Meet the judges

Emily Lyons is a multi-venture entrepreneur, speaker, and CEO of several award-winning companies including Femme Fatale Media, Lyons Elite Matchmaking, True Glue Beauty, and Tangerine. Known for blending fierce creativity with relentless execution, Emily built her empire from a basement apartment and a broken heart- turning pain into purpose and setbacks into startups.

Jennifer Ménard-Shand is a humble First Nations Ojibwe and French-Canadian wife, mother, entrepreneur, and speaker. She is Founder & CEO of Staff Shop, an award-winning, certified diverse people strategy firm serving North America, and the creator of FireFlames, a premium hot-sauce brand rooted in reconciliation through entrepreneurship.

Naila Qazi is a Global Excellence Award winner recognized by the Association of Change Management for her leadership in driving transformation worldwide. She has lived and worked across several continents, bringing a deep understanding of diverse cultures and the complexities of scaling organizations globally.

Tehmina A Chaudhry is the Founder & President of Canada Startup Association, a selfsustaining platform supporting immigrant and underrepresented entrepreneurs in Canada. A startup enabler, impact-driven leader, and community builder, Tehmina has bootstrapped CSA into a thriving network that provides mentorship, funding opportunities, and global expansion support.

Marlina Ramchandran is a strategic innovation and ecosystem leader with over a decade of experience designing, funding, and scaling entrepreneurship and workforce development initiatives across Canada and India. She operates at the intersection of government, academia, startups, and funders, translating national policy priorities into high-impact, founder-centered programs that strengthen inclusive economic growth.

Raj Girn is a distinguished, multi-award-winning serial entrepreneur and multimedia personality with over two decades of experience collaborating with Fortune 500 companies and high-profile celebrities in both Hollywood and Bollywood. She established her multimedia and events brand, ANOKHI, in 2002 as a single mother and woman of color, notably without formal degrees in business, media, or journalism, nor pre-existing celebrity or corporate connections.

Sheena Yap Chan is a Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestselling author, TEDx speaker, keynote speaker, strategist, and award-winning podcaster recognized for her work in elevating women’s leadership and self-confidence through the power of media and visibility. She is the founder of the Confidence Through Visibility™ movement and host of The Tao of Self-Confidence podcast, ranked in the top 0.5% globally with over 1.3 million downloads and 800+ interviews featuring celebrities, CEOs, and cultural icons.

I grew up in a home that was managed by entrepreneurs. My parents owned and operated a Sewing Supplies store in Beirut, Lebanon. As a teenager, I was hired by my Dad every summer to help run the business. So, I grew familiar with entrepreneurship at an early age. After I graduated from University, I worked in the corporate world for many years. In 2005, I started taking on web design projects in addition to my corporate job and built a small client base. Watching that grow prompted me to register a business.

Morgan is the senior manager of cohort programs at MaRS Discovery District, where she leads a portfolio of five accelerator programs supporting the commercialization of early-stage technologies. She works closely with founders, governments and industry to help ventures scale and succeed in global markets, with a focus on inclusive innovation and systems-level impact.

Andrea Šešum is a Canadian education entrepreneur and Founder & CEO of SMART OwlTM, a nationally recognized education consulting and curriculum development firm serving
postsecondary institutions across Canada. With more than 15 years of experience in regulatory strategy, workforce-aligned program design, and institutional growth, she is known for transforming complex compliance environments into scalable, future-ready education
models.

With over 10 years of experience in the banking industry, Komal has built a strong foundation in personal banking, mortgages, and small business banking before stepping into her current role as Regional Manager, Small Business Banking – Central Canada, TD Women in Enterprise. Passionate about empowering women-owned and women-led businesses, Komal is a firm believer in the power of women supporting women.

Jody Steinhauer has mobilized her award-winning discount wholesale and promotional products company to revolutionize the social impact landscape. Jody uses her network of resources and leveraged buying power to aid every company and non-profit (NFP) agency/charity that she touches to maximize their buying dollar. Since 1988, Jody has grown BG from her Toronto apartment living room to a multi-million dollar-a-year business.