MBiz

35 MBiz | november 2016 I.H. ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS E arning an MBA at the I.H. Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba was a life-changing experience for Sheri Governo and her partners in research-and-development firm Exigence Technologies. What began as a student project to pitch a technology that kills microbial-resistant bacteria without antibiotics has grown into a real-world venture — one that could be a life-saver for millions of others. Governo was completing her MBA in late 2013 when she and three other students formed a group in the Business Venture Analysis course taught by Stuart Henrickson, I.H. Asper executive director of the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship. "The goal was to write a business plan around a technology that had never before been commercialized and then to take it to business-planning competitions around North America," she says. The University of Manitoba Technology Transfer Office (TTO) presented technologies for consideration, and her group chose an anti-microbial compound invented by Dr. Song Liu, Associate Professor of polymer chemistry in the Department of Biosystems Engineering. With a background in health care, Governo is well acquainted with the devastation wrought by drug-resistant bacteria, on patients, their families and health-care workers. "We're at the point now where there are infections that just are not treatable with antibiotics anymore, and they're not coming up with any new antibiotics that are capable of killing these bugs," she says. The World Health Organization's member countries adopted a global action plan in 2015 to address antibiotic resistance, and Exigence Technologies can play a role. It has developed the capability to treat soft surfaces, such as hospital privacy curtains, and is working on treating hard surfaces in environments such as food processing spaces. "People actually die from food poisoning and companies get sued and some companies actually fold because of food recalls," Governo says. "That's on the business side, but ultimately this is a technology that's aimed at killing bugs that harm people and animals, so we think that it really can have an impact and we didn't want to leave this technology sitting on the shelf." Partners Governo, Zach Wolff and Javier Nudler finalized a licensing agreement with the university in the summer of 2014. Nudler has a hands-off role, but Wolff quit his aerospace job and Governo left her job as Manager of Patient Care at Health Sciences Centre to launch the company at the U of M's SmartPark. They started out with two tables and chairs in an office at the Eureka Project (a business incubator that is now part of innovation network North Forge Technology Exchange). Within a 14-month period, from April 2015 to June 2016, they grew to a staff of 11, including chemists, scientists and engineers. Now, they're working toward having large international chemical and coatings firms license the technology. Governo's role as a change-maker who's making a positive impact on society has been recognized by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). In September, she was named to its Class of 2016 Influential Leaders, an impressive group of 30 alumni from AACSB-accredited business schools in 11 countries. While she took a circuitous route, her cumulative experiences helped her reach this destination. Growing up on a farm gave her a strong work ethic. She developed discipline as a musician — she has an undergrad in music from the U of M — and she honed her leadership skills in the health-care field. Her MBA provided grounding in finance, accounting, marketing and communications, all of which helped prepare her for a pivotal role in an incredibly complex business. "It's not easy," she says. "But we believe that the human health and financial impacts are sufficiently great that it's worth the effort and time and patience to get there." ■ GLOBAL SWAT TEAM Local startup is attacking killer bugs By Pat St. Germain I.H. Asper School of Business MBA Sheri Governo. Photo by Darcy Finley "Ultimately this is a technology that's aimed at killing bugs that harm people and animals, so we think that it really can have an impact and we didn't want to leave this technology sitting the shelf."

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