OUR COMMITMENT

Michael Buhr is a seasoned technology executive with over 30 years of experience in Silicon Valley (as founder, CEO, EIR, and Fortune 500 executive), including leadership roles at Apple, Adobe, and eBay. He has built, bought, invested in, and sold companies. He has demonstrated expertise in strategic leadership, product innovation, and a deep understanding of building businesses. He is also a C100 Board Member and has been a Charter Member for over 12 years.

Michael grew up in Ottawa, graduated in Computer Engineering from Queen’s University, lives in Silicon Valley, and is passionate about supporting, inspiring, and connecting Canada’s most promising entrepreneurial leaders.

Having grown up in Canada and with a long history in the Valley, Afraj is a former venture-backed founder, early-stage investor, and seasoned operator. He was previously a Partner at Founders Fund-backed On Deck (USD $70M raised), where he worked with and invested in founders. He led a community of 300+ scaling CEOs representing 31 countries, 15 unicorns, and $10B in collective capital raised. Prior to On Deck, Afraj was a Director at RBC's ventures arm and a founder of Drop Mobility. Afraj began his career at Google and Georgian Partners-backed Nova (fka Polar). He is passionate about investing in and helping founders overcome their most consequential company-building and strategic challenges.

As a seasoned Communications expert, Marie applies strategic marketing and integrated communications planning to drive business objectives, with trust-building and brand reputation at the centre. Her passion for storytelling has taken her to over 15 developing countries working for global humanitarian organizations, where she captured the stories of inspiring entrepreneurs intent on making their communities a better place. Most recently, Marie built the communications function at BenchSci, a Toronto biotech working at the intersection of AI technology and biology.

As a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), Anna began her career in public relations and was quickly drawn to the fast-paced and irreplaceable impact of events and experiential marketing. Her extensive experience spans retail, government, post-secondary, healthcare and more. Anna earned her undergraduate degree from Western University's Media, Information and Technoculture Program and a post-graduate certificate from Humber College in Public Relations.

Vishal has been a founder and early startup employee, managed due diligence and investment efforts for angel groups, and worked at multiple innovation spaces in the Toronto-Waterloo region, notably OneEleven. He has led efforts in launching, managing and delivering bespoke programs to help founders build capacity in their talent and ensure managers and rising leaders grow alongside the scale of their companies.

As a seasoned veteran in the ecosystem, Vishal also brings a vast and inclusive network of stakeholders, including founders, mentors and venture capitalists. He completed his Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) at the University of Waterloo and has an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from India.

Passionate about supporting the Canadian entrepreneurship and innovation community, Conor brings extensive experience in managing complex, national programs. He played a pivotal role in the success of the Lazaridis ScaleUp Program, supporting over 80 companies and helping them raise more than $2 billion.

Conor excels in creating impactful programming centred on best practices in people operations for founders and executives. With a background in Sports and Event Marketing, he has organized large-scale events and programs, including support for the Paralympic Games in Toronto.