Innovators

In this episode, we spoke with Vitaly Pecherskiy, Co-Founder & COO and Natalia Vassilieva, VP of People & Culture at StackAdapt. Vitaly shares with us the inception story of StackAdapt's innovative programmatic ads platform while Natalia talks about their overseas expansion plan and growth opportunities available to the entire StackAdapt team. As of 2020, StackAdapt is ranked 6th in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 ranking, and 23rd in Fast 500 in North America.

Link to StackAdapt: www.stackadapt.com

In this episode, Jessica Nordlander, COO of Thoughtexchange, discusses her philosophy on failing and the importance of experimenting. Jessica spent 2 years at Google as the head of business development, and was recently named Sweden's Most Innovative Leader. She attributes her 10+ years of success at high growth tech companies to her ability to constantly experiment and learn new things. Thoughtexchange has over 100 corporate clients as is recognized as one of Canada’s fastest-growing companies.

Link to Thoughtexchange: www.thoughtexchange.com/

In this episode, Geoff Fawkes, Vice President of Technology at BuildDirect, discusses the positive aspects of remote working. Geoff has been an expert remote worker for the last 15 years, working with teams across the globe. He believes that working in a virtual office leads to better work-life balance, more efficient collaboration, and a more flexible work environment. As of early 2020, BuildDirect is a fully remote company with staff in Canada and India.

Link to BuildDirect: www.BuildDirect.com

In this episode, Charlyne Fothergill, Senior HR Business Partner at CTO.ai, discusses the importance of being fearless with career opportunities. Charlyne studied theatre and started as a teacher, before taking the leap and joining the startup scene as an HR advisor. At the time, she wasn't sure if she was ready or qualified to work in HR, but taking the opportunity opened up doors she never knew was possible. Now she is part of the leadership team at CTO.ai, a local startup which recently raised $10 million in seed funding.

Link to CTO.ai: www.cto.ai

In this episode, we spoke with Shelly Bardai, Senior Manager of KPMG's Ignition Center and Harneet Gill, Director of Talent for Greater Vancouver. We talked about KPMG's new innovation and technology centre — the first of its kind in Canada.  Harneet tells us how KPMG was able to convert their large global team into a remote workforce in under 36 hours. And Shelly shares with us the importance of innovation and what industries she would focus on if she was job seeking.

Link to KPMG: www.kpmg.ca

In this episode, Aliya Bhatia, Co-founder and CEO of PawSwap, discusses her startup experience. She talks about the importance of finding a person that has "walked the same path" as you. And how podcasts have given her better career advice than most friends, family members or even mentors could. She talked about staying focused but recognizes that "pivoting"—i.e. changing your approach—is equally, if not more, important in order to reach your end goal.

Link to PawSwap: https://www.pawswapapp.com

In this episode, Nicola Jones-Crossley, Executive Director of Women in Tech World, discusses her approach to networking. Whether in her home-town Sydney, Bangkok or Vancouver, she was able to build networks in order to take her career and organizations to the next level. Today, she relies on online tools like LinkedIn to broaden her network. Nicole joined the organization in 2020, and aims to empower communities to change the story of women in tech.

Link to Women in Tech: https://womenintechworld.com/

In this episode, Jeanette Jackson, CEO of Foresight, discusses her journey in the growing cleantech space. Jeanette started her career in clean tech right out of University. Despite all the early struggles, she believes the path of entrepreneurship was the right decision for her. Jeanette recommends young professionals take risks early on in their lives, and step outside their comfort zones. As of 2020, Foresight has helped secure +$250 million in funding.

Link to Foresight: https://foresightcac.com/

In this episode, Louisa Yeung, VP of PDFTron, discusses the concept of sponsorship. Throughout the course of her career in finance, Louisa worked for big companies like TD Bank and Deloitte. She attributes her career growth with her financial modelling and interpersonal skills. But also her ability to acquire mentors who are willing to speak up and advocate for her—known as sponsors. In 2019, Louisa underwrote PDFTron's $95 million growth investment by Silversmith Capital Partners.

Link to PDFTron: https://www.pdftron.com/

In this episode, Michael Fergusson, CEO of Ayogo, discusses the importance of leadership. According to him, the most important workplace trait is leadership. He values people who take responsibility for success and failures. Other important traits are compassion and persistence. Compassion for stakeholders of the company, and persistence to complete a project despite setbacks. Ayogo was twice listed among the 100 most innovative medical health companies in the world.

Link to Ayogo: https://ayogo.com