YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley makes Canadian debut as Discovery's Featured Keynote speaker

TORONTO, March 19, 2015 /CNW/ - His career includes time at eBay and PayPal, two of the busiest online companies, and co-founding YouTube, the third most visited website in the world.

Still in his thirties, Chad Hurley has had a front-row seat to the online revolution that has changed the way we do everything from shopping to banking to sharing home movies and cat videos.

Ontario Centres of Excellence is pleased to welcome Hurley as Discovery's Featured Keynote presentation marking his first time speaking in Canada. Hurley will appear in conversation with Amanda Lang, CBC television's senior business correspondent and host of The Exchange, followed by an audience Q&A.

"Chad Hurley's professional career has been defined by disruptive, game-changing technologies and innovations," says Dr. Tom Corr, President and CEO of Ontario Centres of Excellence. "His experiences are bound to be an inspiration to Discovery attendees who represent some of Canada's best and brightest innovators, entrepreneurs and researchers. And having Amanda Lang lead this session will bring a distinctively business-focused tone to the conversation."

A fine arts graduate from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Chad Hurley began his career in eBay's PayPal division where he was responsible for designing the company's user interface and iconic logo. It was while working there in 2005 he and two colleagues co-founded YouTube with Hurley briefly serving as CEO. The massive and immediate success of the video sharing platform lead to interest from investors and buyers, and in 2006 the startup was sold to Google for an estimated $1.65 billion. Hurley remains as an advisor to the company.

After the sale of YouTube, Hurley co-founded AVOS Systems and is currently the CEO of MixBit, a social media video creation and sharing site.

"I'm excited to be coming to Ontario and discussing entrepreneurship and disruptive technologies with the Discovery audience," says Hurley. "Canada has an incredible history when it comes to innovation and I look forward to being able to share my experiences in an informative way."

Hosting Hurley's keynote session is Amanda Lang, one of Canada's leading business journalists and author of the 2012 book, The Power of Why, which examines how basic curiosity and asking the right questions can power innovation and foster change in business and our personal lives.

This special keynote presentation will close the second day of Discovery on April 28 at 4 p.m.

Named Canada's Best Trade Show 2010 and 2011 and now in its tenth year, OCE's Discovery is Canada's premier innovation showcase. It brings together the best and brightest minds in industry, academia, investment and government to showcase leading-edge technologies, best practices and research in the areas of energy, the environment, advanced health, digital media, information and communication technologies and advanced manufacturing. The annual conference and showcase attracts more than 2,600 attendees and 425 exhibitors.

For more on Discovery, visit www.ocediscovery.com

About Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) Inc.

Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) drives the commercialization of cutting-edge research across key market sectors to build the economy of tomorrow and secure Ontario's global competitiveness. In doing this, OCE fosters the training and development of the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs and is a key partner with Ontario's industry, universities, colleges, research hospitals, investors and government ministries. A champion of leading-edge technologies, best practices and research, OCE invests in sectors such as advanced health, information and communications technology, digital media, advanced materials and manufacturing, agri-food, aerospace, transportation, energy, and the environment including water and mining. OCE is a key partner in delivering Ontario's Innovation Agenda as a member of the province's Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs (ONE). Funded by the Government of Ontario, the ONE is made up of regional and sector-focused organizations and helps Ontario-based entrepreneurs and industry rapidly grow their company and create jobs. For more information visit www.onebusiness.ca

SOURCE Ontario Centres of Excellence Inc.

Media contact: Stuart Green, Manager, Media Relations, 416-861-1092 x 1022, [email protected]