Shirley Zhong

Shirley Zhong is the Co-Founder and COO of Xatoms, leading operations, marketing, customer relationships, bridging business needs with technological developments.

Background: Shirley grew up in China, where water contamination was a daily reality. Moving to Canada shaped her view of clean water as a privilege and drove her commitment to making it universally accessible. She studied software engineering and business. Her experience includes early-stage startups across software engineering, AI development, marketing, and business analysis, with work across Canada, China, Japan, and France. She met her co-founders through the Cansbridge Fellowship, which led to the founding of Xatoms.

Achievements: Shirley was named Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree for North America (2025). She supported Xatoms’ pre-seed fundraising, leading customers and investor conversations and helping close an oversubscribed round. She organized the Hult Prize qualifying round at Western University and contributed to Xatoms reaching the global Top 6. She is a Cansbridge Fellow, a Draper University alumna, and a One Young World ambassador.