Martha Breithaupt, ICD.D

Executive summary

Martha is a scientist, innovation and funding expert with over two decades of experience as a thought leader, speaker, board member, and tax practitioner. As Founder and Director of the educational video series, State of Science, Martha built an educational start up to (p)raise awareness for the innovative and leading edge research and industrial capacity in Canada.

Martha regularly presents to executive teams and boards on the link between innovation and governance to generate financial and operational performance and long-term value.

As a former Partner, elected member of the Partnership Board, Chair of Governance and National R&D Tax Credit leader at a $500M national accounting and advisory firm, Martha has solidified herself as a practice builder and people developer. She has led multi-disciplinary engineering and finance teams while mentoring dozens of students, managers, partners and practice leaders over the last 20+ years.

She has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Waterloo graduating from the Science and Business program in Biochemistry. Previously, Martha held senior roles at both OME Group (which was acquired by Ernst & Young) and Deloitte. While working across food and beverage, biotech, IT, and construction sectors she was also a member of CPA Canada’s SR&ED Tax Advisory committee.

Additionally, Martha has her practitioner level coaching certification from the European Mentoring and Coaching Council, was awarded the University of Waterloo’s Young Alumni Award for her contributions to the field of science and business and completed the ICD’s Director Education Program in board governance. Martha is the current Chair of the International Women’s Forum – Waterloo chapter.

Professional affiliations

Member: Institute of Corporate Directors

Professional designations and education

Bachelor of Science, Biochemistry and Business, The University of Waterloo (2001)

Director’s Education Program, ICD.D, University of Toronto, Rotman School (2023)