Koleya Karringten

CEO | Executive Director Chairwoman | Absolute Combustion International

A proud Albertan technology entrepreneur, advocate and leader, Koleya Karringten has a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities of product commercialization, ecosystem building and fostering inclusion in the technology industry. As the co-founder and CEO of Absolute Combustion, she has spent a decade successfully designing and developing ground-breaking cleantech solutions for multiple industry sectors, including aerospace and Oil & Gas. She is a driving force in Alberta’s blockchain technology industry as the CEO of Bitquest Corp., the Executive Director of the Alberta Blockchain Consortium (ABC), co-founder and board member of the Canadian Blockchain Association for Women (CBAW), and CEO of Civitas Events Corp. In her leadership role at the ABC, she has merged her passions for technology and social good to bring together blockchain companies, corporate leaders and government to build the province’s largest blockchain ecosystem organization. An influential public speaker, writer and community volunteer, Koleya strongly believes that uniting diverse voices behind a common goal is the path to creating a fairer, more sustainable and prosperous Alberta.

Lucas Koutroumanos

VP Relationship Manager | RBCx

Gordon Anderson

Founder | Anchor Wealth Advisory

Janice Moir

National Blockchain Assurance Leader, Innovation & Transformation Assurance (I&TA) | Deloitte

Janine is passionate about technology and the impact of emerging technologies, like Blockchain, are having on finance teams and businesses. Janine is a founding member of the Canadian Blockchain Association for Women (CBAW.io) and a board member of the Alberta Blockchain Consortium (ABC). At Deloitte, Janine collaborates with clients on Blockchain education and assurance, technology assessments, process improvements, and process analysis and redesign.

Richard Jones

Partner | Brownlee LLP

My law practice focuses on dispute resolution and risk/litigation management. I enjoy working with clients and helping them with the myriad of issues that come along with commercial transactions and conducting business.

Specialties: complex commercial litigation, water and irrigation, environmental, municipal and planning, and agriculture and agri-food, along with tech and blockchain.

McMillan Vantage is a unique service. We offer strategic advice and messaging in government and media relations.

Katryna Fermaniuk

Program Manager, Agriculture Products | MNP

Emma Todd

CEO | MMH Blockchain Group

Emma is an Executive Board Member of Blockchain for Impact, which works alongside the United Nations, and is CEO of MMH Blockchain Group which specializes in developing strategy, marketing, corporate communications, PR and events for technology companies. Named one of 2019’s Top 100 Influencers for Sustainable Development Goals, Emma is host to the longest running crypto mining conference in the world, the largest free blockchain conference in Canada and co-organizer of the largest enterprise conference in Canada. She is also a judge for the prestigious Canadian Marketing Awards. Emma’s strengths include a proven track record of achievements and relationship building as well as completing multiple successful projects simultaneously.

Matthew T. Burgoyne

Partner | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

Matthew is the co-head of Osler’s Digital Asset practice. His practice includes private market financings, mergers and acquisitions, secured and unsecured lending transactions, stock exchange listings, regulatory compliance, and securities issues facing the cryptocurrency industry. Matthew routinely advises national and international clients in digital currency law. He has assisted in the formation of cryptocurrency exchanges and has advised digital token and coin developers, decentralized finance platforms, centralized finance platforms, non-fungible token (“NFT”) issuers, stablecoin issuers, cryptocurrency ATM providers, cryptocurrency miners, cryptocurrency investors, anddecentralized autonomous organizations (“DAOs”). Matthew was one of the first Canadian lawyers to act for cryptocurrency companies in Canada and is regularly called to give his opinion to the media on issues relating to cryptocurrency and Canadian law, and has been quoted in Fortune Magazine, Reuters, The Globe and Mail, Bloomberg, The Logic, the Toronto Star, the Winnipeg Free Press and has also been interviewed on CBC radio and CBC television. Matthew is also an author on Coindesk.com, the world’s largest cryptocurrency and blockchain news site. Matthew sits on a variety of advisory boards of his clients and is currently an advisor to the Alberta Securities Commission’s New Economy Advisory Committee.

Chase Christensen

Vice President, Relationship Management | RBCx

Khurram Shroff

Chairman, President and CEO | iMining Technologies Inc.

Mr. Khurram Shroff has been an early adopter and supporter of Blockchain technology. He has been involved in various activities within the sector since 2010. Over the years, Mr. Shroff, through his Family Investment Office, has invested in multiple Blockchain solutions and protocols, has been an ardent champion of Blockchain and was also instrumental in the launch of Ethereum 2.0. Mr. Shroff is also an award-winning global banking and finance leader, who has been featured in the prestigious list of the “Top100 Most Powerful and Influential Muslims in the World” by Power100.

More recently, Mr. Shroff was nominated to become the Chairman and the CEO of iMining Technologies Inc., a Web3.0 company listed on the Toronto Stock Ventures Exchange (TSXV: IMIN). Under Mr. Shroff’s leadership iMining has expanded into developing technology for Crypto Mining, Decentralized Finance (“DeFi”), Metaverse Non-Fungible Tokens (“NFT”) and acquired BitBit Financial Inc., a crypto OTC Trading Platform for individual and institutions.

Mr. Shroff is very passionate about entrepreneurship and has mentored some of the most influential blockchain projects and blockchain teams around the world. He is avid speaker and thought leader in the blockchain technology space.

Mr. Shroff is a founding member of the Aga Khan Museum, in addition to being a member of the University Club of Toronto. In 2015, Mr. Shroff was appointed as a Civilian Sponsor at the Canadian Armed Forces College.

Hubert Lau

President & CEO | Trust Bix

I am a passionate Technology Entrepreneur who wants to continue to make a difference for my customers, partners and the communities. I achieve my goals through “Collaborative Economics”. This means everyone works together to create successes socially and financially. The focus is always triple win. You win, I win and our communities win.

