Peter Gallant

Assistant Professor

Contact:

peter.gallant@queensu.ca

Overview

Dr. Peter Gallant is an adjunct Assistant Professor at Smith School of Business, where he teaches courses in entrepreneurship and new venture financing strategy in the Commerce undergraduate program and in the MBA and Master of Management, Innovation & Entrepreneurship (MMIE) programs. He as a past director of the MMIE Program, and he also teaches workshops on productivity and self-management for knowledge workers and start-up leaders.

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Appointment Type

Continuing Adjunct

Academic Area

Strategy and Organizations

Interest Topics

Faculty Details

Profile

Full Bio

Peter earned a B.Sc. (Eng.), M.Sc. (Eng.), and Ph.D. (2001) in Electrical and Computer Engineering, where his research focused on the use of artificial neural networks and evolutionary algorithms in complex time-series modelling and prediction problems. His first start-up was a data analytics company that commercialized some of this research. In 2003, he led the formation of Pathogen Detection Systems to commercialize novel technology developed at Queen’s to detect bacteria in municipal drinking water samples. The company was acquired by Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies (the world’s largest environmental services company) in 2009, where he served as Vice President, Business Development and Regulatory Affairs of the ENDETEC water quality sensor group – evaluating new sensor technologies and achieving the first-ever approval of an automated microbiological testing system for municipal drinking water granted by the US Environmental Protection Agency, and is a named co-inventor on over 17 US and international patents.

In 2015, Peter was appointed as President and CEO of WaterTAP – the innovation acceleration organization of the Province of Ontario for the water and wastewater sector, reporting to the Minister of Research and Innovation.

In 2018, Dr. Gallant was appointed as a Continuing Adjunct faculty member in the Smith School of Business, where he had been teaching as a term adjunct for over 15 years previously. He serves as an advisor and Board member to several early and mid-stage technology companies and venture capital and private equity funds. He is also a private pilot holding multi-engine and instrument ratings.

Academic Degrees

PhD, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Queen’s University (2001)

M.Sc. (Engineering)
Queen’s University (1993)

B.Sc. (Honours), Electrical and Computer Engineering
Queen’s University (1991)

Academic Experience

Smith School of Business, Queen’s University
Assistant Professor (Continuing Adjunct) (2018 - Present)
Director, Master of Management Innovation & Entrepreneurship (2023-2024)
Adjunct Faculty Member/Instructor (2010-2018)

Queen's University
Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science (1995-2003 & 2014-2015)

Publications

Numerous peer-reviewed papers, two book chapters, and conference papers and presentations. A complete list of publications is available upon request.

Teaching

• Effective and engaging presenter and written communicator.
• Teach MBA-level courses on venture finance and managing early-stage ventures.
• Currently teach the core entrepreneurship course for the Queen’s Commerce undergraduate program, where students develop and present venture pitches and complete business plans and courses on financing new ventures and early-stage company strategy.
• Previously developed and taught several innovative, award-winning courses in the Faculty of Applied Science at the 1st year and 4th year level.
• Teaching evaluations consistently above departmental mean.
• Several publications in peer-reviewed journals, including two book chapters and numerous conference presentations and papers.

Service

University Governance Experience

• Rector, Queen’s University (1993-1995).
• Member, Board of Trustees, Queen’s University (1993-1995).
• Member, Queen’s University Council (1999-2007).
• Member (1990-1991) and Chair (1991-1993), Senate Budget Review Committee, Queen’s University – first student to Chair this committee.
• Chair, Ad-Hoc Senate Committee to Review the Grievance Procedures (1992-1993).
• Appointed Member, Principal’s Advisory Task Force on Resource Issues (1993).
• Student Representative, Queen’s University Senate (1989-1991).
• Member, University Grievance Board (1989-1991) and various Senate Committees.

Community Involvement

• Co-produced and appeared in 2 episodes of the Rebel Entrepreneur podcast (in collaboration with the Rebel Business School, UK) on topics of entrepreneurship and productivity, including interview with David Allen, author of Getting Things Done (2021).
• Presenter, “Risks of Financial Independence and Early Retirement”, Camp Mustache Toronto (2019, 2022) plus appearance as guest on several related podcasts (2019-present).
• Volunteer, Reticle Ventures Brockville Experiential Learning facility (2016 – 2018).
• Frequent speaker at Queen’s Summer Innovation Institute bootcamps and start-up venture conferences (2014 – present).
• Panelist, MBA Communication Skills Seminar (2013).
• Mentor and ad-hoc advisor to numerous start-up entrepreneurs in Canada and the US (2003-present).
• Invited Panelist, 1st Annual Getting Things Done Summit, San Francisco, The David Allen Company (2009).
• Member, Business Advisory Board, The David Allen Company (2006 - 2012) – developers of the Getting Things Done methodology for personal productivity.
• Invited speaker, numerous community-based events (1999-present).
• Winner, Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Kingston Chamber of Commerce, (2002).
• Invited Speaker, First Canadian Conference on Ethical Leadership.