Day Two (May 8)
8:00 AM – Registration & Networking
8:45 AM – Opening Remarks (2nd Floor, Terrace Level)
Claudio Rojas, CEO of National Angel Capital Organization
9:00 AM: Growth Capital, Venture Capital, and The Future of Angel Investing
*Anne Gaviola, Senior Digital Broadcast Journalist, Global News - Moderator
Alison Nankivell, CEO, MaRS
Nathalie Bélanger, Board Member, Anges Quebec
Shelley Kuipers, Co-CEO & General Partner, the51
9:45 AM: Accelerating Innovation
*Anne Gaviola, Senior Digital Broadcast Journalist, Global News (Moderator)
Émilie Boutros, Managing Partner, TandemLaunch
Jeanette Jackson, CEO, Foresight Canada
10:15 AM: Networking Break
10:45 AM: Uniting Canada’s Tech Ecosystem
*Sonya Shorey, Interim CEO and President, Invest Ottawa (Moderator)
Lisa Zarzeczny, Co-founder & CEO, Elevate
Philippe Telio, Founder, Startupfest
11:15 AM – Boosting Productivity and Trust in the Digital Age
*Claudio Rojas, CEO of National Angel Capital Organization
Debbie Gamble, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Interac
11:45 AM –Networking Lunch
12:30 PM – Behind the scenes of Dragon's Den
Dianne Buckner, Interviewer, writer, speaker, CBC Television - Moderator
Tracie Tighe, Executive Producer, Dragon's Den
1:00 PM: Fireside chat
*Kevin Carmichael, Economics Columnist & Editor-at-Large, The Logic (Moderator)
Daniel Eberhard, Founder & CEO, KOHO
1:45 PM: Leveraging AI across Sectors
*Patricia Nielsen, Head of Startups, AWS - Moderator
Helen Kontozopoulos, Co-Founder & Adjunct Professor, ODAIA Intelligence & University of Toronto
Jean-Simon Venne, Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder, BrainBox AI
2:30 PM: Networking Break
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM: Prioritizing a Prosperity Strategy
*Anne Gaviola, Senior Digital Broadcast Journalist, Global News - Moderator
Benjamin Bergen, President, Council for Canadian Innovators
3:30 PM - 4:15 PM: How Entrepreneurship Can Drive National Prosperity
*Kevin Carmichael, Economics Columnist & Editor-at-Large, The Logic (Moderator)
Joe Canavan, Angel Investor, Canavan Capital
4:15 PM – 4:30 PM: Closing remarks
Claudio Rojas, CEO of National Angel Capital Organization
*Session times, themes and speakers will frequently change leading up to event day. Be sure to check back regularly for updates to event schedule.
Networking Room with Onsite Live Streaming (Canada Room, 1st Floor)
Day One (May 7)*
9:15 AM – Registration & Networking
10:00 AM – Groundbreaker Sessions (2nd Floor, Terrace Level)
Session 1: Strengthening Canada's Innovation Potential by Investing in Diverse Founders (Rossy Room)
*Sandra Ng, Director & Investor, Capital Angel Network (CAN) - Moderator
Alida Burke, CFO and Co-Founder Growcer
Brian Whitestone, Advisor, Realize Medical
Evelyn Allen, CEO & Co-founder, Evercloak
Session 2: Entrepreneurship as a Discipline: Building Resilience to Thrive (Lantern Room)
*Sam Haffar, Partner, Real Ventures - Moderator
Aileen Agada, Co-Founder & CEO, BeBlended
Juanita Lee-Garcia, Executive Director, Upside Foundation
Dr. Tarek Sadek, Executive Director, TMU Innovation Boost Zone
Wesley Kosiba, Lab2Market National Programming Lead & Deep Tech Startup Manager, TMU Innovation Boost Zone
11:00 AM – Networking Break
11:15 AM – Groundbreaker Sessions (2nd Floor, Terrace Level)
Session 1: The Impact of AI on Early Stage Investment (Rossy Room)
*Nick Quain, Vice President, Venture & Entrepreneurship, Invest Ottawa - Moderator
David Dufresne, Partner, CMD Capital
Neha Khera, Pre-seed Investor
Wissam Haroun, Angel Investor
Session 2: Seeds of Growth: What Investors Need to Know About Canadian Biotech (Lantern Room)
*Sue Coueslan, Vice President, Strategy and Partnerships, Natural Products Canada – Moderator
David Gauthier, Vice President, Commercialization, Natural Products Canada
Eric Zimmerman, Co-Founder, Enhanced Medical Nutrition
K. Dee Howard, Co-Founder, SootSoap
12:15 PM – Networking Lunch
1:00 PM – Groundbreaker Sessions (2nd Floor, Terrace Level)
Session 1: Angel Investing Redefined: From Individual Investors to LPs (Rossy Room)
*Alex MacBeath, Island Capital Partners, Managing Partner - Moderator
Jacopo Losso, Director General, European Business Angels Network (EBAN)
Julia Elvidge, Co-Founder, SheBoot
Lance Laking, Managing Director and General Partner, Graphite Ventures
Marianne Hudson, Founder and Executive Director Emeritus, Angel Capital Association (ACA)
Session 2: SR&ED Modernization and the Opportunity in Hardtech (Lantern Room)
*Laurent Carbonneau, Director, Policy & Research, Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) - Moderator
Dan Herman, CEO, IPON
Émilie Boutros, Managing Partner, Tandem Launch
Kate Riley, CEO, eye3concepts
Marie D'loro, President, Deep Tech Canada
Raymond Chik, Angel Investor, HardTech Investor Network Advisory Board member
1:45 PM – Networking Break
2:15 PM – Groundbreaker Sessions (2nd Floor, Terrace Level)
Session 1: Fuelling the Funding Continuum (Rossy Room)
*Claudio Rojas, CEO of National Angel Capital Organization - Moderator
Kim Furlong, CEO, CVCA
Joe Canavan, Angel Investor, Canavan Capital
Isaac Olowolafe, General Partner, BKR Capital
Senia Rapisarda, Managing Director, HarbourVest
Session 2: Positioning Canada as a Global Leader in Life Science & Health Tech (Lantern Room)
*Manon Boisclair, COO & CCO, Linearis - Moderator
Claudia Krywiak, President and CEO at Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI),
Dane Bedward, CEO, NeuroBot
Julie St-Pierre, Professor & Associate Vice-President, Research Support and Infrastructure, University of Ottawa
Peter van der Velden, Founder & Managing General Partner, Lumira Ventures
3:15 PM – Networking Break
3:30 PM – Groundbreaker Sessions (2nd Floor, Terrace Level)
Session 1: Women in Equity Investing (Rossy Room)
*Keshia Chanté - Moderator
Jennifer Francis, Technology Mentor, advisor and angel investor, Capital Angel Network (CAN)
Wendy Cukier, Academic Director, Diversity Institute
Danielle Graham, Co-founder, Firehood
Session 2: Building Investor Ecosystems in Rural Communities (Lantern Room)
*Camille Saltman, Co-founder & GP, Okanagan Women
Carollynn Schafer, Interim CEO, Accelerate Okanagan
Sherri Faloon, GP Okanagan Women
Jen Cole, Okanagan Science Centre
*Session times, themes and speakers will frequently change leading up to event day. Be sure to check back regularly for updates to event schedule.
Networking Room with Onsite Live Streaming (Canada Room, 1st Floor)