Wayne Logan

Partner | Miller Thomson LLP

I have been working in the entertainment industry all of my life: first as a musician and for the past thirty five years as an entertainment, sports and intellectual property lawyer. My interest in Entertainment Royalty distribution led to deep research into Blockchain Technology. I now lead our Miller Thomson focused area of Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and Smart Contracts. When you have a question about blockchain, intellectual property, entertainment and media industries, you can trust I have the answer or can get it and share it with you. I love what I do and I am pretty darn good at it. Working with celebrities began in 1987 with Mr. and Mrs. Hockey – Gordie and Colleen Howe. This led to working with other Hockey Hall of Famers, many Canadian Olympians, TV and radio talent, adventurers, actors and authors – generally assisting them with their contracts, publishing, endorsement, sponsorship and business transactions. I have proudly been the lawyer for the Canadian Country Music Association for the past 16 years and many of their artist members such as George Canyon and Brett Kissell, to name a few. Proudly represent many blockchain business eco-system participants including GuildOne. I am well established, respected and networked within the entertainment, sports, intellectual property, venture capital and blockchain industries. Best way to reach me is [email protected]

Erika Barootes

Vice President | Western Canada for Enterprise Canada

Erika leads the Western Canada division of Enterprise Canada, a national strategic communications firm. Erika knows Alberta’s government inside and out—from the premier’s office to the heart of policy-making and most things in between. She is passionate about policy development and wants to support the integration of blockchain at the industry and government levels, as well as promote the opportunities to the broader public.

Neeraj Gupta

Attabotics | Chief Strategy Officer

Neeraj is expert on AI/ML/IOT, Product Management, Innovation Management, Strategy, International Business Expansion, Patent Consulting, Legal-tech.

Neeraj is Chief Strategy Officer and Advisor to the CEO at Attabotics which is one of the most successful 3D robotics supply chain companies headquartered in Calgary, Alberta.

Neeraj is Chairman at India Alumni Chapter for KTH, Sweden and is on the Board of KTH Alumni Advisory Board. He is Governing Council Member at IIT Alumni Centre Bengaluru, IITACB .

Neeraj is one of the experts at Swissnex India and advises Swiss startups. He is also senior Technology Advisor at Sweden-India Business Council.

Neeraj holds Bachelors of Technology degree from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Metallurgical and Material Sciences and Masters of Science Degree from Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden in Scientific Computing and Mathematics. Neeraj is PGPX in General Management from UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Neeraj is author of book “Creating & safeguarding a strong Intellectual Property Portfolio” which was written in collaboration with SIDBI, Adelphi and KFW Bank Germany.

Neeraj is senior mentor and visiting faculty in several engineering and MBA colleges.

Chief Executive Officer | Binance

Lawrence Truong is the CEO for Binance Canada and UDP for Binance Canada Capital Markets Inc. He holds CFA and CAMS designations as well as MBAs from Queen’s University and Cornell University and has over 25 years of experience in financial markets across front and middle office roles with financial institutions, hedge funds, and large corporations. In the capital markets, he traded billions of dollars in spot fx, fixed income and derivatives. Lawrence began his journey on a boat out of Vietnam with his family escaping the crisis in the country as a refugee to Canada in 1979. In the late 90’s armed with a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) from the University of Calgary, he headed to Bay Street where he traded billions of dollars a day as a spot Canada trader at TD Bank. Having spent the last decade in regulatory compliance roles, Lawrence appreciates and values the part regulators and government play in fintech and innovation.

Lee Ackerman

Director, Digital Strategy | School for Advanced Digital Technology

Lee is the Chair of the Web3 Committee.  With more than 20 years of experience driving digital initiatives, Lee is a firm believer that organizations and individuals who embrace change get ahead. Ackerman takes a holistic view of the work needed to successfully transform, embracing systems thinking, co-creation and a healthy dose of experimentation. Often heard proclaiming that “the most interesting aspects of digital happen at the intersections,” Lee enthusiastically brings together new areas, ideas, and people, breaking down silos along the way.

Ackerman is a digital leader and learning strategist. He received his Master of Educational Technology from the University of British Columbia in 2019 and holds a Bachelor of Administration from the University of Regina. He has championed digital initiatives for large enterprises such as TEKsystems Global Services and Deloitte Canada and spent more than a decade in the tech world at IBM. His work has impacted solutions and organizations across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Ackerman holds three tech-related patents, has published multiple books, and has presented at many industry events on topics including digital transformation, software engineering and DevOps.

Hubert Lau

President & CEO | Trust Bix

I am a passionate Technology Entrepreneur who wants to continue to make a difference for my customers, partners and the communities. I achieve my goals through “Collaborative Economics”. This means everyone works together to create successes socially and financially. The focus is always triple win. You win, I win and our communities win.

Mark Korthuis

President & CEO | Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation

Mark Korthuis is the President & CEO of the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation. The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital is the largest free-standing rehabilitation hospital in North America containing seven specialized areas of treatment – orthopedic, geriatrics, pediatrics, stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, and cardiac rehabilitation. Prior to his current role, Mark spent five years as President and CEO of the Alberta Mental Health Foundation. 

Mark is an active member of the Edmonton community, serving as Vice-Chair with the Edmonton Community Foundation and as a board member with the Telus Edmonton Community Board and the Global Psychological eHealth Foundation. Mark is also a member of the Canadian Blockchain Consortium’s Web3 committee.

