Dr Michael Ryan is the VP of Brand and Innovation at the Kintec Group and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Mechatronics Systems Engineering at Simon Fraser University. Dr Ryan is a global leader in the role of footwear and injury risk in runners and has been published over 40 peer-reviewed articles in top journals in the fields of sports medicine, orthopaedics and biomechanics based over 20 years of work as a research partner of Nike testing their latest line-up of injury prevention footwear. He currently oversees Kintec's manufacturing, marketing and innovation departments, that includes partnerships with leading Canadian universities such as Simon Fraser, UBC, Laurier University and Emily Carr School of Art and Design that have resulted in three separate patent-pending technologies.