Event Details

Key questions to be discussed:
•       An Introduction to Canada: why Canada is the world's leading innovation hub and business center
•       How to start a company in Canada or expand into Canada if you are an already-established business in the U.S.
•       What type of private financing or government assistance programs may be available for your business
•       What are the advantages of investing in Canada and where to look for investment opportunities
•       Entrepreneurial hubs in Canada and how to look for potential partners

Moderator
Patricia Elliott, Consul and Senior Trade Commissioner, Consulate General of Canada, Los Angeles
Patricia Elliott assumed the position of Consul and Senior Trade Commissioner at the Consulate General of Canada in Los Angeles in August 2015. Previous to joining the office in Los Angeles, Elliott served as the Regional Director and Senior Trade Commissioner for the Prairies and Northwest Territories, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development since October 2012, and as the Senior Trade Commissioner for Alberta.  While Deputy Director for the Vancouver Regional Office (Pacific Region) she was the lead for the Invest in Canada initiative for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
With a background in strategic planning and fluently bilingual in English and French, Patricia Elliott studied Communications at Université Laval and has also worked with Industry Canada, Canadian Heritage, National Defence and Elections Canada/International Affairs.

Panelists
Robert Kelle, President & Chairman of the Board, MAPLE
Robert Kelle is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience in global consulting, finance and technology in diverse industries including real estate, financial services, automotive, telecommunications, manufacturing, distribution and healthcare. Mr. Kelle is passionate about uniting business leaders to transform organizations, business processes and their supporting systems. He is always walking a fine balance between leveraging innovative technologies and proven, stable technologies, to ensure lasting value in implementation.

MAPLE is an executive-level organization focused on promoting cross-border investment and trade between Canada and Southern California and among Southern California businesses with Canadian connections.  Their members and sponsors bring together the knowledge, expertise and resources to help businesses penetrate and excel in these markets.

Shankar Ratneshwaran, Principal Co-Innovation Evangelist, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
Shankar Ratneshwaran is an innovation evangelist at TCS. He heads the evangelize function for the “Optimize” theme within TCS Innovation Labs. He has keen interest in the commercialization of IT transformation, business optimization, systems thinking, design thinking, and all systems simulation technologies. Shankar worked with technologies and intellectual property for some years in established technology companies. Shankar decided to work on the other side of innovation, matching technologies with marked needs, in the Innovation Industry leading to his role in TCS.

Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) is an Indian multinational information technology (IT) service, consulting and business solutions company headquartered in Mumbai, India.  TCS operates in 46 countries, including offices in Canada and the United States.  It is a subsidiary of the Tata Group and is the largest India-based IT services company.
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About LAVA

LAVA: Since 1985 the Los Angeles Venture Association has been providing forums where entrepreneurs and executives of start-up, emerging growth and late stage venture funded companies actively meet and learn from fellow executives, investors, bankers, financial advisors and other providers of professional services.

Our annual Meet the VC conference, First Look LA and the LAVA Awards Dinner are our region's premiere forums on investment capital. We also co-produce events with many of our affiliated organizations. 

To learn more, please visit:

http://www.lava.org/  

http://can-am.gc.ca/los-angeles/

Go Metro to this event during LA Innovation Week! For your best route, use the Metro Trip Planner or call (323) Go Metro (323.466.3876)