Mark was named Edmonton’s Top 40 under 40 in 2020 and was recently inducted into the University of Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

Twitter: 

@markkorthuis

@glenrosefdn

Linkedin: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/markkorthuis/ 

(@markkorthuis)

https://www.linkedin.com/company/glenrose-rehabilitation-foundation/ (

@Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation)

Instagram: @markkorthuis, @glenrosefdn

Koleya Karringten

CEO | Executive Director Chairwoman | Absolute Combustion International

A proud Albertan technology entrepreneur, advocate and leader, Koleya Karringten has a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities of product commercialization, ecosystem building and fostering inclusion in the technology industry. As the co-founder and CEO of Absolute Combustion, she has spent a decade successfully designing and developing ground-breaking cleantech solutions for multiple industry sectors, including aerospace and Oil & Gas. She is a driving force in Alberta’s blockchain technology industry as the CEO of Bitquest Corp., the Executive Director of the Alberta Blockchain Consortium (ABC), co-founder and board member of the Canadian Blockchain Association for Women (CBAW), and CEO of Civitas Events Corp. In her leadership role at the ABC, she has merged her passions for technology and social good to bring together blockchain companies, corporate leaders and government to build the province’s largest blockchain ecosystem organization. An influential public speaker, writer and community volunteer, Koleya strongly believes that uniting diverse voices behind a common goal is the path to creating a fairer, more sustainable and prosperous Alberta.

Chang Lu

Research Manager and Postdoctoral Fellow Blockchain | University of British Columbia

Dr. Chang Lu currently works at [email protected], the University of British Columbia, as a research manager and postdoc research fellow. He has several journal/book chapters publications and over two dozens of conference presentations and is co-editing a Springer book titled “Blockchain Adoption in Healthcare: Analysis, Design and Implementation”. Besides, he manages industry collaborations, research projects and education programs at [email protected] He has shared his research insights at corporations such as Microsoft and academic conferences. He holds a Ph.D. in Strategic Management and Organization from the School of Business, University of Alberta.

Al Del Degan

Founder & CTO | New Idea Machine

As a well-known leader in Calgary’s innovation ecosystem, Al Del Degan has a background in computer science with a diverse career working as a software developer, business analyst, and project manager. He has held various leadership roles, started multiple entrepreneurial ventures, and is the creator and producer of the Leaders, Innovators, and Big Ideas podcast for Rainforest Alberta. Recognizing a gap in the industry where graduates from bootcamp programs lack experience to get hired, Al created New Idea Machine, a company that provides mentored hands-on experience to new developers to better prepare them for their future career positions with other software companies. Al is also a photographer and a cryptocurrency enthusiast who enjoys SCUBA diving, golf, and woodworking.

Sid Sharma

CEO and Co-Founder | Rehuman Inc.

Sid is a co-founder and CEO of REHUMAN Inc. a decentralized identity & metaverse company with a mission to build an inclusive and equitable global digital economy. REHUMAN is based in the US, Canada, and Tanzania (Africa).

REHUMAN was founded in 2019 with a dream to make a positive impact in the world through innovative products and philanthropy. And for the past 3 years, REHUMAN Foundation is committed to providing daily meals to 1500 children in Tanzania, along with funding for the school infrastructure and maintenance.

Sid has over a decade of experience in HR tech, identity management & cybersecurity, He got involved in blockchain development in 2016 starting with Ethereum, and Hyperledger which eventually led him to self-sovereign identity/ decentralized identity/ ToIP in 2018.

He is also a contributor at W3C, DIF, and Hyperledger. Sid currently leads the Hyperledger chapter for Alberta and the Western Canada chapter for Government Blockchain Association. Sid is a community builder and a supporter of Alberta’s startup ecosystem. In 2019, he launched a western Canada chapter of the Founder Institute. And built a team of over 100 mentors, investors, and ecosystem partners.

Tim Wong

Head of Program Management | Unity

Tim Wong is the Head of Program Management for AECO & Energy as part of Unity Technology’s professional services group – Unity Accelerate Solutions. Tim moved to Calgary, Alberta mid 2019 as part of the leadership team expanding the company’s presence in Calgary to drive innovation in the AECO and Energy sectors, and also to contribute to the rapidly growing tech ecosystem in Calgary. Unity Technologies has been expanding its platform and services beyond games to different industries worldwide. Some of the core focus areas include leading the delivery of Digital Twin programs with our clients and helping our clients and their creators start building the foundations in their journey to the Industrial Metaverse.

Prior to joining Unity, Tim was the Director of Innovation at Finger Food Advanced Technology Group playing a similar role, partnering with clients to take a user-centric approach to solve complex challenges by leveraging leading edge technologies. Outside of work, Tim loves exploring the food and entertainment scene Calgary has to offer and cheering on the Oilers among the C of Red. Tim also loves working with some of the most brilliant and passionate people in Alberta as we collaborate to share learnings and accelerate the momentum to position Alberta as a world renowned innovation & tech hub.  

Mac Thiele

CEO | Mac Thiele Consulting Ltd.

Mac has worked in virtual asset investigations and compliance for the past four years in both the public and private indsutry. Mac is currently an investigator and trainer for a large virtual asset exchange and focuses on investigations relating to fraud, ransomware, and terrorist financing. As a trainer, Mac trains investigators on effective use of open-source intelligence (OSINT) in virtual asset investigations and how to confirm individual identities. Previously, Mac has worked with the Alberta Securities Commission in the Enforcement Division where he focused on open-source intelligence investigations and enforcement of illegal initial coin offerings (ICOs). Mac’s professional interests relate to the evolving art of OSINT and how DeFi will be regulated and interpreted in the Canadian environment.

Mac is currently based out of Alberta for a home base, but works as a digital nomad and has visited various countries while working and is a passionate proponent of digital nomading and remote work.  

