# James Quigley

> James Quigley is the co-founder and former CEO of GoCanvas, a mobile data collection and workflow software company founded in 2008. Based in Vienna, Virginia, he is an entrepreneur in residence at Osage Venture Partners, co-founder and chairman of Refraction, and chairman of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority commission. His public work links business software, workplace culture, mentorship and regional economic development.

- **Role:** Entrepreneur in Residence at Osage Venture Partners; Chairman of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority Commission; Chairman of Refraction
- **Organizations:** GoCanvas, Refraction, Osage Venture Partners, Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, inCode Wireless, VeriSign, Aether Systems, Orbcomm, Peak Technologies, Washington West Film Festival, Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Northern Virginia Community College Foundation, Virginia FREE
- **Education:** Union College, United States Merchant Marine Academy
- **Known for:** Co-founded GoCanvas in 2008., Co-founded Refraction, a nonprofit technology innovation hub., Received InformationWeek’s IT Hero award in 2016.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2008** — Held senior roles at inCode Wireless, Aether Systems, Orbcomm and Peak Technologies.
- **2008** — Co-founded Canvas, later renamed GoCanvas, in Reston, Virginia.
- **2011** — Discussed $1.2 million in Series B funding in an August StartUp Beat interview.
- **2016** — Named InformationWeek IT Hero.
- **2017** — Canvas adopted the GoCanvas name.
- **2018** — Named an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Mid-Atlantic finalist.
- **2019** — K1 investment announced; Quigley continued as CEO.
- **2021** — Viyas Sundaram became GoCanvas CEO; by February 2022 Quigley was publicly identified as an Osage entrepreneur in residence.
- **2024** — Nemetschek completed its acquisition of GoCanvas on July 1, after Quigley’s CEO tenure.
- **2026** — FCEDA featured his fireside chat with Victor Hoskins on July 17, identifying him as commission chair.

## Achievements

- Co-founded GoCanvas in 2008.
- Co-founded Refraction, a nonprofit technology innovation hub.
- Received InformationWeek’s IT Hero award in 2016.
- Named an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 Mid-Atlantic finalist.
- Contributed to the regional team behind the successful Amazon HQ2 bid, according to his Refraction biography.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — FCEDA published a feature and fireside chat with Victor Hoskins about Quigley’s experience building GoCanvas in Northern Virginia and his regional economic-development work.
- **2025-02** — GoCanvas appointed James Taylor CEO, succeeding Viyas Sundaram; Quigley is the company’s co-founder and former CEO.
- **2024-07** — Nemetschek completed its acquisition of GoCanvas on July 1.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/quigleyjames
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/James_Quigley

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/james-quigley
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25