Annie Thériault, Managing Partner at CBIV, has been immersed in venture capital, impact investing, royalty financing, and managing capital markets strategies throughout her career. Annie is a thought leader in the field of inclusive health technology investing with a gender and impact lens. As a lead investor, Annie serves on the board of directors of several North American and European venture-backed companies.

She is also often an advisor or speaker at health technology and global health conferences and, prior to the launch of CBIV, was Chief Investment Officer at Grand Challenges Canada following a successful career in traditional investment management. Annie obtained her PhD in Management from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, is a CFA Charterholder, and holds the ICD.D designation. She also has a Master’s degree in Business Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours in Chemistry from Mount Allison University. 

Danika Kelly is a health and wellness professional and trained socio-cultural scholar in issues around female health and representation. For the past 14 years she’s worked globally focusing on health advancement and knowledge translation in developing economies. Danika has a strong history of leadership excellence in the social innovation space —winning awards and recognition from Telus and The Future of Good, DMZ Woman of the Year, FemTech Analytics, Femtech Focus, Alberta Women Entrepreneurs, and more. Danika acts as an advisor on sex and gender equity to the Commonwealth Businesswomen Network and the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs

Dr. Wendy Cukier is a professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University. She has taught entrepreneurship for many years and helped found several startups. She has also written many articles and co-authored the bestseller Innovation Nation: Canadian Leadership From Java to Jurassic Park. Previously the Vice President of Research and Innovation at TMU (formerly Ryerson), she has helped develop the world’s top ranked university based incubator – DMZ – and founded a network of incubators across the country – the Incubate Innovate Network of Canada (I-INC).

She is also the Founder and Academic Director of the Diversity Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University, which has over 100 full-time staff, 100 research associates from around the world and more than 200 industry partners focused on dimensions of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, future skills and entrepreneurship. As an ecosystem partner with Canada’s 50 – 30 Challenge, the Diversity Institute develops tools for SMEs to promote inclusive work environments and reduce barriers for equity-deserving groups. The Diversity Institute leads the Inclusive Innovation and Entrepreneurship Network (IIE-Net) and delivers a wide range of programmes focused on building capacity for entrepreneurs as well as pathways to employment. 

She is the Academic Director of the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH), a national network and accessible digital platform supported by the Government of Canada that addresses the needs of diverse women entrepreneurs across regions and sectors. She is the Academic Research Director of the Future Skills Centre, overseeing a comprehensive research agenda and supporting innovative pilot projects.

She has received many awards for her volunteer work including a YWCA Women of Distinction Award, an International Women’s Forum (IWF) 2020 Women Who Make a Difference Award, two Harry Jerome Awards, a Women of Influence Award and a WXN Top 100 Most Powerful Women Award. She was named one of the “100 Alumni who shaped the Century” by the University of Toronto. She was recently awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal for her significant contributions to Canada and has also received Canada’s Meritorious Service Cross, one of the country’s highest civilian honors. She holds a PhD in Information Systems from the Schulich School of Business, an MBA (Marketing and Information Systems) an MA, and honorary doctorates from Laval and Concordia universities.

Geneviève Lavertu, LLB, BCL, MSc, is the Director, Government Affairs and Policy at Johnson & Johnson Medical Technology in Canada. She is a senior executive in the health technologies sector, who prior to joining J&J MedTech was a consultant with life sciences companies advising on their commercialization strategy, and with the government advising on their life sciences strategy. 

She has also been active in the medtech, biotech and pharmaceutical sectors for over 20 years, working in and with large multinational corporations, SMEs and non-profit organizations in various senior roles in mergers and acquisitions, business development, digital health, clinical research and regulatory affairs, and as general counsel and corporate secretary and board director.

Ms Lavertu 

• is a member of the C.D. Howe Institute’s Health Policy Council;
• chairs the Research Oversight Committee of two large scale digital health R&D projects overseen by the CQDM life sciences research consortium;
• is a member of the Governance Committee of Québec’s Réseau d’Évaluation de l’Innovation en Santé;
• is a founding Board member of MEDTEQ+, member of its Governance Committee, and Chair of its Investment Committee; and
• has also served on the Advisory Board of the Medical Device Research Centre of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).

