Yaser Kerachian is a Senior Portfolio Manager, Business Development with Grand Challenges Canada and is responsible for supporting the organization to identify and engage with new opportunities and partners that would benefit from the grand challenges approach. In his role, he also supports the organization’s fundraising and organizational development objectives.

Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Yaser worked in different academic institutions in the areas of Technology Transfer and Research Partnership for fifteen years. Most recently, he was the Commercialization Manager at York University where he supported university inventors in taking their research results to the market. Yaser has entrepreneurial experience by being the co-founder of two startup companies and assisting the creation of four university spin-offs. He was also the co-founder and president of a not-for-profit organization which promotes collaboration of Iranian academics living abroad with the scientific community in Iran.

Yaser holds a PhD degree in Physics from the University of Toronto and an MBA degree from Wilfrid Laurier University. When not focusing on his day job, Yaser spends time with his family, goes hiking or plays badminton. Yaser also enjoys playing Santour (a hammered dulcimer) and practices his patience when tuning its 72 strings!