Irfhan Rawji
Managing Partner, Relay Ventures Managing Partner, Realize Capital Partners
Irfhan Rawji is Managing Partner with Relay Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm with over US$700MM of assets under management, and Managing Partner with Realize Capital Partners, a fund-of-funds social finance asset manager, recently launched with an anchor commitment of C$135MM from the Government of Canada. Irfhan is also an entrepreneur, and is founder and executive chair of Canadian start-up MobSquad, whose mission is to ensure high-calibre technology talent from around the world can build lives and careers within Canada.
Irfhan serves on the boards of The Logic (Chair), PBA Land & Development, and National Bank of Canada (TSX:NA). Irfhan is actively involved in civic affairs, currently volunteering as Co-Chair of the $205MM Glenbow Reimagined capital campaign, Board Chair of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, Board Chair of CIFAR, Board Member of Business and the Arts, Board Member of Venture for Canada, Board Member of the Aga Khan Museum, and Member of the Canada Council for the Arts. Additionally, Irfhan serves as a member of the New Economy Advisory Committee of the Alberta Securities Commission, the National Advisory Committee of The Walrus, and is an Advisor to the Canadian Urban Institute, Windmill Microlending as well as Platform Calgary. Previously Irfhan has served on multiple other boards including the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada (Chair), Chatter Research (sold to Stingray Media, TSX: RAY), Glenbow Museum (Chair), Sage Properties (sold to Shepherd’s Care), imagiNation150 (Finance Committee Chair), Creative Calgary (co-Founder and co-Chair), Harvard Business School’s Global Alumni Board, Calgary’s Bid Exploration Committee for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Finance Committee Chair), The Organic Box (sold to Calgary Co-Op), and Canadian Western Bank (sold to National Bank of Canada).
Irfhan holds an MBA with High Honors from Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar, and also holds a BCom with Honours from the University of British Columbia where he was a Wesbrook Scholar. He is a recipient of The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, the Heart & Stroke Foundation’s Award of Merit, the Sauder School of Business’ Teaching Excellence Award, Business and Arts’ Arnold Edinborough Award, and UBC’s Alumni Builder Award. Irfhan is a Fellow of Glenbow Museum, is a Jarislowsky Fellow with the University of Calgary, and is a member of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 (2017).