In this deeply personal and moving episode, I sit down with Alok Ahuja, co-founder and CEO of Trexity, for a conversation that goes far beyond business. When Alok’s father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Alok left a high-flying role at Shopify to become his full-time caregiver. That decision, rooted in love, sparked a journey of clarity, purpose, and the founding of a company built to serve Main Street, not Bay Street.

This is a story of legacy, resilience, and how one man chose presence over prestige to honor the father who shaped him. It’s also about the kind of father Alok hopes to be.

This Father’s Day, we celebrate the mentors, protectors, and everyday heroes who show up to lift their future, and ours on their shoulders.

To learn more about Trexity. https://trexity.com

In this episode of Chatter That Matters, as the RBC Canadian Open is minutes away from teeing off, I sit down with PGA Tour winner and Canadian golf icon Corey Conners. From his roots in Listowel, Ontario, to competing on the world stage, Corey’s journey is a testament to discipline, humility, and perseverance. 

Corey discusses his childhood passion for hockey and golf, the connection between math and mindset, and how fatherhood has altered his perspective on life and legacy. He also shares what it means to represent Canada in the Olympics and Presidents Cup, and the pride he feels wearing both the Maple Leaf and RBC shield.

This episode isn’t just for golf fans—it’s about what it takes to chase your dreams and stay true to yourself along the way. 

I close with three takeaways from our conversation, and Mark Soder from RBC joins me to discuss why Golf matters to you, to me and to RBC. 

An incredible story of a woman who takes the torch ignited by her father’s entrepreneurial spirit and uses it to light up entrepreneurial dreams and positive change across continents and industries, all with heart, humanity, and hustle. Bashak Ilhan is a founder, five-time entrepreneur, digital strategist, and brand architect who has achieved two multi-million-dollar exits and boasts a global career that spans London, the Middle East, Europe, and the U.S. Bashak doesn’t follow the rules; she rewrites the playbook.

This episode is more than a resume—it’s a revelation. It tells the story of an individual who embraces her identity, relies on her resilience, and continually reinvents herself and her enterprises to seek and realize opportunities.

A blueprint for lighting your path in an increasingly complex world.

To learn more about Bashak's offering, Road Branding, and how they help companies expand internationally and manage their B2C and B2B operations, Click Here  

In this inspiring and deeply personal episode, Cheryl Hickey, the beloved former co-host of Entertainment Tonight Canada, takes us beyond the glitz of red carpets and celebrity interviews to share her remarkable journey from a small town to the national spotlight. With warmth and honesty, Cheryl reflects on the moments that shaped her.  She navigated challenges and a health scare, embraced personal transformations, and celebrated the joys and lessons of motherhood. She opens up about life after the spotlight, how she’s redefining success on her terms, and why she’s more excited than ever about what comes next.

Bridge Over Troubled Waters: Taylor Cavanaugh’s Journey from Demons to Desire

Some fall and stay broken. Others build a bridge and rise.

Taylor Cavanaugh was a gifted student and elite athlete—but he was also a restless spirit chasing chaos. His journey spirals through addiction, jail, bar fights, and breakdowns. Then, somehow, a way through. He claws his way into the Navy SEALs. Falls again. Reinvents himself through one of the most brutal gauntlets on earth: the French Foreign Legion.

In this powerful episode of Chatter That Matters, Taylor shares how he battled his demons, confronted his darkest truths, and rebuilt himself through pain, purpose, and discipline. He speaks candidly about finding meaning not in titles, but in habits. Not in pleasure, but in purpose.

Taylor’s story is a reminder that no matter how deep the water, you can build a bridge—and cross it.

What if the moment that saves your life isn’t a miracle, or even counselling but a word, scribbled on a napkin? Steve Hershberger had lived a life built on his father’s expectations, chasing achievement like a moth to a flame, versus his artistic passions. But after two decades of following someone else’s blueprint, the façade cracked. His physical and mental health collapsed. He stood at a breaking point—until a friend’s intervention, and a single word on a napkin, cracked open a new path forward.

But life wasn’t done testing him. Just as Steve found his footing, life blindsided him again. A brutal cycling accident left him in the hands of a trauma team, hovering near death. In this episode of Chatter That Matters, we trace the route from accepting pain to chasing purpose, and how a man known for racing ahead finally learned to slow down and confront the truth. This is a story of grit, grace, and the quiet power of a single word.

If you’ve ever questioned your path, worth, or where you are, this show will inspire you to believe in yourself.

What if saving a home could help save the planet and a family in need?

