Toronto - MaRS Discovery District, November 22, 2012

2011 Speakers

Honourable Maxime Bernier
Minister of State- Small Business and Tourism

 

 

Maxime Bernier was born on January 18, 1963, in St-Georges-de-Beauce, Quebec, to Doris and Gilles Bernier. He has two sisters, Brigitte and Caroline, and one brother, Gilles Bernier, Jr.
An avid sportsman, Maxime Bernier played football in his teens and was a member of the Condors, the team...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Christina Jennings
Chairman & CEO
Shaftesbury Films

 

 

Christina Jennings is one of Canada's most accomplished producers of original programming for film, television and multiple platforms. Jennings founded Shaftesbury in 1987 and has since built the company into a position of unique leadership and strength as a leading creator and distributor of the hi...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Ratna Omidvar
President
Maytree

 

 

Ratna Omidvar is President of Maytree, a private foundation that promotes equity and prosperity through its policy insights, grants and programs. The foundation is known for its commitment to developing, testing, and implementing programs and policy solutions related to immigration, integration and ...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Rick Nathan
Managing Director
Kensington Capital Partners Limited

 

 

Rick Nathan is Managing Director of Kensington Capital Partners Limited, a leading Canadian private equity investor. Kensington invests across the private markets in buyout, venture capital, growth and infrastructure assets through both direct investment and fund investment programs. Rick currently ...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




John Albright
Co-Managing Partner
BlackBerry Partners Fund

 

 

Mr. Albright is the Founder and Managing Partner of JLA Ventures and the Co-Managing Partner of the Blackberry Partners Fund. Prior to the founding of JLA Ventures in 1996 and the BlackBerry Partners Fund in 2008, Mr. Albright held senior positions with several private equity and venture capital fir...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Geoff Taber
Partner
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

 

 

Geoff is a partner with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP (based in Toronto) and concentrates on private and public financings, M&A transactions and strategic commercial matters. He advises a broad spectrum of life sciences and technology companies, including privately held high-growth companies,...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Tara Hunt
Co-Founder/CEO
Buyosphere

 

 

Tara 'missrogue' Hunt is a crazy audacious dreamer and the co-founder and CEO of Buyosphere (people helping people shop). Tara was named as one of the most influential women in technology as well as one of the 25 female startup founders to watch in Fast Company Magazine. She wrote The Whuffie Factor...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Tony Chapman
Founder/CEO
Capital C

 

 

Tony Chapman is the Founder and CEO of Capital C, an international award winning communications firm that has been nominated this year for both Agency and Digital Agency of the Year. They were the force behind 'Bridezilla' a social media campaign that hijacked pop culture for 21 days and has since...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Duncan Stewart
Director of Research, Technology, Media & Telecommunications
Deloitte Canada

 

 

Duncan Stewart is the Director of Deloitte Canada Research in the areas of Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT). He is a member of Deloitte's national TMT executive team, a part of the Corporate Strategy Consulting practice, a co-author of Deloitte Research's annual Predictions report on...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Hari Venkatacharya
President
Nexus Strategies

 

 

Hari is a seasoned entrepreneur with over a dozen years of experience in building businesses in Canada, US and India. His expertise includes operations, raising funds, marketing and strategic planning. He has held leadership positions in a number of companies including direct marketing firm Quantum ...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Sean Stanleigh
Editor
Report on Small Business

 

 

Sean Stanleigh is the editor of Report on Small Business. His goal is to make ROSB the primary destination for readers in search of information and compelling stories about Canada's small-business community, which continues to grow in size and influence. Mr. Stanleigh has an extensive background in ...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Michael Badham
President & CEO
FundingStore.com

 

 

Michael has significant experience leading M&A transactions, financings, infrastructure and corporate growth related transactions. He is a systematic problemsolver, understanding stakeholder objectives, risks and opportunities. A team leader, he adds value through ensuring that detailed insigh...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Andrew Wilkes
Chairman
National Angel Capital Organization

 

 

Mr. Wilkes is an active Angel investor, who looks for high-growth opportunities in traditional industries with a technological edge (including manufacturing and distribution, energy, water, financial services/payments industry, and bio-materials). He is a partner in Management Initiatives Inc., a bu...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




James E. Kofman
Vice Chairman
Cormark Securities Inc.

