Elevate Festival 2023 Speakers

Elevate Festival has welcomed some of the world’s most iconic, influential, and innovative movers and shakers to the stage. The past lineup of speakers includes former First Lady Michelle Obama, VP Al Gore, business icon Martha Stewart, author and astronaut Chris Hadfield, conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall, and Grammy-nominated Akon, to name a few. From dreaming to doing, aspiration to action, Elevate Festival 2022’s powerhouse lineup of creative icons and business innovators inspired and invited us all to take bold and brave steps forward.

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Joanna Griffiths
Founder and President
Knix
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Lisa LaFlamme
Acclaimed Journalist & Broadcaster
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Kiran Gandhi
Artist & Activist
Madame Gandhi
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Wes Hall
Executive Chairman and Founder of WeShall Investments Inc. & Star of CBC's Dragons' Den
WeShall Investments
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Chris Hadfield
Elevate Co-Chair
Chris Hadfield
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Arlene Dickinson
Star of CBC’s Dragons’ Den, General Partner, District Ventures Capital
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Hon. Chrystia Freeland
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
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Ayesha Curry
CEO & Founder
Sweet July
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Angelica Ross
Founder of TransTech Social Enterprises, Actress, Producer & Advocate
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Maxine Williams
Chief Diversity Officer
Meta
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Janet Bannister
Managing Partner
Staircase Ventures
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Dean Skurka
President & Interim CEO
WonderFI
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Hanna Zaidi
Chief Compliance Officer, Payments
Wealthsimple
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Mandy Gilbert
Founder & CEO
Creative Niche
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Noura Sakkijha
Noura Sakkijha
Co-Founder & CEO
Mejuri
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Kurtis McBride
CEO
Miovision
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Wayne Pommen
Chief Revenue Officer
Affirm
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Mark Maybank
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Maverix Private Equity
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Dan Pontefract
Bestselling Author, Leadership Strategist, Thinker
Pontefract Group
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Laura Zizzo
CEO and Co-Founder
Manifest Climate
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Elena Sinelnikova
Founder and CEO
Cryptochicks
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Larissa Holmes
Co-founder & CEO
Coterie
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Brett Chang
General Manager
The Peak
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Sarah Baldeo
Partner, Innovation Technologies
ID Quotient
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Jakob Pizzera
Co-Founder
OneVest
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Tamir Bar-Haim
Vice President
Amazon Ads
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Kristie Painting
Country Manager, Canada
Pinterest
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Grace Tallon
COO
Work Time Reduction Center of Excellence
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Charles Finlay
Executive Director
Toronto MU
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Morva Rohani
Executive Director
Canadian Web3 Council
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Ally Love
Founder & CEO of Love Squad, Peloton Instructor, TODAY Show Contributor, and Host of the Brooklyn Nets
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Laura Lenz
Partner
OMERS Ventures
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Brandon Katz
Entertainment Industry Strategist
Parrot Analytics
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Carole Piovesan
Managing Partner
INQ Law / INQ Consulting
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Dianne Buckner
Dragon's Den Host & Business News Correspondent
CBC News
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Julia Kassam
Strategic Advisor
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Molly Reynolds
Partner
Torys LLP
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Allen Lau
Co-Founder & Operating Partner
Two Small Fish Ventures
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Eva Lau
General Partner
Two Small Fish Ventures
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Julie Lottering
Director of Education, Epic Games
Epic Games
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Amber Kanwar
Reporter & Anchor
BNN Bloomberg
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Avinash Persaud
VP, Hardware Catalyst Initiative
ventureLAB
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Doug Gorrie
Co-Founder
Search + Gather
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Natalie Gaskin
Director of Strategy
Search + Gather
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Andre De Grasse
Olympic Champion, Author, Philanthropist and Investor
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Olivia Chow
Mayor of Toronto
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John Ruffolo
Founder & Managing Partner
Maverix Private Equity
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Senator Colin Deacon
Senator
Senate of Canada
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Daniel Eberhard
Founder & CEO
KOHO
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Fiona McKean
Co-Founder and Chair
Thistledown Foundation
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Michael Katchen
Co-founder and CEO
Wealthsimple
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Tessa Ohlendorf
Managing Director
Media.Monks
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Josh Izaac
Director of Product
Xanadu
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Jodi Kovitz
CEO
Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA)
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Rebecca Kacaba
CEO & Co-Founder
DealMaker
