Roger Chabra
Partner, Rho Canada

Roger has a 15-year background in technology, telecommunications and digital media as an investor, entrepreneur and operator. Roger came to Rho from GrowthWorks Capital, one of Canada’s largest and most successful VC funds with $800 million in assets under management, where he focused on software and digital media investments. At GrowthWorks, he sat on the boards of 10 early stage companies including NetShelter, Paymentus, Xkoto and Whitehill (acquired by Oracle). Prior to GrowthWorks, Roger worked as a hands-on investor at Hargan Ventures, a seed stage VC fund, whose model is to invest early and for the funds’ principals to take on senior operational roles alongside the founders they invest in. At Hargan, Roger worked on a number of deals including Brighter Minds Media, which went public in 2006 and VisualSonics, a successful private medical device company. Roger was also previously an investor at the Bell Accelerator Fund, the corporate venture program of Bell Canada Enterprise’s (BCE) wireless division. At the Accelerator, his team was involved in funding and commercializing some of the most innovative wireless start-ups in North America including Trellia Networks, Cellwand, Sendum, Xybec (acquired  by Tatara), Sanchez (acquired by Fidelity Information Services) and Mobile Diagnostix (acquired by Bitfone/HP). Roger has also held operational roles with Rogers Wireless. Prior to his experience with Canada’s two largest wireless carriers, Roger was the co-founder and CEO of Mobilessence, one of North America’s earliest startups focused on virtual goods and content for smart phones. Mobilessence was recognized as one of the top 20 wireless software companies in Canada by the Branham Group based on revenues and growth. He also spent three years at Sapphire Technologies, Canada’s largest IT recruitment services firm, where he was instrumental in developing the company’s e-business strategy, internet spin-off companies and technology platforms. The company was acquired by a consortium of private equity players, including KKR, and later sold to Randstad.

Roger holds an MBA with Dean’s List Honors from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and a BA from the University of Western Ontario. Roger is a graduate of the Venture Capital Institute and currently serves on the Professional Development Committee of the Canadian Venture Capital Association.