We tear down 600 beautiful homes every year… That seems incredibly wasteful. Not just from a materials perspective. From a human one.” — Glyn Lewis

On this episode of Chatter That Matters, I sit down with Glyn Lewis, a man who’s not just talking about sustainability—he’s building it, one rescued home at a time. As founder of Renewal Development, Glyn turns wrecking balls into hope machines. Instead of demolishing homes, he relocates them—beautiful, character-filled properties—into communities that need housing now. It’s a story of purpose and possibility. Of disruption, not destruction.

And joining us is Leah Robinson, VP of Home Equity Financing at RBC, with a sharp lens on how Canada’s largest bank is reimagining the idea of home—through multigenerational financing, innovative lending models, and support for sustainable living.

Glyn Lewis, a dreamer and doer who sees our world and ask, “What if we did it differently?”

What if Canada could become a global food superpower—from farm to fork, from field to plate? In this live-recorded episode taped at Farm Credit Canada's Future of Food Conference, I sat down with two titens transforming Canada's agricultural landscape: Curt Vossen, the visionary CEO of Richardson International, and Kristjan Hebert, a farmer who manages his tens of thousands of acress of land with intelligence, passion, and pursuit.

Together, they tackle the future of food—from battling inefficiencies in our supply chains to seizing untapped global markets. They speak with brutal honesty about what’s holding Canada back: our mindset, our infrastructure, and our humility. Their solution? A call to action that blends bold vision with incremental, achievable steps.

In the final segment, Lisa Ashton of RBC Thought Leadership shares powerful insights into Canada’s strengths, risks, and unrealized potential in agriculture, backed by data, policy, and her personal story, which began on a farm.

My take: Canada does not need to be reliant on one trading partner, we have what it takes to create an economy powered by purposeful jobs and those who both dream and do. Let's all work together to make Canada a Food Superpower.

To find out more about Farm Credit Canada: https://www.fcc-fac.ca

Have you ever stood in a place that felt like more than just a location? Where the air carried stories, the land echoed memory, and you walked away with more than a photo, or even a memory that will last a lifetime, you walked away different?

Two weeks ago on Chatter that Matters I interviewed Ben Cowan-Dewar who built Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs on Cape Breton Island.  Two golf courses that have captured the attention of golfers all over the world and brought energy and vitallity to one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Last week, my guest was Zita Cobb, who was a force of human nature who created Fogo Island Inn, as a model for creating an economic renaissance, a true circular economy that can be replicated across Canada.

In today’s special three-minute episode of Chatter that Matters: Mini Matters, I’m breaking format to talk about tourism, and its power to transform Canada’s economy and identity.

Tourism isn’t just travel. It’s a passport to enlightenment. A conversation with nature, and with our nature. And Canada? Canada is a sleeping superpower.

Three coastlines. Ancient forests. Cities pulsing with culture. Indigenous wisdom, world-class cuisine, and experiences that can reset your soul.

Tourism can be the spark that rekindles our economy, from the land up. But only if we rethink it. Only if we stop seeing it as sightseeing and start building it as life-changing.

Take a few minutes. Lend me your ears—and maybe, your imagination. Let’s talk about what it means to bring the world to Canada.

Afterwards, I encourage you to listen to both of these shows if you are in the expeience, hospitality or tourism space, or love those who dream and do.

If you want to hear my interview with Ben Cowan-Dewar - Build it and they Will Come, click here: https://chatterthatmatters.libsyn.com/ben-cowan-dewar-build-it-and-the-world-will-come

If you want to hear Zita Cobb's amazing story -  https://chatterthatmatters.libsyn.com/zita-cobb-the-miracle-of-fogo-island

Zita Cobb’s story isn’t just worth hearing—it’s worth hugging.  In this episode of Chatter That Matters, you’ll meet a woman who helped to transform Fogo Island, one of the most remote and rugged places in Canada, into a beacon that attracts the world. Zita's perspective on hospitality, community, and the miracles of reimagining a place will change how you view tourism, shifting from merely visiting to truly experiencing Mother Nature and Human Nature.

Zita speaks with wisdom carved from the rocks of a small fishing village in Newfoundland and Labrador, where everything her family knew was taken away, forcing them to leave.  Many years later, Zita returns to collaborate with the community to create Fogo Island Inn and within it a vibrant circular economy.

I then close the show by sharing my thoughts on why the world needs more Canada and how Canada must build a stronger tourism sector.

Thank you to RBC for making Chatter That Matters, and our weekly show about positivity and possibility, possible.