Business

Taking risks and starting from scratch with Vincent Cheng

Vincent Cheng was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and presently resides nearby Ajax, Ontario.

Although Vincent calls Canada his home, he has explored 32 countries across the globe. This exploration has anchored his connection to diverse cultures formulating a deep understanding of humanity at large. Since 2013 Vincent has traveled to Japan annually and lived with a Zen Buddhist monk in a 600-year old temple until COVID-19 prohibited travel in 2020.

Vincent’s accomplishments are just as diverse as his travels. He began his career as an electrical engineer in 2004, and a year later, alongside this, Vincent began his quest of conducting orchestras, choirs, and operas. He coached and conducted hundreds of amateurs and professionals across Canada, the USA, Europe, and the Middle East in voice and musicianship. Feeling a deeper calling, Vincent retired from engineering to fully devote his pursuit to the music profession. In 2012 he sold all his possessions and booked a one-way ticket to Berlin, Germany; from there he conducted operas across Europe and won 3rd prize in the 2013 International Conducting Competition in Budapest, Hungary. In 2014 he returned to Canada and began his studies in psychotherapy, meanwhile continuing his conducting career as an ongoing passion.

These diverse worlds of work and life experiences have built upon one another and connect as a whole. They are what led him to develop ‘Heal The Source’, a method that helps people fast-track their own healing based on their need for change and development. It is through this one-of-a-kind approach that Vincent’s intuitive leadership and integrity shine through. His visionary way of thinking and his intriguing ability to motivate and inspire is what guides him in serving others through Heal The Source to heal the world!

When he is not traveling, you can find Vincent passionately enjoying culinary arts, creating cuisines of all types. He also revels in hiking, reading, meditating, piano and organ playing, and of course singing.


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Solving Agriculture’s Puzzles – Respect the Past, Grow the Future

Kristjan Hebert has combined his love of finance with his passion for farming. Born and raised on a family farm in Saskatchewan, Kristjan obtained his CPA with Myers Norris Penny and then returned to the Moosomin area to farm with his family. Today, he is the managing partner of Hebert Grain Ventures (HGV), a large grain and oilseed operation in Saskatchewan. At HGV he enjoys solving agriculture’s puzzles in order to fulfill HGV’s purpose of “Respect the past, Grow the future.”

Widely thought of as one of the brightest young minds in agriculture today, Kristjan received the Top Producer Award in 2020 and was recently honored as a Climate Positive leader in agriculture.

He is also the co-founder of Maverick Ag – providing custom-designed lending, accounting and insurance solutions to producers.

Kristjan enjoys coaching hockey and traveling with his wife Theresa, son Bentley and daughter Ivy.


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Learn How Best Buy Supports Your Remote Work Needs

Originally from the UK, Christian Leadbeater joined Best Buy in 2006 following successful careers with the Police Service and in retail as a regional Loss Prevention manager in the UK, Canada and the US. Looking for a new challenge, he joined Best Buy, initially in the service operations department, finding solutions for customer experience opportunities in the repair process and then creating programs. In 2014, Chris took over Best Buy Business and was able to leverage his knowledge of business, strategy and leadership to grow the business year over year for the last eight years.


Best Buy Business is designed with our business customers in mind. Clients can get everything they need for their organization to thrive, including a vast selection of products, comprehensive services, business-level pricing, and flexible payment options.

Since March 2020, countless companies have had to transition to a remote workforce or establish a hybrid working model. As companies choose long term solutions and/or maintain their existing model, Best Buy Business is ready to support all their remote work needs.

Click here to learn more #BestBuy


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Women’s Entrepreneurship Day with Milena Radakovic

Milena Radakovik is the President and owner of Nexus Exhibits Ltd, where she leads through engagement, education, and empowerment. She has over 25 years of professional experience, a passion for supporting women in business. She holds an MBA from H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship and has a B. of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary Haskayne School of Business. She is the Board Chair of WEDO Canada, is a member of Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) and sits on their Global Subcommittee. Currently she is the Ambassador of both WEDO and the Women in Leadership Foundation (WIL), dedicated to advancing women in leadership roles and women entrepreneurs. She was awarded “Presidents Volunteer Champion” Award by the WIL in 2015, a winner of University of Calgary’s WRC Distinction Alumna award, the 2018 “Business Leader in Calgary Award, and in 2020, she was honoured with the Calgary Influential Women in Business Award, for her professional accomplishments, influence and business community involvement.


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Unlocking New Opportunities For Expansion

For the past 32 years, Duane Hertzer, President and Founder of Optima Manufacturing Inc., has led the Calgary-based organization to become an industry leader in the manufacturing of precision machine products and assemblies for a variety of industries across North America, Europe, Asia and South America. Mr. Hertzer’s success can be accredited to his devotion to challenging the status quo through impactful partnerships and groundbreaking technology.

Mr. Hertzer’s pioneering nature, keen listening skills and focus on developing relationships has made him a force in the manufacturing space. Holding a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Calgary, he has consistently demonstrated his unparalleled skillset in business development and executive management.

Mr. Hertzer’s approach to cultivating an efficacious operation is rooted in establishing a workplace that is progressive and instills confidence to produce precise results. The foundation of his business is people and technology partnering in manufacturing solutions, and he achieves this by creating meaningful, close relationships with both his team and clients alike. Mr. Hertzer’s passion for growth extends to that of his team where he celebrates individual accomplishments while ensuring an equitable team environment. He is steadfast in his belief that people are the most valuable resource to a business, fostering a culture built on respect and innovation.


