Dan Herman
Dan Herman, PhD, is a Toronto-based innovation strategist, professor, and documentary producer who offers a global perspective on the movement of capital, talent, and ideas.
His documentaries include Magnetic Cities, an 18-episode series that explores how emerging ecosystems in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are reshaping the global innovation economy, as well as A People’s War, an award-winning short documentary about the impact of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on the lives of regular people.
He currently serves as Executive Advisor, Innovation Policy & Global Ecosystems for Northguide Inc. Doing so draws on his time as head of innovation policy in Canada, where he helped shape the country’s Innovation and Skills Plan, as well as his time as the Government of Ontario’s special advisor and, thereafter, CEO of Intellectual Property Ontario.
As geopolitical tensions rise and melting sea ice opens new northern sea routes, protecting Canada’s northern frontier and the vast resources in the region has become an urgent — and potentially existential — concern. Northern Defense explores this topic in a documentary style, introducing its audience to the people, places, and companies at the forefront of safeguarding Canada’s sovereignty. The film examines Canada’s preparedness to project sovereignty in the Arctic and, in doing so, explores how a new generation of domestic defense companies may be at the heart of that sovereignty. It weaves together perspectives from academic, military, and government officials, technology companies, and Arctic residents to reveal how Canada’s sovereignty is at risk and how it can be protected.
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