Robert Helal

Director, Innovation Hub and SSCG; and Associate Professor, Teaching Stream

• Bachelor of Science (McGill University, Montreal, Canada), Master of Business Administration (University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada), PhD Management (Carleton University, Sprott School of Business, Ottawa)
• Email Robert Helal

Robert Helal is Director of the Carleton Innovation Hub and an Associate Professor (Teaching Stream) at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business. Having grown up surrounded by founders and entrepreneurship, he brings personal experience and an appreciation for the realities of building a business, complemented by decades of global industry leadership in innovation, strategy, and technology.

Throughout his industry career, Robert focused on developing and bringing new-to-market products and offerings to industry. In senior global leadership roles, he worked across product and portfolio strategy, new product introduction, artificial intelligence and analytics, collaborative innovation, and partner ecosystems—identifying market opportunities, shaping new offerings, and taking them from concept through launch. He also played a key role in developing international partnerships, securing partner commitment, and enabling successful collaboration.

At the Sprott School of Business, Robert has applied this same focus on building and execution to experiential education. As founder of the Sprott Strategy Bootcamp, he connects nearly 200 first-year business students annually with industry experts and applied learning. He extends this approach through his leadership of the Sprott Student Consulting Group (SSCG), a project-based experiential program bringing together more than 100 undergraduate, graduate, and alumni participants annually in diverse consulting teams. Working with for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, these teams develop practical solutions to real-world client challenges while delivering over 12,000 hours of pro bono service to the community each year. Across both programs, the emphasis is on developing critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and the ability to create meaningful value.

Robert believes in the importance of professional mentorship, supporting undergraduate and graduate students throughout their time at Carleton and continuing to mentor many as they progress in their careers.

As Director of the Carleton Innovation Hub, Robert brings together his experience in commercialization, innovation, ecosystem development, experiential learning, and mentorship. His focus is on helping founders move from ideas to execution, develop their capabilities, connect with industry, and benefit from a strong innovation ecosystem.

Robert holds a Ph.D. in Management from Carleton University, an MBA from the University of Ottawa, and a B.Sc. from McGill University. His academic recognition includes the Carleton University Senate Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement, national recognition for his doctoral research, and university teaching excellence awards.