The Roadmap of Antoine Paquin, BEng/89

Roadmaps is a lecture series, founded in part by Carleton alumni, that examines the paths global leaders and entrepreneurs have followed from university to professional success. Designed to help science and engineering students explore the types of careers that may lie ahead, the lectures illustrate that the options are many and varied, and not always predictable.

“Success strengthened my bad habits, but failure made me take a hard look—it’s the greatest teacher,” says Antoine Paquin, BEng/89, in the 2012 lecture. After graduating from computer systems engineering, Paquin quickly made a name for himself in high-tech and business circles when he co-founded a small start-up company in fiber-optic data transmission and sold it to Cisco Systems.

“I don’t have a job, I have a mission,” he says.

A millionaire at 30, Paquin continued to invest in emerging products, leading Nepean-based Philsar Electronics Inc. and California’s Axiom Microdevices; providing angel investments to Ottawa companies and acting as executive-in-residence for Rho Ventures; and founding Solantro Semiconductor Corporation in a California garage. As president and CEO, he keeps his surfboard handy, and heads to the beach to recharge his creative energy.

Paquin has combined his passion for technology and problem-solving with business savvy and entrepreneurial spirit. In his career, he has embraced risk to develop the market potential in dozens of emerging companies—and has helped shape the Canadian high-tech industry in the process.