A New Wave of Entrepreneurship

Meet Geoff Smith, the Chair of EllisDon, a major player in Canada's construction industry with an impressive $5 billion in annual revenue and 4,000 employees. Geoff, who previously served as CEO for nearly 25 years, shares his experience in evolving EllisDon from a conventional general contracting firm to a diversified leader in construction. He discusses the challenges and strategies involved...

Explore the art of scaling social innovation with AJ Tibando, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Palette Skills. In this episode, AJ navigates the journey of transforming big ideas into impactful realities. She delves into Palette's approach to tackling societal issues, employing innovative funding models and a strategic non-profit mindset. AJ discusses the importance of thorough researc...

In this inspiring episode, join award-winning social entrepreneur Jenn Harper, CEO and Founder of Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics INC, as she discusses the transformative power of vulnerability in leadership. Delve into the journey of embracing one’s own vulnerabilities to emerge as a more effective and empathetic leader. This episode offers a profound look at personal growth, emotional intelligence, a...

Join Kevin Kliman, CEO and co-founder of Humi, as he unveils the secrets of building a successful team in a high-growth tech environment. From his early days as a dentist and aspiring hockey player to leading Humi, Canada's top employment solution, Kevin shares his unique journey and insights. Explore the challenges and triumphs of team building, reinvesting in the community, and nurturing tec...

Join us in an insightful conversation with John Montalbano, former CEO of RBC Global Asset Management. With a career that culminated in managing $370 billion in assets, John offers a rare glimpse into the strategies that propel a company into the top tiers of global asset management. Serving as a Director and Audit Chair for organizations such as the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and AbCell...

Join us for an insightful episode featuring Hamza Khan, best-selling author, award-winning entrepreneur, and globally-renowned keynote speaker. As a trusted voice in leadership, Hamza's TEDx talk, "Stop Managing, Start Leading," has resonated with over two million viewers. In this episode, Hamza Khan shares his expertise on shifting from management to true leadership. Discover action...

Join us in an engaging conversation with Jonathan Hackett, Co-Head of BMO’s Energy Transition Group and a leader in Sustainable Finance. With a career from quantum physics research to advising on low-carbon economy transitions, Mr. Hackett brings a unique perspective on driving sustainable innovation. This episode delves into his journey from his doctoral research in Quantum Gravity and Topology t...

The Right Honourable David Johnston was Canada’s 28th governor general. During his mandate, he established the Rideau Hall Foundation (RHF), a registered charity that supports and amplifies the Office of the Governor General in its work to connect, honour and inspire Canadians. Prior to his installation as governor general, Mr. Johnston was a professor of law for 45 years, and served as President...

Kayla Isabelle is the Chief Executive Officer at Startup Canada, the gateway to Canada’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Startup Canada’s mission is to connect Canada’s entrepreneurs with the tools, community, and support they need to start and build their businesses. Kayla has dedicated her career to supporting entrepreneurs, both in Canada and internationally. An award-winning leader, strategic commu...

Bruce Sellery is the CEO of Credit Canada, the country’s oldest non-profit credit counseling agency. He comes to the role after two decades as a business journalist, personal finance expert, and financial literacy consultant. He was an anchor for BNN Bloomberg in Toronto and New York City, a contributor on CBC TV’s The Exchange, and the host of Million Dollar Neighbourhood on the Oprah Winfrey Net...

Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande is President and Chairman, Sparta Group LLC Dr. Deshpande founded Cascade Communications and Sycamore Networks and has chaired and funded several other companies. Deshpande is a life member of the MIT Corporation. The Deshpande Foundation supports Social entrepreneurship and provided the founding grant for NSF Innovation Corps (I-CorpsTM) and Deshpande Center at MIT. Desh...

Ronald Richardson is a corporate director and private investor with active roles and investment interests in the technology, energy, space, and not-for-profit sectors. As a private investor, Ronald manages an investment portfolio of over 40 companies, is a member of the Capital Angel Network, an advisor to L-Spark, SheBoot, and the Next36 program cohorts. Ronald sits down with Scott to discuss the...

