Lindsey Fair

Biography:

Dr. Lindsey Fair, MBA, PhD, is an entrepreneur, senior executive, educator, and strategic advisor with more than three decades of experience spanning post-secondary education, economic development, business, and industry. She is the Founder and CEO of TINCT, where she brings together senior brand, marketing, and strategic expertise to help organizations navigate change, strengthen reputation, and build meaningful connections with the communities and markets they serve. She also works as an advisor and thought partner to leaders across higher education and industry.

Lindsey has held senior leadership roles across Canada’s post-secondary system, including Associate Vice President positions at the University of Victoria and SAIT, and Director of Marketing, Communications and Recruitment at Queen’s University. Her experience also extends to executive leadership in economic development, most recently as Vice President at Invest Ottawa, where she led initiatives spanning brand strategy, regional positioning, innovation, and ecosystem development.

An educator and researcher by background, Lindsey spent more than 15 years at St. Lawrence College, where she led innovative work-integrated learning programs, contributed to academic program development, and built partnerships connecting education with industry. She has also served as an adjunct professor at multiple universities and is a sought-after speaker on brand, reputation, institutional positioning, and the relationship between post-secondary institutions and the communities they serve. In 2025, she received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Canadian Council for the Advancement in Education.

An entrepreneur throughout her career, Lindsey founded one of Canada’s early digital marketing agencies and co-founded an international web development firm with operations in Canada and Nepal. Her entrepreneurial work earned national recognition, including Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and she published her first book at age 30.

Lindsey holds a PhD in Geography and Planning from Queen’s University, where her research explored place identity, branding, reputation, and the relationships between universities and their surrounding communities. She also holds an MBA specializing in Community Economic Development, with a particular focus on the role of post-secondary institutions in regional development. She brings a distinctive combination of academic research, institutional leadership, entrepreneurial experience, and industry engagement to conversations about education-industry alignment, talent development, innovation, and regional competitiveness.