# Sonia Sennik

> Sonia Sennik is CEO of Creative Destruction Lab, a global nonprofit program supporting early-stage science-based companies. An engineering physics graduate and former Hatch project leader, Sennik also coached Rugby Ontario’s senior women’s team, established a resilience scholarship at McMaster, hosts Connected Intelligence and contributes to Canadian AI policy.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at Creative Destruction Lab
- **Organizations:** Creative Destruction Lab, Hatch Ltd., Rugby Ontario, McMaster University, University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management, Futurpreneur Canada, ParticipACTION, Connected Intelligence, Disruptors x CDL: The Innovation Era, Government of Canada AI Strategy Task Force
- **Education:** Bachelor of Engineering, Engineering Physics, McMaster University, Master of Business Administration, University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management
- **Known for:** Managed Hatch capital projects valued at up to $500 million., First female head coach of Rugby Ontario’s senior women’s team., Ontario won national rugby gold under Sennik’s leadership in 2017.

## Career timeline

- **2004** — Named an Ontario University Athletics rugby all-star.
- **2008** — Graduated from McMaster in engineering physics; joined Hatch after graduation.
- **2016-2018** — Head coach of Rugby Ontario’s senior women’s team.
- **2017** — Joined CDL as inaugural executive director; Ontario won the Canadian Rugby Championships; received Rotman’s inaugural Social Impact Award.
- **2020** — Established the Sonia Sennik Resilience Fund at McMaster.
- **2021** — Named a Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 honoree; joined Futurpreneur’s board in November.
- **2022** — Launched Connected Intelligence with a Janice Stein episode on trust.
- **2024** — Publicly identified as CDL CEO and began co-hosting Disruptors x CDL with John Stackhouse in September.
- **2025** — Appointed to Canada’s AI Strategy Task Force in September; submitted three memos dated October 31.
- **2026** — Represented CDL in the Canadian Digital Core Library collaboration.

## Achievements

- Managed Hatch capital projects valued at up to $500 million.
- First female head coach of Rugby Ontario’s senior women’s team.
- Ontario won national rugby gold under Sennik’s leadership in 2017.
- Inaugural recipient of Rotman’s Social Impact Award, 2017.
- Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 honoree, 2021.
- Founded an engineering resilience scholarship at McMaster; the fund attracted more than forty contributors.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — The Canadian Digital Core Library advanced with provincial and territorial agreements and a federal contribution agreement of up to $15 million to CDL; Sennik spoke about the collaboration and access to AI-ready geoscience data.
- **2025-10** — Submitted three AI strategy memos on adoption, scaling champions and trusted AI systems, dated October 31.
- **2025-09** — Named to Canada’s AI Strategy Task Force on September 26.

## Links

- Website: https://www.soniasennik.com/
- LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/sonia-sennik
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/connectintelpod
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9TsNsUv3m0
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connectedintel/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/sonia-sennik
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-10