Build Bold.Grow Smart.Lead The Future.

Rick Glumac was first elected as MLA for Port Moody-Coquitlam (now Port Moody-Burquitlam) in 2017. He was appointed as Minister of State for AI and New Technologies in July 2025.

Rick comes to government from the tech sector and a background in computer engineering. He previously served as Minister of State for Trade, Parliamentary Secretary for Technology, as well as Premier's Liaison to Washington state.

Rick graduated from Simon Fraser University with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electronics Engineering. He has worked in a variety of high-tech industries, including animation on films such as Shrek 2, video games, and developing mobile apps for Fortune 500 companies. Rick understands first-hand the value of B.C.'s high-tech sector and the benefit it brings to the economy.

Laura Jones is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Business Council of British Columbia, a non-partisan organization representing leading businesses across all sectors of the provincial economy. She is a nationally recognized public policy leader, known for her work on regulatory modernization and economic competitiveness, including the creation of Canada's annual Red Tape Awareness Week.

Laura has chaired the federal External Advisory Committee on Regulatory Competitiveness and has advised governments at both the provincial and federal levels. Before joining the Business Council, she was the Chief Strategic Officer and Executive Vice President of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, where she led national advocacy, research, and member engagement initiatives.

Her work has been published by the OECD and the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Mount Holyoke College and an M.A. in Economics from Simon Fraser University.

Joslyn Young is a senior executive with over 20 years of experience in stakeholder relations, government affairs, and communications.

As CEO of the Surrey & White Rock Board of Trade, she drives economic growth and business advocacy. Her background includes leadership roles at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, CN Rail, and regional municipal organizations.

Shams Hirani is the President of EleWin Consulting Inc., BC's exclusive Sandler Sales and Leadership coaching firm. With over 25 years of B2B sales leadership experience and an MBA in Marketing and Business Development, Shams works with small and mid-sized businesses to build high-performing sales teams, sharpen sales processes, and drive sustainable revenue growth.

As a Sandler-certified coach and trainer, he brings practical, no-nonsense frameworks that help business owners and sales professionals close faster, close at full value, and stop leaving money on the table. He is known for turning sales conversations into consistent, predictable revenue for his clients.

Nazreen Mohammed is a Manager of Major Accounts at BDC, Canada's bank for entrepreneurs, where she partners with business owners to unlock growth, navigate complexity, and build resilient, high-performing companies. With over 22 years at BDC, Nazreen has supported countless entrepreneurs by delivering hundreds of millions of dollars in growth capital, while also connecting them to advisory services that drive expansion, operational excellence, and long-term success.

Her career is shaped by a global and deeply personal journey. Born in Fiji, Nazreen immigrated to Canada in 1984 and later spent eight years in Sydney, Australia, continuing her work in the finance industry while raising her two children. These experiences have shaped her ability to connect with entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds and understand the realities of building and growing a business.

Over the years, Nazreen has seen firsthand how the right support can transform a business. She recalls working with an entrepreneur who was struggling to scale due to limited access to capital and operational challenges. By structuring a tailored financing solution and connecting them with advisory expertise, that business was able to streamline operations, expand into new markets, and significantly grow its revenue. Today, it stands as a strong, sustainable company, creating jobs and contributing to the local economy. For Nazreen, moments like these reinforce why she is so passionate about the work she does.

Beyond her professional role, Nazreen is a committed community leader, actively involved with the Boards of Trade, Chambers of Commerce, and other business associations. She is passionate about strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem and fostering meaningful connections that help businesses and communities thrive.

Nazreen's philosophy is grounded in a simple belief: "When you invest in people and relationships, growth naturally follows."

Jasmeen Kaur Judge is the CEO & Co-Founder of CoreOrbit, COEngine, and the NextGen Summit — a BC-based marketing, systems & automations firm and technology company built to help entrepreneurs transform their operations, scale with confidence, and lead the future of business.

With a deep commitment to building a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem in British Columbia, Jasmeen founded the NextGen Business Summit, BC's most anticipated business event of 2026, bringing together investors, founders, Govt. and business leaders for one powerful day of insight, strategy, and connection.

She believes every entrepreneur deserves a seat at the table, and she built this event to make that possible.

