WEDNESDAY 1:00 PM
KEYNOTE
VENTURE CAPITAL, PRIVATE EQUITY, PARTNERSHIPS & INVESTING IN CANADA: Panel Overview
Moderator
Stephen Mill
President, Executive Search
Robert Half
About the Speaker
With more than 25 years of progressive experience in all areas of human capital solutions, Stephen Mill brings an unrivaled depth of expertise to his role as Canadian President of Executive Search. Under Stephen’s collaborative, resourceful, and solution-oriented leadership, Toronto-based Robert Half Executive Search is a Canadian market leader in the field of C-level retained search.
Stephen began his career in the human capital industry at Robert Half. He rose to the rank of Senior Regional Vice President, growing multiple lines of business across Canada and the North Eastern US. As the Canadian President of Futurestep, a division of Korn/Ferry, specializing in executive retained search, Stephen successfully launched and staffed offices in Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver and Calgary, increasing the Canadian team from two to 60 staff. As a member of the Canadian Korn/Ferry executive team, Stephen was responsible for the integration of multiple business lines as well as being a member of the global strategic account team.
Throughout his lengthy career in the industry, he has completed multiple leadership, communication and competency modelling courses with Harvard Business School, the Richard Ivey School of Business, and Decker Communications. Stephen is actively involved in a number of professional associations, and is often called upon to speak on hiring, recruiting, and retaining senior leadership teams.
For the past four years, Stephen has led the nomination committee and is an advisor to the selection committee for Canada’s CFO of the Year.
About the Session
Explore key trends in private equity, venture capital, and capital investment both domestically and internationally.
Stephen Berna
Managing Director, Indigenous Relations
National Bank
About the Speaker
Stephen is a senior leader at National Bank specializing in corporate finance, private equity, and investment partnerships. He provides strategic guidance to growth-oriented companies and has extensive experience structuring deals and capital strategies for expanding organizations.
About the Session
Explore key trends in private equity, venture capital, and capital investment both domestically and internationally.
Tyson Jones
Senior VP
BDC
About the Speaker
Tyson leads BDC Ontario, delivering financial and advisory services that help Canadian businesses grow. He has deep expertise in investment strategies, business scaling, and private equity, supporting entrepreneurs and executives in high-growth industries.
About the Session
Explore key trends in private equity, venture capital, and capital investment both domestically and internationally.
Vishar Yaghoubian
CEO & Founder
Toothpod
About the Speaker
Founder and CEO of Toothpod, Vishar drives innovation in dental care through technology. She has extensive experience in entrepreneurship, venture capital, and scaling high-growth companies, and provides unique insights into building sustainable business models at the intersection of health, technology, and finance.
About the Session
Explore key trends in private equity, venture capital, and capital investment both domestically and internationally.
Meet some of our other speakers