About Katherine

Katherine Verrier-Fréchette is a former senior Canadian diplomat senior leader and former Managing Director (MENA) of Awz Ventures Inc., a leading Canadian Venture Capital Hub and currently works in Venture Capital & Private Equity, specifically in technology verticals which have the potential to improve the lives of many.
Katherine concluded her two decades in the Canadian Foreign Service as Head of Mission (Ambassador-equivalent) and throughout her diplomatic career, she shaped Canada’s vision and strategy in foreign contexts and represented Canada at the highest levels of government. She strategically advanced her government’s interests and relations in the most challenging environments, such as Afghanistan, Palestine, and Israel. She led ministerial and prime ministerial visits, delivered multi-million dollars development assistance programmes, and assisted Canadian companies in foreign markets.
As the former MD of Awz Ventures Inc., a leading Canadian Venture Capital Hub, she led on their investing strategy in security solutions powered by AI and DeepTech. Previously, she was a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company, where she served McKinsey’s clients across the Middle East, Africa and Asia on strategy and implementation.
Over the last 25+ year, Katherine has advised leaders ranging from CEOs to community figures and from senior officials to ministers and heads of governments. Always recognized as an outstanding strategist and communicator, she also has a track record of establishing partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders to build the bridges and the coalitions required to sustain progress, growth and innovation.