With over 8 years of Board leadership experience (including serving as Board Chair), and a strong background in HR, event organizing, business consulting, and workforce development, Badhri plays a key role in shaping CoreOrbit's direction and market presence.

Badhri specializes in building meaningful connections between organizations, newcomers, industry partners, and community networks. His work includes leading business consulting initiatives, strengthening brand visibility, and organizing impactful networking and professional events that bring people together.

His approach is rooted in collaboration, inclusion, and creating platforms where professionals and organizations can connect, grow, and succeed. At CoreOrbit, he is committed to elevating community impact and expanding opportunities for newcomers, entrepreneurs, and professionals across BC.

Aiman El-Ramly is a founder, board director, and strategic growth architect focused on building AI-native platforms that transform decision-making in complex environments.

He is the Founder and CEO of Aiman El-Ramly Promotional Group (AEPG), with a focus on helping leaders translate fragmented market signals into clear strategy and accountable execution.

He co-founded ZE PowerGroup Inc. and ZE Power Engineering, scaling global businesses, and serves as a board director at Zema Global Data Corporation and Yocale.

Aiman holds an MBA from Royal Roads University, a BA from the University of British Columbia, and is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC).

Born and raised within the Squamish Nation and Sechelt Nation, Talaysay Campo is a respected Indigenous entrepreneur and health and wellness advocate, specializing in business leadership, cultural revitalization, and economic reconciliation.

As co-owner of Talaysay Tours, she has helped build one of British Columbia's leading Indigenous cultural tourism businesses, creating transformative land-based experiences that advance cultural education, environmental stewardship, and reconciliation through Indigenous knowledge and ethnobotany. Under her leadership, the company continues to strengthen relationships between Indigenous communities, corporate partners, educational institutions, and the tourism sector.

Talaysay is also the founder of THEDA X NENA, a skincare line rooted in plant medicine from the North Shore Mountains, inspired by the teachings of her matriarchs and created in honour of her mother, Candace Theda Campo. The brand reflects generations of ancestral knowledge, healing, and connection to the land.

Her leadership has been recognized through BC tourism industry awards, including honouring her contributions to Indigenous tourism and being recognized as Tourism Woman of the Year. She has also shared her voice as a TED speaker through her presentation, "The Door of Opportunities," where she speaks to resilience, identity, and creating pathways for future generations.

Above all, Talaysay is most proud of being an auntie to Simaya and Cyrus Campo, grounding her work in family, legacy, and the responsibility of carrying culture forward for the next generation.

Norm Friend is widely recognized as an expert in expansion strategies, franchise development and franchisee recruitment with almost 40 years' experience in all aspects of franchising. He was recognized by Global (World) Franchise Magazine as the go-to-expert for Canadian franchising.

Norm has negotiated the sale of over 250 businesses including unit franchises, sub-franchises, and the sale of two Canadian franchise networks. He is recognized by the Courts as an Expert Franchise Witness.

He has presented numerous seminars, and keynote talks to business organizations, universities, colleges, professional associations, and financial institutions throughout North America, including the U.S. Department of Trade and Commerce.

Praveen has been a principal of Varshney Capital Corp., a Vancouver based family office, since 1991. He's also a Founding Director of Pyfera Growth Capital & a Founding Director of Humanitas Smart Planet Fund, both with a social impact focus. Mr. Varshney obtained his UBC Sauder BComm in 1987 and is a FCPA, FCA. He has been a member of the Vancouver Chapter of EO since 1996 and a founding Director & Charter Member of TiE Vancouver since 2000.

He has been a Co-Founder, Director or Officer of many publicly traded and private companies over the years such as one of Canada's first producing diamonds mines, Mogo and Little Kitchen Academy. He also serves or has served on numerous charity boards over the years including The Vancouver Foundation, The Vancouver Police Foundation and Foundations for Social Change.

Praveen is also a recipient of Business in Vancouver's 40 Under 40 Awards, the 2020 Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Wendy McDonald Diversity Awards Outstanding Mentor and a 2025 prestigious King Charles III's Coronation Medal for community service. He was also listed as one of the Top 500 Most Influential Business Leaders in BC 2021-2026.

Keith Ippel is a serial impact entrepreneur and investor. He has co-founded five ventures, including Spring Activator, a Vancouver-based organization created to help change the world through entrepreneurship and impact investing.