 

 

JAMES E. KOFMAN recently joined Cormark Securities Inc as Vice Chairman. Prior to that he ran an independent advisory firm and was Vice Chairman of UBS Securities Canada Inc where he spent 13 years. He had senior coverage responsibility for Canada and headed the Mergers & Acquisition group. H...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Robert Montgomery
CEO
First Maximilian Associates/Achilles Media

 

 

Robert Montgomery is a Toronto-based entrepreneur, investor and adviser focused on the digital media and information technology industries. Robert is CEO of business-to-business media and facilitation company Achilles Media Ltd as well as investment company First Maximilian Associates. Robert's pri...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Douglas Steiner
Serial Entrepreneur

 

 

Doug Steiner is a recognized leader in the field of financial services infrastructure and the design, funding mechanics and use of economic and new business models for startups and established businesses.
He founded the Equity Derivatives group at RBC Capital, a division of Royal Bank of C...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Dave Wilkin
Founder/President
Redwood Strategics & CampusPerks

 

 

A Gen-Y himself, Dave Wilkin is innovating the Gen-Y and campus marketing space, taking a radical approach to engaging students. As a young entrepreneur, expert in new media and long time advocate for youth leadership, Dave has founded and grown Redwood Strategic and CampusPerks.ca to help Canada's...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Matthew von Teichman
President, Life Choices Natural Foods
Director, Grandview Farms

 

 

Matthew von Teichman has been starting companies since he was 19. In 1994 he sold his first venture, a restaurant-bar in Kitchener, Ontario and started a franchised student window cleaning business, eventually operating six franchises throughout Ontario. In 1996 he sold that business and co-founde...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Shira Yoskovitch
Co-Founder, The FACT Network
Principal, Supply Chain (R)Evolution

 

 

Shira Yoskovitch is Co-Founder, The FACT Network, a collaborative forum that strives to leverage knowledge, perspectives and voices of Canadian executive women about key current business issues. She is also Principal of Supply Chain (R)Evolution, a consulting firm focused on enabling organizations ...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Leslie Riley
Co-Founder, The FACT Network
Principal, Brandwright Inc.

 

 

Leslie Riley is Co-Founder, The FACT Network, a collaborative forum that seeks diverse perspectives and distinct voices from Canadian executive women about key issues in today's business landscape. She is also Principal, Brandwright Inc., a marketing communications firm specializing in understandin...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




John Marshall
President & CEO
Ontario Capital Growth Corporation

 

 

John Marshall is serving as the President and CEO of the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation, the agency overseeing the $250M Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund (OETF) and manages Ontario's limited partnership interests in the $205M Ontario Venture Capital Fund (OVCF). John has served in that role s...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Ken Tencer
CEO
Spyder Works Inc.

 

 

Ken Tencer is a branding and innovation thought leader who helps organizations master better futures. He is co-developer of The 90% Rule (www.90percentrule.com), a success-tested innovation process that enables businesses of all sizes to identify new market and strategic opportunities, and map out ...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Skip Campbell
Vice President, Product Creation
Vive Nano

 

 

Skip Campbell focuses on the overall strategic direction of the company, exploring new opportunities and developing relationships with customers and partners. Most recently, he spent five years with Innovation Advisors, a Boston-based investment bank executing M&A and private placement transacti...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Peter Creaghan
Partner
Creaghan McConnell Group Ltd.

 

 

Peter Creaghan is a partner at Creaghan McConnell Group Ltd., a firm he co-founded with his father and brother-in-law in 1987. CMG is a boutique insurance firm that helps business families finance their transition plans.
Over the years, CMG has worked with some of Canada's most prominent b...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Eugene Siklos
Head of Direct Investing
EDC Equity

 

 

Eugene Siklos is the Head of EDC Equity's Tech Direct Investing team. EDC's Equity program focuses on developing small- and mid-sized companies that want to grow their business, and 'next generation' exporters and exporters that are seeking to go global. From 2004-2008, Eugene was a Managing Directo...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Jacoline Loewen
Director
Loewen & Partners Inc.

 

 

Jacoline Loewen is a Director of Loewen & Partners Inc., an Exempt Market Dealer, specializing in finance for owner operators and family businesses, specifically acquisitions, restructurings, sales, successions, strategy and private equity financing. Jacoline began her career with Granduc Mines...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Roger Wilson
Partner
BDC IT Venture Fund

 

 

Roger has been in the venture capital business for over 20 years. Leveraging his prior entrepreneurial experience, he has assisted many technology growth companies over the years, managing investments in software, IT services, electronics manufacturing and life sciences. He's played an active role ...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Alec Morley
Senior Vice President, Small Business Banking
TD Canada Trust

 

 

Alec Morley, Senior Vice President, Small Business Banking Alec Morley runs Small Business Banking at TD Canada Trust. He has nearly 20 years of banking experience, and since joining TD in 1994 has spent time in retail banking, commercial lending, asset management and infrastructure technology &...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Greg Taylor
Co-Founder
Steam Whistle

 

 

