Future Finance and Social Innovation: The Great Shift

Michael Allen is Portfolio Manager at Wealthsimple, Canada’s largest online investment manager. Previously, he was an investment advisor with BMO Nesbitt Burns and RBC Dominion Securities. He studied Commerce at Dalhousie University.

Tania created and leads two ground breaking national strategic initiatives at KPMG in Canada – the Community Leader Strategy, and Impact Ventures.

Impact Ventures assists clients to enhance their social impact through strategy development, impact investing, and impact assessment. The Community Leader Strategy is one of the four pillars of KPMG’s business, focusing the firm’s resources and expertise to drive social change and sustainability. Prior to taking on her current positions, Tania spent ten years in various client service roles in both the Advisory and Financial Services Practices of the firm.

Tania is an author, speaker, and consultant on corporate social responsibility, social innovation, and impact investing, including a recent article in the Globe and Mail “Your business can facilitate social change by doing what it does best”. She is a member of Canada’s National Advisory Board to the G8 Social Impact Investing Taskforce, and was the lead author of an issue paper submitted to the Taskforce “Catalyzing Impact Investing: The Opportunity for Governments“. Tania has a long-record of board governance and volunteer leadership at the local, national and international levels.

Christopher Charlesworth holds an MBA from the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, The University of Toronto, and an Honours Bachelor of Political Science from The University of Western Ontario. Christopher has worked as a management consultant in Indonesia, Canada, and the United States across several practice areas, including financial services, marketing, and social media. Christopher is CEO and co-found of HiveWire, a full-service crowdfunding company that builds platforms, conducts data and research, and provides professional consulting services.

When Tabitha Creighton started her Master’s degree in Philosophy in 1996, she had no idea it would lead to a 20 year career in fintech. A chance meeting with a friend who was a web designer, took her from an academic interest in how technology might revolutionize relationships to a front and center role in developing online channels for business. Tabitha has worked with some of the best known names in software (Microsoft), advertising (Vickers & Benson), retail (Canadian Tire) and banking (BDC, BMO, Scotiabank). She has helped banks bring their business online in three separate waves of banking evolution. Wave 1, in the 1990’s, the development of online presence and early experiments in online banking. Wave 2 in the 2000’s, bringing their monolithic green screens into a Windows-based environment and improving using technology to improve the customer experience. And Wave 3, in the 2010’s, redefining the relationship of capital to borrowing, and levelling the playing field for credit unions and community banks to compete with their national bank counterparts. A passionate advocate for transparency and accountability in banking, she works tirelessly behind the scenes of both the securities and banking industries to find ways to make them more accessible for the businesses and investors who make up more than 50% of North American jobs and economy. She runs her North American company, InvestNextDoor, from their many locations, making her an inadvertent expert on frequent travel. Her typical commute is a cross-country jaunt once or twice a week between Vancouver and Toronto or New York.

Jeffrey Crelinsten is CEO of Research Money Inc. and publisher of RE$EARCH MONEY. He is also President and CEO of The Impact Group, a consultancy he co-founded in 1987, specializing in science, technology and innovation policy, communications and education. Jeffrey has been studying challenges facing tech entrepreneurs and the innovation ecosystems that try to support them for over 25 years. He developed the R$ conferences to bring together leaders from the private and public sector to address critical issues around innovation policy and knowledge-based commerce.

Before founding The Impact Group, Jeffrey taught science and human affairs at Concordia University and had an active career as a science documentary writer for radio and television.

Jeffrey is Senior Research Fellow at the Innovation Policy Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto. He is a founding director of the International Commercialization Alliance and is a past-President of the Canadian Science Writers Association. Jeffrey has a B.Sc. in physics from McGill University, a M.Sc. in astronomy from University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in history of science and science policy from University of Montreal.

