Speakers / Topics: Innovation | Creativity | Disruption
Innovation & Creativity Speakers
Creativity: where ideas are spawned. Innovation: where ideas are put into action. Disruption: when ideas change the world as we know it. Our speakers explain how to get creative juices flowing, how to innovate to stay ahead, and prepare you for the disruptive forces at work in your industry and beyond.
Erica Dhawan
Leading Expert on Digital Teamwork, Collaboration & Innovation | Bestselling Author
Erica Dhawan says we all have the power to drive innovation, but first we need to get past the roadblocks we create for ourselves: endless meetings, cross-team dysfunction, resource-wasting duplication, and a lack of real, meaningful inclusion. Drawing on her ...
Suneel Gupta
Entrepreneur | Harvard University Visiting Scholar | Author of Backable
Suneel Gupta went from being the face of failure in the pages of the New York Times to being the “New Face of Innovation” for the New York Stock Exchange. In his new book, Backable: The Surprising Truth Behind What Makes People Take a Chance on You...
Jeff Fromm
Youth Marketing, Consumer Trends & Innovation Expert
Digging deep on what matters most to young consumers, Jeff Fromm helps his clients create marketing and innovation best practices. With years of brand marketing consulting experience forming the basis of his presentations, Fromm’s humorous stories and pr...
Sinead Bovell
Futurist | AI & Future of Work Expert
On a mission to bridge the gap between young entrepreneurs and the digital future, Sinead Bovell strives to create conversations that will lead towards a progressive, informed, and thriving new era. She is a futurist and the founder of WAYE, an organization th...
Hamza Khan
Multi-Award Winning Marketer & Entrepreneur | Empowerment Expert
Hamza Khan is a multi-award-winning marketer, bestselling author, and global keynote speaker whose TEDx talk “Stop Managing, Start Leading” has been viewed over a million times. He shares actionable insights on resilience, productivity, and leaders...
Amber Mac
Innovation Speaker | Co-host of Marketing Disrupted and The AI Effect
Considered by many to be the go-to expert on anything to do with technology, Amber Mac helps companies and audiences to stay ahead of the curve. She is an industry veteran, renowned as a journalist, moderator, entrepreneur, consultant, and bestselling author. ...
Seth Godin
Author, Entrepreneur and Most of All, A Teacher
Seth Godin is an internationally recognized speaker, popular blogger, and global thought leader in innovative business ideas and marketing strategy. Named one of the Top 21 Speakers For the 21st Century by Successful Meetings magazine, Godin draws on his bests...
Kai Kight
Violinist | Composer | Innovator | Entrepreneur
Kai Kight has inspired thousands to reach their creative potential. An innovative violinist, composer, and speaker, Kai uses music to fuel his mission to spark a global mindset shift in which ingenuity is the norm, not the exception. He performs mesmerizing, o...
Shane Feldman
Connection | Community | Leadership
In this digital age of distraction and disconnection, many companies are finding it increasingly challenging to engage and retain both top-tier talent and customers. This is where Shane Feldman thrives. Recognized by The White House, The Prime Minister of Cana...
Debbie Travis
International Television Icon | Entrepreneur | Bestselling Author
Known for her fantastic dry British wit, Debbie Travis is the centre of a small business empire that has made her a beloved household name and television icon around the world. Her popular TV shows have aired in more than 80 countries, her weekly syndicated ne...
Justin Kingsley
Award-Winning Storyteller and Creative Strategist | Bestselling Author | Filmmaker
Justin Kingsley is one of the most versatile and truly unique storytellers in the world. A New York Times bestselling author, Kingsley is a strategist, creative director, filmmaker, photographer, and a former press secretary under Prime Minister Paul Martin. N...
Vinh Giang
Entrepreneur | Master Communicator | Magician
For more than 15 years, Vinh Giang has dedicated himself to mastering the art of performance-enhanced communication, helping thousands of professionals worldwide do the same through the power of magic. In his inspiring talks, Giang seamlessly integrates storyt...
Lital Marom
Innovation Strategist and Visionary
A thought leader on agile business processes, digital transformation, and the future of work, Lital Marom is an expert at helping organizations unlock the potential of their business by leveraging emerging technologies and new economic models. In her practical...
Lane Merrifield
“Dragon” on CBC’s Dragons’ Den | Tech Entrepreneur
The newest “dragon” to join CBC’s hit show Dragons’ Den, Lane Merrifield is one of Canada’s leading tech entrepreneurs. He is the founder of Club Penguin, the largest children’s online social network. At age 28, he sold it to Disney for $350 millio...
Jacqueline Carter
Leadership & Mindfulness Expert
The world is facing a global leadership crisis. 77% of leaders think they do a good job of engaging their people, yet 88% of employees say their leaders don’t engage enough, and 65% of employees would forgo a pay raise to see their leaders fired. Leaders...
Swish Goswami
Startup Canada's Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Swish Goswami has built a multi-hyphenate career at just the age of 23. He is the CEO of Trufan, a social intelligence platform that helps brands of all sizes make smarter marketing decisions. His company, which acquired SocialRank in late 2019, works with cli...