ETH: mact.EH

ALGO: mac.algo

Koleya Karringten

President / Founder | Executive Director | Absolute Combustion International

A proud Albertan technology entrepreneur, advocate and leader, Koleya Karringten has a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities of product commercialization, ecosystem building and fostering inclusion in the technology industry. As the co-founder and CEO of Absolute Combustion, she has spent a decade successfully designing and developing ground-breaking cleantech solutions for multiple industry sectors, including aerospace and Oil & Gas. She is a driving force in Alberta’s blockchain technology industry as the CEO of Bitquest Corp., the Executive Director of the Alberta Blockchain Consortium (ABC), co-founder and board member of the Canadian Blockchain Association for Women (CBAW), and CEO of Civitas Events Corp. In her leadership role at the ABC, she has merged her passions for technology and social good to bring together blockchain companies, corporate leaders and government to build the province’s largest blockchain ecosystem organization. An influential public speaker, writer and community volunteer, Koleya strongly believes that uniting diverse voices behind a common goal is the path to creating a fairer, more sustainable and prosperous Alberta.

Jade Alberts

Founder | Peer Guidance
Vice President Canada | Canada Blockchain Consortium

Jade is an Entrepreneur, Angel Investor and a Strategist that Tells It Like It Is. He’s had a successful career as a sales Entrepreneur. Yes, he means Sales Entrepreneur. He was allowed to create the sales that allowed him to understand growth, margin and profit. This was extremely handy when he became an Entrepreneur. He now shares his knowledge with aspiring entrepreneurs as he believes lack of capital should not get in the way of what you need to succeed. He has exited a business and helped three others exit.

Our team has done the following during our entrepreneurial journeys:

Bootstrapped
Raised Capital
Created Sales Playbooks
Created Budgets
Asked for help
Hired People
Scaled Nationally
Cried
Built Sales Teams
Made Connections
Built Internal Teams
Created Marketing Plans
Wondered when we will make money
Created Content
Create Policies and Contracts
Fired People
Sleepless Nights
Created Positive Cultures
Designed Websites
Failed and Learned from it
Exited Businesses
Sold Businesses
Celebrated Successes

Alexis Pappas

Canadian Blockchain Association for Women | Executive Director | Director of Industry Digitization

Alexis Pappas is a writer and consultant with a background in varied fields including energy, bioscience, clean technology and digital innovations. A key focus of her writing and advocacy is on the economic and sociological implications of technological shifts, and the impact that our transforming world may have on underrepresented and disenfranchised groups. Passionate about diversity, Indigenous rights and Alberta’s economic potential, Alexis is the Executive Director of the Canadian Blockchain Association for Women and the Energy Director of the Alberta Blockchain Consortium.

Julie Bogle

Partner in the Securities and Capital Markets Group | Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Julie is a partner with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and is a member of BLG’s Securities and Capital Markets Group and Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Group. Julie acts for public and private companies in connection with mergers & acquisitions, initial public offerings, corporate financings, corporate reorganizations and compliance matters. Julie represents a growing number of technology companies, and has helped cryptocurrency companies become publicly listed on the NEO, TSX Venture Exchange and CSE. She is the founder of the Driven by Women Initiative and dedicated to helping more women get into leadership positions.

Sandra Easton

CEO | Author | Educator | Consultant | Sandra Easton Developments

CRYPTO- Sandra Easton is an educator and consultant in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. She speaks on international platforms, helping educate the masses on Web3, Metaverse, Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies,  NFTS and Definance. Her mission is to lay the foundational understanding and terminology pieces that explain the impact crypto is having in every industry worldwide. Sandra published The EASY CRYPTO series on Amazon as a lighthearted coffee table book for friends and family. It soon became a best-selling educational tool that  inspired her to do more within the industry. She now helps Project Developers and Educational Institutions in  creating content that is easily understood and simple. 

REAL ESTATE: Never to shy away from a challenge, Sandra’s career in the Real Estate industry in Canada  started on a dare back in the early 2000s. As a creative achiever, with a natural skill set that allows her to explain  complicated things simply, she was immediately the recipient of numerous Provincial and International awards. Now, she speaks on how blockchain is changing the real estate industry: fractionalization of real property,  security of land titles, metaverse, etc.). 

She loves to organize events and you can find her most days planning some type of gathering for fun and  collaboration.

Laure Fouin

Partner, Co-Chair, Digital Assets and Blockchain | Osler

Laure is the co-head of the Digital Assets and Blockchain group and a partner in Osler’s Montréal office. Her practice focuses on financial institutions, financial products and services regulation, securities regulation and investment products (including crypto assets and crypto contracts), structured finance and debt capital markets (DCM). As such she notably helps her clients navigate digitization and ESG strategic and regulatory matters.

Laure is regularly called to share her expertise on matters relating to the use of blockchain technology, cryptoassets, digital tokens, artificial intelligence in financial services, regulatory and compliance issues relating to financial services entities and financial products, including banks and investment funds. She is also recognised as a Rising star in Banking and Finance by IFLR 1000: Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms, ‘One to Watch’ in Corporate Governance by Best Lawyers Canada and won IFLR 1000’s Rising Stars Awards Americas 2020.

Kevin Huang

Junior Data Scientist | Crestview Strategy

Kevin Huang is a Data Scientist with Crestview Strategy, based out of Toronto, and works to leverage data to optimize digital campaigns for clients.

He has previous experiences in research and public policy roles at the federal and provincial levels, including conducting bioinformatics research for large-scale projects at the federal level and assisting in the modernization process of operational policy within the Ontario Public Service using modern data-driven approaches.

