Adapting for Tomorrow

As Head of Enterprise Growth Acceleration at The Adaptavist Group, Harp Athwal drives continuous improvement to deliver superior customer experiences. A dedicated member of the Toronto tech community, Harp's passion for the industry, paired with his skills and experience as a mentor, make him the ideal internal lead for this exciting new program.

Maria is an experienced entrepreneur and investor with 23 years of expertise spanning business development, sales, and marketing. Throughout her career, Maria has demonstrated a passion for driving growth and innovation. She has played a pivotal role in helping companies in hospitality, retail, and technology industries secure major enterprise clients in financial services, retail, government, telecommunications, and manufacturing sectors. Her ability to align technology with client needs has established her as a strategic collaborator in the tech industry. She has helped companies grow their brands through marketing events and call campaigns. Whether a business has been around for more than 20 years or less than a year, she is passionate about working alongside founders to ensure success.

Patrick Tammer is a Senior Investment Director at Scale AI, the AI impact investing fund of the Canadian Government, where he oversees a $100M+ portfolio of AI innovation projects. As an advisor to business executives, startups and the Canadian Government, he is directly working on the transformative impact of AI on our economy and society. He is also a Steering Committee Member of the Canadian Centre for the Innovation Economy (CCIE) and an Editor for the Journal of Business and Artificial Intelligence. Patrick previously worked as a Management Consultant with the Boston Consulting Group, as Portfolio Manager for the impact investor LEAP, and as a Program Analyst for the UN Development Program.

James Appleyard is an experienced investor, entrepreneur, and board director. As Chief Investment Officer and President of Freycinet Ventures, James takes active positions in Canadian start-up companies that are developing ‘Technology for Human Progress’. Since 2013, Freycinet has invested in, and supports through mentoring and advisory roles, some twenty entrepreneurial teams. He is a director of Mosaic, an industrial 3D printing tech start-up, and of Citylitics, a sales intelligence solution for urban infrastructure projects. Prior to its acquisition by Arsenal Capital Partners in 2013, James was CEO & controlling shareholder of Artez, a leading software-as-a-service provider of fundraising solutions to not-for-profits. James is active in community service and is currently Chair of the Board of Trustees at Toronto’s Gardiner Museum. He also serves as the International Board Chair of the UK-based Awareness Foundation, which is active on the ground working with children in Syria and Iraq. He also serves as President of the Board of Directors of environmental charity Tallgrass Ontario. In 2017, he was elected as an Associate Senior Fellow at Massey College.