Andrew Au
Global Thought Leader on Digital Transformation and Culture Change
When companies like Microsoft, FedEx, and 3M want to accelerate innovation, they call Andrew Au. Today, the dynamics of industries are changing. No enterprise is too big to fail, no start up is too small to disrupt. Agility has become the new currency of busin...
Johnny Cupcakes
CEO, Johnny Cupcakes | Award Winning Entrepreneur & Brand Hysteria Expert
If you dream of inspiring cult-like brand loyalty—the kind that involves mile-long queues and even permanent tattoos— then Johnny “Cupcakes” Earle is for you. The founder of the world-renowned tee-shirt brand Johnny Cupcakes, Johnny’s kno...
Choir! Choir! Choir!
International Singing Phenomenon
Choir! Choir! Choir! has sung with Tegan and Sara at the Junos, performed at a David Bowie tribute in New York, and have even taken to the Radio City Music Hall stage with Debbie Harry and The Flaming Lips. A collective led by creative directors Nobu Adilman ...
Mel Robbins
Expert on Defeating Doubt | Award-Winning CNN Commentator | Bestselling Author
In her globally acclaimed TEDx talk, Mel Robbins wowed the world with the science-backed secret to change: The 5 Second Rule. More than 17 million views later, the 5 Second Rule has become a bestselling book and a life-changing movement that challenges thinkin...
Peter Katz
JUNO-Nominated Musician and Storyteller
Peter Katz is a JUNO Award and Canadian Screen Award-nominated singer-songwriter who has spent the past 15 years touring internationally, sharing the stage and studio with legendary musicians and releasing five albums. A gifted storyteller, Katz infuses his pr...
Shawn Kanungo
Strategy in a World of Disruption
Shawn Kanungo is a globally recognized innovation strategist. He previously spent 12 years at Deloitte working closely with leaders to better plan for the opportunities associated with disruptive innovation. His mandate at the firm was to help corporate execut...
Erin Bury
Technology and Marketing Expert | Startup Fanatic
Named one of Marketing Magazine‘s “Top 30 Under 30”, Erin Bury is an entrepreneur, marketer, former technology journalist, and startup advisor. A monthly columnist for the Financial Post and a tech commentator on CTV News, Bury shares the ins...
Kaihan Krippendorff
Strategy and Innovation Expert
Kaihan Krippendorff is one of the most in-demand business speakers in the world. A bestselling author, internationally recognized thought-leader, and a sought-after strategic advisor, Kaihan is known for his ability to turn difficult concepts into easy-to-und...
Dave Wilkin
Founder of TenThousandCoffees.com | Social Entrepreneur | Mentoring Expert
Dave Wilkin turns all kinds of organizations into engagement engines. A celebrated social entrepreneur, he’s the founder of TenThousandCoffees.com, the world’s largest peer-to-peer mentoring service. With deep experience working with prominent brands, orga...
Scott Harrison
Founder and CEO of charity: water | World Economic Forum Young Global Leader
Scott Harrison has helped to bring clean drinking water to millions of people around the world. The founder and CEO of charity: water, one of the most well-known philanthropic organizations in the world, shares how his approach to running a non-profit — from...
Graham Sherman
Owner, Tool Shed Brewing Company
Graham Sherman is a self-professed “high level geek” who has used his love of technology to help him master the craft of brewing artisan beer. Together with his partner, Graham launched the Tool Shed Brewery in 2013, and has never looked back. Speaking on ...
Anders Sorman-Nilsson
Futurist | Innovation Strategist
Is your organisation being digitally disrupted? Is your analogue business model ready for the digital future? Do your leaders and teams suffer from change fatigue? Anders Sorman-Nilsson helps organizations convert disruptive questions like these into proactive...
Liane Davey
Expert on Building Effective Teams, Improving Communication, and Increasing Leadership Effectiveness
Known as the “teamwork doctor,” Liane Davey knows how to create high performing teams. Having worked with organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, from across the globe helping teams from the frontlines to the boardroom, she has developed a unique p...
David Segal
Founder of DAVIDsTEA and Mad Radish | Retail Visionary and Branding Expert
David Segal is an entrepreneur and retail thought-leader. He is best known for bringing radical innovation to a 5,000 year old product category with the launch of DAVIDsTEA, the company he co-founded in 2008. Segal takes audiences through the entrepreneurial j...
Michele Romanow
"Dragon", CBC's Dragons’ Den | Co-Founder and President, Clearbanc
Tech titan Michele Romanow is a serial entrepreneur who started six companies before her 35th birthday. A “Dragon” on CBC’s hit show Dragons’ Den, Romanow is the Co-founder and President of Clearbanc. Clearbanc has invested more than $1B into 3...
Nicole Verkindt
Tech Entrepreneur | Founder, OMX
Nicole Verkindt is passionate about leveraging the talents of entrepreneurs and innovation. Named “Canada’s Woman Entrepreneur of the Year” by StartUp Canada in 2017, Verkindt has a knack for finding industry gaps and building innovative plat...
