Driven by a vision for an innovative, thriving Canada, now and for future generations

Janet Bannister is the Founder and General Partner of Staircase Ventures, which invests in Canada’s most promising early-stage tech companies. Prior to launching Staircase Ventures, Bannister was Managing Partner at Real Ventures, one of Canada’s largest and most active early-stage investors. Bannister is also a graduate of the prestigious Kauffman Fellows program, a global network of the world’s top 1% of investors and innovation leaders. She is very active in the Canadian tech ecosystem, the Co-Chair of C100 and serves on the Boards of the Ivey Business School and LEAP, a social venture accelerator. She is also a mentor at Creative Destruction Lab. In addition, Bannister was Honorary Co-Chair of the Princess Margaret Ride to Conquer Cancer in 2022, the largest single fundraising event in Canada.

Brent Belzberg is the founder and Senior Managing Partner of TorQuest. He formed TorQuest in 2002 following the 2001 sale of Harrowston, Inc., a publicly traded investment fund he founded to invest in and build businesses in 1992. Outside TorQuest, Belzberg serves as a Director of Sinai Health System, having previously acted as Chair. He is a member of the Investment Advisory Committee of the University of Toronto. Belzberg’s previous outside directorships include CIBC, O&Y REIT and Four Seasons Hotels. Belzberg was President of First City Financial Corporation from 1991–1993. In 2018, he was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada for his work as a business leader and philanthropist. Belzberg received Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2023 for his significant contribution to Canada and the province of Alberta.

Jennifer Bernard is an award-winning executive leader with over 30 years of experience in the not-for-profit sector. She is currently the President & CEO of SickKids Foundation overseeing one of Canada largest fundraising organizations which supports one of the country's most iconic hospitals. Jennifer is a mother, volunteer, passionate advocate for equity and is committed to mentoring the next generation of leaders.

Mirko Bibic has been President and Chief Executive Officer of BCE and Bell since January 2020, having previously served as the company’s Chief Operating Officer, responsible for all operations of Bell Mobility, Bell Business Markets and Bell Residential and Small Business. He has also filled the roles of Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and as Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer. Bibic joined Bell in 2004 as Senior Vice President, Regulatory and was named Canadian General Counsel of the Year in 2017. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University and a Law degree from the University of Toronto, and serves on the boards of Royal Bank of Canada and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. He is also co-chair of the Kids Help Phone campaign.

Arlene Dickinson is a visionary entrepreneur and leader. She is the Founder and General Partner of District Ventures Capital, a venture capital fund that invests in innovative companies in the food and beverage and health and wellness sectors. Dickinson is also the Co-Managing Partner of Believeco:Partners, an independent Canadian-based owner, operator and builder of the foremost marketing, communications and engagement agencies in North America. Beyond her business ventures, Dickinson is a sought-after speaker, three-time best-selling author and philanthropist. She is widely recognized for her role as a Venture Capitalist on the hit television series, Dragons’ Den, where she currently has starred for over 15 seasons. Dickinson's leadership and entrepreneurial prowess have earned her numerous accolades over the years, including induction into the Southern Alberta Business Hall of Fame, the Marketing Hall of Legends, recognition as one of Canada's Most Powerful Women Top 100 Hall of Fame, and the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Diamond and Platinum Jubilee Awards.

Laura Dottorio-Attanasio brings a wealth of experience from more than 30 years in the finance sector. Prior to joining Element, Dottorio-Attanasio was Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Personal and Business Banking at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). Under her leadership, the bank received the highest rank in overall client satisfaction for online banking among Canada’s Big Five banks in 2022, according to J.D. Power. Before joining CIBC, she held progressively senior roles at National Bank of Canada in corporate banking, credit, capital markets and risk. She is a member of the Board of the C.D. Howe Institute, a member of the Board of Trustees at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and a member of the Board Selection Committee for A Seat at the Table – a project of the Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons. Dottorio-Attanasio is also Co-Chair of the Fundraising Committee of the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada and a member of the Board of Trustees for the United Way of Greater Toronto.

