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Raymond Szabada

CEO & President

Raymond leads i-Open Group, a Canadian leader in spatially enabled applications. Raymond also guides XLRator, a social enterprise with a goal to build a thriving tech ecosystem in Fraser Valley.

Raymond Szabada is the Executive Chairman and Founder of the i-Open Group of Companies, a leader and provider of geospatial applications and SaaS solutions. The i-Open Group has been delivering enterprise-scale solutions to some of the world's largest corporations in North America. More recently, the Group has been instrumental in introducing two innovative product lines – Agrilyze for precision agriculture and the bidworX solution for solving complex challenges within the construction project estimating domain.

Recently representing the Fraser Valley region, Ray spoke at Globe 2020, a sustainable business summit and innovation showcase saying, "Going forward, everything we develop as an organization will focus on delivering real and sustainable high-tech solutions for a better planet. Our focus excites me because, as a high-tech firm, we hold a substantial position to make a very positive impact; it is our attempt at non-invasive, clean industrialization for our region."

Ray is also demonstrating his leadership and influence as the driving force behind XLRator, a social enterprise that Ray founded and has personally funded over the past ten years. By reaching out to the industry, local schools and colleges and creating a greater focus on the importance of technology, XLRator is extending valuable training and mentorship to those wanting to speed up their role in digital transformation and a knowledge-based economy.

Still, his primary focus is on the planet. He explains, "It is crucial to create solutions that will improve our planet. From our continued exposure delivering solutions to the resources sector, we realize technology's role with regards to damage prevention, protection of the environment, safety regulations, and reporting. In essence, our company is a citizen that lives, works, and shares the planet. Ultimately, we can define our identity in the form of a 'Good Citizen'. As a 'Good Company', we will leverage machine learning, change detection and the latest technologies for deploying artificial intelligence. This interaction and management of solutions will be our corporate theme – CitizenAi."

Ray is fearlessly taking technology to new places by bringing his vision to life and never compromising on principles and values. He drives his passion for changing the world on what he knows best – delivering technology products. The journey toward understanding the role of innovation is laying down the proper foundations so that together, we can work toward a knowledge-based and clean digital economy.

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Miika Makela

Corporate Advisor, Sounding Board

Miika Makela is an experienced financial analyst with deep knowledge of financial markets, capital services, funding structures. and building business strategies for companies.

Throughout his career, Miika has built a reputation for due diligence, analytics, risk management strategies, incubating new business models and building out channel programs. Prior to entering the private capital markets, he worked as a Portfolio Analyst focusing on manager selection and monitoring as well as Quantitative Analyst.
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Gurwinder Singh

Marketing Manager

Creative, entrepreneurial and innovative professional, Gurwinder has more than 14 years of experience in digital business, growth hacking, new business development, inbound marketing, new media, and digital transformation.

He is passionate about the intersection of new media, marketing and traditional business models. A thought leader in digital, Gurwinder has been invited to speak on tech startups, digital marketing, SEO and marketing automation at various events including BizconYXE, University of Saskatchewan, Innovation Place, IABC Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Professional Marketing Association, etc.