SPEAKERS & MENTORS

Meet the 2026 Speakers and Mentors

We’re packing the stage with a powerhouse lineup of experts from every industry. Whether you’re looking to learn from veteran founders, seasoned investors, top-tier CEOs, or strategy specialists, we are bringing the best in the business straight to you. Meet the speakers and mentors set to help you move faster, build smarter, and level up at Startupfest 2026.

Andres Barreto

Managing Director, Techstars

Misti Cain

Investor, Mighty Capital

Marty Weiner

Founder and CTO, VerifyYou

Jonathan Nightingale

Co-founder, Raw Signal Group

Laurel Hess

Founder, Hampr

Melissa Nightingale

Co-founder, Raw Signal Group

Andrew Lockhead

CEO, Stay22

Rene Caissie

CEO, Medeloop

Haley Bryant

Partner, Hustle Fund

Sam Colby

Chief Operating Officer, Finalytics, Second Wind & TWENTY6

Becky Wang

Head of Strategy, Metafide

Lianne Vineberg

Founder, T6 Talent Partners

Operating Partner, Maverix Private Equity

Fatima Khamitova

Director, Startups, Vector Institute for AI

Sylvain Perron

CEO, Botpress

Neil Grunberg

Managing Partner, Storytime Capital

Dr. Theresa Johnson

Head of Product, Roblox Operating System (Enterprise AI)

Tam Danier

Lead Solution Design Architect, Launch @ NTT Data

Ron J. Williams

Founder, ScamHERO // Co-created

Rami Sayar

Senior Director of Engineering, Microsoft AI

Teija Bean

Head of Product Design, Forum Ventures, AI Studio

Harper Reed

CEO, 2389 Research, Inc

Albert Ho

General Partner, No Talking Capital

Shambhavi Mishra

Associate Partner, Antler

Jonathan Lowenhar

Founder & CEO, Enjoy the Work

Eva Lau

General Partner, Two Small Fish Ventures

Mitch Joel

Founder, ThinkersOne

Erin O'Keefe Graham

Managing Partner, Imaginal

Roberto Cipriani

Startup Advisor | Founder, Paper Education

Michelle McBane

Managing Director, StandUp Ventures

Lida Tohidi

CPO & Certified Coach, Pidari

Randy Smerik

Entrepreneur, Osunatech

Charlotte Murray

Chief Operating Officer , The Farmers' Truck

Robert Spaima

Program Manager - Quantum Lab, BioInnovation Institute

Claude Théoret

Senior AI Advisor, Innovobot

Chris Shipley

Partner, C/R Strategy Partners

Tara Akhavan

Partner, Jolt Capital

Morgan Willis

Principal Cloud Technologist, Amazon Web Services

John Rikhtegar

Vice President, Northleaf Capital

Christina Moro

Entrepreneur in Residence, Mila Ventures

Pierre-Laurent Macridis

Director - Financial Innovation, Greater Montreal Climate Fund

Christy Canida

Partner, Alchemist Accelerator

Isaac Souweine

Partner, Venture Scientist Fund

Kath Intson

CEO, Sentinel R&D

Rita Kasparian

Senior Director, BDC Capital

Marianne Dubois

Head of Discovery, Inovia

Sylvain Carle

Co-Director, CIVIC

Marc-Andre Roberge

Founder, CEO, Nectar

Sam Hasty

Partner, Active Impact Investments

Catherine Ouellet-Dupuis

General Partner, White Star Capital

Avery Swartz

Founder & CEO, Camp Tech

Jennifer McDonald

Senior Vice-President, Investments, Cycle Momentum

James Povitz

Principal, NAventures, National Bank of Canada

Alistair Croll

Content Chair, Startupfest