Iannacito-Provenzano is currently Provost and Vice-President, Academic at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). She first joined TMU as vice-provost, faculty affairs in 2020, arriving from York University, where she held progressive academic administrative roles, including undergraduate program director, chair of a large department and both the associate dean, programs and associate dean, faculty affairs portfolios in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. With extensive experience in academic labour relations, in her role as vice-provost, faculty affairs, she advocated for equitable hiring and evaluation policies and helped develop initiatives dedicated to enhancing faculty professional development. In addition, Iannacito-Provenzano is one of the three executive co-chairs of both the Presidential Implementation Committee to Confront Anti-Black Racism and the TRC Strategic Working Group at TMU. Previously, she has served as president of the Canadian Association for Italian Studies (2020-2022) and vice-president of the Italian-Canadian Archives Project (2019-2021), and has been the recipient of numerous academic and professional awards, including the CIBPA Award for Professional Excellence for service to the community in October 2023.

Christian Lassonde is a tech founder and CEO, having built and sold Virtual Greats (a luxury online IP rights broker) and Millions of Us (a digital agency). He has also taught high-growth technology entrepreneurship at The Next 36 to over 30 companies. Lassonde spent a decade in San Francisco selling and building software for Second Life, LucasArts and Electronic Arts to customers Sony, Nike, Warner Brothers, General Motors, Coke, Intel and many more Fortune 500 companies. He holds an MBA from the USF, a BESc in computer engineering and a BSc in computer science from Western. Lassonde is currently Vice-Chair of SickKids Foundation, Chair of the TFS Foundation, serves on the Fintech Advisory Council for the Ontario Securities Commission, and is a former Governor of the Board of Western University.

Rania Llewellyn recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Laurentian Bank, a Schedule 1 bank with proud roots in Quebec and operations across Canada and in the U.S. Llewellyn has more than 27 years of experience in banking. As a transformational change leader, she says her top priority in any role is building high-performance teams and creating a culture of equality, diversity and inclusion – encouraging all her team members to participate in courageous conversations by first listening to understand. Intentional listening, she notes, is key to being a leader at all levels. Only then can we share our voices with compassion and insight.

Tim Murphy is Executive Vice President and Chief Strategic Affairs Officer at Aecon Group Inc., having recently served as Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer of McMillan LLP, as well as Managing Director of McMillan Vantage Public Affairs. Murphy has over three decades of experience in legal and management, public service, and private and public transactions with a focus on infrastructure, project finance and Public-Private Partnerships. Murphy is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Arbitrators and completed a Master of Laws in Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution. As a former Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister and Finance Minister, as well as an advisor and elected official in the Ontario Legislature, he has provided policy advice to public and private sector entities.

Sam Pollock is Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield’s Infrastructure business and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners. In this role, he is responsible for investments, operations and the expansion of the Infrastructure business. Since joining Brookfield in 1994, Pollock has held a number of senior positions across the organization, including leading Brookfield’s corporate investment group and its private equity business. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen's University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

Satish Rai is a Senior Global Financial Services Executive. He was previously Chief Investment Officer at OMERS overseeing all asset classes globally. Prior to joining OMERS in January 2015, he served as Chief Investment Officer at TD Asset Management. Currently he is a senior advisor at OMERS, also serving on the Board of Brookfield Asset Management, Fairfax India, Richcraft Homes and Second Harvest, and on the Advisory Committee for Capitalize for Kids. At TD Bank, Rai Chaired the Committee of the Advancement of Visible Minorities in Leadership Roles and a Diversity Leadership Council member. He is a past member of the respective Boards of the University of Waterloo, Michael Garron Hospital Foundation (formerly Toronto East General Hospital Foundation), Toronto Global and Women in Capital Markets.

Meghan Roach is the President and CEO of Roots Corporation (TSX: ROOT). Before becoming CEO of Roots in 2020, Ms. Roach served as the interim CFO. Prior to Roots, she worked at Searchlight Capital Partners, a private equity firm with operations in North America and Europe, at KPMG, and at Teachers’ Private Capital, the private equity arm of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. In addition, Ms. Roach has held numerous board roles with public and private companies globally. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for Roots, which she rejoined in 2020 after serving from 2015 to 2017. Ms. Roach also acts as a Vice Chair for the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation, a member of the Advisory Board of Shift Canada, and a member of the Investment Committee for the Nature Conservancy of Canada. She holds an MBA from the University of Oxford, a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen's University, and an FCPA, FCA designation.

