Meet the speakers of Canada's Succession Summit

Calgary, AB — August 24, 2026 — Canada's Succession Summit brings together the people shaping how Canadian businesses change hands: entrepreneurs who have bought and built companies, investors and lenders financing transitions, advisors structuring deals, educators preparing the next generation of owners, and policy leaders working on the conditions that make succession possible.

The lineup is deliberately cross-sector. Succession rarely fails for a single reason, so the conversation in Calgary spans capital, tax, governance, seller readiness, and the skills and infrastructure Canada needs to support Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition at scale.

Matthew Mendelsohn

CEO, Social Capital Partners

Matthew is the CEO of Social Capital Partners. SCP believes that who owns Canada's economy matters for our future, and is currently focused on expanding access to capital and increasing opportunities for enterprise ownership for Canadians. Matthew has served as a deputy minister in the Ontario Government, the federal government and was the founding Director of the Mowat Centre, a public policy think tank at the University of Toronto. He has been a senior advisor at Boston Consulting Group and a professor of political studies at Queen's University and Toronto Metropolitan University.

Irfhan Rawji

Investor and Entrepreneur

Irfhan Rawji is an investor and entrepreneur. Irfhan is Board Chair of The Logic, Board Member of National Bank (TSX:NA) and Board Member of Wilmington Capital Management (TSX:WCM.A). He is actively involved in civic affairs, as Board Chair of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, Board Chair of CIFAR, Board Member of Business and the Arts, Board Member of the Aga Khan Museum, and Member of the Canada Council for the Arts. Irfhan holds an MBA with High Honors from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar, and a BCom with Honours from the University of British Columbia, where he was a Wesbrook Scholar.

Kevin Guenther

Partner, Corporate Group at Stikeman Elliott

Kevin Guenther is a partner in the Corporate Group at Stikeman Elliott in Calgary. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, tax structuring, and general corporate and tax matters. He frequently represents private equity firms, search funds, and independent sponsors on fund formation, senior lender arrangements, platform acquisitions, and subsequent tuck-ins.

Liz MacRae

Co-Founder, Village Wellth

Liz MacRae is the Co-Founder of Village Wellth, a platform that empowers professionals to acquire and grow small businesses. In addition to her work building technology and community at Village Wellth, she has helped organizations design and facilitate ETA and succession planning programs. Liz is passionate about democratizing access to entrepreneurship as a means of wealth creation, legacy preservation, and local economic resilience. She brings a deep commitment to equipping both buyers and sellers with the tools and support they need to succeed in business transitions.

Steven Wang

CEO, Venture for Canada

Steven Wang is a lawyer, educator, and public interest leader working at the intersection of economic opportunity, AI, and the future of work. As CEO of Venture for Canada, he leads the organization's work to expand entrepreneurial pathways, strengthen business succession, and advance responsible AI adoption across Canada. Steven has taught at Harvard Law School and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, exploring topics ranging from AI and its institutional impacts to China and the international order. Earlier in his career, he practiced corporate and M&A law at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Paul, Weiss in New York and Toronto, and founded a Gates Foundation-supported social enterprise in China. A Rhodes Scholar, Steven holds degrees from the University of Toronto, the University of Oxford, and Harvard Law School, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard International Law Journal. He is also a David Rockefeller Fellow at the Trilateral Commission.

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Phil Davidson

ETA Program Lead, Haskayne School of Business

After earning a degree in finance, Phil spent 25 years in industry before returning to earn an MBA and then a doctorate in business. While in industry, he worked on corporate restructuring for 10 years before starting the first of four ventures in his career. In 2023, Phil was tasked with launching the EtA program at the Haskayne School of Business, where he teaches strategy and entrepreneurial thinking.

Iggy Domagalski

Former President & CEO, Wajax

Iggy Domagalski is the former President & CEO of Wajax (TSX: WJX), one of Canada's most diversified and long-standing industrial products and services providers. Prior to Wajax, he served as CEO of Tundra Process Solutions, a leading western Canadian supplier of industrial process equipment. Iggy began his career in finance with Investors Group and Richardson GMP in Winnipeg before moving into industrial leadership as President of Western Industrial, a Vancouver-based air compressor manufacturer. He has participated in more than a dozen acquisitions and sold two companies to strategic buyers.

Kathleen Haryanto

Learning Design Lead, Academies at Venture for Canada

Kathleen Haryanto is the Learning Design Lead, Academies at Venture for Canada, where she helps design and deliver learning experiences that prepare Canadians to pursue entrepreneurship and business ownership. Her work has been particularly focused on Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA), helping participants build both the practical knowledge and personal clarity needed to navigate the path from aspiring buyer to owner-operator. With a background spanning learning design, economic development, social finance, and impact consulting, Kathleen is passionate about creating accessible pathways for people to pursue ambitious ideas and build meaningful careers.

Avnit Sekhon

Transaction Advisory Lead, Treewalk Consulting

Avnit Sekhon is the Transaction Advisory lead at Treewalk Consulting, a mid-size CPA firm. He and his team specialize in Quality of Earnings reports for the lower mid market and mid market on both the buy-side and sell-side, completing north of 50 QoE reports a year.

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Jeff Neufeld

CEO, Neuhoff Capital Corporation

Jeff Neufeld is the CEO of Neuhoff Capital Corporation, which he founded in 2010. Before Neuhoff, he enjoyed a professional career as a concert pianist, performing throughout North and South America and Europe, while developing an early interest in value investing and options trading. Since founding Neuhoff Capital, Jeff has acquired two operating companies, founded three, and completed three successful exits.

