Schedule
| Networking Lunch presented by Hunt Club | 11:30 AM to 12:00 PM |
| Story of perseverance with Steven Kramer & Dennis Kavelman | 12:00 PM to 12:20 PM |
| Thriving Through Adversity: An Experiential Journey for Startup Founders & CEOs with Cherie Gardiner, presented by True | 12:25 PM to 2:05 PM |
| The LLM Moment: Foundations, Applications, and the Investor’s Lens with Nick Frosst, Scott Stevenson, Steve Woods, and Melissa Dominguez | 2:25 PM to 3:15 PM |
| Creating Optionality: Insights from a CEO Who Navigated M&A with Rebecca McKillican & Scott Munro | 3:20 PM to 3:45 PM |
| Young, Scrappy and Hungry – A Fireside Chat with Hamilton’s CEO with Jeffrey Seller & Andy Nulman | 3:50 PM to 4:45 PM |
| Break – Please join us at Marché Artisans, located on the first floor of Fairmont the Queen Elizabeth, for a networking session with fellow CEOs and speakers ahead of the Cocktail Reception. | 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM |
| Cocktail Reception | 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM |
| Fireside Chat about the Twitter Deal with Martin Korman, Sean Edgett, and Patrick Pichette | 6:30 PM to 7:15 PM |
Meet our Speakers
Cherie Gardiner, Advisor, Executive Coach & Master Facilitator
Cherie is a trusted CEO advisor, coach, and facilitator with extensive experience supporting founders and leadership teams. With a focus on scaling and growth, she helps navigate challenges of strategic clarity, leadership scalability, and cultural evolution. Her portfolio includes collaborations with Bandcamp/Epic Games, Credit Karma, Twitter, and more. Cherie’s authenticity and pragmatism inspire teams to problem-solve burning issues and achieve their goals. With a background in global leadership, including roles at EMI, Microsoft, and Zynga, she brings expertise in strategic, organizational, and leadership development. Cherie holds an MBA from the University of Washington and is a facilitator at Stanford GSB. Her work is influenced by renowned business strategists like Gary Hamel and Otto Sharmer.
Steven Kramer, Founder & CEO of WorkJam
Steven is a technology entrepreneur with over 25 years of executive leadership experience in founding and scaling companies developing disruptive, enterprise-class technologies. In 1999, Steven co-founded iCongo, a leading global software provider for omni-channel retail and B2B commerce solutions, which merged with Hybris Software in 2011 and became the largest independent provider of e-commerce solutions with 27 offices worldwide, 1000+ employees and more than 600 customers. Steven was part of the Executive Management team and Board Member at Hybris. Hybris Software was purchased by SAP in 2013. While working with companies on their omni-channel strategies, Steven identified a gap between traditional workforce management systems and how companies actually hire, schedule and manage their frontline employees. With this in mind, Steven co-founded WorkJam
Nick Frosst, Co-Founder of Cohere
Nick Frosst is a Cofounder of Cohere, the leading language AI solution for enterprises. Its world-class language models are uniquely suited to the scale and needs of business, unlocking unprecedented ease of use, accessibility, and control. He plays a key role in refining user experience while defining a responsibility-focused culture. Before Cohere, Nick collaborated with Geoffrey Hinton, becoming Hinton’s first employee at Google Brain’s Toronto lab. Nick’s research focused on capsule networks, adversarial examples, and explainability.
Based in Toronto, Nick holds a B.S. in Computer Science and Cognitive Science from the University of Toronto. He is also the lead vocalist of the indie pop rock band Good Kid.
Scott Stevenson, Co-Founder & CEO of Spellbook (by Rally)
Scott Stevenson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Spellbook. With a background in software engineering, he has been building technology products for over 15 years.
Scott was inspired to found Spellbook with Daniel and Matt after being unsatisfied with the legal work’s cost and turnaround time in a previous venture. Under his leadership, Spellbook has grown from zero to 500+ customers. Scott is driven to make a lasting positive impact on the lives of lawyers and their clients.
Rebecca McKillican, Former CEO of McKesson Canada and Well.ca
Rebecca McKillican is a highly accomplished business executive who served as the CEO of McKesson Canada from 2020 to February 2023. She was responsible for leading a portfolio of businesses in Canada, including pharmaceutical distribution, independent pharmacies, e-commerce, and specialty health. Rebecca joined McKesson Canada in 2017 while she was the CEO of Well.ca, which was acquired by McKesson. She previously worked for the private equity firm Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts and as a strategic consultant at McKinsey & Company. Rebecca is also a board member of the National Bank of Canada. She has been recognized for her achievements and leadership, receiving Canada’s 2021 New CEO of the Year award by the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business and was honored with the Top 40 Under 40 Canada Award in 2018.