Jonathan Hartney

Independent Management Consultant & Innovator | YYC Tech Consulting

Sid Sharma

CEO | Innovation Leader | Blockchain, Digital Identity, Future of Work | Rehuman

Koleya Karringten

CEO | Absolute Combustion International

A proud Albertan technology entrepreneur, advocate and leader, Koleya Karringten has a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities of product commercialization, ecosystem building and fostering inclusion in the technology industry. As the co-founder and CEO of Absolute Combustion, she has spent a decade successfully designing and developing ground-breaking cleantech solutions for multiple industry sectors, including aerospace and Oil & Gas. She is a driving force in Alberta’s blockchain technology industry as the CEO of Bitquest Corp., the Executive Director of the Alberta Blockchain Consortium (ABC), co-founder and board member of the Canadian Blockchain Association for Women (CBAW), and CEO of Civitas Events Corp. In her leadership role at the ABC, she has merged her passions for technology and social good to bring together blockchain companies, corporate leaders and government to build the province’s largest blockchain ecosystem organization. An influential public speaker, writer and community volunteer, Koleya strongly believes that uniting diverse voices behind a common goal is the path to creating a fairer, more sustainable and prosperous Alberta.

Dina Mainville

Sales Director | Ciphertrace

Dina leads new business development for CipherTrace, a leading cryptocurrency compliance firm, and is the Director of Industry Engagement for TRISA, an open source solution to the FATF Travel Rule.

She works with governments, financial institutions, and regulators to implement technologies that enable transparency and compliance within the virtual asset ecosystem, preventing fraud, money laundering and other financial crimes.

She is an international speaker on blockchain and cryptocurrencies and has been advising clients on blockchain initiatives since 2016, including several Fortune 500 clients. 

She attended the University of Toronto, with a double major in political science and film studies and has completed blockchain, cryptocurrency and fintech law and policy courses at Princeton University, the University of Nicosia and Duke University.

Erik Kryski

CEO | Bidali

Sheereen Khan

Chief Compliance Officer | Coinberry Limited

Sheereen is purpose-driven compliance executive and has spent the last 25 years of her career helping
CEOs within the Financial Services sector to execute the right strategy, solve complex problems, create
solutions and get effective results with minimal risks.

She is renowned by local and foreign regulators for the standards she brings to the table and have been
invited by them to review international standards and regulations and speak at risk conferences.

Sheereen is described by her peers as someone who has mastered the art of balancing innovation and
compliance and type of person the crypto space requires.

Dave Bradley

Chief Revenue Officer | Bitcoin Well

Dave Bradley is a prominent figure in the Bitcoin industry and is widely considered one of the leading experts in Canada on bitcoin, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Prior to his current role as the Director of Strategy at Bitcoin Well, Dave founded the world’s first bricks-and-mortar Bitcoin store and co-founded the successful company, Bull Bitcoin, which is Canada’s longest-serving bitcoin brokerage. He also serves as a Vice President for the Canadian Blockchain Consortium, Canada’s largest non-profit network of blockchain companies and influencers.

George Bordianu

Co-founder, CEO | Balance

Rodney MacInnes

COO & AML Compliance Ninja | Outlier Solutions Inc.

Rodney is currently the COO & AML Compliance Ninja at Outlier Solutions Inc. (Outlier) a Canadian-based consulting company that set out to break the consulting mould by focusing on 3 core principles: Value, Open-Source & Continuous Improvement. His financial compliance experience includes anti-money laundering (AML), counter terrorist financing (CTF), fraud and Legislative Compliance Management (LCM). Over the past 10 years, Rodney has held positions in-house, as a consultant, as a strategic leader and as a founder. He has been involved with numerous activities by reporting entities, including MSBs, financial institutions, real estate and securities. He became a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) in early 2011 and is also a graduate of the Canadian Institute Financial Crime Analysis course at Seneca College. Rodney is also a Certified Bitcoin Professional (CBP) who fell down the rabbit hole in 2013. Since then he has been somewhat obsessed with how Bitcoin and other technologies are impacting the financial and regulatory landscape. 

Wayne Logan

Partner | Miller Thomson LLP

Wayne Logan, an experienced Intellectual Property specialist, leads the firm’s focused area of Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and Smart Contract.  He is also co-leader working in the areas of Entertainment and Media law. When you have a question about the blockchain, entertainment and media industries, you can trust Wayne has the answer, or can get it and he will be happy to share it with you.   Wayne knows how to support and work with the genius that drives entrepreneurs, software developers, musicians, authors, athletes and celebrities to excel.  Wayne’s passion and creativity is what fuels his drive to continuously advance his clients’ careers and business plans.

Koleya Karringten

CEO | Absolute Combustion International

A proud Albertan technology entrepreneur, advocate and leader, Koleya Karringten has a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities of product commercialization, ecosystem building and fostering inclusion in the technology industry. As the co-founder and CEO of Absolute Combustion, she has spent a decade successfully designing and developing ground-breaking cleantech solutions for multiple industry sectors, including aerospace and Oil & Gas. She is a driving force in Alberta’s blockchain technology industry as the CEO of Bitquest Corp., the Executive Director of the Alberta Blockchain Consortium (ABC), co-founder and board member of the Canadian Blockchain Association for Women (CBAW), and CEO of Civitas Events Corp. In her leadership role at the ABC, she has merged her passions for technology and social good to bring together blockchain companies, corporate leaders and government to build the province’s largest blockchain ecosystem organization. An influential public speaker, writer and community volunteer, Koleya strongly believes that uniting diverse voices behind a common goal is the path to creating a fairer, more sustainable and prosperous Alberta.

Kunal Bhasin

Director and Co-Leader Cryptoassets and Blockchain CoE | KPMG

Kunal is the Director and Co-Leader of KPMG Canada’s Cryptoassets and Blockchain CoE. He possesses over 10 years of experience conducting and leading compliance and risk assessments, and technology audits for crypto, fintech, TradFi and technology sectors. He has been involved in the crypto and blockchain space since 2015, and has been with KPMG since 2018 where he was tasked to build the Crypto & Blockchain Advisory practice. He led the firm’s strategy for its products and services related to cryptoassets, and recently led the firm’s crypto treasury and NFT initiatives. Kunal continues to work with the community, regulators, as well as financial services and institutional investors in both traditional finance and crypto space globally for promoting and enabling institutionalization of cryptoassets while managing the risks in the space.

