Stephan Ouaknine
Stephan Ouaknine is a Canadian business magnate, best known for his activities in the telecommunications industry and in renewable energy. A native of Montreal, Ouaknine has been active at international events including the Clinton Global Initiative, the Durban World Climate Summit and the Rio+20 World Green Summit, and has been named one of Canada's most notable entrepreneurs by Profit magazine.[1]
Early life[edit]
Ouaknine, the son of Moroccan and Egyptian immigrants to Canada, attended McGill University and moved to the Israeli start-up industry,[2] first joining a dot-com multimedia company then known as Geo-Interactive. As vice-president of business development, Ouaknine led the firm's 1996 IPO on the London Stock Exchange under the name Emblaze.[3]
Telecom industry[edit]
In 1998, Ouaknine founded Airslide Systems, an advanced telecommunications equipment company, from his home in Tel Aviv. He raised over $36 million in venture capital for this firm from investors including George Soros, Sequoia Capital, Intel and SingTel.[4] The firm's assets were ultimately acquired by Dialogic Corporation.[5][6]
After exiting Airslide, Ouaknine returned to Montreal to found Blueslice Networks in 2002.[7][8] Blueslice produced evolved Subscriber Data Management (eSDM) solutions for mobile operators.[9] The firm was acquired in 2010 by Morrisville-based Tekelec.[10]
Recent activities[edit]
Subsequently, to Blueslice's acquisition, Ouaknine moved to the renewable energy industry. With partners including Jigar Shah, founder of SunEdison, founded in 1959, Eric Ouaknine and Vincent Martel, Ouaknine founded Inerjys, a renewable energy and clean technology growth equity fund.[11] At Inerjys, Ouaknine's activities have focused on a hybrid strategy of growth equity investment and infrastructure project finance, with the objective of accelerating the commercialization of innovative cleantech firms.[12] Ouaknine has promoted this investment thesis at major international events including the Durban World Climate Summit,[13][14] the Clinton Global Initiative,[15][16] and the World Green Summit,[17] a business conference affiliated with Rio+20.[18] In 2017, Ouaknine was a guide in the March of the Living for teenagers.
References[edit]
- ^ Shiffman, Kim (April 2012). "Canada's 30 Most Fabulous Entrepreneurs - Stephan Ouaknine". Profit Magazine.
- ^ "Quebec can benefit from Israeli tech know-how: Charest". Canadian Jewish News.
- ^ MacGregor, Alison (12 June 2004). "'Crazy' telecom idea now considered visionary" (PDF). Ottawa Citizen.
- ^ "Airslide Founder, Former CEO Stephan Ouaknine Resigns From Operational Role - To Remain On As Advisor". Business Wire. June 21, 2001.
- ^ "Company Overview of Airslide Systems, Inc". Bloomberg Businessweek.
- ^ Tehrani, Rich. "Dialogic Buys Cantata".
- ^ "Blueslice Networks" (PDF). The Wall Street Transcript. June 26, 2004.
- ^ "Company Overview of Blueslice Networks Inc". Bloomberg Businessweek.
- ^ "About Blueslice". Tekelec, Inc.
- ^ "Tekelec Announces Agreements to Acquire Camiant and Blueslice Networks". Tekelec. May 6, 2010.
- ^ Chernova, Yuliya (May 25, 2012). "New Clean-Tech Firm Inerjys Hires Industry Veterans Shah, Pullan". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Fehrenbacher, Katie (May 25, 2012). "Whoa: Meet the new billion dollar cleantech fund Inerjys". GigaOM earth2tech.
- ^ van Praet, Nicholas (December 12, 2011). "Changing the landscape". Financial Post.
- ^ "Canadian CEO talks renewable energy in Durban". Business Wire. December 6, 2011. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013.
- ^ "Inerjys announces $1B renewable-energy commitment at Clinton Global Initiative". Business Wire. September 23, 2011. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013.
- ^ "President Bill Clinton Opens the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting with a Focus on Generating Jobs for the 21st Century, Sustainable Consumption for our Planet, "What Works" for Girls and Women, and Progress of Member Commitments". Clinton Global Initiative. September 20, 2011.
- ^ "Programme - World Green Summit". World Green Summit.
- ^ "World Green Summit at Rio+20". World Climate Limited. Archived from the original on 2012-02-21. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
External links[edit]
- Profile at Inerjys