# Paul Donald

> Paul Donald is the co-founder and CEO of Encircle, a Canadian software company focused on field documentation for property restoration. Previously founder and CEO of PeerDirect, a BlackBerry executive and COO of PushLife, he now leads work connecting restoration evidence with reporting, scoping and estimating. He is also publicly described as a mentor, coach and angel investor in the Kitchener technology community.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Encircle
- **Organizations:** Encircle, PeerDirect, Research In Motion / BlackBerry, PushLife
- **Known for:** Founded and led PeerDirect before its sale to Progress Software in 1999., Co-founded Encircle in 2012., United Policyholders credits Donald and Encircle with creating and donating its home-inventory app for public use.

## Career timeline

- **1999** — Sold PeerDirect, where he was founder and CEO, to Progress Software.
- **1999-2003** — Vice President, ISV Alliances at Research In Motion, according to the Council of Canadian Innovators.
- **2003-2009** — Vice President, CDMA at Research In Motion, according to the Council of Canadian Innovators.
- **2009-2011** — Served as COO of PushLife; public biographies differ on his precise starting month. Google acquired the business in 2011.
- **2012** — Co-founded Encircle with Ronuk Raval and Christophe Biocca, initially focused on home inventory.
- **2015** — Encircle began a summer pilot with Northbridge Insurance.
- **2022** — Encircle partnered with Crawford Contractor Connection on moisture data analytics and water-mitigation documentation.
- **2026** — Continues leading Encircle as its tools expand into AI-assisted mitigation scoping and estimating.

## Achievements

- Founded and led PeerDirect before its sale to Progress Software in 1999.
- Co-founded Encircle in 2012.
- United Policyholders credits Donald and Encircle with creating and donating its home-inventory app for public use.
- Led Encircle when it ranked No. 272 in the 2024 Canada’s Top Growing Companies list and No. 154 in 2025.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Encircle reported that Paul Donald and Judy Donald attended the PuroClean Canada Conference in Penticton, meeting owners and operators.
- **2026-08** — Appeared with Andy McCabe in a Claim Clinic session dated August 26 about mitigation billing, documentation and class-based drying pricing.
- **2026-05** — Featured in the May 8 Mit List episode discussing AI questions raised at the 2026 RIA gathering in Savannah.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/paul-donald-4353921

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/paul-donald
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22