Meet our judges

Blair Cowan - Executive Vice-President and Head - CIBC Commercial Banking

A business leader and corporate finance professional with more than 27 years’ experience operating in the Canadian corporate and commercial markets. As the Head of Commercial Banking, Blair is currently responsible for the leadership and growth of CIBC’s Commercial Bank in Canada. He currently serves on the Board of the Canadian Business Growth Fund and is a past Board member of the CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank, CIBC Mortgages Inc., Hincks-Dellcrest and Jack.org.

David Chelich - Sector Head, Global Energy and Diversified Industries, TMX Group Inc.

David is currently Sector Head of the Global Energy and Diversified Industries for the TMX Group Inc. In his role, David is responsible for developing and implementing sector listings, business development strategies and tactics for both the Energy and Diversified Industries practices for the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV). Prior to joining the TMX Inc., David spent 25 years in the Canadian capital markets industry both as an investment banker and as an institutional equity sales professional.

Dawn Calleja - Editor-in-Chief at Report on Business magazine

Dawn Calleja is the editor-in-chief of Report on Business magazine, where she oversees a mix of in-depth reporting, programs such as Women Lead Here, and the top-performing growth companies in Canada, among much more.

Dawn was born into an Air Force family in Halifax and moved several times before settling in Toronto to pursue the journalism program at Ryerson University. She began her professional career as a fact-checker and journalist at Canadian Business, climbing the ranks to become editor-in-chief. After a stint as executive editor at Financial Post Magazine, she joined Report on Business in 2006. She has won numerous national magazine awards as a writer and editor and received the George Brown Award for Editing from The Globe and Mail in 2020.

She has also contributed to the launch of SABEW Canada, an organization dedicated to promoting business journalism, and led its prestigious Best in Business Awards program for nine years.

Greg Houston - President and CEO, Lakeside Process Controls

Greg Houston is the President and CEO of Lakeside, a market leader in Process Automation. Starting his career at Lakeside in 1991 as an Application Engineer, he has held several sales and management roles. Under his leadership, Lakeside has grown from a small control valves sales representative in Toronto to a central-Canada-wide organization providing complete automation solutions. Greg's belief in employee engagement and strategic growth initiatives are mere examples of how he led to Lakeside being recognized as a platinum member of Canada's Best Managed Companies since 2002. Greg is also a member of the Executive Advisory Board of FIRST Robotics Canada and the Upper Credit Humane Society Board of Directors. Greg is a Professional Engineer in Ontario and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Business Administration from Athabasca University.

Jason Gonsalves - Global CFO, Solutions 2 GO

Jason is an accomplished senior finance and technology executive and the Global Chief Financial Officer at Solutions 2 GO. He has over two decades of international and domestic experience holding progressive roles at major multi-national firms across varying industries and has established a reputation as an energizing, yet steadfast leader, undeterred by obstacles and committed to furthering standards of excellence. His expertise is highlighted by his extensive experience in all facets of an organization, including Human Resources, Legal, Compliance, Information Technology, Finance, Risk Management and Operations, leading transformational change and growth through influence. He has been instrumental in the development of control and compliance frameworks, including several ERP implementations.

Jason has led large corporate finance transactions and acquisitions, including an International IPO, across financial services, fintech, retail, entertainment, telecommunications, manufacturing and distribution. His passion for higher education and keen interest in fostering continued learning for future leaders is demonstrated in his professorship spanning nearly 15 years, coupled with various speaking engagements

Kim Day - President and COO, Steele Auto Group

Kim joined Steele Auto Group in 2015 as Chief Financial Officer. In 2017, Kim was appointed to the role of President & Chief Operating Officer of the Group. She has been instrumental in setting the strategic vision of the company while being an integral member of the M&A team growing the organization from 17 dealerships to where it is now.

Kim holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Dalhousie University and obtained her Chartered Professional Accountant designation in 1999. She served in public practice for over ten years, exposing her to various businesses in various industries. She then held the role of Vice President Finance at Newfoundland Capital Corporation, a publicly traded company, for 11 years before joining Steele.