“This organization’s mission is close to my heart,” emphasizes David Sanguinetti, sitting in the home office of his net-zero passive home in Vancouver, amongst shelves teeming with engineering books, leadership guides, family photos, and a well-used set of gardening tools.

For David, a sustainable future is not just a dream—it’s a blueprint for prosperity that he is actively building. From powering his home with rooftop solar to embracing a low-environmental-impact diet to opting for low-emissions transportation whenever possible, sustainability is deeply ingrained in David's daily life—and has been for years. It is a commitment that now extends to steering an entire nation's clean productivity aspirations as the newly appointed Interim CEO of Foresight, Canada’s largest cleantech innovation and adoption accelerator. 

“What truly drives me is the future we’re creating for our children, our neighbours, and ultimately every person on this planet,” says David. “It's a commitment I share with my wife in her work at ZEIC, and a value we live by every day. My new role at Foresight is the ultimate opportunity to take that personal mission and scale it across Canada.” 

David’s journey to CEO is a testament to his deeply rooted, hands-on approach to problem-solving—a mindset that has defined his career from the very beginning. He began in the complex world of gas processing plant design after earning his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Engineering from McGill University. This foundation in building intricate systems took him around the world, tackling challenges in diverse industries like ensuring the purity of potable water, transforming biomass into energy, and recovering valuable metals from mining waste streams. David's extensive technical fluency gives him a unique vantage point at Foresight’s helm, but it's his unwavering commitment to a sustainable future that truly sets the organization up for success. After more than 25 years, his deep understanding of a cleaner economy's challenges and opportunities is driven by a powerful vision to create lasting change.

 For years, David has been a quiet force within Canada’s cleantech ecosystem. As an Executive in Residence (EIR) with Foresight—a role he took on in 2018—he offered invaluable mentorship and guidance to then-startups like Lucent BioSciences through the unpredictable landscape of scaling their innovative technologies. He spearheaded Canada’s first CTO training initiative: Foresight's Deliver program, which has empowered over 170 technical leaders to navigate scaling breakthrough climate solutions, including Amanda Hall, CEO of Summit Nanotech, and D.J. Lake, CSO of Terra CO2. Next, he fuelled the expansion of Foresight’s sectoral clusters, focusing resources on agriculture, bioeconomy, the built environment, carbontech, power, and water—sectors vital to a net-zero economy. His leadership of the British Columbia Net Zero Innovation Network (BCNZIN) underscored his commitment, as he propelled a team of sectoral managers to turn $7.5M of public investment into a staggering $154M worth of clean economic returns.

David has a deep understanding of the struggles cleantech entrepreneurs face in getting their technology implemented at scale, and because of that, is the first to celebrate their breakthroughs. His career directly supporting and engaging with innovators and industry adopters paved the way for his pivotal role as VP, Technology Adoption in 2020, and later as Chief Operations Officer in 2024. Now, as Interim CEO, David’s vision for Foresight is clear: to build upon the robust foundation laid by CEO-turned Strategic Advisor and Board Member Jeanette Jackson—accelerating Canada's journey to an efficient, resilient economy powered by cleantech. 

“Jeanette has built an organization that is a testament to Canada’s immense strength in innovation. Now is the time to build upon this foundation and take Foresight into its next stage and propel Canadian cleantech forward. I look forward to playing an even greater role in this progress,” says David.

David Sanguinetti isn't just leading Foresight; he’s embodying its very mission, demonstrating that a clean economy is a tangible, achievable, and prosperous reality. He envisions a collaborative future, working diligently with industry and public-sector partners to unlock a clean economy that not only thrives today, but also leaves a healthy planet for generations to come. It's a future David is building with the entire Foresight team—just as he’s been building it in his own home, one cleantech adoption at a time.