Aditya Jha

A Serial Entrepreneur & Philanthropist

Order of Canada recipient Aditya Jha is a rare combination of a serial entrepreneur and a philanthropist.
His entrepreneurial pursuits have included start-up technology ventures as well as turn-around
businesses in Canada, USA, India, Thailand, Bangladesh, Morocco, Kenya, Nepal, France and Australia.
He co-founded a software company, Isopia Inc., after having a successful career at Bell Canada as
General Manager, eBusiness. In July 2001, Isopia was a major acquisition by Sun Microsystems Inc.,
USA. His private charitable foundation (www.poafoundation.org) has fourteen endowments (for
scholarships) & five grants (for entrepreneurship) at five universities/colleges and has supported
numerous charitable projects in Canada, India and Nepal. He is currently CEO of dgMarket
International Inc., USA (www.dgmarket.com), a micro-multinational company (global eProcurement
Services & Software business, formerly an initiative of the World Bank), which has customer base in
over 65 countries and employees based in NINE countries & Eleven cities.

Accolades/Awards that reflect pursuit of excellence

Aditya is Member of the Order of Canada (Canada’s highest civilian honours) and was conferred Honorary
Doctorate (2009) by Ryerson University. He was also honoured as Business Leader of 2019 by Niagara
University, New York, USA and invested into Champions of Public Education in Canada Hall of Fame
(2013) by The Learning Partnership. He has the rare distinction of having been honoured twice by the
Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce with Lifetime Achievement Award (2014) and previously with its
Technology Achievement Award (2004). He is also recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
(2012) and the Canadian Immigrant magazine’s (Toronto Star) Top 25 Canadian Immigrants 2010, and
Top 30 Most Influential Indo-Canadians (India Abroad magazine- Power List 2009) and many more.
Aditya is currently serving as Board member of a NYSE listed company PartsiD and serves as the Chair
of the Governance & Nomination committee. He serves on the Advisory Board Member of the School
of Business, Niagara University, New York. Previously, he has been the appointee of the Government
of Canada to the Board of Governors of National Capital Commission and on First Nations Financial
Management Board. Had also served on Government of Ontario’s Ontario Investment & Trade Advisory
Council. His academic appointments include: “Entrepreneur-in-Residence” role at the School of Business,
Centennial College and “Member of the Board of Governors” of Sheridan Institute of Technology &
Advanced Learning and “Advisory Council Member” of Dean, Faculty of Community Services, Ryerson
University. He has also served on the Board of Governors of Indspire (a national Aboriginal achievement
award foundation giving over 5,000 scholarships annually) and as Board of Governor of the Art Gallery
of Hamilton besides having served as board member of two TSX listed public companies. He was the
National Convener of Canada India Foundation (2009-11) and has also served on the Board of the IndoCanada Chamber of Commerce.
Nurturing entrepreneurs, supporting higher education through private foundation
Aditya sponsored & ran (five years) a unique initiative working with the office of the Grand Chief of
Nishnawbe Aski Nation to nurture entrepreneurship within the aboriginal communities of Canada.
His charitable foundation (www.poafoundation.org) created endowments at five institutions (Ryerson
University, Trent University, York University, Centennial College and George Brown College), which
grants total of fourteen scholarships ($42,000 annually) to students in perpetuity & five
entrepreneurship grants ($28,000 annually). He Chaired UNICEF Canada India HIV/AIDS campaign
and was one of the Cabinet Members for Ryerson University Business School's capital campaign ($72
million).
Aditya’s foundation has also supported other projects: with Ryerson University- a research project on
Economic contributions of Indo-Canadians; Pathways Education Program for the inner-city kids of Regent Park,
Toronto; Share the Music endowment at Roy Thomson Hall to give Canadian Aboriginals access to best
musical performances; Infrastructure grant (for ballet school in Havana through Canadian Ballet Youth
Ensemble and Trillium Hospital, Mississauga); Toronto International Film Festival as Gold Patron; Canadian
Museum of Human Rights; Scholarships for kids from landless families in India through AIM for SEVA;
and Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, and several other charitable projects. He has funded digital literacy
project donating laptop and desktops to 11 schools in Nepal and to the Islamic Institute of Toronto as well
has supported Nepal Library Foundation for setting up libraries in the remote villages of Nepal besides
financially supporting first All Women Musical Band in Nepal to create employment for women who
were participants in the 10 year armed civil strife/Guerilla warfare in Nepal against the institution of
Monarchy.

Professional achievements: the intellectual capital
Aditya was an Adjunct Faculty (National University of Singapore, 1989-94) and been invited speaker at the
Schulich Business School, Rotman Business School, Sloan School of Management, MIT (organized by
Boston Vichar Manch and others), Ted Rogers Business School, and University of Ontario Institute of
Technology, and other prestigious institutions in Canada and abroad. His approach to philanthropy is
featured in the Economist Intelligence Unit (Economist magazine, UK) report entitled “The New World of
Wealth-Seven key trends for investing, giving & spending among the very rich” and he also presented before the
Standing Senate Committee (Senate of Canada) on Foreign Affairs & International Trade on Rise of China,
India and Russia and its implication on Canadian policy. He was one of the seven Canadians who
accompanied Prime Minister Stephen Harper on his State visit to India in 2009 & also subsequently
with a larger delegation in 2012. He has been featured as “New Radical Pioneers” in Julia Moulden’s book
“We Are the New Radicals”, McGraw Hill.
Aditya was the Keynote speaker at national events in Canada and in India. He has published/presented
papers in several international conferences and has served as Editorial Review Board member of two
prestigious journals as well as has moderated three business roundtables for increased trade linkages between
India and Canada including at PBD2011 event in Toronto as well as speaker at “Vibrant Gujarat 2013”. He
was one of the bloggers for “My City Your City” for Toronto Star and blogged in Huffington Post and has
written editorial article in National Post, The Globe & Mail daily and has been featured in major National
and international dailies and magazines. Aditya started his professional career after investing 4½ years
as Research Scholar at School of Computer & Systems Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India and
has obtained M.Sc. in Mathematical Statistics and Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Science.

International Experience
Aditya’s professional work experience and entrepreneurial ventures span various countries in Asia,
North America, Europe and Africa- serving international customers, building business partner network
and setting-up ventures in different international locations. He has managed and supervised hundreds
of mid-level and senior management employees of varying professional background in widely spread
international geographies. Aditya has extensive network of influential individuals in the corporate
world, in the circle of philanthropy and in community organizations as well as with Public Policy makers
in Canada and internationally.