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Amr Abdelgawad
COO
FluidAIMedical
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Katelin Holloway
Founding Partner
Seven Seven Six
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Bryan Johnson
Founder/CEO Blueprint, Kernel & OS Fund. Previously founder/CEO Braintree Venmo
Blueprint
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Humza Teherany
Chief Technology & Digital Officer
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
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Jay Dawani
Co-founder & CEO
Lemurian Labs
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Dr. Kris Alexander
Professor of Video Games
Toronto Metropolitan University
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Hannah Sung
Co-Founder
Media Girlfriends
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Dr. Stephen Scherer
Professor Stephen Scherer, PhD DSc FRSC
Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)
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Amie Archibald
Freelance Journalist
CBC
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Jennifer Côté
Co-Founder & CEO
Opalia
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Pam Snively
Chief Data & Trust Officer
Telus
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Kayli Dale
Co-Founder & CEO
Friendlier
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Abbie Stein-MacLean
Head of Capital City Pilots
Edmonton Unlimited
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Alanna Lopes Souza
General Manager
Drive Capital
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Abu Batasi
Director, Sales
Lighthouse Labs
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Chef Susur Lee
Mutli-Award Winning Chef & Restaurateur
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Hon. Mary Ng
Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade, and Economic Development
Government of Canada
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Alex Li
Esports Lead, North America
MKTG Sports and Entertainment
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David Usher
Juno Award-Winning Musician, Creativity and AI Expert
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Lisa Zarzeczny
CEO & Cofounder
Elevate
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Josh Scott
Reporter
BetaKit
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Dr. Mohamad Sawwaf
Founder & CEO, Manzil
Manzil
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Neil Desai
Executive Vice-President, Technology
Viral Nation
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Sarah Saska
CEO
Feminuity
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Fadwa Mohanna
Founder & CEO
One37 ID
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Douglas Soltys
Editor in Chief
BetaKit
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Summit Bhatia
Director, Innovation and Policy
Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst
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Alex Norman
Co-Founder
TechTO
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Atty Mashatan
Canada Research Chair and an Associate Professor
Toronto Metropolitan University
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Noah Levy
Senior Vice President of Product Management, theScore
theScore
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Tyler Keenan
Senior Vice President, Global Revenue & Partnerships
OverActive Media
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Danielle Gifford
Executive Director, M51
The51
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Raymond Chik
Angelpreneer: Angel Investor / Serial Entrepreneur / Chip Design Engineer
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Ramona Pringle
Professor and Creative Technology Expert
Toronto Metropolitan University
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Mark Sam
Head of Canada
Plaid
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Kelsey Rolfe
Freelance Journalist
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Rachel Wong
Co-Founder
Monday Girl
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Istiana Bestari
Co-Founder
Monday Girl
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Marissa McNeelands
Founder & CEO
Toast
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April Hicke
Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer
Toast
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Danielle Brewin Graham
Co-Founder
The Firehood
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Claudette McGowan
CEO, Co-Founder
Protexxa / The Firehood
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Annie Dean

Atlassian
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Amber Mac
Innovation Expert & Co-Host of #TheFeed on SiriusXM
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Melissa Nightingale
Founder
Raw Signal Group
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Mallory Greene
Nurse
Eirene
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Gillian Hadfield
Chair & Director
Schwartz Reisman Institute
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Dario Wünsch
Esports Program Development Lead
Shopify Rebellion
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Brandon Zhao
Partner
Two Small Fish Ventures
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Sage Paul
Designer and Executive & Artistic Director
Indigenous Fashion Arts
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Rob McMonagle
Advisor to the Green Sectors
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Heather Crochetiere
Director, Industry Innovation
Foresight Canada
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Carol Anne Hilton
CEO & Founder
The Indigenomics Institute & The Global Centre for Indigenomics
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Jeremy Shaki
Co-Founder & CEO
Lighthouse Labs
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Jason Maghanoy
Publisher, Maclean's & Canadian Business
SJC Media
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Helen Huang
Chief Helen Officer
Co.Lab
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David Kennedy
VP Brand & Sponsorship
Bell Canada
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Grant Canary
Founder & CEO
Mast Reforestation
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Marie-Michele Beausoleil
Composer & Musician
