Business Leaders

Riva Walia is an accomplished leader who has been recognized both in Canada and internationally. As the first woman of Indian origin in Canada to receive the prestigious Chevalier de L’ordre national du Mérite (Knight of the French National Order of Merit) from President Emmanuel Macron of France, she has demonstrated her commitment to strengthening bilateral trade relations between Canada and France, as well as promoting growth and innovation within the French business ecosystem.

It’s the start of a school day at HCC West Loop campus and Dr. Madeline Burillo-Hopkins is walking the halls, talking to students waiting for classes to begin.
“How’s everything going?” she asks one student. She leans in and listens intently. Whether it’s a concern with financial aid, finding a ride to school or balancing family obligations and schoolwork, Burillo-Hopkins offers common sense advice rooted in her own experiences.

“Maintaining our company values and culture are essential to us. As we grow our engineering and consulting firm, we will be able to adapt and exceed expectations because of them.”
Layne Lewis, President of Willowview Consulting LLC (WVC), is a visionary, both professionally and in her personal life. Layne is a highly motivated individual, often giving more than 100% and modeling her motto “Expect Excellence” every day in all aspects of her life. She consistently goes above and beyond to achieve results with her seasoned team of likeminded individuals.

Julie Butner, President & CEO of Tarrant Area Food Bank, takes a big-picture approach to finding meaningful ways to impact. She envisions ways for Tarrant Area Food Bank to address current issues facing the community while positioning innovative solutions to develop future solutions to address food insecurity. She encourages her team to approach challenges with a positive attitude and a “can-do” spirit that inspires creativity and results.

A forward thinker, Joshua D. Rogers is always focused on the future. His vision was to introduce a smart, sophisticated approach to investing and wealth building. Since founding Arete Wealth in 2007, he’s done just that. Joshua’s brought an endowment-style of asset allocation to a broader audience of investors. From hedge funds to bespoke investments, his dream was to bring a new perspective to investing. Arete Wealth is the embodiment of that vision: a dynamic, energetic, comprehensive wealth management firm focused on the future.

Jennifer Gavin leverages 20 years of leadership experience in the staffing industry, working closely with corporate clients to deliver a strong return on investment and to help them succeed in the war for talent. Apex Placement and Consulting are committed to the success of their customers, candidates, and all the professionals they work with, promoting the continual advancement of the world of work. Apex Placement and Consulting have an auto process, but they keep candidate engagement, meaning they focus on face-to-face interaction.

Georgia Sloboda believes that, in her experience, trust and transparency are two essential qualities for leaders. Why? Because these are some of the qualities that describe a leader whose goal is to influence colleagues and build high-performing teams within an organization. “I value the opportunities and experience that has culminated over the last 35+ years in the industry, and the excitement I share to collaborate, develop, guide, and grow teams and individuals continues to be important and a passion of mine.”

Frank Schürch believes it is essential not to give up if something doesn’t work out initially. Every company must adapt itself more often than a decade ago. So, one must try out things, adjust and then succeed. This is particularly important in today’s times, where the globalized market is much more volatile than before.

Tridon Communications, founded in 1981 and currently led by Ben Thompson, CEO, Chad Tomachefski, CGO, and Greg Tolson, COO, is western Canada’s leading Telecommunications System Integrator (TSI). Tridon aims to address all aspects of telecommunication system requirements, including PTT land mobile radio, fiber optics, structured cable, access control, PTP wireless and microwave, tower construction and maintenance, cyber security, and more.