Business

Dr. Rebecca Sutherns

Dr. Rebecca Sutherns is an insightful and high energy collaborative strategist and world class facilitator who has served as a trusted advisor to hundreds of mission-driven organizations in Canada and internationally. Rebecca brings intellect, enthusiasm and varied experience in strategy development and collaborative leadership when speaking, writing and mentoring. She is a skilled communicator, with a particular gift for helping leaders make wiser decisions faster. As the founder and Principal of Sage Solutions, a consulting firm based in Guelph, Ontario, Rebecca has facilitated customized strategic processes for community benefit organizations for more than 20 years. She provides strategic coaching and planning services, with an emphasis on professional facilitation, stakeholder engagement and evidence-based decision-making.

Yuri Fulmer

Yuri Fulmer has been building businesses since his early twenties. Having arrived from Australia a few years earlier, it all began when he was faced with the unexpected opportunity to buy a local franchise while working for A&W. Since then, Yuri has grown that single A&W franchise into dozens, doggedly building a $60 million business portfolio by the time he was 30.

In 2010, Yuri founded Fulmer Capital Partners (now Fulmer & Company) to continue doing what he does best — helping businesses grow. Currently, Fulmer & Company owns and invests in a collection of companies in the hospitality, business-to-business, manufacturing, construction, digital technology and consumer service industries.

Right from the start, serving the local community has also been an important part Yuri’s work. Over the years, he’s been actively involved in local non-profit, educational and arts organizations, and serves as an accredited Director a number corporate and civic boards.

In 2019, Yuri established The Fulmer Foundation to take Fulmer & Company’s community investment to the next level. One of the foundation’s biggest undertakings is the management and support of Goodly Foods Society — a social enterprise working to repurpose surplus produce from local suppliers, while creating employment opportunities for people in need.

Yuri feels truly honoured to have been acknowledged for his contributions to others, including recognition by: Canada’s Top Forty Under 40 (2008), The BC Community Achievement Award (2010), The Spirit of Vancouver Award (2011), The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012) and The Order of British Columbia (2010), our Province’s highest honour, for Yuri’s “dynamic entrepreneurship and committed volunteerism”.

Away from the office, you can often find Yuri enjoying the great outdoors near and far, fishing, diving, canoeing, kayaking, climbing and exploring. Or, you know, not find him.

Kelley Keehn

Edmonton’s own Kelley Keehn (kelleykeehn.com) is an award-winning and best-selling author of nine books (and counting!) on personal finance and fraud protection. She is also a personal finance educator and the consumer advocate for FP Canada. Money is her second language and it’s her mission to make Canadians feel good about their money.

Laura Beauparlant

Laura Beauparlant is an award-winning international keynote speaker, an expert on branding and design and the author of Brand Chemistry. As the founder and creative director of Lab Creative, her mission is to help ambitious entrepreneurs create strong, memorable brands that consistently attract their ideal clients.

For over 15 years, Laura has helped countless small business owners and entrepreneurs gain confidence and grow their businesses through unforgettable branding.

Winston Kam

Winston Kam is a lawyer practicing at and the founder of Winright Law.

Winright Law is a law firm that focuses on real estate, business and wealth preservation. Their practice is devoted to helping companies, investors, as well as individuals, with their legal issues and protecting them from legal liability. Their clients range from individuals and investors to realtors, real estate developers, entrepreneurs, small to medium enterprises.

At Winright Law, Winston primarily practices in business and real estate law, dealing with both the solicitor’s side as well as the litigation side of law. With what remaining time is left, Winston has the larger goal of changing the delivery of legal services through an innovative approach to legal systems and processes, streamlining services with new technology and making the customer experience a top priority.

After being a member of the Pacific Club, a non-profit society founded in 1991, for the last four years, Winston now serves as the President. The Pacific Club’s mission is to connect entrepreneurs and professionals with Vancouver’s business community, something that is very important to both Winston and Winright Law.

Doug Lacombe

Doug Lacombe, MBA is president and founder of Communicatto Inc., a digital marketing agency. Drawing on almost 30 years of experience in media, web publishing and technology; Doug and his team work with businesses and associations to integrate traditional and digital communications, with a focus on content marketing, advertising, and social media.

Brit Garon

Brit Garon grew up in rural Ontario. He attended Western University in London Ontario, where he received a degree in Finance & Economics.

Immediately after University, Brit moved to the GTA and began work at CAA, where he helped launch the travel insurance company Orion Travel Insurance. He was lured away by the Danish insurance company software that CAA had helped develop, where he helped run operations on this side of the Atlantic. While working there, Brit and his roommate developed the idea for what would become ScholarTree.

ScholarTree began life 2 years ago and officially launched in 2017. ScholarTree helps match students with scholarships, so that they can afford to pursue the career of their dreams.

Dan Belostotsky

Dan Belostotsky is founder of HonestDoor which is an online tool for real estate information. He’s also founder of Otto Capital, his private investment company.

Mehrnaz Bassiri

Six years ago, Mehrnaz Bassiri made the riskiest and most rewarding decision of her professional life: she traded a career in Biotech for K-12 educational development. Now she’s an award-winning entrepreneur, a writer, speaker, progress specialist, and the founder of MyGradeBooster. She has been featured at TEDxChilliwack, on Global News radio, and in the Huffington Post.