In the latest event in our Canada 150 Series, Dave McKay, President & CEO of RBC, will investigate how we can best harness the innovative power of our next-generation entrepreneurs.
He is joined on Friday, September 30th by a panel of some of the country’s best and brightest young innovators, Wisam Abdulla (Rise), Mallorie Brodie (Bridgit), and Lauren Friese (TalentEgg).
As Canada reaches its 150th birthday they will discuss what makes it successful as a centre of innovation and what the barriers are for young Canadian entrepreneurs looking to start and successfully grow a company.
David I. McKay, President & Chief Executive Officer, RBC
Dave McKay was appointed President of RBC on February 26, 2014 and Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Board on August 1, 2014.
In his previous role as Group Head, Personal & Commercial Banking, which he held from November 2012 to February 2014, Mr. McKay was responsible for RBC’s banking businesses in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean, including personal and commercial financial services, credit cards and payments, as well as RBC’s sales and branch distribution, operations and advice centres.
Prior to this, he served as Group Head of Canadian Banking, Executive Vice President of Personal Financial Services, and Senior Vice President of Financing Products, respectively. Mr. McKay started his career at RBC in 1988, and has held progressively senior roles in Canada and Japan in retail and business banking, group risk management, and corporate banking.
In 2012, Mr. McKay received the “Retail Banker of the Year” Award by Retail Banker International.
Mr. McKay holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo. He serves on the Board of Trustees for the Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids) in Toronto and is the Chair of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council. He is also a director of The Conference Board of Canada and a member of the Catalyst Canada Advisory Board and the Business Council of Canada.
A passionate advocate for helping children to build the confidence to be active and healthy for life, Mr. McKay has also coached children’s basketball and hockey for many years.
Wisam Abdulla, Co-founder & CEO, Rise
Wisam is the CEO & Co-Founder of Hazel, a startup that makes People & Culture software for forward-thinking companies. Wisam is a serial entrepreneur. Prior to Hazel, Wisam was CEO & Co-Founder of Rise, a national workforce management software provider that today services more than 500 customers.
Wisam regularly speaks on the changing landscape of HR, the future of work, and how millennials fit into all of it. Wisam is passionate about leading a revolution against HR and forever changing the way we work.
This year, Wisam was named a BC Business 30 Under 30. Wisam is also aNotable.caNotable Young Entrepreneur, and has been featured in the Globe and Mail, Business in Vancouver magazine, Montecristo magazine, Techvibes, Betakit, and has appeared on Roundhouse Radio.
Mallorie Brodie, CEO & Co-Founder, Bridgit
Mallorie Brodie is the CEO and Co-Founder of Bridgit, a communication platform for construction teams, launched in March 2014. She holds an Honours in Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business, and is currently an Advisory Board Member for the Creative Destruction Lab and the Ivey N.O.I.S.E. committee. In 2016, Bridgit won at Google Demo Day in San Francisco and in 2015 Mallorie and her Co-founder Lauren Lake were jointly named Techvibes Entrepreneurs of the Year.
Lauren Friese, Digital Entrepreneur, Founder of TalentEgg
Lauren Friese is one of Canada’s top digital entrepreneurs and a leading expert on millennials and careers. She is the founder of TalentEgg.ca. Under her leadership, it became Canada’s most popular job board and online career resource for students and recent graduates, used by over 4 million Canadian students and recent graduates every year to find jobs and navigate the tough transition from university to working life. TalentEgg was acquired in 2015.
Lauren has been named one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network, and as Top 20 Under 30 by PROFIT magazine. She is a sought after speaker and consultant, and her thoughts on millennials, careers, and the future of work have been featured in The Globe and Mail, Financial Post, Metro, The Star, and many other local, national and international media outlets.
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