Biography

Andrew Harries is the Tom Foord Associate Professor of Practice in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at SFU’s Beedie School of Business. At SFU Beedie he blends the latest in entrepreneurial theory and practice in his courses on innovation and entrepreneurship, resourcing new ventures and product & brand management.

Andrew chairs the board of Hailo Data, a startup developing transformative supply chain solutions for independent hospitality operators. He previously chaired the board at Contractually through its acquisition by Coupa Software, a leading procurement automation software vendor, in December 2015. In 2004 Andrew co-founded Zeugma Systems Inc. where he served for six years as the President and CEO.

In 1993 Andrew co-founded Sierra Wireless Inc., where he served in a variety of executive roles including the creation and leadership of the company’s sales, marketing and product management functions. During his 11 years at Sierra Wireless the company grew from inception through IPO to over $200m in annual revenues and in 1999 topped Deloitte’s “Canadian Fast 50” list as Canada’s fastest growing company. Prior to co-founding Sierra Wireless Andrew was a senior product line manager at Motorola Inc.

Andrew serves on the advisory board of Science World British Columbia, where in 2010-2013 he chaired the board of directors through a $38m expansion and a major capital campaign. Andrew holds three US patents and a Master of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University. He is a former recipient of EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year award and in 2023 was inducted into the BC Innovators Hall of Fame.

Research Interests

Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Customer experience; Corporate innovation and the creation of substantially new businesses inside established organizations; Financial strategies for new enterprises; Product management; Leadership and growth.