Helge Seetzen

Helge Seetzen is a successful multi-media technology entrepreneur with deep experience in the university tech transfer space. He currently serves as the CEO and Managing Partner of TandemLaunch—a startup foundry that works with driven entrepreneurs to turn research from the world's best universities into exceptional consumer technology companies. Under Helge's leadership, TandemLaunch has created over 30 technology companies, accounting for hundreds of jobs, $600M+ in market value and commercialized technologies from over 50 international universities.

Prior to TandemLaunch, Helge co-founded Sunnybrook Technologies, which later became BrightSide Technologies, to commercialize high dynamic range (HDR) display technology and champion the development of the local dimming LED TV concept. After receiving accolades such as the Best Buzz Award at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show and a "Top 100 Technologies in 2006" rank by Popular Science Magazine, BrightSide was successfully sold to Dolby Laboratories at a high return to shareholders. At Dolby, Helge led all cross-functional development activities for Dolby’s first two consumer video products, including today's Dolby Vision standard for HDR video. In this capacity he built research and engineering departments in both Canada and the US, and was closely involved in licensing negotiations with many major consumer electronics manufacturers.

Helge's leadership in the technology transfer, innovation and entrepreneurial space has been widely recognized through awards such as a Business In Vancouver Forty under 40 distinction for his business accomplishments, an NSERC Innovation Challenge Award for university technology transfer, and a Special Recognition Award from the Society for Information Display for the pioneering of LED TV technology. Helge’s contributions to Canadian society include service on the governance bodies of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Mitacs, HEC Montreal’s Entrepreneurship Program, and over a dozen private corporations. He is a Fellow of the McGill Dobson Center for Entrepreneurship and a strong supporter of many other initiatives encouraging entrepreneurship. As a technical leader, Helge served as the General Chair for Display Week, the largest technical conference on displays, as well as President of the Executive Board of the Society for Information Display (SID). He has published over 20 journal articles, writes a regular column on venture capital innovation in the Information Display magazine, and holds over 80 US patents. Helge received a BSc in physics and a PhD in interdisciplinary studies on imaging technology in physics, computer science, electrical and computer engineering, and psychology from the University of British Columbia.