John Baird is a Senior Advisor at Bennett Jones LLP and a former Senior Cabinet Minister in the Government of Canada. An instrumental figure in bilateral trade and investment relationships, Mr. Baird has played a leading role in the Canada-China dialogue and worked to build ties with ASEAN countries. In addition, Mr. Baird has worked closely with international leaders to strengthen security and ec...

Stephen is the former Governor of The Bank of Canada and a widely recognized economist with nearly 40 years of experience in financial markets, forecasting, and economic policy, including 35 years in the public sector. Stephen is also the author of “The Next Age of Uncertainty: How the World Can Adapt to a Riskier Future,” which maps out the powerful economic forces that are shaping our future and...

Irfhan Rawji is the Founder & CEO of MobSquad, an innovative Canadian start-up that ensures high-caliber software engineers with U.S. work visa challenges remain working with their current company but is near-shored from Canada. Irfhan is also a Managing Partner with Relay Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm with US$600MM of assets under management. Irfhan sits down with Scott to off...

John Ruffolo is the Founder and Managing Partner of Maverix Private Equity, a private equity firm focused on technology-enabled growth and disruption investment strategies. As an active board member in the profit and not-for-profit sectors, John works with many leading innovative organizations including AI Partnerships Corp., engineering.com, Ether Capital, OneEleven, the David Suzuki Foundation,...

Chad Lubelsky is currently the Vice President, of Strategy, Impact, and Development at Volunteer Canada, where he leads strategy, development, and implementation of new models and pathways for volunteering and civic participation by centering belonging and inclusion. Chad has 20+ years of working in social change. He started his career as a journalist before pivoting to nonprofits. Since then he h...

Jason Della Rocca is a game industry entrepreneur, funding advisor, and cluster expert. He specializes in business/partnership development, pitching/funding, and ecosystem/cluster development. As the co-founder of Executions Labs, he was a hands-on early-stage investor in over 20 independent game studios from North America and Europe. He sits down with Scott to discuss how to build a successful vi...

Senator Colin Deacon brings a unique perspective to Canada’s Upper Chamber. Prior to joining The Senate of Canada, he spent much of his career turning ideas into organizations, products, and services that improve lives. Senator Deacon sits down with Scott to discuss how to build an entrepreneurial government. 

Janet is a Partner at Real Ventures, a leading source of capital for entrepreneurs who are building the next generation of leading tech companies. Janet has led investments in over a dozen companies and works actively with founders to help them build large, industry-defining companies. In 2004, Janet launched Kijiji.ca and grew it to become one of the most visited websites in Canada. Subsequently,...

Jay Reid offers people tools to activate their adaptability with minimal fuss and maximal joy. He does this through The Making-Box, a company he co-founded in 2013. Since then, Jay has led adaptability training and team-development programs at organizations across the globe including Shopify, Google, RBC, Loblaws, Danube University Krems, and hundreds of others. He sits down with Scott to talk abo...

Sara Wilshaw is the Chief Trade Commissioner at Global Affairs Canada. She leads a global team that helps Canadian businesses explore international markets, find new customers and partners, and promote exports. She sits down with Scott to discuss fostering Canadian trade around the world.

Christian Lassonde is the Founder and Managing Partner of Impression Ventures, a VC firm focused on investing in Seed and Series A deals in the financial technology sector. He has also taught high-growth technology entrepreneurship at The Next 36. Christian sits down with Scott to provide actionable advice on how entrepreneurs should interact with venture capitalists.

Sam Duboc is president and CEO of Elkland Capital Inc., a family-owned investment firm with a current portfolio covering a wide range of industries, including, but not limited to health sciences, clean energy, marketing services, and technology. He is the former Executive Chair of MindBeacon, Chair of The Business Development Bank of Canada, Co-Founder & COO of LoyaltyOne, Director of Porter A...

Darian Kovacs is an Indigenous founder of Vancouver-based Jelly Digital Marketing & PR, and a digital marketing school, Jelly Academy. He’s the host of the Marketing News Canada podcast, a contributing writer for the Globe & Mail, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Canadian Business Quarterly, and Future Economy, and is on the board of NPower Canada. Darian joins Scott to offer his perspective on how t...