Dr. Dacin is the E. Marie Shantz Chaired Professor of Strategy and Organizational Behaviour in the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. She is the Director of the Smith School of Business Centre for Social Impact. Tina’s research interests include cultural heritage and traditions, institutional change, social entrepreneurship, and strategic collaboration. Her work has been published in leading management journals and she has served in a variety of editorial positions for these journals. Tina received her doctorate from the University of Toronto and prior to joining Queen’s University, she spent nine years at Texas A & M University. She has most recently been a Visiting Professor for several years at the Judge Business School at Cambridge, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, India.

Jim Davidson created Peak Change with his wife Melanie Pease-Davidson to promote positive impacts of early stage investment companies and funds. With over 20 years of internet technology and entrepreneurial experience, Jim is currently focused on early stage impact-investing, providing capital and serving as an advisor and board member for companies in clean tech, education, environment and international development that leverage innovation and technology to further their social benefit and sustainability missions.

Previously, Jim served as a senior leader at AOL where he served as CTO of DigitalCity, the internet’s first hyper-local portal, and later as VP of Web Services and Publishing, where he led teams responsible for some of the most innovative and high-scale sites including AOL.com and MapQuest. Jim has also been a leader at early-stage companies including: CTO of ShareThis.com, President of Examiner.com, and co-founder and CEO of Laborfair.com, an online marketplace for disadvantaged service providers.

Jim serves on the boards of CauseLabs, Girls for a Change, Impact HUB Boulder, Investor’s Circle, Think Impact, and Unleesh. He is also a guarantor with MicroCredit Enterprises which helps fund micro-loans around the world. Jim’s memberships include: Rocky Mountain Venture Club, Toniic, Investor’s Circle (Board Chair & Lifetime Member), Impact HUB Boulder (Board & Lifetime Member). Jim lives in Denver, CO with his wife Melanie and two children, Sophie & Xander, and this year became a two-time Boulder IronMan.

Aaron Emes is a partner at Torys LLP where he practices corporate and securities law, including mergers and acquisitions and securities regulation. Aaron has been recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada, 2012-2016, as a leading lawyer in corporate law and by Lexpert/Thomson Reuters’ Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as a leading lawyer in corporate finance & securities (2015). Aaron advises TMX Group (operator of Canada’s major stock exchanges) on a wide range of matters, including on its acquisition by Maple Group and on its proposed merger with London Stock Exchange Group. Aaron also advises SVX, an on-line platform for connecting impact issuers with accredited investors, on securities regulatory matters. Aaron received his LLB (With Honours) from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law in 1998 and was called to the Bar in both Ontario and New York in 2000.

Purpose Capital, one of North America’s leading impact investment advisory firms, mobilizes all forms of capital — financial, physical, human and social — to accelerate social progress.

As Manager of Strategic Growth at Purpose Capital, Jonathan is responsible for anticipating the future of impact investing. His work revolves around driving investment and entrepreneurship to address once-in-a-generation opportunities. He led a global business coalition to determine how technology can unlock access to education for all on behalf of former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and is now designing an initiative for 1 million millennials to build high-impact companies over the next decade

In 2015, Jonathan launched Nexus Canada, enabling Canada’s youth to join a global movement of 3000+ next generation wealth holders, philanthropists, social entrepreneurs, and impact investors. Participants from over 70 countries are uniting to catalyze new leadership and accelerate solutions to global problems.

Jonathan is also a serial social entrepreneur and advocate for entrepreneurship as a way of creating positive change. Although he is best known as the founder of an $8M fund for sustainability at McGill University, his most recent venture, Equipmind, deploys behavior change strategies to reduce energy consumption from equipment in the workplace. He has received national and international awards for his achievements in the fields of food, sustainability, youth and education, and has been a regular public speaker since 2008.

A prolific serial technology CEO, investor and philanthropist, committed to building world leading high growth technology organizations through “Venture 2.0” boutique VERDEXUS. As Founding General Partner, Randall leads a strategic, hands-on engagement with a global portfolio of business-to-business, mainly SaaS companies

Prior to VERDEXUS, Randall was founder and CEO of MKS, a global leader in application lifecycle management solutions, which was sold in 2011 to Parametric Technology Corporation for US$304 million.