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Cordell Jacks

General Partner & Co-founder, Regenerative Capital Group

Cordell Jacks is General Partner and co-founder of Regenerative Capital Group (RCG), a Canadian private equity platform reimagining how ownership and capital can strengthen the country's real economy. RCG partners with entrepreneurs to acquire retiring owner-operated businesses and steward them through long-term transitions in leadership, governance, and ownership. Cordell lives in Campbell River on Vancouver Island with his wife and two young children.

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Daniel Skilleter

Director of Policy, Social Capital Partners

Dan is the Director of Policy at Social Capital Partners. He was a senior economic advisor to former Premier Kathleen Wynne and to a Minister of Finance. He is a sessional lecturer at McMaster University's Masters of Public Policy program, where he teaches Stakeholder Management.

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Peter Walker

Board Member, Employee Ownership Canada

Pete Walker is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) and works with business owners to keep their businesses locally owned, operated and thriving in their community during the generational transition of private business ownership - which is the opposite outcome of the 6th generation Prince Edward Island farm on which he grew up. He is a board member of Employee Ownership Canada, a former Big 5 bank executive leader and federal cabinet minister advisor, and graduate of Yale University and Ivey Business School.

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Eamonn Gamble

Director, Capital & Advisory, Village Wellth

Corporate finance professional with 15+ years of experience in M&A, commercial lending, and entrepreneurship. Led RBCx Toronto banking team and launched their fintech coverage strategy. Moved into fintech with Village Wellth, where we help buyers find and acquire mainstreet businesses in Canada and the US. Proud co-owner (through acquisition in 2022) of Tofitian Cafe and investor in a number of other private companies.

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Robert Welke

Co-Founder and Principal, MExit Inc.

Robert Michael Welke is a Calgary-based business growth strategist, Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), and co-founder of MExit Inc., with 35+ years of entrepreneurial and leadership experience. He advises privately held companies on strengthening leadership, optimizing operations, reducing owner dependency, and increasing enterprise value prior to exit. As an MExit Advisor and co-developer of the Business Growth Transformation Program (BGTP), Robert helps owners build more resilient, transferable businesses positioned for successful succession or exit.

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Sévrine Labelle

Managing Director, Thrive Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) Fund, BDC Capital

Sévrine Labelle is the Managing Director of the Thrive Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) Fund at BDC Capital, a flagship initiative of the Thrive Platform for Women. She supports entrepreneurs, particularly women, in acquiring and growing businesses, helping expand access to business ownership through an underutilized but critical pathway. With nearly 20 years of executive leadership experience, she provides equity capital and strategic guidance to entrepreneurs navigating acquisition and scale. Previously CEO of Evol, she led a major transformation, launched a $60M impact fund, and supported a portfolio of over 350 companies. She is an active voice in the development of the ETA ecosystem in Canada.

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Alina Martin

President & Co-Founder, ScalePoint M&A Inc.

Alina Martin is CEO and Co-Founder of ScalePoint M&A and BuyAndSellABusiness.com. Over her career she has founded five companies, exited three of them, and completed seven acquisitions of her own. That hands-on experience — building, buying, and selling businesses herself — gives her a genuine operator's perspective most advisors lack. She has since advised more than 150 companies on growth and successful exits, and serves as a growth consultant with BDC's Growth Driver Program, helping high-impact firms scale.

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Mike Lenz

Managing Partner, Breakwater M&A

Mike Lenz, MCBI, is a Managing Partner at Breakwater M&A in Victoria, BC, and one of Canada's most experienced Main Street and lower mid-market business intermediaries. Now in his twentieth year, he leads a team while personally guiding a select number of transactions each year. Mike believes selling a business is first a life decision — owners need someone who stays steady through the emotional complexity, hears what is not being said, and genuinely cares whether the outcome serves their life. He holds the MCBI designation from the International Business Brokers Association, serves as President of its Canadian Chapter, and is co-author of Getting to the Finish Line, a guide for owners preparing for an eventual sale.

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Catherine Love

President, Robinson Innovations

Catherine Love is the CEO of Robinson Innovations. She is a second-generation business owner and is proud to have led a team that spans North America in the manufacturing sector. Catherine is also a student completing her Doctorate at the University of Calgary. Her research is investigating Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) transactions, with a specific focus on the family firm owner's perspective on divestiture.

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Mohammed Al-Taqatqa

Regional Director, Alberta, Futurpreneur

Mo Al-Taqatqa is the Regional Director, Business Development (Alberta) at Futurpreneur, Canada's leading non-profit supporting young entrepreneurs with financing, mentorship, and resources to start and grow their businesses. He leads Alberta's business development strategy, working with entrepreneurs, ecosystem partners, and stakeholders to expand access to entrepreneurship and business ownership opportunities. With experience spanning finance, banking, technology, telecommunications, education, and non-profits, Mo has supported startups and entrepreneurs across North America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He is passionate about building stronger entrepreneurial ecosystems and helping the next generation of business owners develop the skills, networks, and confidence needed to succeed.

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Jessica Cullen

Chief Ecosystem Officer, Dynamic Rescue Systems Group of Companies

Jessica Cullen is the Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Dynamic Rescue Systems and Raven Rescue Safety Medical, leading Canada's integrated industrial emergency response platform for technical rescue, medical response, and emergency preparedness. She brings over a decade of senior leadership experience from Home Hardware Stores Limited, where she led strategic initiatives and organizational transformation, and previously served as CEO-in-Residence and Managing Partner with Regenerative Capital Group. Recognized as The Peaks Emerging Leader in Finance and Investing, a Top 40 Under 40, and a Woman on the Rise in Retail, Jessica combines executive excellence with personal discipline honed as a former professional triathlete and Ironman Canada champion. She and her husband live in BC and welcomed their first daughter August 2026.

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Additional speakers will be announced in the coming weeks. To follow the lineup as it grows, visit the speakers section of canadasuccessionsummit.ca. If you know someone who would be a strong fit for this conversation, please contact us.