Rod Lever to join MaRS Advanced Energy Centre Board

TORONTO, May 14, 2015 – The Advanced Energy Centre at MaRS Discovery District is pleased to announce Rod Lever as its newest Advisory Board member. Rod is the Cleantech Lead at Export Development Canada (EDC), and brings extensive experience in international business development and international trade, including insights into the energy technology needs of emerging markets.

“As the Advanced Energy Centre looks to deploy Canadian energy innovation into new and emerging markets, the Centre will benefit from Rod’s invaluable experiences in cleantech within Canada and internationally,” said Ron Dizy, Managing Director of the Advanced Energy Centre.

Rod will work with the Advisory Board chaired by Paul Murphy, former President and CEO of the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), to provide strategic guidance to the Centre. “Rod’s passion, knowledge, and insight will be a great complement to the Board’s current capabilities. We are delighted to welcome him to the Board,” said Mr. Murphy.

About Rod Lever
Strategic Accounts, Cleantech Lead, Export Development Canada

Rod Lever joined Export Development Canada (EDC) in 1999 and has since served in a number of roles related to EDC’s business in emerging markets and environmental industries.  After close to four years as Senior Political Risk Analyst for South America, he joined the International Business Development Group in October 2004 as Ottawa-based Regional Manager for Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), managing EDC’s business in the CIS region and opened EDC’s first representation in Moscow in January 2007. He led EDC’s business group as Chief Representative for Russia and the CIS from Moscow until August 2010, when he returned to Canada to join EDC’s Infrastructure and Environment group, with responsibility for leading EDC’s cleantech strategy and managing several of EDC’s strategic accounts in the infrastructure sector.

Mr. Lever has worked in a variety of institutions and agencies dedicated to international business and international trade. From 1997 to 1999, he held research positions at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) in Ottawa and Ottawa’s Centre for Trade Policy and Law. Mr. Lever was born in Toronto, Ontario. He holds a B.A. (Hons.) from the University of Western Ontario and a Masters of International Affairs (International Political Economy) from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs in Ottawa.

About the Advanced Energy Centre
The Advanced Energy Centre (AEC) is a non-profit public-private partnership with the mission of fostering the adoption of innovative energy technologies in Ontario and Canada, and leveraging those successes and experiences into international markets. The AEC works with Canadian startups and SMEs in the cleantech and, specifically, the energy sector. Its role is to actively develop partnerships that will help bring these technologies to global markets. Within Canada, the AEC works to identify and remove systemic barriers to the adoption of energy innovation.