Woman of Vision: Nancy Fares

You may not have heard of Nancy Fares, but if you’ve enjoyed 3D movies in the theatres, you’ve experienced the results of her work. 

The movie industry wasn’t interested in adopting DLP, the technology which makes 3D possible, when Fares took over as General Manager of the DLP Division of Texas Instruments seven years ago.  There were too many significant hurdles to overcome, not the least of which was the high cost of conversion. But over five years, Fares convinced the six major studios to make the leap, and when Avatar became a blockbuster hit in 3D, it changed everything. 

“The DLP Division went from a very small business to something very, very big, and it had a significant impact on studio revenues, because it brought people back into theatres,” says Fares, whose efforts secured a majority market share for the DLP Cinema and DLP HDTV business units. “I also learned the lesson that it’s not always the best technology that wins. We had the best technology, but if you can’t solve the business hurdles, the technology will stay in the back of the lab.”

Fares’s reputation for business development attracted the attention of Micralyne, and she was recruited from Dallas to the Edmonton-based company as president and CEO in June 2010.  

“I had achieved every goal that I could possibly hope for, especially in my last job, and it was time for a new challenge,” says Fares.  “It was a great opportunity for me to show what I can do.”

Micralyne is among the top 10 foundries in the world manufacturing micro-electromechanical systems, or MEMS.  These are very small (nano and micro) semi-conductor units with microscopic moving parts, some made up of hundreds or thousands of mirrors, that control electronic devices.  They are used to operate everything from cell phones and air bags in cars, to household appliances, biomedical devices, and oil and  gas equipment.

“The majority of the optical networking done in the world, maybe 60 or 70 per cent, has our product in it,” says Fares. “So if people are making calls from Edmonton to Calgary, they’re most likely going through a switch that was designed and built by Micralyne.”

Micralyne began as a University of Alberta incubator nearly 30 years ago, manufacturing general electronics.  It became its own for-profit entity 16 years later and evolved into nanotechnology production, with all of its products customized for very specific applications. Most of its customers are international, in Asia, Europe and the United States.  Since taking over the helm of the $50 million company, Fares has been restructuring to position the company for growth, with the ultimate goal of making Micralyne the top micro- and nanotech foundry in the world.  She is also passionate about pushing forward Alberta’s nanotechnology goal of reaching an economic impact of $20 billion by 2020.  She wants to make the province a national leader in nanotechnology by working with the Alberta government and industry to foster a technology alliance.

Fares is a rarity in high technology circles.  An engineer with two masters’ degrees – one in Business Administration from the University of Texas and the other in Science in Telecommunication from Southern Methodist University in Dallas – she is one of the few female CEOs in this competitive and rapidly-growing field. 

Her talents were obvious at an early age.

“I really enjoyed playing with things that you can build, put together and do something different with,” remembers Fares.  “Many times I would take things apart just to see how they work.”

Growing up in Cairo, she showed an aptitude for math and science, but it was the support she received that she credits for her success.  She was encouraged by her teachers to get an engineering degree and her parents made her believe she could be anything she wanted to be.  Competitive and independent, she learned how to find the win-win to get what she wanted and that remains an important part of her ability to win negotiations and get business deals done. 

“I was very hard on myself in general when I made mistakes,” says Fares.  “People taught me that it’s OK to make mistakes and I was given a lot of second chances. That was a part of making me who I am, so now giving others a second chance and coaching is an important part of my leadership.”

Fares has a soft spot for young people.  She mentored several women in her staff at Texas Instruments and can’t say enough about the talented, brilliant minds at Micralyne.  She has also taught Sunday school for the last 22 years, with a focus on high school and college students.

“I get a lot of energy from young people,” beams the mother of two teenagers.  “It’s extremely rewarding to see someone succeed and to be just a very small part of helping them get there.”

Fares also gives 10 per cent of her income to charity.           

“I don’t like to be recognized for it because I feel it is irrelevant who’s giving. I’ve been given so much.  It makes me happy to give back.  I think the big vision is I want a better place to live.  That’s what drives me, what ties everything together for me, with my career, my family and my church life.  It’s about having a better life for everyone.”

Lesley MacDonald is the producer and host of the Global Woman of Vision series.  Stories can be seen the first Monday of every month in the News Hour at 6 p.m. on Global Edmonton and online at GlobalTVEdmonton.com