Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Satya Nadella champion Vancouver’s potential as innovation hub

Ask the CEO of Microsoft about the innovations coming out of Vancouver and the word “monumental” is one of the first words to spring out of his mouth.

“I’m very, very excited about the work that we’re doing in Vancouver,” Satya Nadella told a packed ballroom Tuesday (September 20) while speaking at the Emerging Cascadia Innovation Corridor Conference in downtown Vancouver.

Sitting next to him throughout an informal lunchtime chat was Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates.

For most of 30 minutes, Gates and Nadella kept their conversation focused on corporate culture and how partnerships between the private sector and universities sustain each other when innovating.

But Gates did take time to throw his support behind an announcement from earlier in the day, when the governments of BC and Washington agreed to collaborate on a “tech corridor” intended to create more economic opportunities between the regions’ tech sectors.

“Washington-British Columbia is a really good opportunity but Canada as a whole can be an exemplar of the values and investments that will drive innovation and help us all,” said Gates, who had visited Montreal a week earlier where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had been speaking.

Gates said that trip convinced him Canada had the leadership and “good immigration policies” he feels are lacking in other countries looking to kick-start their innovation sectors.