To date, Spring has supported 3,000+ entrepreneurs through incubation, acceleration, and investment readiness programs, and has helped 1,100 investors step into impact investing.

Keith also co-founded the Spring Investing Collective, Canada's largest early-stage impact investing network, as well as the Spring Impact Capital Fund, a pre-seed to seed-stage fund focused on the intersection of People and Planetary Health.

Jas Rai is a high-performing entrepreneur and mother. Jas spent years in the corporate world before making the deliberate choice to build something of her own. She became a Chopped Leaf franchisee, growing her portfolio to multiple locations and mastering every layer of what it takes to run a real business: operations, people, numbers, and growth. She then co-founded Creekside Millworks, expanding her entrepreneurial footprint into the trades: an industry that demands precision, trust, and relentless execution. Through it all, she was intentionally designing a life centered on family and freedom.

Now, Jas channels everything she has earned: the wins, the hard lessons, the boardroom instincts into Rise & Thrive. As a Certified Canfield Success Principles Coach and founder of Rise & Thrive, she creates the room she once needed: a supportive community where women in business strengthen their mindset, understand their money, and believe that bigger is possible. Real strategy. Real accountability. A community that moves with them.

Pankaj Bagga is a serial entrepreneur and accredited angel investor, currently Co-founder and Managing Partner of LaunchBC (VCC) Fund. He brings over a decade of experience mentoring founders, advising boards, and building innovation programs across North America, Europe, and India.

Pankaj has served as Mentor, Advisor, Panelist, and Board Member with leading universities and ecosystem organizations including UBC, SFU, York University, NAIT, UVic, Capilano University, Bishop's University, BITS, Draper University, Spring Activator, Founder Institute, Foresight Canada, Futurpreneur, USAKs, and YWCA.

As a Board Advisor to NextGen Summit, Pankaj leverages his experience as a fund manager and angel investor to shape partnerships, sponsorships, and youth-focused programming that connect student and early-stage founders with capital, mentorship, and global networks.

Jas Kaur is a Senior Private Banker at Scotia Wealth Management. With nearly a decade of experience in banking, she advises high-net-worth clients on sophisticated wealth strategies. Over the span of her career, she has built a reputation for excellence across advisory and specialized roles, combining technical expertise with a highly personalized, relationship-driven approach.

Recognized as an emerging leader in both business and community, Jas is deeply committed to mentorship and economic empowerment. She is passionate about mentoring professionals and entrepreneurs in building their personal brands, scaling their businesses, and navigating growth with confidence and clarity.

Her ongoing community involvement reflects a commitment to fostering meaningful connections and advancing collective success. As an advisory board member for Next Gen Summit, Jas brings a strategic, forward-thinking perspective.

Vivek Dhume is a food, retail, and international-trade executive with more than three decades of operating experience across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America. His work spans agriculture, food manufacturing, supply chain, large-format retail, and cross-border trade, with a consistent focus on connecting smallholder farming communities to enterprise-scale buyers.

As Founder, President & CEO of Fruitsy Inc., Vivek builds vertically integrated agrifood supply chains designed to deliver fair returns to producers while meeting the cost, quality, traceability, and compliance standards of global retail and foodservice customers. His approach pairs commercial discipline with a long-standing commitment to producer livelihoods, equitable sourcing, and more sustainable packaging, including Tetra Recart formats in place of traditional metal cans.

Across his career, Vivek has led cross-border ventures in Canada, India, and the UAE, managed complex trade and compliance matters, contributed to bilateral trade alliances, and held category-leadership responsibilities inside one of North America's largest grocery retailers.

Beata Jirava is the CEO of Breathe Salt Wellness, a Langley, BC-based wellness business focused on restorative health, breath-centered wellbeing, and practical tools that help people recover, reset, and perform with more clarity.

With a B.B.A., entrepreneurial experience, and a background as an international multi-discipline athlete, Beata brings a rare mix of business discipline, human performance insight, and community-minded leadership. Her work sits at the intersection of wellness, strategic collaboration, and helping people build the energy and resilience required to lead well.

At NextGEN Summit, Beata contributes as a coordinator and moderator, helping guide founder-facing conversations with clarity, pace, and a practical understanding of what it takes to show up under pressure.