Mark A. Morency

Financial Institutions Practice Leader | Arthur J. Gallagher Canada

Mark Morency is the Financial Institutions Practice Leader for Arthur J. Gallagher
Canada, providing insurance solutions to the financial services industry across Canada.
As a leader in Gallagher’s Global Digital Assets practice, Mark works with
cryptocurrency and blockchain companies globally, along with educating the insurance
industry, to increase the availability of insurance for emerging fintech companies.
Mark joined Gallagher after a 25 year career at Canada’s largest banks. Mark has an
M.B.A. from the Schulich School of Business at York University and a B.Sc. in Actuarial Science
and Economics from the University of Toronto.

Frank Maione

Founder and CEO | Bitcoin4U

Frank Maione is the founder and CEO of Bitcoin4U, a non-custodial cryptocurrency exchange based in Toronto. His interest and passion for Blockchain technology grew from experience in the technology and electronics security sectors in Canada and South Africa, founding  Bitcoin4U in 2019. Frank holds a degree in Electronic Engineering.

Paul Burak, LLM, CAMS

Compliance Officer | Shakepay

Paul Burak is a compliance professional specializing in the crypto space. With over 15 years of experience across various private and public sector roles, Paul brings a wealth of knowledge on anti-money laundering and securities compliance. He is passionate about financial innovation including DeFi and trustless peer-to-peer transactions. Since discovering bitcoin in the early 2010s, Paul has seen the incredible potential that crypto has to make the world a better place.

Matthew T. Burgoyne

Partner | Committee Chair | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

Matthew is the co-head of Osler’s Digital Asset practice. His practice includes private market financings, mergers and acquisitions, secured and unsecured lending transactions, stock exchange listings, regulatory compliance, and securities issues facing the cryptocurrency industry. Matthew routinely advises national and international clients in digital currency law. He has assisted in the formation of cryptocurrency exchanges and has advised digital token and coin developers, decentralized finance platforms, centralized finance platforms, non-fungible token (“NFT”) issuers, stablecoin issuers, cryptocurrency ATM providers, cryptocurrency miners, cryptocurrency investors, anddecentralized autonomous organizations (“DAOs”). Matthew was one of the first Canadian lawyers to act for cryptocurrency companies in Canada and is regularly called to give his opinion to the media on issues relating to cryptocurrency and Canadian law, and has been quoted in Fortune Magazine, Reuters, The Globe and Mail, Bloomberg, The Logic, the Toronto Star, the Winnipeg Free Press and has also been interviewed on CBC radio and CBC television. Matthew is also an author on Coindesk.com, the world’s largest cryptocurrency and blockchain news site. Matthew sits on a variety of advisory boards of his clients and is currently an advisor to the Alberta Securities Commission’s New Economy Advisory Committee.

Koleya Karringten

CEO | Absolute Combustion International

A proud Albertan technology entrepreneur, advocate and leader, Koleya Karringten has a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities of product commercialization, ecosystem building and fostering inclusion in the technology industry. As the co-founder and CEO of Absolute Combustion, she has spent a decade successfully designing and developing ground-breaking cleantech solutions for multiple industry sectors, including aerospace and Oil & Gas. She is a driving force in Alberta’s blockchain technology industry as the CEO of Bitquest Corp., the Executive Director of the Alberta Blockchain Consortium (ABC), co-founder and board member of the Canadian Blockchain Association for Women (CBAW), and CEO of Civitas Events Corp. In her leadership role at the ABC, she has merged her passions for technology and social good to bring together blockchain companies, corporate leaders and government to build the province’s largest blockchain ecosystem organization. An influential public speaker, writer and community volunteer, Koleya strongly believes that uniting diverse voices behind a common goal is the path to creating a fairer, more sustainable and prosperous Alberta.

Ana Badour

Partner | McCarthy Tétrault LLP

Ana Badour co-leads McCarthy Tétrault LLP’s national Fintech Group.  She is a partner in their Financial Services Group and a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist. She advises financial services entities, including financial institutions and Fintech entities, on regulatory compliance matters, including with respect to consumer protection, anti-money laundering and other regulatory requirements. She holds a LLM in Banking and Financial Law from Boston University, a LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School, and a BMath (Operations Research) from the University of Waterloo. 

Jonathan L. Doll

Partner | Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.

Melissa Smith

Partner | Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.

Melissa is a partner in the Securities and Capital Markets Group in BLG’s Calgary office. Melissa focuses her practice on corporate and securities law with an emphasis on mergers, acquisitions and other business combinations of public and private issuers including take-over bids, amalgamations and plans of arrangement. She also advises clients on financing transactions including public and private offerings of debt, equity and convertible securities, and compliance with corporate and securities regulatory requirements and drafting of a large number of corporate and commercial documents including governance documents, shareholder agreements and other business agreements.

In addition, Melissa assists with plans of arrangement, mergers, acquisitions and other business combinations, prepares a wide variety of commercial, securities and corporate documents, and conducts due diligence on behalf of issuers, agents and underwriters in a variety of contexts.

Melissa is the Chair of the BLG’s Calgary Student Committee.

Evan Thomas

Head of Legal | Wealthsimple

Koleya Karringten

CEO | Executive Director Chairwoman | Absolute Combustion International

A proud Albertan technology entrepreneur, advocate and leader, Koleya Karringten has a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities of product commercialization, ecosystem building and fostering inclusion in the technology industry. As the co-founder and CEO of Absolute Combustion, she has spent a decade successfully designing and developing ground-breaking cleantech solutions for multiple industry sectors, including aerospace and Oil & Gas. She is a driving force in Alberta’s blockchain technology industry as the CEO of Bitquest Corp., the Executive Director of the Alberta Blockchain Consortium (ABC), co-founder and board member of the Canadian Blockchain Association for Women (CBAW), and CEO of Civitas Events Corp. In her leadership role at the ABC, she has merged her passions for technology and social good to bring together blockchain companies, corporate leaders and government to build the province’s largest blockchain ecosystem organization. An influential public speaker, writer and community volunteer, Koleya strongly believes that uniting diverse voices behind a common goal is the path to creating a fairer, more sustainable and prosperous Alberta.

