Originally from Quebec City, LCol Bedard joined the CAF as an RCEME Officer in 1983 and graduated from the Royal Military College of Kingston in 1988 with a Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering.

The first part of his career was focused on leading equipment maintenance organisations in Canada and abroad. Since 2010, most of his employment has been supporting in-service or acquisition program and integrated project management team at NDHQ Ottawa.

He has more than 8 years of experience working abroad with NATO nations. He is now embedded with the NATO Procurement and Support Organisation (NSPA) in Capellen, Luxembourg, which is the largest procurement agency within NATO. He is ready and motivated to assist Canadian industries getting the most of those NATO business opportunities.

Mary Charleson, is a marketing speaker, educator and strategist. She is the author of two books, Word of Mouth Mouse & Mobile and Five-Minute Marketing, each featuring tips for the time-starved business leader.

Mathurin Halaoui is a Senior Economist, Partnership and Outreach, with Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada’s Cyber Certification Program. He earned an MBA from Laval University in 1999 and now has 22 years of experience in economic development with the provincial and the federal governments. Before joining ISED in April 2021, he was an economic development advisor with CEDQ in Gatineau, where he initiated the Cybersecure certification pilot project for 150 companies in Quebec. Prior to CEDQ, he was an innovation development advisor at ACOA at Fredericton from 2003 to 2019. His most recent mandate at ACOA was to contribute to the development of cyber security in NB, in collaboration with CyberNB and other key players, such as Canadian Nuclear Lab, Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity at UNB, Community colleges, NB Power and other key players in New Brunswick cybersecurity ecosystem. In January 2019, he co-organized and lead Atlantic cybersecurity exploratory mission in Israel with businesses, research institutions, universities and education leaders.

Matt joined Amazon in 2018 and is currently Head of Business Development for British Columbia. Matt collaborates with Trade Associations throughout BC, while also working closely with small and medium-sized businesses and providing guidance with Selling on Amazon Canada. Previously, Matt worked with some of the largest US sellers on Amazon.com and assisted them with cross-border expansion to Amazon Canada.

Matt Wong is the Co-Founder of Purpose CPA. He has over 13 years of experience leading finance teams from manufacturing to retail & ecommerce. As both a pragmatist and technologist, Matt defaults to technology to improve efficiency but is practical to design simple solutions when necessary. Along with his Business Partner Chad Chang, Matt co-founded Purpose CPA as an impact organization to help clients look at people, planet, and profit. Matt is a CPA, CGA and certified Quickbooks Online and Xero advisor.

Outside of Advisory, Matt loves running and spending time with his family in beautiful Richmond, BC. He is a member of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and a former Chair of the CPABC Vancouver Chapter.

Co-Founder and CEO, Wize Coffee Leaf

Melanie Rupp, MBA, is the Director, Loans & Advisory Services for Women’s Enterprise Centre (WEC), based in our Vancouver office. WEC is a non-profit organization devoted to helping BC women start, lead and grow their own businesses, providing business loans, skills training, mentoring, advice and resources from our three offices in Kelowna, Vancouver and Victoria.

Mhairi (pronounced va-ri)- is the Founder of Out-Smarts Marketing Inc. a boutique marketing consultancy that works with organizations to build their presence and grow their business online.

Passionate about social media and internet marketing, Mhairi blogs and podcasts regularly and puts her knowledge, resulting from almost two decades of online marketing experience, to good use to bridge the gap between technology and business.

Mhairi has presented seminars on social media and Internet marketing at Small Business BC since 2009.

Michèle Hamilton is the Managing Director of Think Local First, a membership-driven non-profit that supports local, independent businesses in Greater Victoria. The aim of the organization is to create awareness around the power we all have to support our community with our shopping dollars. We strive to encourage people to purchase products and services from local businesses so we can keep Greater Victoria a vibrant, economically healthy, sustainable community. We also provide support to our 200+ business members through our website, app, networking events, social media channels and co-op advertising opportunities.

Mindy Wight, CPA, CA, is a Partner and Tax Specialist with MNP and serves as National Leader, Indigenous Tax Services. Based in Prince George, BC and serving First Nation clients and communities across Canada, Mindy specializes in helping First Nation members and organizations to utilize and maintain their income tax exemptions when organizing their corporate structures. Her clients include proprietorships, corporations, non-profit organizations, trusts and partnerships owned by First Nation members and Indigenous communities.  Mindy is a member of the Squamish Nation in North Vancouver, BC.