With over 20 years of work experience in public health, research, and policy, Glenys is passionate about improving the health and well-being of women+, children and people of all genders. As Executive Director at the BC Representative for Children and Youth (RCY), Glenys led reviews and investigations of critical incidents involving young people in BC and advocated for their rights and interests. As Director of Women’s, Maternal and Early Childhood Health at the BC Ministry of Health, Glenys drove policy work to improve health equity, including free prescription contraception, gender-based violence, maternity care and child and maternal public health services. Glenys is a creative and innovative systems-thinker with a knack for creating interdisciplinary teams to address complex health equity challenges. Glenys has strong communication, research and leadership skills and a deep commitment to promoting anti-racism initiatives and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

Hilary Kilgour is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Audaxa Ventures, a seed stage investment fund that invests early stage capital in the most promising tech solutions in climate and health. 

Hilary is deeply embedded in Canada’s innovation ecosystem. She has built cutting edge accelerators and innovation programs and has guided hundreds of founders through the complexities of the capital landscape, helping them harness the country’s competitive edge. Hilary is an Entrepreneur in Residence focused on Climate and Health at MaRS Discovery District, Canada’s largest innovation hub, and a Founder Services Advisor at ventureLAB, a leading tech hub that helps Canadian startups build, grow, and scale their businesses. She was Director of Investment for Spring and Director of Future Capital (formerly Female Funders) at Highline Beta.

Previously, Hilary led sustainability and innovation for global organizations for more than a decade. Having worked across government, philanthropic, social enterprise and corporate leadership roles, she specializes in working with bold leaders at the intersection of strategy, leadership, culture, and systems change. Her 15+ years of leadership experience spans Fortune’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies, startups, and leading high growth, global brands in diverse sectors. Hilary has been recognized by Clean50, Corporate Knights and YWCA for her leadership in scaling impact for global organizations. With an MBA in Sustainable Systems from Presidio Graduate School, she completed her undergraduate degree from Queen’s University where she was an All-Canadian athlete.

Jackie is the Co-founder and CEO of Sprout Family, a digital health platform dedicated to enhancing the family-building journey through technology. She leads a team dedicated to providing equitable, accessible, and affordable resources for fertility care, reproductive technologies, surrogacy, and adoption, regardless of age, race, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Before founding Sprout, Jackie served as Chief of Staff at Properly, a Toronto-based proptech company. Her career began in Investment Banking at Moelis & Company, followed by Private Equity at CPP Investments, where she focused on technology and healthcare sectors. Jackie holds a BCOM degree from Queen’s University.

Katheleen Eva is an investor at StandUp Ventures, a $55M AUM venture fund that invests in early-stage, women-led, B2B SaaS, digital health, and marketplace startups across Canada and the US. Katheleen has a background in neuroscience and psychology, and being particularly passionate about women’s health, was building in the space prior to joining StandUp Ventures in 2020.

Krista Hogan is the Director, Product Development focused on Health and Dental group benefits. She is passionate about driving diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) within group benefit plans. Through enhancements to extended health care and spending account products, she is helping Sun Life plan members access new coverage and supporting Sun Life plan sponsors on their DE&I journeys. Her team brought to market industry-first inclusive Family Building coverage. Most recently, she has been focused on closing the gender health gap for women through group benefits coverage and solutions.

Krista holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University. During her 12+ years with Sun Life, she has held several positions in Marketing, Project Management and Operations. Krista is a part of a Sun Life Allies Acting for Change forum and leads a women’s health working committee. This has enabled her to develop strong relationships and a deep understanding of the organization and client needs, which she leverages to drive product innovation.

Liza Vityuk is a Partner at McKinsey & Company and has more than 15 years of experience in the Consumer space, and since joining McKinsey in 2012 she has focused on commercial and growth strategies, building digital businesses, and improving customer experience with retail, consumer goods and direct-to-consumer clients globally. Liza is the Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in Canada which oversees programs and efforts for more than 850 McKinsey colleagues.

Parambir Bhangu, PhD., is an Executive Director, Search & Evaluation at Organon, a global healthcare company dedicated to redefining the future of women’s health and with a mission to deliver impactful medicines and solutions for a healthier every day. To help Organon deliver on the company mission and vision, Parambir engages the external innovation ecosystem to support search and evaluation, due diligence and execution of business development opportunities in strategic focus areas of Women’s Health.

Parambir has an extensive background across Medical Affairs and Clinical Development. In his previous role, as the Country Medical Director, he built and led the Canadian Medical Affairs organization at Organon. Before Organon, at Merck he was the Director, Medical Affairs in Canada leading the Vaccines, Women’s Health and New Products portfolios.

Prior to Merck, Parambir was with Pfizer, also in Medical Affairs roles, having transitioned his career path from Clinical Development, where he spent 7 years of his early career in Global Project Management. 

