Past Speakers

Jeff Adamson is Chief Commercial Officer and Co-Founder of Neo Financial, Canada’s first digital banking platform designed to help businesses grow while providing Canadians a better way to grow and manage their money. Founded in 2019, Neo Financial has raised more than $299 million in funding through top-tier investors like Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures, has grown to over 600 employees, and has been recognized as one of top tech startups in Canada. Jeff’s background runs deep in entrepreneurship and knows first hand the challenges of building a business. Previous to Neo Financial, Jeff co-founded SkipTheDishes — Canada’s leading food ordering and delivery platform, which grew to over 3000 employees and 6 million customers. In building Skip, Jeff worked with thousands of business owners from a small local cafe to large multinational corporations, in finding new opportunities for growth. Now, as Co-Founder and Chief Merchant Officer of Neo Financial, Jeff and his team help businesses grow by enabling them to share in the upside of financial technology.

An internationally recognized serial entrepreneur, thought leader and philanthropist. Deshpande and his wife Jaishree launched the Deshpande Foundation providing grants to non-profit organizations in Canada, the US and globally.

Dr. Wendy Cukier is the Founder of the Diversity Institute, founder and lead of the the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) and Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Professor Saras D. Sarasvathy is a member of the Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Ethics area at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. In addition to MBA and doctoral courses in entrepreneurship at Darden, she teaches in doctoral programs in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. Sarasvathy is the recipient of the 2022 Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research, the highest recognition for research in the field of entrepreneurship awarded by the Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum (Entreprenörskapsforum) and the Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN).

An internationally recognized serial entrepreneur, thought leader and philanthropist. Deshpande and his wife Jaishree launched the Deshpande Foundation providing grants to non-profit organizations in Canada, the US and globally.

Dr. Ted Zoller (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA) is a Senior Kauffman Fellow and T.W. Lewis Clinical Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship and Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. He oversees the teaching and outreach programs of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at UNC Kenan-Flagler. His research focuses on the role and structure of entrepreneurial networks and the interrelationships with investor syndicates.

Bill Aulet (Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology – MIT, USA) is the Managing Director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship at MIT, and a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He has conceived, designed, and overseen the implementation of many new innovative programs, and his work has won numerous awards. Prior to joining MIT, Mr. Bill Aulet had a 25-year track record of success in business. He has directly raised more than $100 million in funding for his companies and more importantly has led to the creation of hundreds of millions of dollars in market value in those companies. Today, in addition to his work at MIT, he works with individuals and companies to become more successful through innovation-driven entrepreneurship.

Dr. Heidi Neck (Babson College, USA) is a Jeffry Timmons Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Babson, and incoming President of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). She teaches entrepreneurship at the MBA and executive levels. Her research interests include entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurship inside organizations, and creative thinking. She is the lead author of Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach, a book written to help educators teach entrepreneurship in more experiential and engaging ways.

The Honorable Pierre Pettigrew was at different times, the Canadian Minister in charge of the Francophonie, International Cooperation, Human Ressources Development, Official Languages, Intergovernmental Affairs, Health and Foreign Affairs. Presently, he is the Principal Counsel in charge of International Affairs with Deloitte & Touche. He is popularly known worldwide in terms of international business negotiations and globalization governance.