Mathew Sheedy

For Mathew Sheedy, WestLink internships ran in the family. He had just graduated from high school in Winnipeg when his father, with Novra Technologies at the time, was mentoring a student from Westlink's inaugural round of the Technology Commercialization Internship Program. Eighteen-year-old Sheedy met with the intern after his father set up a meeting, but then tucked away the notion of such a program while he went to university.

Years later, Sheedy earned his commerce degree from the University of Manitoba and had been working as a marketing manager when he thought about how to increase his career potential. The high cost of an MBA made the idea of a paid internship appealing to him.

Sheedy entered the two-year plan in 2006 with an open mind. "I had no idea which of the three fields would be the best fit for me, but I was eager to find out," he says. "In Winnipeg I saw a lot of people in my field struggling to find good jobs and I thought of it as a vehicle to get work in another city."

Sheedy's first placement was with CentreStone Ventures, a life sciences Winnipeg-based venture capital fund. Sheedy gained exposure to incoming investment ideas, due diligence and became the first set of eyes for the company. He collected hands-on experience editing business plans and preparing reports for the fund's Limited Partners. While Sheedy was with CentreStone, it spun-off a second company that was put up for public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange which meant back and forth exchanges between lawyers and investment bankers. After months of work, the company successfully raised $5.5 million.

"Venture capital exposed me to a wide variety of companies with some very interesting technologies," says Sheedy. "It was a bit different than I expected. It was a newer, smaller fund without a lot of manpower but they were relaxed and let me try things I later learned other people didn't get a chance to do."

Sheedy's second placement was with a CentreStone investment called Sanomune. Sanomune is a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the treatment of neurological and autoimmune disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease. The company needed to raise money so Sheedy spent time working on strategic planning and putting together a Series A financing round. During his eight months there, he also prepared regulatory submission packages to receive clearance for two 60-patient clinical trials. "That was a highlight—it was so much work," says Sheedy. "But I really learned a lot."

Sheedy's final posting was back with CentreStone, this time as an in-house tech transfer placement. He focused on licensing an Alzheimer's treatment from the University of Minnesota. "It was a lot of negotiations," he says. "It took six months to put together the licensing agreement and it almost fell apart. It was an experience to listen to the researcher talk to the patent examiner to defend his case after his claims were rejected. It was interesting to see that side of things."

Sheedy also spent one month at Red River College to balance his in-house tech transfer time with institutional experience, before returning to CentreStone where he is now an investment analyst. At CentreStone, Sheedy's days are varied and he spends time managing Sanomune's day-to-day operations as well. On any given day he might be managing finances, analyzing business plans, making investment recommendations or talking to scientists about ongoing research. He also recently put together the package that won the Canada's Top 10 Life Sciences Competition.

"I've always wanted to work in a dynamic industry with the potential to benefit society in a meaningful way," he says. "Before WestLink, many of the options that were open to me just didn't seem to fit that description. Now, when I tell people I work in the life sciences, they take a genuine interest and it's something I can be proud of. CentreStone also gives me the opportunity to invest in companies like Sanomune and ownership has definitely made me more passionate about what I do."

Sheedy can't think of any other way to get him to this position without the WestLink program. "Having the opportunity to move to different places and with a salary on top of that was really important," he says. "I wouldn't be where I am now without WestLink."