David Y. Smith – Founder, Elderberry.work

An executive with large blue chip companies and a leader or advisor for 4 tech startups, in the USA & Canada. As VP/General Manager led the growth of a new division to $100 million in sales. He was part of a Northern California tech startup during the dot com boom, raising US$60 million. Small business owner, having started 4 businesses. Consulted for many small, medium, large organizations in North America & internationally, both for profit and non-profit social enterprises. Has brought 5 emerging technologies and trends from early adopters to the mainstream. A business social and environmental sustainability leader, with an undergraduate degree in environmental science and a MBA. He is part of the untapped talent pool he champions.

Stuart Pasternak – Finance – Canada & US

A Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) with a diverse skill set in finance, business, and leadership over 30 years of experience. He has navigated various challenges and complexities in the corporate world, including strategic planning, financial reporting, treasury, risk management, and representing corporations at the International Trade Tribunal and the Department of Justice. Stuart’s expertise in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and cross-border transactions is a testament to his strategic thinking and broad understanding of global markets. His ability to identify and capitalize on growth opportunities while steering organizations toward their goals ensures financial stability and compliance.

Michael Skinner – General Management, Marketing – Canada & US

Held key leadership positions in consumer packaged goods (Maple Leaf Foods and Grupo Bimbo), cleantech, and retail management across North America. Full P&L accountability for multiple product lines with major clients in Canada and USA. Led successful portfolio and business turnarounds ranging from $75- $200M+ in revenue. Conducted strategic reviews, deploying new strategies for sales growth and product quality, innovation, and profit. Spearheaded successful national product launches, for revenue growth and market share gains. Implemented cost-saving initiatives in underperforming categories, enhancing brand and competitiveness.

Darren Reiniger – Operations

Bringing over thirty years of professional experience in Senior Operational and General Management roles in technology, manufacturing, and healthcare industries, Darren has leveraged new systems, improvement processes, and change leadership to deliver significant results for numerous companies. Inspired by Patrick Lencioni’s three virtues of an Ideal Team Player and grounded in the use of Deming’s Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, he believes both elements together allow for a strong Business Operating System to be both foundational and flexible in allowing a company to grow beyond their current capabilities. He is currently doing fractional and consulting work for various companies in the region, focusing on introducing operational structure (including Balanced Scorecards, OKRs and KPIs), leadership development, technology solutions, and project management.

Steven Robin – Business Development, Sales, Enablement

Steven has 25+ years in strategic business development, enablement, solution design and project delivery, with Bell and IBM. He excels at cross functional team leadership, business transformation, partner engagement and revenue growth. Steven aligns organizations for customer experience excellence, collaborating across the full sales discovery, development, onboarding, delivery, and retention process. He led a cross functional team of 100 in achieving $3.5 billion in international annual revenue. Steven’s work focuses on business enablement, includes developing sales teams as a fractional leader with Diversys Software.