Catherine Warren is an media-tech innovator, economic development CEO and Board Director, advancing companies, governments, and investors through strategic capital, community-building and global growth strategies. Catherine’s leadership has resulted in $3B in high-impact investment to Canada since 2018. 

As Chief Executive Officer of Vancouver Economic Commission, she led a portfolio including the Vancouver Film Commission, the world’s largest animation and visual effects sector contributing $3.8B in annual production; smart cities technologies such as AI, quantum computing and the green and impact economies. Catherine’s portfolio includes building North America’s fastest-growing tech sector in Alberta and attracting three leading Silicon Valley accelerators to the region, known as a global AI capital.

The founder and president of FanTrust Entertainment Strategies and a pioneer in fan-building, Catherine has led two decades of digital engagement, rights, and revenues for international entertainment clients in streaming, TV, film, video games and eSports, including the launch of North America’s first 24 hour eSports broadcast channel for longstanding client Super Channel. 

Prior to founding FanTrust, Catherine was COO of a broadcast tech company that she and co-founders took public on the Nasdaq, growing it to a $300M market cap. Catherine is a member of the international Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, serving on the Nominating Committee; and is a longstanding Board Director of the United Nations flagship program World Summit Awards for digital media, representing the best content from 182 countries dedicated to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Catherine has a physics degree from Reed College and an MS from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, where she did her original digital work at MIT’s Media Lab, and won the Correspondent Fund Award to report at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. 

Speaking on: Topic Tables