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Daisy Qin
Strategy Director, Content
FCB Canada
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Jeff Ward
CEO
Animikii Indigenous Technology
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Jessica Lerro
AVP, Technology Business Management
Interac
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Rhiannon Rosalind
Founder & CEO
Conscious Economics
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Janine Rogan
CEO
Wealth Building Academy
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Tynomi Banks
World-Class Drag Entertainer
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Steve Lowry
Executive Director
AInBC
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Rohin Bansal
Director of Data Governance
TELUS
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Emily Hosie
Founder + CEO
Rebelstork
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Chivon John
Founder & Wellbeing Strategist
LightWork
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Annie Yan
VP, Fraud Product
TD
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Michael Boole
Manager- Anti-Money Laundering
FINTRAC
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Sean Joyce
Global Cybersecurity & Privacy Leader, US Cyber, Risk & Regulatory Leader
PwC
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Nora Jenkins Townson
Founder & CEO
Bright + Early
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Trisha Neogi
HR and Compensation Consultant
Bright + Early
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Balinder Ahluwalia
Senior Vice President Market Development Canada
Mastercard
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Kate Karn
Director Public Policy & A/Coordinator, Mastercard Changeworks
Mastercard Canada
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James Stewart
CEO
TrojAI
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Michelle Sinclair
Investor
Newtons Cradle
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Voula Vasilopoulos
Director, Talent Acquisition
Interac Corp.
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Jason McFadden
VP, Growth
Build with Assembly
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Meti Basiri
Co-Founder and CEO
ApplyBoard
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Brendan Frey
Founder, Board Member and Chief Innovation Officer
Deep Genomics
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Mathieu Lavoie
CTO
Flare
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Bobbie Racette
Founder & CEO
Virtual Gurus
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Sam Sebastian
Vice President, Google Cloud Canada
Google Canada
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Juanita Lee-Garcia
Executive Director
Upside Foundation
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Krista Jones
Chief Delivery Officer
MaRS Discovery District
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Jennifer Arnold
Co-founder & CEO
Minerva
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Tahseen Shabab
Co-Founder & CEO
Penfield.AI
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Michael Goldman
President & Owner
Facilitation First Inc.
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Sabrina Geremia
Vice President & Country Managing Director
Google Canada
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Neetu Sidhu
Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Moneris
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Dominique Simoneau-Ritchie
Chief Technology Officer
Affinity
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Isaac Souweine
Partner
Pender Ventures
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Dr. John P. Trougakos

University of Toronto | President of JPT Associates Inc.
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Kathryn Hume
VP Digital Investments Technology
RBC
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Anne Locke
Trust & Stakeholder Engagement
TELUS
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Alroy Almeida
Director, Deep Tech
Velocity
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Jack Armstrong
Award Winning Broadcaster & Toronto Raptors Game Analyst
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Corey Tonge
YouTube & TikTok Content Creator
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Emily Smiley
Director, Partnerships & Investor Relations
DMZ
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Jean Paul Chauvet
CEO
Lightspeed
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Debbie Gamble
Chief Officer, Innovation Labs & New Ventures
Interac Corp.
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Sasha Krstic
President
Mastercard Canada
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Joe Gagliese
Co-Founder & Co-CEO
Viral Nation
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Danielle Dufault
Host and Illustrator
Animalogic
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Kendryx Linscott
Chief Marketing Officer
Esport Canada
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Komal Singh
Senior Product Manager
Google Research
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Kristen Butler
Head of Performance Search
Google Canada
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Michel Falcon
Entrepreneur & Expert on Customer Experience and High-Performing Teams
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Mike Cascone
Vice President of Government Experience, Americas
Xero
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Odessa Paloma Parker
Writer, Stylist, & Contributing Art Editor at Globe Style Advisor
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Duri Alajrami
Chief Sales & Marketing Officer
Moneris
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Seema Lakhani
Ex-Chief Product Officer and General Manager, Wattpad
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Ali Asaria
Founder and CEO
Tulip
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Christina Hatziioannou
Head of Industry, Financial Services
Google
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Helen Kontozopoulos
Co-founder & Chief Tech Evangelist
ODAIA Intelligence
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Jay Rosenzweig
Social Impact Entrepreneur, Humanitarian, & Lawyer
Rosenzweig & Company
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Katrin Shechtman
Founder & CEO
Noka Software and Creative Inc.
