Mirza Surfaces With Giant Ventures Firm

August 7, 2013 by Dave Haynes

Anyone who has been around the digital signage space for a few years will know Haroon Mirza, who was a co-founder of the video analytics company Cognovision, which was then bought in 2010 by Intel.

Haroon left this spring when Intel decided to consolidate its retail technologies in Chandler, AZ – a move that made almost no one in the Toronto office of Intel AIM feel warm and fuzzy. One person, I think, took the deal.

Haroon went off a grew a beard, I see.

Now there is word that he has signed on as the first Entrepreneur in Residence at OMERS Ventures, charged with the   identification and execution of investment opportunities in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications sectors.

“He is an accomplished innovator and leader with a passion to advance entrepreneurship, who will be a tremendous asset to OMERS Ventures and our portfolio companies,” said John Ruffolo, CEO of OMERS Ventures. “With his background as a successful entrepreneur, operator, and mentor, Haroon will also help OMERS Ventures deepen our relationships within the venture capital and business communities.”

If you are not from the Toronto area, it is reasonable to utter the phrase: “What is an OMERS?”

In short, it’s a monster.

OMERS is short for Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, and the retirement fund has more than $55 billion in net assets. They own an office office property groups, a nuclear power generating station, a gold retailer and a pile of other diverse assets.

Good pickup by OMERS and Haroon will likely feel much more at home with the hustle of startups than the sometime slow machinations of a giant tech firm like Intel.