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Getting Hybrid Work Right: Creating and Sustaining Inclusive Economic Growth in Canada

Stephen Harrington, Partner; National Leader for Workforce Strategy and Future of Work Advisory, Deloitte Canada.

Stephen is Deloitte’s National Leader for Workforce Strategy and Future of Work Advisory and has been a writer and speaker on the future of work since 2011. With 20 years’ experience in Consulting, Stephen leads transformations in workforce strategy to fundamentally get at changes in work, workforce and workplace to fuel business strategy. Stephen’s experience spans from strategy to design – he helps clients set workforce strategy to fuel business strategy, and then designs programs not simply to chase elusive ‘best-practice’ but to craft implementation solutions to meet the unique needs of client’s and their employees.


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The growth of the individuals for the mutual beneficial growth of the operations

Donald Haché, of Selltron Group, has years of professional experience managing startups and established companies. As a resilient, results-driven strategic and decisive leader, Don utilizes his entrepreneurial skills and the Scaling Up framework towards the growth of the individual(s) for the mutual growth of the company and operations.

Don brings focus to companies in all business development stages – start-up, scale-up, fast-growth challenges, steady-state business, relocation, downsizing and shut-downs. He has extensive experience in needs assessment, design, strategic thinking and execution planning (there is a difference), leadership development, coaching, performance assessments, mergers and acquisitions (USA/CND) and succession management.

Don has a background in small, medium and large-scale development, implementation and system integration projects, with emphasis on taking small to medium privately held businesses to the next level for growth towards structured corporations, sustainable revenue, acquisition or sale, in domestic and international markets. Don has exposure to public sector, international trade service-based economies, industrial automation, commercial, transportation industries, professional services, IT, Telecom sectors and software development environments. He has a successful record of managing and motivating diverse teams, providing guidance, mentoring, committed to quality and client satisfaction.

Having started small to medium size companies, Don understands the challenges entrepreneurs are faced with, and has a track record of building these companies and turning them into successful operations. As a resilient, result-driven, strategic and decisive leader Don utilizes his entrepreneurial skillset towards the growth of the individual(s) for the mutual beneficial growth of the operations, as a consummate learner he shares what he learns. Don is an Engineering graduate. Fluent in English and French, with basic conversational Spanish, Don enjoys world wide networking, traveling with family and friends.


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The three steps you need to win are to crawl, walk, run

Ronald W. Thomson is a film and television industry veteran with Canadian, U.S., and international experience. Ron is the founder and president of global business development firm Cameron Thomson Group Ltd. with focus on media, entertainment, and tech ventures. Cameron Thomson is based in Toronto, London, Lake Como, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, and Taipei. In addition, he is the founder and managing director of Nice Media Studios LLC, an independent media content company focused on the acquisition / origination, development, packaging, production & financing of premium television shows and movies for global audiences. Ron is considered a transformative thinker who has proven time and again his ability to lead companies to sustainable growth, with a legacy of experience in securing capital for companies in the global media / entertainment and technology communities. Ron also serves as CEO and Director of Canada’s Liquid Media Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: YVR). Liquid Media is a business solutions company empowering independent intellectual property (IP) creators. Liquid’s end-to-end solution will enable professional video (film/TV and video game) creation, packaging, financing, delivery, and monetization, empowering IP creators to take their professional content from inception through the entire process to monetization.

His experiences at Cameron Thomson led him to his appointment as Liquid’s CEO, where he was charged with the company’s business development. He spearheaded the successful recalibration of Liquid’s business model into a business solutions company for independent creators of professional video (film / television), carving out a distinct niche and offering in the marketplace.


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What it takes to lead the entertainment industry

A driven and enthusiastic go-getter, Mike Anderson has been making waves in the entertainment industry for decades. After completing studies at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) and Ryerson University’s Event Management Program, Mike joined the NAIT Students Association’s team as Entertainment Marketing Manager.

After gaining industry experience, in 2005 Mike was up for a new challenge and decided to launch Trixstar – a 360-degree live event management & consultation firm that activates both city and rural markets with fairs, festivals, concerts, brand activations as well as celebrity and speaker events. Working alongside organizations that want to create brand awareness, generate excitement and raise funds through impactful events and unique experiences, Trixstar now operates out of Nashville, Calgary, and Edmonton supporting clients and events all over North America.

The scope of Mike Anderson’s career as an event management expert has attracted the attention of peers, international celebrities and the media who have celebrated him as one of Edmonton’s “Top 40 Under 40′′ as well as one of the “Top 50 Alumni” of his college (NAIT) over the last 50 years. He was also nominated as “International Talent Buyer of the Year” at the International Entertainment Buyers Association Industry Awards in Nashville. His foresight and careful planning allowed Trixstar to not only survive the pandemic in the face of public health restrictions, but adapt to provide safe live events that also created jobs. This adaptability and progressive thinking is what keeps Mike Anderson leading the entertainment industry.


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Make sure people are the core of whatever you’re doing

As co-founder of Vancouver-based real estate software company, Spark, Simeon Garratt has been responsible for landing some of Spark’s top real estate clients in North America. Years of living abroad in Asia and building his experience in the real estate industry fueled his ultimate vision — to transform and streamline how new developments are managed and sold. With an extensive background in selling and marketing property, Simeon has been involved in the sales of over 1,000 homes internationally which helped bring Spark into more than 80 cities worldwide. Recently, Garratt has been nominated to President of the BC Real Estate Tech Association, where he looks forward to sharing his expertise and institutional knowledge of the fast-changing industry.


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