Ms. Rogers-Hixon presently holds the position of Vice Chair at the Rogers Control Trust, having previously served as Deputy Chair of Rogers Communications for six years. Her tenure at Rogers, which began in 2000, witnessed her progression through various senior roles within the organization. Additionally, she assumed the role of Founder at Rogers Venture Partners from 2011 to 2018, a venture fund company focused on investments in broadband-enabled wireline and wireless companies. Beyond her contributions to Rogers Communications, Ms. Rogers-Hixon served as Chair of the Jays Care Foundation for 22 years. Under her leadership the foundation grew significantly, being recognized twice by MLB with the annual Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence and is now known as one of the top 100 charities in Canada according to Charity Intelligence. Ms. Rogers-Hixon is a founding partner at Generation Trust Advisors, a global consultancy specializing in family enterprises. Her other involvements extend to serving as a Director at Huron University College, University Health Network Foundation, a Leadership Board Member at Cleveland Clinic International, and a Trustee at The Bishop Strachan School. Ms. Rogers-Hixon holds a B.A. from the University of Western Ontario and an M.B.A. from the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. In recognition of her achievements, she was honored with a doctorate from Huron University College at Western University in November 2018.

Until the summer of 2023, Geoff Smith served as president and CEO of EllisDon. He continues to serve on the Board of Directors as Executive Chair and retains responsibility for the company’s Digital and Data strategy and execution, as well as for EllisDon’s Windjammer Landing Resort in Saint Lucia. Smith joined EllisDon in 1981 and was named president and CEO in 1996. He was crucial in creating EllisDon’s culture of entrepreneurial enthusiasm empowering employees to challenge the status quo and evolving EllisDon into a leading global construction services company. He also spearheaded the employee-ownership program where 100% of the company’s equity will be transferred to the company’s employees in order to create an environment of fairness, prosperity and innovation for the future.

Walied Soliman is Chair of Norton Rose Fulbright in Canada and co-chair of the Canadian special situations team, which encompasses Canada’s leading complex M&A, shareholder activist and defense mandates and complex reorganization transactions. Over the past several years, Soliman has been involved in almost every major proxy battle in Canada, acting for both issuers and activists and numerous leading complex M&A transactions. He is widely regarded as one of the leading practitioners in these areas in Canada. Among other philanthropic endeavors, Soliman is a board member of the Toronto SickKids Hospital Foundation.

Jeremy Thompson has over 25 years of private equity and private debt investing experience. He began his career working in the leveraged finance department of Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York, with a focus on senior and subordinated debt financing in a variety of industries. He later joined Oak Hill Capital Management in New York, where he was responsible for private equity investments in the basic industry, consumer products and retail and distribution sectors. Prior to joining Penfund Management Ltd., Thompson spent more than 10 years with ONCAP Management Partners, the middle market private equity division of ONEX Corporation. While at ONCAP, Thompson led transactions in the automotive aftermarket, renewable energy, education and business services sectors. At Penfund, Thompson heads Capital Markets and continues to focus on transactions in the automotive aftermarket.

Tony Valle is a vision and purpose-driven entrepreneurial leader, having honed his executive expertise in rapidly changing and complex business environments. He has built business value by connecting sound long-term strategy to organizational design, innovation, talent growth, brand health and performance culture. Currently, all of those skills & experiences are being focused on his current role as Managing Partner of Clear Summit Group, CEO roles In College Pro and Qualicare and, outside board work, executive coaching and philanthropic endeavors.

Andrew Graham is co-founder and CEO of Borrowell, one of Canada’s largest financial technology companies, with over two million users. Borrowell helps consumers find financial prosperity and make great decisions about their money. It was the first company in Canada to offer credit scores for free and offers products and recommendations across a consumer's financial journey. Borrowell has won numerous awards, including being named one of the top 100 fintech companies in the world by KPMG, one of the fifty fastest growing technology companies in Canada by Deloitte and top 50 "Best Workplaces in Canada" two years in a row. For his work building Borrowell, Graham was named an EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2019.

