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Paul is one of Canada’s most successful technology entrepreneurs. An experienced founder, investor and operator, Paul’s foresight and commitment to innovation led him to co-found Solect Technology Group (Solect), a leading provider of enterprise billing and customer care for ISPs globally. Paul was Solect’s Chair and CEO and led the expansion of Solect to customers on five continents and was responsible for bringing the internet to nine different Caribbean countries. Solect was sold to Amdocs in 2000.As an entrepreneur, Paul has founded and served as CEO of several companies including Casero, AudienceView Ticketing, Solect Technology Group and Southwest Technology Group. Until February of last year, he was Executive Chair of Scalar Decisions, one of Canada’s leading Information Technology Integrators. Scalar was sold to CDW Inc. a global leader in IT Solutions. Paul also serves as the Chair of the Investment Advisory Committee Imperial Capital, a Canadian Private Equity Firm with over $2 Billion in Assets Under Management.Mr. Atkinson is a Managing Partner of Southwest Sun Inc., a diversified investment partnership with interests in the technology, food and beverage, automotive and real estate industries. He is a founder of Southwest Sun and has been a Managing Partner since 1990. As part of his role at Southwest Sun, he is a founder and Managing Partner of Equals Brewing, an integrated contract manufacturer that provides supply chain solutions to the Ontario Craft Beer industry.Paul was Chair of the Board of the Toronto International Film Festival from 2007 to 2013. He sits on the Advisory Board of the Richard Ivey School of Business Administration at The University of Western Ontario. From 2003 until 2007 he was Vice-Chair of the Board of ClubLink Corporation. He has also served on the boards of Montcrest School, Variety Village and the Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival.
Lilliana previously worked in the Private Equity and Financial Sponsor Coverage group of the Bank of Montreal (BMO) and has a background in mining finance. Prior to her role at BMO, she worked in equity research and corporate banking at Dundee Capital Markets and at Societe Generale, respectively.Lilliana has a Bachelor of Science in Geology and an MBA from Schulich.
Kevin is one of Canada’s most successful business builders. The Founder, President and COO of Solect Technology Group, an ISP Billing & Customer Care company, Solect remains one of the largest software company sales in Canadian history, at $1.6 billion, to Amdocs Inc. Under Kevin’s leadership, Solect expanded to 450 people, achieved ARR of $50 Million, and operated in five countries with over 75 major carrier clients.Kevin also launched broadband services company Casero Software Inc., and live-event ticketing services company AudienceView Ticketing Inc. Casero was eventually acquired by Radial Point in 2009 while AudienceView Ticketing was acquired by Rubicon PE in 2016, where Mr. Kimsa remains an investor and board member.From 2013 through 2015, Kevin was one of three Managing Directors at Omers Ventures, with notable portfolio companies, Vision Critical (Chairperson), Vidyard, Shopify, HootSuite, Desire to Learn and Wave Accounting. Then, in 2016, Kevin became a founding General Partner of ScaleUP Ventures, a $106M fund targeting Series Seed and Series A investments in SaaS based B-to-B opportunities. ScaleUP is a unique venture fund in Canada with eight of Canada’s top corporations as LP’s in the fund; RBC, TD, Scotia, Rogers, Bell, Telus, Magna and Weston. ScaleUP has investments in notable companies Sonder (>$1B valuation), Solink, Canalyst and Nylas.In April of 2003, the Globe & Mail named Kevin a Top 40 Under 40 in its Report on Business Magazine and in 2006, Kevin was awarded the designation of Top 10 of the 400 award winners of the decade.Kevin is a graduate of the University of Waterloo (1988) with a Bachelor degree in Mathematics, majoring in Computer Science and Statistics, and has spent over 30 years working in the Technology industry, with a focus on the creation and operational management of new ventures.Mr. Kimsa lives in Toronto with his wife and 6 children.
Nelson began his career as an environmental engineer pioneering environmental credit risk valuation methodologies for asset managers in Canada, the US and the EU. His innovations led him to hold positions at leading organizations including as Chief Sustainability Officer and Sustainability Leader, Nestlé Waters and Nestlé; Director & Leader of Sustainable Business Solutions at PwC; Head of Corporate Responsibility, Centrica plc NA; and Senior Manager of Environmental Affairs, Royal Bank of Canada. He has also held adjunct positions and executive-in-residence status at leading universities including the University of Waterloo and Ivey School of Business.A sustainability expert in issues including climate change, water and pollution, Nelson is an architect of the restoration economy principle, which holds that we must restore the Earth’s environmental capital in order to ensure a future of abundant natural resources, social equity and economic prosperity – to sustain humankind’s compulsion to grow and prosper.Nelson has advised asset owners and managers of public and private equity and debt for nearly 15 years, helping them integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment decision-making helping to drive enhanced returns while preserving and creating environmental and social value.Nelson holds a Master of Environmental Engineering from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Science from the University of New Brunswick. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two sons.
Zoe began her career with Mackenzie Investments’ business management rotational program in 2016. She then joined the Mackenzie Investments Product Equities team, covering three active equity boutiques. Previously, Zoe interned at Echelon Wealth Partners in their equity research, institutional sales and trading, and retail brokerage divisions.Zoe has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen’s University and is a CFA charter holder.