With more than a decade of experience, Mindy assists her clients with purchases and sales of businesses, reorganizing companies, and minimizing taxes.  Recognizing that every client’s situation and objectives are unique, she takes the time to develop an in-depth understanding of their tax needs and then works collaboratively to find and implement practical, workable solutions.

Mindy has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Northern BC and a Diploma in Accounting and Finance from the College of New Caledonia. She holds the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and Chartered Accountant (CA) designations.

Natasha is a lawyer practicing labour and employment law with the Vancouver office of Mathews Dinsdale & Clark LLP. She advises employers on a wide range of workplace issues including employment standards, collective bargaining, occupational health and safety, and human rights.

Before entering law school, Natasha worked for several years as an epidemiologist and health researcher in the areas of women’s health, addictions, and housing. Natasha has lived in places all across Canada and has been happy to call Vancouver home for thirteen years.

Nate Toevs is an Employer Outreach Developer for the Neil Squire Society, a national not-for-profit empowering Canadians with disabilities for over 30 years. Nate provides education to business communities and service providers across BC about the Technology @ Work program, which assists people with disabilities, overcome work or volunteerism-related barriers.

At Futurpreneur, Nicola works with start-up entrepreneurs to support them in the initial stages of their business, connects with mentors across sectors and collaborates with community partners to build a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem in British Columbia.

 

Nigel is a Policy Analyst and CyberSecure Canada Advisor headquartered in Calgary where he tracks market intelligence in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut while helping businesses navigate the federal cybersecurity ecosystem through direct stakeholder engagement. Nigel specializes in local business development, client-centered relationship building, and impact-based policymaking to ensure stakeholders in western Canada are best represented in federal policy. Nigel previously held employment with the Conference Board of Canada as a Research Associate and Economist and with the Public Health Agency of Canada as a Policy Analyst. He holds a BA Policy Studies from Mount Royal University and MA Public Policy and Administration from Carleton University.

Niki started her career in Sidney B.C. on the frontline as a teller where her passion for delivering exceptional Scotiabank customer experiences began. Niki has spent the last 24 years in the various roles throughout retail and small business including Advisor positions, Home Financing Advisor, Branch Manager roles at Broadway & Burrard, Whistler, Squamish & Fort St John, District Banking Manager, Small Business Development Manager and now Director of Bank at work where she brings financial Wellness to the workplace.

Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala LLP is Western Canada's largest independent intellectual property law firm. We practice intellectual property law exclusively and deal with the full range of legal matters in this field, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, trade secrets, computer and Internet law, technology transfer and licensing, and related litigation.

Parv is a District Manager of Small Business with ADP; she supports Small Business Leaders by unlocking their Business Potential through effective HR Management and streamlined Payroll Processes;  when she’s not working, she’s usually chasing her 3½ year old son, watching recipe videos on YouTube or watching food documentaries.

Patrick Smith is a Senior Commercial Insurance Advisor on the BCAA Small Business Insurance team. Patrick has over 23 years of experience in the insurance business, 22 of those in commercial insurance. Patrick provides guidance and insurance advice to meet the unique needs of BC Businesses.

Paul Newton is CEO and co-founder of the Vancouver startup, Otonomy Solutions. Otonomy.ca is an online matchmaking platform for buyers and sellers of small businesses. It was conceived and built with the idea to help small business owners transition their business to the next generation of Canadian entrepreneurs.

Paul is formally trained in the hospitality industry and spent his formative working years in the service industry. His foray into technology was implementing property management systems across North America before settling in Vancouver to work with several BC tech startups.  Although he eventually found himself working for a large corporation, it was his desire to return to the startup community that led to the launch of Otonomy.ca.

Prior to Otonomy, Paul was at Electronic Arts Games for 11 years building out their global user research team and studying the motivations of today’s video gamers.  While he enjoyed the benefits of working in a Fortune 500 company, his approach was always entrepreneurial. His progression after leaving EA to create something leveraging his passion, strengths, and experience lead to Otonomy.ca.

Paul has a deep appreciation for the impact small businesses plays in the Canadian economy. He believes that through technology, user psychology, a strong sense of service, we can improve the lives of many Canadians.

Public Services and Procurement Canada was created in 2005 within Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) to advocate on behalf of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in federal procurement