Melissa Chee is an award-winning business and tech executive, entrepreneur, and independent corporate director who has created global companies and transformative technologies. Melissa is a highly respected leader in Canada’s Deep Tech and semiconductor ecosystem and a champion of inclusive innovation and the advancement of women and girls in STEM. With extensive experience in building public-private partnerships, scaling complex tech ventures into Asia markets, and shaping national tech policy, Melissa has been instrumental in shaping Canada’s deep tech landscape in semiconductors and artificial intelligence. As a Senior Advisor at Antares Ventures, Melissa is shaping Antares’ Canadian strategy and providing valuable insights and guidance to deep tech founders and their companies.
Building on a 25-year career scaling global technology multinationals and start-ups, Melissa most recently was the CEO of ventureLAB, a leading global founder community for hardware and enterprise software companies in Canada. At ventureLAB, she elevated Canada in the global semiconductor industry as the founding CEO of the Hardware Catalyst Initiative, Canada’s first and only hub for semiconductor and hardware companies, and a founding member of Canada’s Semiconductor Council. During Melissa’s tenure, the organization was recognized as one of Canada’s most Admired Corporate Cultures and thrice as a Great Place to Work for Inclusion, Technology, and Managed by Women.
Earlier in her career, Melissa scaled a semiconductor start-up to its public listing on the Toronto Venture Exchange as an Executive Officer and Country Manager for Japan, heading global business operations, supply chain, and product development. Melissa’s earlier career included positions at Nortel, a global telecommunications pioneer, and Constellation Software, one of Canada’s largest publicly traded enterprise software companies.
A recognized board director, Melissa serves on several public and private boards focused on deep tech and digital transformation. She currently serves as an Independent Director on the boards of EllisDon, the Vector Institute of Artificial Intelligence, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, and Scientists in School. She also serves on the national advisory boards of Canada’s Semiconductor Council and the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP). She is a past board director at NGEN – Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster for Advanced Manufacturing, Mackenzie Health Innovation Institute, and Make-A-Wish Canada’s Corporate Cabinet.
Melissa holds an MBA with Honours from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Computer Engineering from McGill University.