Randall has a passion for transformation and growth across a broad spectrum from Social Innovation to leveraging Angel investing to accelerate building future knowledge based companies in Canada and beyond. In late 2013, Randall was invited to the “Group of Seven” by Governor General David Johnston to assist in nation building around Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017.

Randall was the 1997 High Technology Entrepreneur of the Year and the 2014 Canadian Angel of the Year. He is a founding EIR and mentor for CAMP, the leading accelerator for Canadian startups wanting to engage with the Chinese market. Randall is co-founder of the Middlebrook Prize for Young Canadian Curators.

Adam leads the Capital Advisory practice as well as the day-to-day operations of the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing. Adam has spent most of his career in the social impact field in Canada.

Since 2009, Adam has been contributing to national and international market development initiatives in the field of impact investment. Adam was behind the scenes of the Canadian Task Force on Social Finance in 2010, helped create the Centre for Impact Investment at MaRS in 2011, and has supported several non-profit organizations with non-traditional financing arrangements throughout his current tenure at MaRS.

Prior to joining MaRS, Adam was a consultant for PwC, specializing in nonprofit performance management as well as Aboriginal community investment.

Adam is an advisor to several Canadian nonprofit organizations and foundations on issues of enterprise and funding. He is also an advisor to the Calouste Gulbankian Foundation in Portugal and their impact investment initiative at the Social Entrepreneurship Institute. Adam is a recognized leader on topics of social finance and emerging models like social impact bonds. He holds a degree in economics from the University of British Columbia.

In 2007, Noelle launched AlphaSource Advisors, an investment advisory to institutional investors, which is focused on enhanced returns using social and environmental due diligence factors. The mission of the firm is to enable investors to produce sustainable returns while encouraging the flow of capital into investments that positively impact the world around us. With a team of 11 seasoned investment professionals, AlphaSource has been committed to fostering an impact-focused ecosystem. Noelle has been responsible for the strategic and operational leadership since inception.

In addition, in 2011, she joined the board of the New York National Association of Securities Professionals, a non-profit, advocacy group for women and minority-owned businesses in finance.

Before that, she was the New York Regional Director of the Professional Risk Managers International Association, a non-profit association focused on setting best practices in risk management.

Prior to founding AlphaSource, she headed a team of 8 managing portfolios for Schonfeld Securities.

She started her career at Salomon Brothers.

Noelle graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1987.

Tim Nash, The Sustainable Economist, is a fee-for-service financial planner that teaches ordinary people about the investment industry, and empowers them to manager their own money in line with their values.

As an expert on socially responsible investing, impact investing, and the green economy, he is regularly featured in publications such as Reuters, Advisor’s Edge Report , and MoneySenseand has appeared on CBC’s The Exchange with Amanda Lang. He earned his BA in Economics from Dalhousie University (Halifax, Canada) and his Master’s in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability from the Blekinge Institute of Technology (Karlskrona, Sweden). He is treasurer of the Ontario Nonprofit Network and the lead researcher for Ethical Market’s Green Transition Scoreboard® research report, which details more than $7.1 trillion of private investments in the global green economy.

Trish is Director of Investments at CoPower, where she leads capital raising strategy, including product structuring and investor relations. Previously, she worked at the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing, where she founded Impact8, a social venture accelerator now in Toronto and Montreal, and led venture services for the SVX, a private impact investing platform. She also spearheaded the development of the MaRS/Virgin Unite Catalyst Fund.

Trish is has written and contributed to a number reports on impact investing including “Mission Possible: Assessing the Appetite, Activity and Barriers for Impact Investing Among Canadian Foundations,” and “Opportunities for Impact: A White Paper on Social Impact Investing” for TD Bank. Before finding impact investing, Trish was a financial reporter at Reuters. She holds an M.A. International Relations from the University of St. Andrews (Scotland).

Jérôme Nycz was appointed executive vice president, BDC Capital in 2013.

In this role, he leads the activities of BDC Capital, a subsidiary of BDC that offers venture capital, equity as well as growth and business transition capital.

