2024 Judges

Meet the Pow Wow Pitch Judges who assess pitches, ask questions, provide entrepreneurs with feedback, and determine the Industry Finalists and Grand Finale Winners.

GRAND FINALE

Herb ZoBell

VP Commercial Financial Services

RBC

Kyle Brennan Shàwinipinesì

Senior Lead of Indigenous Entrepreneurship

Shopify

Kate Karn

Director of Public Policy

Mastercard

Ashley Michel

Founder & Owner

4 Generations Creations

Erica Daniels

Founder & CEO

Kejic Productions

ALUMNI CHOICE

Cece Meadows

Founder & CEO

Prados Beauty

Trisha Pitura

Co-Founder

MINI TIPI

Bernice Clarke

Founder & Owner

Uasau Soap

Anthony Wingham

Co-Founder

Nuez Acres

Alana Cook

Founder & Owner

Walking Like Warriors

NON-PROFIT

Tamer Gabbour

Senior Commercial Account Manager

RBC

Rob Stong

Incident Response Lead

Shopify

Helena Wade

Communications Manager

Mastercard

Shehnila Sayeed

Senior Communications Specialist

CIRA

Stacey Howse

President and CEO

First Light

TOURISM

Katelyn Lawson

Commercial Relationship Manager, Indigenous Banking

RBC

Rob Stong

Incident Response Lead

Shopify

Stephanie Ying

Product Management Manager

Mastercard

Tamara Littlelight

Director of Marketing

ITAC

Noah Wilson

Sr. Business Development Manager

Futurpreneur

KNOWLEDGE SERVICES

Katelyn Lawson

Commercial Relationship Manager, Indigenous Banking

RBC

Akshata Rajendra Raikar

Software Engineer II

Mastercard

Relay Tangie

Director of Finance

NACCA

Althea Wishloff

Partner

Raven Indigenous Capital Partners

Crystal Muldoe

Senior Manager Indigenous Markets

RBC

CONSUMER BRANDS & RETAIL

Tom Montaruli

Director, Indigenous Financial Services

RBC

Niree Perian

Director, Content & SEO

Shopify

Kevin Chun

Manager, Loyalty Product, Program Management

Mastercard

Mélanie Bernard

Co-Founder & Co-Owner

MINI TIPI

HEALTH & WELLNESS AND INNOVATION

Na Sha

Vice President Commercial Financial Services, Indigenous Markets

RBC

Maite Jacobson

Senior Benefits Specialist

Shopify

Mahdi Gokal

Market Development Manager

Mastercard

Maxime Crawford

Senior Relationship Manager, Mid Market Business

EDC

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES & TRADES

Ashley Phillips

Branch Manager

RBC

Chetan Singh

Product Management Manager

Mastercard

Melissa Gladue

Business Development Manager – Indigenous Entrepreneurs

Futurpreneur

Darian Kovacs

CEO

Jelly Marketing

FOOD & DRINK

Philippe Forest

Vice President, Indigenous Markets

RBC

Crystal Hunt

Senior Manager

Shopify

Natalia Karpova

Associate Managing Consultant

Mastercard

Tara Saunders

Director of Business Development

ITAC

Jolene Johnson

Founder & CEO

Wabanaki Maple

CREATIVE

Antoine Boureau

Relationship Manager, Commercial Financial Services

RBC

Amena Agbaje

Partnerships Marketing Lead

Shopify

Sheri Levy

Vice President, FI Account Management

Mastercard

Fanny Zheng

Risk Analyst, Risk Assessment and Portfolio Management

EDC

Ivy Truong

Art Director, Creative Strategy

Aritzia

YOUTH AND STARTUP

Chad Garlow

Senior Manager Indigenous Peoples Development Program

RBC

Johannes Valdes

Senior Social Impact Manager

Shopify

Imtiaz Qureshi

Deal Management Manager

Mastercard

Pam Devonshire

Business Development Manager ecommerce and Parcels

Canada Post

Sarah Aghvami

Director, IDEB

Best Buy

TECHNOLOGY

Jayden Halls

Project Manager

RBC

Scott Tizzard

Senior Relationship Manager

Export Development Canada

Amisha Parikh

VP Product Management

Mastercard

Samantha Mann

Senior Product Communications Specialist

CIRA

FASHION

Katia Duchesneau

First Relationship Director, Commercial Financial Services, Indigenous Markets Quebec

RBC

Brandon Davenport

Head of Equitable Commerce

Shopify

Teodora Nicluea

Director, Senior Legal Counsel

Mastercard

Rachael Fouchier

Senior Director, Service Excellence

Aritzia

Trisha Pitura

Co-Founder & Co-Owner

MINI TIPI