Advertise on podcast: Innovators

 In this episode, Erica Rizzo, Director of People and Culture at Metafy, opens up about the joys of working at a rapidly growing 100% remote e-learning startup. Erica discusses how they’re navigating company culture with a global team, how they don’t believe in location based salaries and shares her own personal journey of getting hired at Metafy while being an expectant mother. She also provides tips on how to be the ideal candidate for their expanding operations in Canada. Founded in August of 2020, Metafy raised an impressive $25 million dollar series A in 2022, led by Tiger Global and Seven Seven Six. Link to Metafy: metafy.gg

In this episode, Andrew Donaher, VP of Consulting at CGI, talks about exciting tech industry changes, the differences between data and AI, and CGI’s commitment to sustainability. He also reveals who the most important person in the room is these days and the story behind his personal motto of community, curiosity and courage. Andrew also shares his personal insights for job candidates, who may be looking to pursue their passion at CGI. With 84,000 consultants and professionals across the globe, CGI delivers an end-to-end portfolio of capabilities, from strategic IT and business consulting to systems integration, managed IT and business process services and intellectual property solutions. CGI works with clients through a local relationship model complemented by a global delivery network that helps clients digitally transform their organizations and accelerate results. CGI also collaborates with the European Space Agency, supporting its satellite missions. Link to CGI: www.cgi.com

In this episode, Daniel Ballingall, Director of National Sales Activation at TELUS, discusses TELUS’ journey from a telco to a global technology powerhouse. Daniel opens up about why TELUS is a great place to start, build and grow your career, and why the company continues to stand out in today’s market. He also shares the company’s culture mentalities such as their “fail fast” approach and investing in coaching and development, and he also shares a philosophy favorite of his to always persevere, have a great perspective, and have purpose in your life. With a staggering 55,000 employees worldwide, TELUS was recently recognized as the most valuable telco brand in Canada, and the sixth best B2B brand in Canada and only telco in the top ten. Link to TELUS: www.telus.com

 In this episode, Natalie Murray, Principal Recruiting Manager at Relic Entertainment, discusses what Relic is doing differently as a studio in the gaming industry and the importance of leveling the playing field in hiring brilliant talent. Natalie shares her passion for supporting women in the gaming and tech sector, discusses if degrees and education are a hiring requirement anymore, and opens up about what drew her to working at Relic. Relic Entertainment has over 300 employees and in 2021, they won Best Place to Work in Canada and Canada’s Best Boss Award from GamesIndustry.biz.

In this episode, we got to chat with Dejan Pralica, CEO and Co-Founder of Solesavy, about how Solesavy got started and what makes a virtual sneakersphere a unique platform to work at.  Dejan shares his adventures in the start-up world, his thoughts on being an innovator and taking risks, the importance of team-building and what makes a successful job candidate at a remote start-up. His company, Solesavy, is a 100% digital sneaker community based out of Vancouver, raising $12.5 million in series A funding in 2021. Link to SoleSavy: www.solesavy.com

 In this episode, we got to chat with Paul Rubenstein, Chief People Officer at Visier, about how he started his impressive career in New York, California, and Germany working for companies like Aon Hewett and HBO before moving to Vancouver, BC. Paul opens up about finding your career journey, the value of experience and passion over having the right academic degree, and the importance of mental health. He also shares some important job hunting tips and discusses the changing dynamics in the workforce at Visier. Visier, a Vancouver-born software company, is experiencing a steady upward trajectory and has quickly grown to be the market leader in workforce analytics. In 2021, Visier raised $125M at a $1B valuation for its big-data approach to HR analytics and planning. Link to Visier: www.visier.com

 In this episode, Lisa Zarzeczny, Co-Founder and CEO at Elevate, discusses Elevate’s innovative tech talent and NFT programs, advises on the latest tech trends to watch out for, and shares her thoughts on rethinking education. Lisa gives insight into what it’s like working for Elevate, how to get involved, and tips on radical hiring changes for job applications. Her company, Elevate, is a non-profit hub for tech, innovation & sustainability pioneers that is partnered with the UN. In 2021, Elevate received a federal government grant of almost $6 million dollars to create programs for elevating talent. Link to Elevate: www.elevate.ca

In this episode, Edoardo De Martin, CTO of CubicFarm Systems, discusses the types of innovative and sustainable technology at CubicFarm and the important role of agro-tech in the future of our society. He shares some important tips for job-seekers looking for positions in agro-tech and discusses company culture in a hybrid work model. CubicFarms’ mission is to use innovative technology to feed a growing world with less resources. They were recently selected as a winner in the 2022 Top Impact Companies alongside Tesla and Microsoft. Link to CubicFarm Systems:  cubicfarms.com

In this episode, Fernanda Ave, Head of Tech Programs at CICCC, discusses how she got into tech education, the ever-changing world of tech, and what kind of jobs we should be expecting to see in the future. Fernada gives job candidates advice on how to find resources and gives tips on how to get their foot in the door in this industry. She also dives into the kinds of programs CICCC provides and is currently developing to keep up with market demands. CICCC is a vocational college with three campuses in Vancouver and almost 2000 students. Link to CICCC: www.ciccc.ca

In this episode, Sachi Kittur, VP of People Strategy at StickerYou, discusses her HR journey from the tech sector to the custom digital print and manufacturing industry and her passion for people. She defines personal development in the workplace, and gives 3 important tips on how to better stand out with your job application at StickerYou. StickerYou, is a Canadian success story experiencing double-digit growth over the past year and is slated to expand its workforce of 100+ employees. Link to StickerYou: www.stickeryou.com

In this episode, Kerris Hougardy,  Head of People at Ada, opens up about company culture and working at a rapidly growing startup . Originally from the UK, Kerris recently switched from a career in commercial real estate to tech. She describes how Ada takes care of the “whole human” and discusses the pros of working for a digital first company. Ada - a software company of 400 employees, plans to double in size in 2022. In 2021, they secured Series C funding of $130 million. Link to Ada: www.ada.cx

In this episode, Karim Ben-Jaafar, President and COO at Beanworks discusses how he was a late-bloomer and got his career started later in life. With a background in sales and marketing, he shares some of his secrets of success, his career struggles, and tips on what employers like Beanworks are looking for in a job candidate. In 2021, Beanworks - an accounts payable software company - was acquired by Quadient, a publicly-traded French company, for $106 million. Link to Beanworks: www.beanworks.com