insurance and occupational investigations. She also delivers presentations on “Health in Retirement” for federal employees preparing for life after retirement.

Cheryl completed her Family Medicine residency in Calgary and then trained as a Flight Surgeon and Dive Medicine Physician with the military. She completed three years of orthopedic surgery training and then trained in Medico-Legal/ Disability Medicine assessments through University of Montreal. She has a Diploma in Sports Medicine and a Fellowship in Family Medicine Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. In 2022, she completed the Executive MBA program through the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa and in 2012, completed the Master’s Certificate in Healthcare Administration through the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Learn more about Dr. Cheryl's experience here

Martin Ouellet, CD, MBA

Martin Ouellet is a 26-year Canadian Army Veteran, real estate investor & coach, REALTOR®, co-founder of the Kingston Investors Club and business owner at Continuum Real Estate. He is the Director General of Moving Heroes, an initiative connecting active members, CAF retirees and first responders to a veteran real estate agent across Canada while supporting families in need via collaborating foundations and charities.

Martin’s professional journey started when he joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1995 and graduated from Electrical Engineering at Royal Military College. He served in Quebec, leading troops to the deployment of Joint Task Force Afghanistan in 2007. Promoted to the rank of Major, he was appointed to various strategic business management functions at the National Defense Headquarters.

Martin began his real estate investment adventure in the national capital in 2008. Empowered by the 2010 the MBA program at the University of Ottawa, he quickly realized the power of corporate marketing and personal branding to leverage everyone’s strengths, allowing passive investor and joint venture partners to build wealth via Real Estate.

During the second half of his career, he helped modernize training, deployed to Kuwait as Chief Information Officer, facilitated the establishment of the National Service Management Office, deployed in South Sudan as Chief Operations and worked at Cyber and Army capability development. He graduated from the U.S. Marine Corps University in 2018, perfecting the art of operational planning and conflict resolution. He spent the last 3 years of his military career at the Canadian Army Command and Staff College teaching critical thinking during tactical and operational planning to Army Officers and retired at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

He has built a residential real estate ecosystem providing win-win solutions to transform opportunities into reality for his buyers, sellers, investors, and various collaborators. Enthusiastic about the power of real estate, Martin gives back to the members of the defense and first responder communities via Moving Heroes.

Learn more about Martin's experience here

Veda Rajole, Management Consultant EY Canada

Veda Rajole is a management consultant currently working at Ernst & Young, where his expertise lies in workforce strategy, optimization, and transformation within the healthcare sector. Veda is dedicated in his efforts to collaboratively address health systems workforce challenges and co-develop solutions to ensure employees and clinicians have fulfilling work experiences while providing the best patient care.

Before diving into consulting, Veda Rajole served in the Canadian Armed Forces for 11 years as a medic. His commitment to service and healthcare is evident in his diverse professional journey. In 2018, he embarked on a different entrepreneurial venture by starting a French bakery cafe, Les Moulins La Fayette, in Hintonburg, Ottawa, showcasing his versatility and business acumen with two business partners. Veda's passion extends beyond his professional pursuits. With a keen interest in coaching and mentorship, he actively engages in supporting veterans and entrepreneurs on their journey to navigate and overcome start-up challenges that can impede success. This commitment aligns with his background as a medic, showcasing a holistic approach to well-being.

His educational journey includes the successful completion of an Executive MBA at the Telfer School of Management in 2022, further enhancing his strategic and managerial skills. Beyond his professional life, Veda Rajole finds solace and joy in long-distance running and actively participates in events such as the Army Run and Ottawa Race Weekend. Veda also dedicates his time to volunteer work as a board member of Christie Lake Kids, a charity focused on empowering underprivileged youth in Ottawa by building essential skills and resilience in the face of adversity.

Learn more about Veda's experience here

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