Management Team

Robert LaganièrePresident and Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Robert Laganiere has 25 years experience in computer vision and image/video analysis. He is co-founder of the VIVA research lab and is the author of several books, articles and patents in object detection and tracking, driver assistance, visual surveillance, embedded vision and deep learning. He is a professor at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science of the University of Ottawa.
Robert has been involved in the creation and the growth of a number of startup companies such as Visual Cortek, iWatchLife, Cognivue, and Tempo Analytics where he served as Chief Scientist.

Fahed Hassanat Chief Operating Officer & Director of Engineering

Fahed Hassanat is a Software Engineer by academics and an entrepreneur by passion. With 15 years of experience in the domain, Fahed has brought startups to light as founder and co-founder. Having experienced full stack development, Fahed participated in the creation of very unique software products used by companies such as Samsung. Fahed holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Software Engineering from the University of Ottawa and Masters of Applied Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Ottawa.

Pascal Blais Chief Strategy Officer

Dr. Pascal Blais has 13 years of experience with companies in the domain of computer vision. As director of R&D, he helped building startups, led research and development activities and used his experience in artificial intelligence, machine learning and computer vision to develop new technologies. He is the co-author of 9 patents. He holds a bachelor in science, a master of computer science and a doctorate in computer science from the University of Ottawa.

François de Bellefeuille VP Project Management

At the age of 18, François built a 30-person company from scratch. Within a few years, he sold the company, joining the Spiria team in 2014. From day one, François has thrown himself into his projects: he isn’t afraid of change, or of starting fresh. François’ leadership philosophy is about putting people in positions of strength, and by doing so motivate and inspire them to be at their best. Francois has 13 years of experience in software development and project management.

Robert JohnsenChief Financial Officer

Robert is an entrepreneur and business owner based in NYC. He founded Tempo SOS in 2015 introducing retail analytics to the fast food industry. Robert obtained his MBA from Columbia Business School (1992).

Business Advisors

Julien Rebut

Research Scientist

Research Scientist at Valeo.ai, Julien has 12 years of experience in the Automotive Industry – Autonomous Driving and ADAS. He has a strong technical background in Computer Vision and Machine Learning. He led a department of 20 research engineers during the last 5 years.

Tom Wilson

VP Automotive Graphcore

Currently VP of Automotive at Graphcore, Tom has experience in launching multiple generations of products into ADAS and telecom industry. He has a broad background in building new businesses, managing P&L, and engaging with sales to secure strategic customers. A proven ability to master new disciplines rapidly.

Jim Davies

Past CTO

Jim Davies was Chief Technology Officer at Mitel Networks. He is a graduate in Applied Science, Mechnanical & Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University

Simon Morris

Serial Entrepreneur

Simon Morris is a serial entrepreneur and technical business leader with more than 25 years of experience focused primarily on technology businesses based on digital signal processing and embedded software development at both Fortune 500 companies and venture backed start-ups. As CEO and co-founder of IRYStec Software he raised $8M in venture financing. Mr. Morris was the Chief Executive Officer of CogniVue Corporation, a pioneer in licensing of embedded vision processor technology IP for automotive and consumer markets until Freescale Semiconductor (now NXP) acquired the Company in Sept 2015. Mr. Morris was also Director at BDC Venture Capital, responsible for advanced technology investments. From 1995-2006 he held various senior and executive leadership positions at his first startup Atsana Semiconductor, a venture-backed massively parallel processor company, and senior business positions at Texas Instruments (TI).