Mr. Nycz has over 20 years of experience in the financial and public sectors.

He joined BDC in 2002, overseeing corporate strategy and planning, and shareholder relations. In subsequent years, he added responsibility for enterprise risk management, economic analysis and knowledge management to his portfolio. During this time, he conducted several internal strategic reviews, including subordinate financing and venture capital (taking on the additional role of interim, executive vice president of Venture Capital in 2011), and led a multidisciplinary team that prepared the Bank’s submission for the 2010 legislative review of the BDC Act.

Prior to his current role, he was senior vice president of Corporate Strategy and Subordinate Financing.

Mr. Nycz began his career with the federal government as a senior economist and policy advisor at the Department of Finance, Industry Canada and National Defence. He also worked at Export Development Canada and as an investment officer at the Canadian Consulate in Boston.

Mr. Nycz is a board member of Canada’s Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA), Réseau Capital and CIRANO.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from Concordia University and an IMBA from Hartford University.

Amber is a global systems change architect, social entrepreneur and facilitator of an inclusive economy. She is among the leading pioneers in the fields of impact investing and social enterprise. As a expert in global innovation ecosystem and meta-network design, Amber has for over two decades lead numerous industry first’s in channeling the power of entrepreneurs and markets to address humanity’s great challenges.

She has served as Director of Social Entrepreneurship Incubation for the Women’s Technology Cluster (now Astia); the Founder and President of Social Fusion, the first network based global social venture incubator – whose cluster design was propagated across the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and parts of Asia and Africa; and as a Principal in Tendris, a Dutch social venture holding company and PE fund pioneering 21st Century business.

A potent advocate, speaker and Master Entelechy Facilitator, Amber has lead nearly 1,000 private and multi-stakeholder systems change sessions on every continent with select impact investment families, firms and development groups with over $3tn in AUM, unlocking well over $13 billion of new capital into impact.

She is a committed mindfulness practitioner, and a Hero’s Journey Masters Faculty for global millennials of Watson University; and senior leaders seeking a courageous pathway as 21st century warriors of a conscious world. Her current focus is engaging women, millennials and a $60tn wealth transfer to ignite a Golden Age of Impact.

Michael Oliver brings over 25 years of extensive leadership experience with Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals in both Canada and abroad. Most recently Mike was President of the Baxter Corporation Canada, and prior to that President of Becton Dickinson Canada. Mike has spent 10 years internationally in Asia, Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa in a variety of leadership roles. His extensive experience includes focus on Medical Device and Diagnostic Technologies in mature and emerging markets including Diabetes, Surgical, Drug Delivery, Nutrition, Anesthesia, IV Therapy, Renal, Admixing/Compounding and Ophthalmology. Mike also has extensive experience is designing and facilitating organizational change to optimize sales execution, market access, supply chain and marketing excellence. Mike received a Bachelor of Business Management Degree from Ryerson University in Toronto in 1989.

Chris Rezendes is the Founder of INEX Advisors, INEX IoT Impact LABS and IoT Capital Partners.
INEX Advisors serves Fortune 5000 enterprise, industrial and technology companies seeking to enhance existing businesses and develop new business models through the deployment of Internet-of-Things (IoT) solutions. INEX has worked with dozens of Fortune 500, 5000 and middle-market companies since 2011.

Impact LABS is an IoT commercialization accelerator that live-pilots early-stage IoT solutions in the field with small and mid-sized businesses. LABS brings together five (5) key stakeholder groups to collaborate of the definition, development, deployment and scaling of market-ready solutions. These groups include: IoT startups from the US and abroad, Fortune 5000 industrial and technical Sponsors, innovative small and mid-sized businesses, physical world subject matter experts and research institutions. Current Sponsors include: Analog Devices, ADI Lyric Labs, Dell IoT Solutions Business Unit, Dell OEM Solutions Business Unit, Foley and Lardner, GE Digital, GE Research and PTC/ ThingWORX.

