Order of Canada recipient (Member of Canada’s highest civilian honor) Aditya Jha is a serial entrepreneur (technology ventures & turn-around businesses: Canada, USA, France, Thailand, Bangladesh, Morocco, Nairobi, Nepal and India) and a philanthropist. His software company, Isopia Inc, was a major acquisition in 2001 by Sun Microsystems Inc., USA. His private charitable foundation (www.poafoundation.org) has fourteen endowments (for scholarships with special focus on Aboriginal students) at five Canadian universities/colleges and has supported numerous charitable projects internationally as well. He supported and ran Project Beyshick for five years to support nurturing entrepreneurship amongst Canadian Aboriginal youth of Nishnawbe Aski Nation. He also serves as Chief Mentor at the Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC) & CEO of dgMarket International Inc., USA (formerly an initiative of the World Bank), which has customer base in over 65 countries and employees based in 9 countries.

Aditya was also conferred Honorary Doctorate (2009) by Metropolitan University of Toronto. He is honored into Champions of Public Education in Canada Hall of Fame (2013). He has the rare distinction of having been honored twice by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce- first with its Technology Achievement Award (2004) and subsequently with Lifetime Achievement Award (2014). He is also recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), Business Leader of the Year (2019) by School of Business, Niagara University, New York.

Aditya has served Government of Canada’s Board of Governors of National Capital Commission as well on First Nations Financial Management Board. Had also served on Government of Ontario’s Ontario Investment & Trade Advisory Council. His academic appointments include: “Entrepreneur-in-Residence” role at the School of Business, Centennial College, Advisory Board Member Holzschuh College of Business Administration, Niagara University, New York and formerly “Member of the Board of Governors” of Sheridan Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning and “Advisory Council Member” of Dean, Faculty of Community Services, Ryerson University. He has also served on the Board of Governors of Indspire and as Board of Governor of the Art Gallery of Hamilton. He is currently serving on the Board of PartsiD Inc, a NYSE listed company as Chair of the Governance & Compensation Committee. He is Chair of the Advisory Board of Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce and formerly National Convenor of Canada India Foundation.

Aditya was an Adjunct Faculty (National University of Singapore, 1989-94). His approach to philanthropy is featured in the Economist Intelligence Unit (Economist magazine, UK). Aditya started his professional career after investing 4½ years as Research Scholar at School of Computer & Systems Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India and has obtained M.Sc. in Mathematical Statistics and Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Science. He served as General Manager at Bell Canada before starting his entrepreneurial journey besides many more senior roles internationally.

Check out our conversation with Aditya in the video below!