Michael Buhr

Worth knowing

Michael has been the CEO in the chair, at Filld, Zerve and Travelport's consumer business, and has founded, acquired, invested in and sold companies, so he reads a growth plan the way an operator does rather than an adviser. Through C100 he connects founders to Canadian tech leaders abroad, and he works directly with federal and provincial officials on programs that help companies scale.

Story

Michael grew up in Ottawa and took an engineering degree at Queen's, then spent more than thirty years in Silicon Valley with leadership roles at Apple, Adobe and eBay. He moved from big-company strategy into running things: chief executive at Zerve, then at the fuel delivery company Filld, then corporate development and strategic partnerships at Lacuna Technologies. Since 2009 he has also run Bridge Strategy, his own advisory and mentoring practice for founders working on strategy, leadership and fundraising. He had been a C100 board and charter member for 14 years when he took over as Executive Director in January 2024, and he now spends his time on the programs and introductions that help Canadian companies get bigger.

In Michael's words

I grew up in Ottawa, graduated from Queen's Engineering, and was recruited to Apple in California - and simply stayed. After 30+ years in Silicon Valley, I'm now Executive Director and Board Member of C100 and Founder/CEO of Bridge Strategy. I've been a founder, CEO, investor, corporate executive, and board member across venture-backed, pre-IPO, and public companies. Today I focus on helping Canadian tech founders and leaders, along with federal and provincial officials, design and deliver programs that help Canadian companies scale.

Highlights

• Executive Director and Board Member, C100 (2024-present)
• Founder and CEO, Bridge Strategy (2009-present)
• President and CEO, Filld (2016-2019); CEO, Zerve; CEO Consumer, Travelport
• Leadership roles at Apple, Adobe and eBay
• BScEE (Honors), Electrical and Computer Engineering, Queen's University