IoT Capital Partners is an IoT-dedicated early stage investment vehicle under construction with Roger Krakoff. Currently, the team holds positions in 15 early stage IoT companies, over half of which have revenue generating product in market. These companies include software tools/ utilities as well as application- and asset-specific solutions. All are headquartered in the US.

Chris is also the Co-Organizer of the IoT Meetup Boston/ New England (>2,300 members) that meets monthly. He helped Paul Roberts at The Security Ledger launch the Security of Things Meetup (@900 members).

Chris speaks often at local, regional, national and global events focused on IoT, innovation, impact investing and a number of industry events where IoT has significant potential.

Chris has 25 years’ experience in real-time, mission-critical, embedded and wireless markets as an analyst, advisor, general manager, and now, entrepreneur and investor. He grew up Fall River, MA, the grandson of sweepers and one of the first female floor bosses in the region’s textile industry; graduated from Harvard University and has worked with national security, infrastructure and industrial communities on technology issues and opportunities since 1991.
Chris and the INEX, LABS and Capital PARTNERS teams are working with brilliant partners to instrument the physical world with intelligence and intention, for profit and productivity as well as sustainability and impact.

Learn more about their work at: Inexadvisors.com or iotimpactlabs.com

TED talk on IoT

Holly Ruxin built her career in the global financial system investing client assets at some of Wall Street’s most powerful firms. Yet after decades of service and witnessing the misalignment of values that led to the financial crisis, Holly founded an innovative investment platform that blends expert investing with new economy sustainability and independent vision. Holly is the CEO of Montcalm TCR, a San Francisco-based wealth management and capital markets trading firm. Montcalm serves as a guiding force for developing a better relationship with money and investing within a new global socio-economic model that supports the values, needs and goals of investors in the short and long-term. Holly leads the firm as CEO based on the values of integrity, collaboration, engagement, and client sustainability. She oversees portfolio asset allocation including internally managed equities, options, and fixed income, and externally managed funds in private equity and venture capital. For over twenty years, Holly has managed client assets and led private client teams at Morgan Stanley, Montgomery Securities and Bank of America, and she began her investment career at Goldman Sachs in the fixed income derivatives arena. Holly is also the founder of Trevor TCR, a not for profit company dedicated to supporting organizations that help people feel at home in their communities. Holly lives in San Francisco with her husband and three children.

David is responsible for expanding OurCrowd’s presence in Canada: building the investor community, bringing new companies onto the OurCrowd platform and leveraging the investor network on behalf of our portfolio companies. David has more than 20 years of experience in analyzing, investing in and operating technology companies. As the Managing Director of Terracap Ventures, David developed the firm’s overall corporate strategy, reviewed more than 400 deals and led investments in five new companies and seven follow-on rounds. Prior to joining Terracap, David was a top-ranked technology analyst for Canadian investment banks such as Mackie Research Capital, CIBC, Desjardins and First Marathon, providing insightful research into technology companies. His operational experience includes roles as CFO at several start-ups including Cavet and Beam Networks. David has served as a Board Director of both public and private companies including ESI Entertainment Systems Inc. (CNSX:ESY), Sarda Technologies and Helix Medical Systems. He is also directly involved in fostering a strong start-up community in Canada, serving on the Advisory Board of the Canadian Innovation Exchange and as an advisor for The Next 36. David received his CFA designation in 1997 and completed his MBA at the Schulich School of Business in 1994.

Charles Sousa is Ontario’s Minister of Finance and the Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for the riding of Mississauga South. Charles also serves as Vice-Chair of Treasury Board and Management Board of Cabinet.

Charles was first elected in October 2007. He has held positions as Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Minister Responsible for the 2015 Pan & ParaPan American Games, Minister of Labour and Chair of Treasury Board and Management Board of Cabinet. He has also served as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Economic Development Trade and the Minister of Government Consumer Services.

As Minister of Finance, Charles has delivered multiple Budgets and Fall Economic Statements. He negotiated the formation of the Canadian Cooperative Securities Regulator and continues to lead a national discussion on retirement income security.

In 2009, Charles unanimously passed his private member’s resolution to include financial literacy education in elementary and secondary school curriculums. He also facilitated passage of the Payday Loans Act to protect Ontario consumers against predatory lending.