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Nouhalia Chelkaoui
Founder
Scale Without Borders
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Albert Lai
Founder & CEO
Parallelz & Big Viking Games
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Jesse Wente
Writer & Broadcaster
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Jo-Anne Sanders
Vice President, PMO
Moneris
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Nicole Doray
Manager, Sustainable Communities
David Suzuki Foundation
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NIMKII AND THE NINIIS
Musical Group
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Olivia Glauberzon
Founder & CEO
AFTER9 Inc.
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Sarain Fox
Artist, Indigenous Activist & Ambassador
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Sophia Leung
Senior Vice President, Protect Platform, Enterprise Protect
TD
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Stephanie Lipp
CEO & Co-Founder
MycoFutures
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Victoria Wilkes
Director, Corporate Development
Moneris
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Jenn Harper
Founder & CEO
Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics
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Chelsee Pettit
Founder
aaniin retail inc.
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Sam Kashani
Country Director
Too Good To Go
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Cat Miller
Chief Technology Officer
Flatiron Health
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Tiffany Callender
CEO & Co-Founder
FACE Coalition
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Abigail Coholic
Senior Director of Channel Partnerships
Ecopia AI
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Rumeet Billan
CEO and Owner
Women of Influence+
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Dina Sharif
Director of Global Communications
CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort)
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Darrell Schuurman
CEO
Canada's 2SLGBTOI+ Chamber of Commerce
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Samir Chhabra
Director General of Marketplace Framework Policy
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
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Mona Eghanian
Assistant Vice-President, Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN)
Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI)
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Graham Budd
Founder
Quiver
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Jennifer Niece
Manager (A), Strategic Policy & Innovation, Transportation Services
City of Toronto
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Red Sky
Indigenous Perfomance Company
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Johnathan Nightingale
Founder
Raw Signal Group
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Mark Hyland
SVP Business Development and Marketing
MaRS DD
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Rushmi Hashram
Director, Cybersecurity Workforce Training
Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, TMU
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Farah Nasser
Anchor
Global National
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Jared Lindzon
Freelance Journalist
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Kathy Hay
CEO
Kids Help Phone
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Nova Nicole
Performance Coach, Inclusive Facilitator & Wellness Advocate
ex-Shopify
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Drew Lindsay
Co-Founder
GuruLink
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Roy Pereira
CEO
Unified
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Rizwan Khalfan
EVP, Chief Digital & Payments Officer
TD
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Janice Farrell Jones
SVP, Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship
TD
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Joyce Hui
Director, Sponsorships, North America
Mastercard
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Tabatha Bull
President & CEO
CCAB
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Alexander Rau
Partner, Advisory Services - Cyber Security
KPMG
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Rohan Nair
Head of Engineering
Nautical Commerce
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Bohdan Zabawskyj
Chief Product Officer
Fortay
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Tirso Garcia
DJ
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Maria Cortellucci
Top Creator Lead
YouTube Canada
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Andrew Peterson
Head of Canada
YouTube
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Sunil Sharma
Managing Director
Techstars Toronto
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Hilary Kilgour
Managing Partner and Founder
The Venture Fund
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Avery Francis
Founder and CEO
Bloom
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Ira Goldstein
Founder & CEO
Kernel Advisory
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Viet Vu
Manager of Economic Research, the Dais
Toronto Metropolitan University
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Alex Vronces
Executive Director
Fintechs Canada
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DJ Kiki LeFreak
Kirsten Iversen
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Zayna Khayat
Health Futurist
Deloitte
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Farah Mohamed
CEO, Prince’s Trust Canada & Founder, FORA
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Marc Low
Director of Innovation & Emerging Technology
KPMG
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Giles Sutherland
VP Business Development, Interac Verified
Interac Corp.