Nicole Stott
Astronaut | Aquanaut | Artist
Nicole Stott has explored from the heights of outer space to the depths of our oceans. She has dedicated her life to sharing her spaceflight experience and the beauty of Earth with others. She believes that sharing the orbital and inner space perspectives has...
Michael Hyatt
Leadership | Change and Innovation Visionary
In our rapidly shifting business landscape, Michael Hyatt wants to inspire people to face change head-on, and give them the tools and insight needed to succeed. A self-made millionaire who built two highly successful tech firms, he ranks as one of Canada’s t...
Joseph Michelli
Customer Experience Expert | Bestselling Author
Joseph Michelli helps organizations catapult to pre-eminence by creating engaged employees and exemplary customer service experiences. Boasting globally celebrated clients like Starbucks, Zappos, and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Michelli is a renowned organ...
Stephen Shedletzky
Head of Brand Experience and Igniter, Simon Sinek’s Start With Why
Stephen Shedletzky engages people in meaningful ways so that we connect with depth and live in a more fulfilled world. The head of brand experience and an igniter for Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why” team, Shedletzky has a knack for sharing the right word...
Ryan Estis
Business Performance Expert
Ryan Estis has more than 20 years of experience as a top-performing sales professional and leader. As the former chief strategy officer for the McCann Worldgroup advertising agency NAS, he brings a fresh perspective to business events. Known for his innovative...
Frans Johansson
Innovation Thought Leader | Bestselling Author
Does your strategy reflect the new normal? We live in unpredictable times where the rules are changing and the formulas for success are disintegrating. Bestselling author and thought leader Frans Johansson shows organizations how to innovate, grow, and create ...
Dan Thurmon
Peak Performance Coach
Success in life is not determined by circumstances, but by actions. Peak Performance Coach Dan Thurmon’s mission can be summarized by the title of his book, Off Balance On Purpose. He believes that instead of seeking “perfect balance”, we should learn to...
Chris Hadfield
Astronaut | First Canadian Commander of the International Space Station
Referred to as “the most famous astronaut since Neil Armstrong,” Colonel Chris Hadfield is a worldwide sensation whose video of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” — seen by over 75 million people — was called “possibly the mos...
Susan Cain
Bestselling Author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts
Susan Cain believes society dramatically undervalues the talents of introverts. In her bestselling book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, and in her record-smashing TED talk, Cain explores ways to tap-in to the quieter c...
Polly LaBarre
Co-Author, Mavericks at Work | Founding Member, Fast Company Magazine
For nearly 20 years, Polly LaBarre has worked to embolden and equip leaders to ramp up originality, invention, and game-changing disruption. Co-author of Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win and founding team member of Fast Company ma...
Dan Pontefract
Leadership and Work Culture Expert | Bestselling Author of Flat Army and The Purpose Effect
Your people are your most valuable asset, and if you want them to excel―and your profits to soar — you need to abandon your traditional management style and adopt a collaborative, open leadership approach — one that engages and empowers your staff. Dan P...
Mark Brand
Social Entrepreneur | Restaurateur
Mark Brand is one of North America’s foremost social entrepreneurs. With 11 businesses under his belt, he is an example of a new form of leadership that encompasses good in every step. Determined to breathe new life into our struggling and disjointed com...
Mike Walsh
Futurist and Authority on Digital Trends in Emerging Markets
As the CEO of Tomorrow, a global consultancy on designing companies for the 21st century, Mike Walsh prepares business leaders for what’s next. A leading authority on digital transformation and disruptive innovation, Walsh expertly distils his insights into ...
Erik Wahl
The Art of Vision
Internationally recognized artist, TED speaker, and bestselling author, Erik Wahl’s keynote experience creates a dynamic, multi-dimensional metaphor for how to systematically embrace innovation and risk. His message is that disruption is the new normal a...
Steve Wozniak
Co-founder, Apple Computer | Chief Scientist, Fusion-io
Before laptops fit into briefcases, before iPads fit into purses, and before iPhones fit into back pockets, computers were as big as vending machines, and certainly not portable. In 1977, Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple (with Steve Jobs) changed all tha...
Scott Stratten
Expert in Un-Marketing
For generations, marketing has been hypocritical. We’ve been taught to market to others in ways we hate being marketed to—why do we still keep trying the same stale marketing moves? Scott Stratten—who has over 185,000 people follow his daily rantings...
David Usher
Juno Award-Winning Musician | Creativity & AI Expert
When innovative companies like Google, 3M, Cisco, Pepsi, Rogers, and SAP want to re-inspire creativity in their employees and executives they bring in David Usher. He doesn’t just talk creativity and artificial intelligence (AI) — he lives it. Drawing from...
Second City Works
Entertainment | Improv
After hundreds of thousands of years of research, the results are in: people like to laugh. Part of world famous comedy institution The Second City, Second City Works brings award-winning, boring-proof, improv-based social learning to events, ceremonies, funct...