As Minister of Labour, Charles led the largest overhaul of Ontario’s occupational health and safety system in 30 years. As Minister of Citizenship & Immigration he introduced ‎an immigration strategy to foster more support of settlement and newcomer representation in Ontario.

Charles possesses an extensive background in the financial sector. He worked at RBC Financial Group for more than 20 years in commercial banking. Prior to that, he owned and operated a financing company supporting small businesses. He also served as a member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Toronto Board of Trade, and as a director of the American Chamber of Commerce.

Charles’ commitment to community service earned him the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2003 and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. He was also inducted as a Commander to the Order of Merit in Portugal.

Charles graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1982 with an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration. In 1991, he completed a fellowship at the Institute of Canadian Bankers. He earned an Executive MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario in 1994.

Charles is married with three children.

Jennifer manages the MaRS Venture Growth Program, supporting high-growth ventures in the cleantech, health and information & communications technology (ICT) sectors. She is an innovation enthusiast who has helped Canadian entrepreneurs bring world-leading technologies to market for the last several years. Prior to her current position Jennifer spent time in the cleantech sector, working as the Senior Associate with MaRS Cleantech Venture Services, although she has a broader interest in the health and ICT sectors as well as the nexus between these traditional segments. Jennifer has cultivated a vast network of industry leaders, entrepreneurs, academics as well as industry-leading resources to support the Canadian startup community.

Jennifer also spends part of her time on secondment with the MaRS Catalyst Fund, a newly launched $5-million impact investing fund established to address the blatant funding gap for early-stage impact ventures. She is actively looking for early-stage ventures that are tackling society’s toughest challenges. Through the Fund Jennifer hopes to prove that you can benefit society and generate market returns and encourage other investors to take a impact-focused lens to their portfolios.

Christine Trauttmansdorff is the Vice-President, Government Relations and Canadian Partnerships at Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan), the national membership organization representing publicly supported colleges, institutes, cégeps and polytechnics in Canada and internationally. CICan is implementing one of the first social finance projects in Canada on behalf of Employment and Social Development Canada. The Essential Skills Social Finance pilot is exploring new ways to address social challenges that have proven resistant to existing interventions. Christine’s responsibilities at CICan also include advocacy, policy research, and the delivery of services to CICan’s members. Prior to joining CICan in 2015, Christine served in a variety of senior positions at the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and at the House of Commons. She holds an M.A. in Public Administration and a B.A. in English, both from Carleton University.

Stephanie is an experienced angel investor and medical real estate developer who continues to stand out with her irrefutable credibility, character and collaborative spirit. As a 19 year entrepreneur who started her own business in Commercial Real Estate at the age of 29, she continues to curate and create opportunities for others by sharing experience and investment.

As an active member of Investor’s Circle, her business prowess is delicately dispersed to companies whose mission makes an impact. Stephanie brings over 26 years of combined experience from her early days at GE Medical Systems selling CT, MRI, X-Ray, Mammography, Ultrasound and PET scanners to physicians and hospitals, to her role as managing partner of ACCESS Medical Development, a medical real estate development, leasing and asset management firm.

To expand and continue to contribute in the sustainable impact space, Stephanie is focused on women’s advancement through wealth building, income disparity, and millennial engagement. The three aligned initiatives: ACCESS Global Healthcare Alliance, a development consultancy firm that with family offices, foundations to enact capital and medical real estate expertise Internationally; AUDACITY Capital Collaborative, an impact investing firm is focused on financing emerging women leaders and communities through ACCESS buildMed; Building Wealth Through Health. MillennialsMovingMillions.org is designed to usher in the next generation of impact innovators through sustainable philanthropy and angel investing initiatives that create regenerative economies and resilient communities.

A lifelong entrepreneur and self-made success story, Stephanie brings a front-line perspective and keen eye on investment opportunities to Women, Millennial Innovators, Healthcare Investors, Family Offices and Collaborative Investment Partners.