Emma Todd

CEO | MMH Blockchain Group

Emma is an Executive Board Member of Blockchain for Impact, which works alongside the United Nations, and is CEO of MMH Blockchain Group which specializes in developing strategy, marketing, corporate communications, PR and events for technology companies. Named one of 2019’s Top 100 Influencers for Sustainable Development Goals, Emma is host to the longest running crypto mining conference in the world, the largest free blockchain conference in Canada and co-organizer of the largest enterprise conference in Canada. She is also a judge for the prestigious Canadian Marketing Awards. Emma’s strengths include a proven track record of achievements and relationship building as well as completing multiple successful projects simultaneously.

Ron Dizy

Managing Director | Red Jar Capital

Ron is co-founder and Managing Director at Red Jar Capital with over 25 years of experience as both an operator and investor in the technology and advanced energy sectors. Ron’s role is to manage the day to day operations and the investment process at Red Jar, lead investments and find ways to consistently add value to Red Jar’s portfolio and partner companies. 

Prior to joining Red Jar, Ron was the Chief Commercial Officer at Spark Power, where he led sales, product management & marketing, business development, and corporate strategy, with a focus on bringing new customer-centric solutions to the industrial, commercial, and utility markets.  Before that, he was the SVP of Partnerships at MaRS where he was responsible for helping utilities around the world find ways to adopt innovation at scale, to help them survive in a world being rapidly changed by technology, customer preferences, and regulation. His previous career experience also includes:

• Founding Managing Director of the Advanced Energy Centre at MaRS Discovery District

• President and CEO of ENBALA Power Networks

• Partner at Celtic House Venture Partners ($500M venture fund)

• Founding member of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan venture capital team where he was responsible for sourcing and managing investments across the technology sector in Canada and in the United States.

• Founder & Managing Partner of Altera System Corp.

An active participant in the advanced energy sector, he is frequently sought out by government, agency, and utility organizations to offer his pragmatic perspective and lend his deep and varied experience.  He is also a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events.  

Ron holds a BASc, Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto.  

Jaime Leverton

Chief Executive Officer | Hut 8 Mining

As CEO of Hut 8, Jaime sets the strategic direction for the company that is defining the digital asset revolution.

Since joining the organization, she has transformed Hut 8 into a high-performance operation: in addition to bringing a third mine online in North Bay, Ontario, she has pursued a uniquely diversified strategy and acquired five high performance computing data centres that will provide the innovative infrastructure to support companies in the nascent Blockchain and Web 3.0 industries.

Jaime is passionate about advancing high-growth and future-forward technology companies, most recently serving as the Chief Commercial Officer at eStruxture Data Centers. Her 20-plus years of leadership experience also includes driving revenue programs as General Manager of Canada and APAC, with data center and cloud provider Cogeco Peer 1 (now Aptum). Previously, she held leadership roles with National Bank, BlackBerry, Bell Canada, and IBM Canada.

Jaime sits on the boards of the Stratford Festival and Technation, and serves as the Chair of IMWomen Canada.

Ryan Mueller CFE - CCCI - CAMS

Phantom Compliance | Chief Compliance Officer

I have been active in online payments for 18 years with the majority of that time spent in an investigative/risk management role.

I’ve been a customer service representative and I’ve managed entire call centers with employees in customer services/fraud/collections/investigations roles to name a few.

Very familiar with online commerce specifically in the high risk environment.

I have extensive experience in high risk merchant account provision, placement, and sales as well.

Specialties: Fraud investigation, underwriting of new application risk, fraud prevention, policy generation, compliance, managing 3rd party requests for information, crypto currencies. The list goes on.

Chase Christensen

Vice President, Relationship Management | RBCx

Amber Scott

Founder & CEO | Outlier Solutions Inc

Amber is a compliance geek with a passion for technology.

After graduating from the University of Waterloo, Amber joined the compliance group at one of Canada’s largest insurers where she focused on the implementation of technology-based processes to streamline compliance. She has since worked in in-house roles with major securities firms and banks. Somewhere along the line, she added MBA, CBP, and a few other letters after her name.

Amber joined a boutique compliance consulting firm, then larger consulting firm, before getting frustrated enough with the status quo to launch Outlier Solutions Inc. (Outlier) in 2013. Outlier specializes in anti-money laundering (AML) and privacy compliance. The company is based on one of the premises of Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers: that to be really good at something you need a lot of practice (about 10,000 hours). Each of Outlier’s team members has 10,000 hours or more of in-house (not consulting) compliance experience. Amber loves leading this team of entrepreneurial compliance badasses.

Amber is a firm believer in the idea that good compliance can enable good business. Find out how at www.outliercanada.com or reach out to her directly at [email protected]

Dina Mainville

Sales Director | Ciphertrace

Dina leads new business development for CipherTrace, a leading cryptocurrency compliance firm, and is the Director of Industry Engagement for TRISA, an open source solution to the FATF Travel Rule.

She works with governments, financial institutions, and regulators to implement technologies that enable transparency and compliance within the virtual asset ecosystem, preventing fraud, money laundering and other financial crimes.

She is an international speaker on blockchain and cryptocurrencies and has been advising clients on blockchain initiatives since 2016, including several Fortune 500 clients. 

She attended the University of Toronto, with a double major in political science and film studies and has completed blockchain, cryptocurrency and fintech law and policy courses at Princeton University, the University of Nicosia and Duke University.