Andy Nulman, Former President & CEO of Play The Future
Andy Nulman is a seasoned disruptor with over 45 years of experience creating and leading major disruption forces. He co-founded and served as CEO of Play The Future, a digital platform that converted major brands, world events, and daily news into consumer engagement and entertainment. Andy also held the position of President of Montreal’s renowned Just For Laughs International Comedy Festival for over a decade, where he transformed the event into a month-long cultural happening and created/executed over 150 festival TV shows. He was also the President and CMO of Airborne Technology Ventures, a company sold for over $100 million to Cybird of Japan. Andy is the author of three books and an acclaimed, thought-provoking public speaker who has motivated and entertained Fortune 500 companies. Andy has received numerous awards, including the Startup Canada’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Quebec and induction into the Canadian Comedy Hall of Fame.
Jeffrey Seller, Winner of Four Tony Awards for Best Musical
Jeffrey Seller is a highly acclaimed Broadway producer, having won four Tony® Awards for Best Musical. He produced Pulitzer Prize-winning musicals Hamilton and Rent, as well as Avenue Q and In the Heights. Additionally, he produced several other notable productions, including De La Guarda, Baz Luhrmann’s direction of Puccini’s La Bohème, and The Cher Show. Jeffrey is a graduate of The University of Michigan.
Martin Korman, Partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Marty Korman has been a corporate partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati for more than 25 years. Working with investors, boards, and management, he helps companies and investors navigate significant M&A and investment transactions and corporate governance matters. Recognized as one of the nation’s most prominent M&A attorneys. Marty is particularly well known for his work in the technology sector, where he represents public and private companies in purchase and sale transactions. He also works closely with private equity sponsors in connection with the full range of private equity transactions, including going-private transactions and both majority and minority investments. Marty also works with Founders and their enterprises in structuring equity ownership, governance and liquidity.
Sean Edgett, Former Senior VP & General Counsel of Twitter
Sean Edgett is the former Senior Vice President & General Counsel of Twitter, Inc. Sean joined Twitter in August 2012 and was its General Counsel from February 2018 until October 2022, previously holding various executive legal roles overseeing Twitter’s IPO, M&A, governance, employment, and intellectual property. Sean also oversaw public policy, trust and safety, and compliance in an acting executive capacity.
Sean has spoken at the Stanford Digital Economy Best Practices Conference, Berkeley Law Symposium on Antitrust, Governance and M&A, New York Stock Exchange Pre-IPO Summit for Tech Companies, NYSE Symposium for Cyber Risks and the Boardroom. He has also testified in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Judiciary, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Event Sponsors
Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider and the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. The BMO Technology & Innovation Banking Group is a team of specialists that support technology companies with dedicated coverage and specialized financial services. Technology & Innovation Banking provides growth and expansion capital to technology companies at every stage of the life cycle from inception to post exit.
With $418 billion in assets as at January 31, 2023, National Bank of Canada, together with its subsidiaries, forms one of Canada’s leading integrated financial groups. It has approximately 30,000 employees in knowledge-intensive positions and has been recognized numerous times as a top employer and for its commitment to diversity.
Osler is a leader in Canadian business law with a singular focus – your business. With an integrated network of offices in Toronto, Montréal, Calgary, Ottawa, Vancouver and New York, we have an undisputed reputation for solving problems, removing obstacles, and providing the answers you need, when you need them.
TMX Group, Inc. owns and operates TSX, one of the world’s largest equity markets, and TSXV, an early-stage public market alternative for early-stage companies to take their business or bright idea to the next level. With a wide investor base and strong liquidity, TSX and TSXV serve as an access point for Canadian, U.S. and international companies seeking growth and expansion capital within a respected regulatory regime.
Session Sponsors
Recruiting reimagined for organizations building the future. Powered by technology and community, Hunt Club is a full-service recruiting company that connects businesses with the world’s best talent.
Networking Lunch Sponsor
True is a global suite of products and services centered around talent. True Search places outstanding board members, C-suite executives, VPs, directors and other strategic talent at forward thinking brands, private and public, and established organizations.
Thriving Through Adversity Session Sponsor