After its 2020 closure, Lombardi led OneEleven through its revival.
Toronto-based tech hub OneEleven is in search of a new leader as managing director Matthew Lombardi steps down.
Lombardi announced his resignation in an email to OneEleven community members on Thursday, obtained by BetaKit. Without a specific date, he noted his term will end this spring. Lombardi did not respond to BetaKit’s request for comment by time of publication.
The search for OneEleven’s next leader has begun. Angelo Casanas, OneEleven’s programming director, will assume Lombardi’s leadership duties on an interim basis.
OneEleven appointed Lombardi as managing director in September 2020. In the three years since then, Lombardi led the tech hub through its return, bringing it back to life after it ceased operations in April 2020. This closure significantly impacted the tech ecosystem, which housed over 50 startups at its downtown Toronto location at the time.
The decision to shutdown OneEleven was made in the early days of the pandemic by its board of directors, which included former CEO Dean Hopkins, who left the role in 2019 and became COO of OneEleven partner Oxford Properties.
In August 2020, BetaKit reported OneEleven was acquired by the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE, now the Ontario Centre of Innovation). OCI is among the founding partners of OneEleven, alongside OMERS Ventures and Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University),
Under Lombardi’s leadership and OCI’s ownership, OneEleven reopened in October 2020 and put in place an advisory council to oversee its reboot. In the following months since its relaunch, the hub implemented a new focus on upskilling, launching its talent upskilling program in 2021.
RELATED: Inside the reborn OneEleven
In a recent interview with BetaKit, Lombardi noted the programming has been refined and updated since its launch to include sprints, group projects, masterclasses, and guest speakers, having been used by approximately 1,200 people.
With many companies continuing to employ hybrid or remote work arrangements, Lombardi also said OneEleven has been focused on providing more flexibility in the hub’s space and services.
According to Lombardi, OneEleven’s membership has recovered to 40 companies in just under two years.
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