Lucas Koutroumanos

VP Relationship Manager | RBCx

Laure Fouin

Partner, Co-Chair, Digital Assets and Blockchain | Osler

Laure is the co-head of the Digital Assets and Blockchain group and a partner in Osler’s Montréal office. Her practice focuses on financial institutions, financial products and services regulation, securities regulation and investment products (including crypto assets and crypto contracts), structured finance and debt capital markets (DCM). As such she notably helps her clients navigate digitization and ESG strategic and regulatory matters.

Laure is regularly called to share her expertise on matters relating to the use of blockchain technology, cryptoassets, digital tokens, artificial intelligence in financial services, regulatory and compliance issues relating to financial services entities and financial products, including banks and investment funds. She is also recognised as a Rising star in Banking and Finance by IFLR 1000: Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms, ‘One to Watch’ in Corporate Governance by Best Lawyers Canada and won IFLR 1000’s Rising Stars Awards Americas 2020.

Laure Fouin

Partner, Co-Chair, Digital Assets and Blockchain | Osler

Laure is the co-head of the Digital Assets and Blockchain group and a partner in Osler’s Montréal office. Her practice focuses on financial institutions, financial products and services regulation, securities regulation and investment products (including crypto assets and crypto contracts), structured finance and debt capital markets (DCM). As such she notably helps her clients navigate digitization and ESG strategic and regulatory matters.

Laure is regularly called to share her expertise on matters relating to the use of blockchain technology, cryptoassets, digital tokens, artificial intelligence in financial services, regulatory and compliance issues relating to financial services entities and financial products, including banks and investment funds. She is also recognised as a Rising star in Banking and Finance by IFLR 1000: Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms, ‘One to Watch’ in Corporate Governance by Best Lawyers Canada and won IFLR 1000’s Rising Stars Awards Americas 2020.

Niki Marie Eckardt

Chief Executive Officer | Net Source Inc

MS(Psych) (MEng) BCC, ACC, Niki Marie Eckardt – CEO and Fund Manager of NetSource Capital, and CEO of Net Source Inc., is a highly skilled entrepreneur and consultant with more than 30 years of experience mentoring business start-ups, management and executive teams. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Niki is a leader in securing venture capital financing for tech entrepreneurs throughout North America, the UK and Europe. She’s been directly involved with over 275 start-ups, scaling multiple companies and taking exceptional businesses to unicorn status. Her clients work with a dedicated team of consultants, mentors and coaches from initial fundraising to exit, past mvp phase to full-scale businesses. Part of the Canadian Blockchain Consortium, Niki also has an exceptional knowledge of investment opportunities, macro-economic environments and global political strategies. Niki’s clients and partners are positioned for outstanding success.

Janine Moir

National Blockchain Assurance Leader, Innovation & Transformation Assurance (I&TA) | Deloitte

Janine is passionate about technology and the impact of emerging technologies, like Blockchain, are having on finance teams and businesses. Janine is a founding member of the Canadian Blockchain Association for Women (CBAW.io) and a board member of the Alberta Blockchain Consortium (ABC). At Deloitte, Janine collaborates with clients on Blockchain education and assurance, technology assessments, process improvements, and process analysis and redesign.

Alexis Pappas

Canadian Blockchain Association for Women | Executive Director | Director of Industry Digitization

Alexis Pappas is a writer and consultant with a background in varied fields including energy, bioscience, clean technology and digital innovations. A key focus of her writing and advocacy is on the economic and sociological implications of technological shifts, and the impact that our transforming world may have on underrepresented and disenfranchised groups. Passionate about diversity, Indigenous rights and Alberta’s economic potential, Alexis is the Executive Director of the Canadian Blockchain Association for Women and the Energy Director of the Alberta Blockchain Consortium.

Jennifer Edgar

Client Executive, Commercial Lines | NFP Canada

Experienced professional with a demonstrated history in the the Commercial Risk Management & Insurance industry – building strong connections with the global market, as well as clients from all industry spaces.

I excel in technical sales and communication skills, with a focus on developing relationships through all levels of the business community internally and externally. I thrive on working within a team, helping to create unique and creative solutions.

Skilled in Negotiation, Analytical Skills, Sales, Team Building, and Teamwork.

Gordon Anderson

Founder | Anchor Wealth Advisory

Gord is a founder of KASTx Ventures Inc and Founder and CEO of Anchor Wealth Advisory. Currently focused on Life Sciences, KASTx provides strategic advice and governance support to drive inventors and their most significant ideas towards success (visit www.kastxventures.com). Gord also consults in the areas of aboriginal economic development and UHNW philanthropic planning. Gord’s past experience includes:

➤President of Cidel Trust Company (CTC) ➤Co-Head of Wealth Management Caribbean (RBC) ➤Chief Investment Officer, RBC (Caribbean) Corporation ➤Director, Global Private Banking (CIBC) ➤Senior Portfolio Manager (CIBC) ➤Regional Investment Sales Manager (CIBC) ➤Business Lender (CIBC) ➤Qualifications: B. Admin (Honors), CFP, TEP, FEA, CFA, ICD.d 30 + years of experience. ✦Investment Management✦ Corporate Strategy✦Leadership✦Training & Development ✦Relationship Management✦Sales Management ✦Philanthropy✦Governance ✦Fiduciary Services✦Project & Budget Management✦Business Planning✦Trust ✦ Cross Border Planning✦Pension Risk Optimization✦First Nations Economic Dev. including Financial Settlements

☎ 587-897-0874 ✉ [email protected]

Erika Barootes

Vice President | Western Canada for Enterprise Canada

Erika leads the Western Canada division of Enterprise Canada, a national strategic communications firm. Erika knows Alberta’s government inside and out—from the premier’s office to the heart of policy-making and most things in between. She is passionate about policy development and wants to support the integration of blockchain at the industry and government levels, as well as promote the opportunities to the broader public.