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Dr. Chitra Anand
Tech and Communications Executive & Advisor
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Temur Durrani
Technology Reporter and Podcast Host
The Globe and Mail
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Mike DeRutyer
Manager, Emerging Technologies Office
Ontario Ministry of Transportation
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Jeanne Vetter
Head of Business Development, North America
Riot Games
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Mark Ang
Co-Founder & CEO
GoBolt
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Willa Black
Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Cisco Canada
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Chris Albinson
President & CEO
Communitech
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Ariel Garten
Co-Founder & Chief Evangelist Officer
Muse
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Minister Victor Fedeli
Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
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Carly Weeks
National Health Reporter
The Globe & Mail
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Marie Chevrier Schwartz
CEO & Founder
Sampler
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Sundeep Sandhu
Vice President, Cyber Security & CISO Rogers Bank
Rogers
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Melissa Vincent
Journalist and Researcher
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Jordyn Benattar
Founder & President
Speakwell
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Duke Chang
President and CEO
Canada Helps
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Leah Perry
Senior Manager, Cleantech,
MaRS DD
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Maylee Todd
Artist
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Alpha Chan
Chief Information Security Officer
Toronto Police Service
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Raed Kadri
Vice-President, Strategic Initiatives & Head of the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN)
Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI)
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Kurtis Conner
Comedian & YouTube Creator
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Toju Ogbeide
CEO & Founder
Goodszilla
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Aviva Klein
Vice President, Product Management
Mastercard
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Philippa King
Assistant Vice President of Strategic Programs
Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI)
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Mariya Belmessova
Global Growth Marketing Leader
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Sathish Bala
CEO
Schoolio
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Shannyn Hill
LUXELIFE SOUND DJ Shannyn Hill
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Amanda Rach Lee
Content Creator & Artist
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AsapSCIENCE (Mitchell Moffit & Gregory Brown)
Content Creators
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Adam Castle
Director of Venture Services
WEtech Alliance
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Shoaib Ahmed
Founder & CEO
Scooty
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Flavio Volpe
President and CEO
Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA)
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Samanta Krishnapillai
Founder, Managing Director & Editor in Chief
ON CANADA PROJECT INC.
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Tyler Meredith
Founding Partner
Meredith Boessenkool Policy Advisors
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Jaimie Boyd
Partner & National Digital Government Leader
Deloitte Canada
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Natalie Rivera
LUXELIFE SOUND DJ Natalie Rivera
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Seema Sanghavi
Founder & CEO
Cooks Who Feed Inc.
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Khasan Aripov
Founder & CEO
SP Studios Canada
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Pay Chen
Food Writer and TV & Radio Host
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Sanja Fidler
Vice President of AI research at NVIDIA
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Harriet Ekperigin
Vice President, Mental Health
Greenshield
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Taylor McMillan
Vice President, Creative Director, DEI
TMU Esports
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Krista Pawley
Co-Chair
EXCITE
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Paul Veeneman
Product and Solution Architecture
Blueridge Networks
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Aren Jo
Content Creator, Founder, Artist
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Julie Nolke
Content Creator, Actor, Writer
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Reni Odetoyinbo
Content Creator
Reni The Resource
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Neil Kostecki
VP of Product
Coveo
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Tess Barclay
Founder & Content Creator
Busy Blooming
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Christine Trinh
Co-Founder
Beeja May
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Lisa Wallace
Co-Founder & Co-CEO
Assemble
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Adam Burchill
Head of Sports and Gaming, North America
TikTok
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Kirsten Thibault
Manager, Mid-Market Sales
Google
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Jarret Leaman
Founder, Chief Strategy Officer
Centre for Indigenous Innovation and Technology (CIIT)
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Sunil Chand
VP, Cyber and Information Security Officer
OLG
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Ashley McKenzie-Barnes
Creative Director & Curator
D.PE Agency
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Komal Minhas
Resilience Educator, Business Strategist & CEO of Karseva
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Samantha Tom
Senior Director, Head of Legal & Compliance
Borrowell
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Yassir Jiwan
Director, Financial Services & Insurance
Deloitte
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Saba Shariff
Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy, Product & Innovation Officer
Symcor
Read More
Shekher Puri
Vice President, Digital Components and Platforms
RBC
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Max Nokhrin
Canada Partnerships Lead
Xero
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Bob Beachler
VP of Product
Untether AI
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Steph Honey
LUXELIFE SOUND DJ Steph Honey
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Reetu Maz
Entrepreneur
Brick and Mortar Academy
Read More
Bert Floyd
Senior Manager, Digital Accessibility
TD
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Iara Rios
Strategist, Media and Content Tech
Read More
AsapSCIENCE (Mitchell Moffit & Gregory Brown)
Content Creators
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Muxin Ma
COO
Pontosense
Read More
Alexandra Reilly
Head of Marketing
TechTO
Read More
Michael Smith
Chief Impact Officer
IMPACT BRIDGE
Read More
rodrigo-fernandez-stoll
Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll
Actor, Director, Comedian
RODFS CORP
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