Ashif Mawji is a serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, venture capitalist, mentor and community builder. He chairs the Edmonton Police Foundation and TELUS Friendly Future Foundation and serves on numerous private and nonprofit boards, including the Invest Alberta Corporation, Sarah McLachlan School of Music, Hockey Canada Foundation, CN Community Foundation, Premier’s Council on Civil Society and others. Ashif has directly invested into more than 100 companies globally, is invested in over 10 funds and also serves as a venture partner with Rising Tide (a VC firm in Silicon Valley). He advises and mentors entrepreneurs globally. Ashif has built (ground up) and exited several companies in the tech space, with one of his companies having a presence in over 150 countries and in virtually every industry. He received the EY Prairies Entrepreneur of the Year award, named one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40 and received Canada’s 50 Best Managed companies award three years in a row. Ashif was inducted into the Junior Achievement (NA) Business Hall of Fame in 2019. Ashif is an active member of YPO (Young Presidents Organization) and won the coveted Laing Award - he has served in the executive including as Chair of the organization (YPO-AB). Ashif received NAIT's Alumni of Distinction Award and was named one of the Top 50 Graduates in 50 years and received an Honorary Degree in Bachelor of Business Administration. He was also named in 2021, a Distinguished Friend of the Institute. Ashif has served as an Honorary Colonel in the Canadian Army and received the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals and the Alberta Centennial Medal. He was named a Henry Crown Fellow (part of the globally renowned Aspen Institute) in 2015. Ashif is happily married to Zainul and has two amazing boys Kinza and Aariz and a wonderful dog, Rocky.

As a former Dragon on CBC’s hit show Dragon’s Den, Lane Merrifield is one of Canada’s leading tech entrepreneurs. He is the founder of Club Penguin, the largest children’s online social network. At age 28, he sold it to Disney for $350 million, and, as their youngest executive vice president, turned it into a billion-dollar brand. In 2012, Lane returned to his entrepreneurial roots and launched FreshGrade, a learning assessment tool that connects teachers, parents, and students to help personalize and improve learning. It’s now used in 80% of districts across Canada. Lane is also the founder of Wheelhouse, an organization that invests in and supports early-stage tech companies and entrepreneurs through mentorship, access to capital, and connections to global business networks. Under his leadership, Lane’s teams have won dozens of awards including a Webby and the prestigious BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television) award for Club Penguin. Lane is also the recipient of an Honorary Fellows Award, Business Leader of the Year, and was named as one of the “Top 35 Executives Under 35” by The Hollywood Reporter. Lane currently sits on the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation board and is an advisor for Dreamscape Immersive and several other startups.

With close to 20 years of experience, Martin is a proven leader in workplace benefits & insurance management sectors, who is focused on leveraging technology and innovation in the benefits and PBM space to better serve our clients. Martin currently oversees Health Benefits Management across Canada, ensuring a continued focus on transformational priorities and growth. His focus on a client-centric approach is critical in shaping how HBM is evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of our clients and partners. Prior to joining TELUS Health, Martin was a Senior Partner, Business & Technology at Levio. As a member of the Global Development Executive team, he advised clients on creating the right mindset to make real successes in digital transformation. Martin previously had a distinguished career at iA Financial Group, culminating at the executive committee of the organisation in his role as Senior Vice-President, Group Benefits & Retirement Solutions where he led the business line P&L and its strategic vision, while managing close to a 1000 employees across Canada. Martin attributes his success to communicating with clarity and transparency while building a performing team. He also has a strong belief in diversity, empowering team members and embracing digital transformation.

Fiona is co-founder and director of The Entwistle Family Foundation, a charitable foundation focused on helping at-risk youth in Canada to realize their full potential. Fiona is also a director of the TELUS Vancouver Community Board, a charitable organisation focused on enabling vulnerable youth to succeed. She is proud to be a part of the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation and is excited to support its efforts to improve the lives of young Canadians in need through her philanthropic and corporate experience. Born and raised in Ireland, Fiona moved to Canada with her family in 2000. Since then, her focus has been on supporting her family and actively volunteering in the community. Fiona’s volunteer experience includes ongoing support at her children’s schools, fund-raising events, public relations and hands on work. She has volunteered for organisations such as Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, BC Children’s Hospital, Canadian Cancer Society, Greater Vancouver Food Bank, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and UBC Museum of Anthropology. Prior to moving to Canada, Fiona worked as a company executive in the UK. During her 10 years in London, Fiona achieved extensive experience in investor relations, management accounting, corporate finance and public relations in the Music and Communications industries. Fiona held roles such as SVP of Investor Relations for PolyGram Music and Film, a worldwide entertainment company and major music label that expanded into the largest global entertainment company at that time, VP of Investor Relations at Cable and Wireless Communications, the UK’s largest Cable TV provider and Corporate Finance Professional at Cable and Wireless PLC, a multinational communications company. Fiona has a Bachelor of Science (Management) from Trinity College Dublin and is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant, having studied at the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) in the UK. Fiona also studied Advanced Corporate Finance at the London Business School.

