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

*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

*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

*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

*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

*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

*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

*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

*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

*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

*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.

**Please note that virtual attendance will not be available and event recordings will not be shared.

Networking Room with Onsite Live Streaming (Canada Room, 1st Floor)

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: The Future of Angel Investing, Venture Capital and Growth

*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: Homegrown – The Evolution of Canada’s 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