Greg Taylor worked for ten years in the micro-brewing industry in Ontario before co-founding Steam Whistle Brewing. After studying Economics at the University of Toronto and holding Sales positions in the media and technology industries, he worked at The Upper Canada Brewing Company for eight years ...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Ravi Jain
Partner
Green & Spiegel LLP

 

 

Ravi Jain is a partner at Green and Spiegel LLP in Toronto. He received his B.A. (Hons.) from Queen's University, his LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1998 and his Master of Laws from the University of Michigan in 2000. Ravi joined Green and Spiegel LLP in 1998. He is among the small percentage...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Chad Bayne
Partner, Corporate
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

 

 

Chad practises corporate and securities law with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. He has acted for clients on a variety of transactions including acquisitions and divestitures, venture capital and private equity financings, joint ventures, strategic alliances and initia...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Rebecca Reuber
Professor, Strategic Management
Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

 

 

Dr. Becky Reuber is Professor of Strategic Management at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. She's also held visiting academic positions at the University of Victoria in Canada, Dartmouth College in the U.S., and the Australian National University and the University of Adelaide ...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Bill Walker
General Manager
Fleishman-Hillard Toronto

 

 

Bill Walker is General Manager of Fleishman-Hillard's Toronto office. His professional background over 30 years combines reporting experience worldwide for Canada's largest newspaper with providing senior communications counsel to both public and private sector organizations on a range of issues fro...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




David Wilton
Director, Small Business Banking
Scotiabank

 

 

David L. Wilton - Is a Director: Small Business banking with Scotiabank who, over his 34 year career has held various management positions in branch banking, Regional and Executive offices, is a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers, holds an MBA from Dalhousie University and is the co-author ...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Tim Ryan
Founder & CEO
Vestiigo.com

 

 

Tim Ryan is the founder and CEO of Vestiigo.com, an online career destination that connects small-to-medium sized businesses in Canada with top talent. Before founding Vestiigo, Tim spent over 5 years as a marketing professional in the technology and telecom industries. He was most recently resp...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Kristian Knibutat
Canadian Deals Leader
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

 

 

Kristian Knibutat oversees the Canadian Deals team, which is part of a worldwide Deals network of approximately 10,000 people. He has extensive experience helping private small and medium sized clients to achieve success regarding a wide range of deal and other business issues, including strategy...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Teri Kirk
Founder
The Funding Portal Inc.

 

 

Teri Kirk has over 20 years' experience in law, public policy and government relations, with an emphasis on public sector funding and procurement. Ms. Kirk practiced law for 12 years, both in private practice and with the Attorney General of Ontario, as the Director of Consumer and Commercial Legal ...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Meryl Rosenthal
Founder
Hirepower

 

 

After completing her B.Sc. and MBA from University of Toronto, Meryl joined GE Canada in 1987 where she worked in Marketing and Human Resources within two GE Businesses. Meryl founded Hirepower in 1992 with the vision of building a unique team and values oriented Human Resources and Recruitment con...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Namita Nijjar
President
Blue Ocean Talent Consulting

 

 

Namita is the President and CEO of Blue Ocean Talent Consulting Inc. Prior to starting Blue Ocean Talent, Namita held executive roles in the Talent Acquisition function in various sectors. Most recently Namita was the Associate Vice President of Talent Acquisition at Sears Canada where she headed th...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Arnon Melo
Managing Director
MELLOHAWK Logistics

 

 

Originally from the interior of Sao Paulo State, MELLOHAWK President and Managing Director Arnon G. Melo is a graduate of Ibero-Americana University in Sao Paulo and a graduate of the International Business Programme at Seneca College, Toronto, Canada. He immigrated to Canada in 1990 and founded...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Luis Fonseca
Director
OMERS Private Equity

 

 

Luis spent 9 years with TD Capital, most recently as a Vice-President & Director, where he was responsible for sourcing, executing and portfolio management of investments in a wide variety of industries. Prior to that, he spent 3 years in the M&A and Government & Infrastructure groups wi...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Jon Cook
Small Business Editor
Reuters

 

 

Jon Cook is the Small Business editor for Reuters.com and a Canadian markets reporter. Jon has specialized in startups, having cut his teeth as an online editor/reporter at Canoe.ca for 12 years. Before coming to Reuters, Jon helped launch the GlobeandMail.com's small business section, then called T...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]

 




Andrew Pigott
Principal
The Succession Bridge

 

 

Andrew Pigott is a specialist in private company sales, acquisitions and related ownership succession strategies. His experience within a multi-generation family business, combined with his extensive business valuation and deal closing record, enables him to provide practical, hands on assistance to...
[ Extended Bio / Survey ]