Craig Kielburger is a social entrepreneur and the co-founder of a family of organizations dedicated to the power of WE, a movement of people coming together to change the world. Along with his brother Marc Kielburger, Craig co-founded WE Charity, which provides a holistic development model called WE Villages, helping to lift more than one million people out of poverty in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Back at home in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, WE Schools & WE Day provide comprehensive service learning programs to 10,000 schools, engaging 2.4 million young change-makers. Lastly, he is the co-founder of ME to WE, a pioneering social enterprise, the profits from which help sustain the work of his charitable organization. His work has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, 60 Minutes and the BBC. Craig is the youngest ever graduate from the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA program. He has also received 15 honorary doctorates and degrees for his work in the fields of education and human rights. Craig is a New York Times bestselling author who has published 12 books, as well as a nationally syndicated columnist. Craig has received The Order of Canada, the Nelson Mandela Freedom Medal and the World Children’s Prize.

Manjit Minhas is an award-winning, born and raised Calgarian, engineering student turned beer baroness entrepreneur who founded Minhas Breweries, Distilleries and Wineries at the ripe age of 19 years old with her brother, Ravinder Minhas, who has grown the company to the 10th largest brewery in North America. Selling over 8 billion pints of world class beer and had revenues of $220 million last year! Minhas is widely recognized for her role as the straight-talking tough Dragon investor with flair on the multi award winning CBC show, Dragons’ Den for the last 8 years/season. She is the host of a Top 10 Apple Podcast (The Manjit Minhas Podcast) where she interviews top business leaders and CEO to gain insight and to hear how you can too walk the path of success. She is an accomplished public speaker and mentor and was recently appointed as the new Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Queens Own Rifles. She is honored to take on this role and fostering esprit de corps amongst troops and being an ambassador and advocate to Canadians and around the world for the brave men and women who serve. Manjit’s leadership has been recognized numerous times including Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, Alberta Centennial Medallion and Queens Platinum Jubilee, Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of The Year, Chatelaine Magazine’s Top Entrepreneur Woman of The Year, Forbes and PROFIT Magazine and WXN Top 100 Women Entrepreneurs in Canada. Manjit sits on numerous public, private and charitable boards and is actively involved in her community to support Canadian entrepreneurs and women’s initiatives including Co-Chair of United Way, Hull Services Mental Health and YWCA. Manjit lives in Calgary with her husband and their two young daughters.

Bobbie Racette is the Founder and CEO of Virtual Gurus, a talent marketplace that leverages proprietary technology to match organizations and entrepreneurs with highly skilled Canadian and American fractional administrative workers. Forbes recently announced Virtual Gurus as one of the top 19 Innovative Tech Startups to watch. Bobbie is on a mission to create employment opportunities for underrepresented individuals, setting a mandate within her own company that 95% of her workers will identify as female, 65% a part of the BIPOC community, and 45% part of the LGBTQ+ community. An unstoppable force in the Canadian startup community, Bobbie acts as a mentor for eCommerce North and serves on the Board of the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, helping to build brighter futures for at-risk youth through the power of technology. She’s also a member of The51’s Community Council and Calgary’s CORE Working Group, ensuring the voices of underrepresented folx are included at both local and national levels. Named as one of 50 Changemakers for 2021 by Report on Business magazine, Bobbie was also recently honoured by Startup Canada as Indigenous Entrepreneur and Woman Entrepreneur of the Year. Bobbie is a Cree-Metis woman who prides herself on building an inclusivity-first company, championing indigenous people and the LGBTQ+ community.

As TELUS’ Chief Social Innovation and Communications Officer with more than 28 years of telecommunications experience and communications expertise, Jill Schnarr leads TELUS’ corporate citizenship and communications team. Jill brings TELUS’ social purpose to life to drive social change, leveraging its world-leading technology and compassion to enable remarkable human outcomes, while amplifying internal and external campaigns, bolstering TELUS’ storytelling impact, and fostering strong, positive relationships with customers and all Canadians. At the helm of corporate communications, media relations, government advocacy, social media, community investment, cause marketing, team member giving, volunteerism, humanitarian relief, sponsorships, brand office, brand marketing, TELUS Studios, and corporate events, Jill has significantly influenced, built upon and safeguarded TELUS’ reputation as a global leader, enabling TELUS to be the most trusted telco brand in Canada. Furthering her dedication to giving where she lives, Jill serves on several boards and associations including a founding board member of the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, and previously served as a director on the B.C. Women’s Hospital Foundation for seven years, and as a TELUS Vancouver Community Board member for six years. She was also a Board Director and Chair of the Women’s Leadership Circle on the Vancouver Board of Trade, served on the fundraising cabinet for B.C. Women’s Health Foundation (formerly B.C. Women’s Hospital Foundation) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and was Co-Chair of Glow, the inaugural B.C. Women’s Hospital Gala.

Hilen is Vice President, TELUS Stores and Koodo Shops. In this role, his team is responsible for increasing sales and providing exceptional customer experience in TELUS Stores and Koodo Shops. He does this with the support of over 2,700 team members across Canada. Hilen and his team also proudly support TELUS’ commitment to Give Where We Live by actively fundraising and volunteering with partners such as Pancreatic Cancer and One Walk to Conquer Cancer. In over 15 years at TELUS, Hilen has held various leadership roles at TELUS including positions in Business Intelligence, Product Development, Pricing and National Retail. Trained as an electrical engineer, Hilen worked as a management consultant supporting clients primarily in the communications sector prior to joining TELUS. Hilen and his wife Karen have two wonderful children. In his spare time, Hilen enjoys spending time with his family.