Candice Faktor is the co-founder and Co-CEO of Disco, the AI powered upskilling platform used by some of the world’s best learning businesses and organizations. Candice is a thought leader and keynote speaker on the future of work and believes in the age of AI we must invest in upskilling our workforces and use AI to augment human potential. Before founding Disco, Candice helped scale Wattpad, a mobile social storytelling platform which sold for US$660MM. Candice is also a venture partner for Lobby.vc, a Series A VC firm as she loves supporting founders and the ecosystem at large. Recently, Candice was on the Board of two highly successful AI companies: Coveo, an enterprise AI platform that went public in 2021 and Dreambox Learning which was acquired by Discovery Education. Candice started her career at Monitor, a strategy consulting firm and is a proud immigrant to Canada. Candice runs the Gamechanger.co podcast and virtual community for innovators that has featured guests like Adam Grant, Margaret Atwood, and Roger Martin. Candice cares deeply about Canada's future as a mom to two teenage boys, she believes wholeheartedly in the power of innovation and entrepreneurship to create economic prosperity and growth for our country.

Wes Hall is the chairman and founder of WeShall Investments, a private equity firm with a diverse portfolio of companies predominantly supporting BIPOC entrepreneurs. His expertise was invaluable on the complicated dispute between Toronto-based Goldcorp and Nevada-based Glamis Gold from 2004 to 2006, Xstrata PLC's USD$18-billion takeover of Falconbridge in 2006, and the $19-billion merger between Suncor and Petro-Canada in 2009. A staunch philanthropist, Hall founded the highly successful BlackNorth Initiative to help end systemic anti-Black racism in Canada. He has instructed Black Entrepreneurship & Leadership at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. He is the vice-chair of the Board of Governors at Huron University College, a member of the Capital Markets Modernization Taskforce, and sits on the board of directors for SickKids Foundation, TIFF and Pathways to Education Canada. His other accomplishments include penning a bestselling memoir, No Bootstraps When You're Barefoot, and is also on the hit CBC series, Dragons' Den.

Hanif Joshaghani is the co-founder and CEO of Symend, a leading fintech company that uses behavioral science and data-driven insights to empower customers to resolve past due bills. With over seven years experience in building and scaling Symend, he has raised over $100 million in funding, partnered with global telecommunication and financial services firms, and ranked on Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 and Fast 500 lists. As a visionary entrepreneur and expert in behavioral engagement technology, Joshaghani is passionate about creating better customer experiences and improving financial wellness. He has been recognized as EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 Prairie Region and Avenue Calgary's Top 40 Under 40. He is also a member of the Business Council of Canada, a board member of the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund and the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation, and an active mentor and angel investor for the Canadian technology ecosystem.

Ron Lovett is an entrepreneur and leader with a passion for change. He builds brands that challenge and disrupt their industries. Lovett loves going back to the drawing board by creating companies with a purpose. He also enjoys leveraging his best practices to provide consulting services to other businesses. His private security company, Source Security & Investigations, which was sold in 2017, changed the security industry. Passionate in his mission to develop the culture in his organization, Lovett’s hands-on approach is key and that rock star culture is what sets Source Security apart in an otherwise tired, boring industry. Not only did this help the company attract the best talent, they have accomplished three times the industry average profits, and grew from a local Halifax-based company to over 3,500 employees across Canada. Lovett was the founding member of Entrepreneurs Organization Atlantic Canada.

Rajen Ruparell is the Founder, Chairman and previous Majority Shareholder of Endy, which was acquired by Sleep Country Canada in one of the largest e-commerce deals in Canadian history. Prior to Endy, Ruparell was a Co-Founder of Groupon International via acquisition of Citydeal in the UK and Europe where he was a Managing Director. At Groupon, Ruparell also founded, built and led Groupon's billion dollar product arm, Groupon Goods. Ruparell is the Founder & Principal of TwoGoose, his private family office with a current focus on incubating and acquiring majority stakes in consumer product companies, investing and building in consumer health and ownership in professional sports teams. He has served as the youngest ever Trustee on the Chicago Architecture Foundation Board, and on the Executive Advisory Boards of the Canada-US Business Council and Techweek. The Rajen J Ruparell Family Foundation is a major contributor to education, the arts, health and community support.