From an educational standpoint, Parambir holds a PhD in Biology from the University of York, United Kingdom.

In 2022, Roxanne founded Cap Inclusive after spending the last decade developing transformation strategies for large and small businesses worldwide. Cap Inclusive is dedicated to defining inclusive processes for its clients, primarily investment funds and partners in the financial and technology ecosystems. Previously, as Chief Operating Officer at Panache Ventures, Roxanne led strategic initiatives supporting over 100 companies in our portfolio and facilitated a $100 million fundraising round, improving operational efficiency across multiple offices. As International Director at the consulting firm EY Fabernovel, Roxanne advised international leaders such as L’Oréal and Thyssenkrupp, spearheading cultural transformation initiatives and innovative decision-making models that are now taught at Sciences Po in Paris. She also directed the launch strategies for innovative business models at Mercedes-Benz, Bell Canada, and McKesson. Additionally, Roxanne serves on the boards of Canadian Women in VC, a network of over 350 women in venture capital in Canada, and the DEI Taskforce of Startup Montréal. Roxanne holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and has training in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from Cornell University.

Sara Jonsdottir is the visionary Founder & CEO of Revol Cares, a company revolutionizing menstrual care with medically recognized, toxin-free leak proof underwear. Driven to highlight the gaps in women’s health and sustainability, Sara has made waves in the market, raising the bar in safety and efficacy. Through her innovative human-centered designs, and fueled by her passion to challenge harmful stigmas in period care, she is committed to creating products that empower women and menstruators everywhere.

Sarah is a business development and operations professional with extensive experience fostering research and innovation and developing strategic business operations. Sarah is the Chief Operating Officer of The Research Institute at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (RSJH), overseeing an operating budget of $6.9M, more than $49M in research funding annually, 200 researchers and 77,000 square feet of dedicated research space. Sarah is also the co-chair for innovation and co-chair for research strategy at the Hospital. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for Innovation Factory.

Prior to RSJH, Sarah successfully created the innovation office at York University to provide a myriad of services to internal and external stakeholders. Over eight years, she raised more than $14M to support innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives across the University and in the community. She also oversaw the creation of a pan-university entrepreneurship hub which comprises 12 different programs, including a 10,000 square foot innovation centre, YSpace Markham and an accelerator for women-led product and service-based ventures, ELLA. In addition, Sarah was co-lead for the strategic development of innovation and entrepreneurship across York University.

Shelley Kuipers is investing in the world she wants to live in. As an activist in business, entrepreneurship and investment, Shelley likes to take on the status quo, and seek out democratized business models and platforms. Shelley is currently a general partner for The51’s Fund I, Fund II, and The51 Food and AgTech Fund, with a Fund III planned for 2025.

Previous to co-founding The51, Shelley founded crowdsourcing company Chaordix and technology and marketing firm, Stormworks. She was also the co-founder of IOVIA, based in London, UK. Shelley also collaboratively runs her family office Adventure Capital, with her partner and two sons. Shelley has had the opportunity to live and work in Canada, US, Germany and the UK, as well as lead global commercialization efforts across markets in the US, UK/Europe, SE Asia/Australia and Africa.

Shelley has been early-stage investing for more than 20 years. Her investment experience started in oil and gas, but she quickly diversified her investments into the tech sector with a focus on innovation-driven companies across many sectors. To date their family office has made +30 early-stage investments.

Shelley’s most notable investment was Solium, which was acquired by Morgan Stanley in 2019 for $1.1B. Shelley supports many founders, and ventures as an advisor, board observer and director, including Bobbie Racette Founder and CEO of Virtual Gurus.

Swati is driven by helping people nurture healthier lives. She is the founder of Koble, a digital health and well-being platform for women and families, which was recently acquired by Dialogue. Swati now leads Women’s Health at Dialogue where she is focused on bringing equitable healthcare access to all women.

Swati started her career as a software developer, helping neuroscientists build tools to make informed patient treatment decisions. This experience was formative in Swati realizing, firsthand, the impact tech can have on improving health outcomes. 

Over the years, through various leadership roles at the University Health Network, League and TELUS, Swati has helped leading healthcare providers, employers, and pharmacy retailers launch and scale digital health solutions, supporting millions of people across the globe to manage their health.

Swati holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Bioinformatics from the University of Waterloo, along with an MBA from Ivey Business School in Canada. She resides in Toronto with her husband and their son, Kabir, and enjoys exploring the world with her family.