Arden provides startup capital to Alberta-based companies through Accelerate Funds II and III, which Yaletown manages with the A100. An accomplished investment professional with more than 15 years of private and public sector experience, he works with portfolio company teams to support their performance and is highly active in the Alberta technology startup community. Throughout his career, Arden has focused on discovering and managing value. As an investment analyst with AIMCo, he took part in the active oversight of environmental, social, and governance issues that impacted AIMCo’s then $70B portfolio of assets, as well as underwriting more than $1 billion in real estate transactions. He also worked in commercial leasing and sales with Barclay Street and Torode Realty. Before joining the Accelerate Fund team, Arden oversaw entrepreneurship development as manager of the University of Alberta’s Venture Mentoring Service. He holds an MBA in finance from the University of Alberta and is a graduate of Royal Roads University’s Certified Executive Coaching program.
Rebecca is a business strategy professional who operates at the intersection of people, processes, and technology to help companies advance to their next level of growth. Her experience spans strategy development, operational finance, organizational structure, startup funding, mergers and acquisitions, and stakeholder management.She is currently an Investment and Operations Associate at BKR Capital, the first institutional black-led VC fund in Canada - where she oversees the fund’s portfolio and post-investment functions. She began her career in a startup and over the years has supported several early-stage companies in different capacities across financial, operational, and strategic roles. Beyond creating magic at work, you will find her exploring her creative side through singing, designing, and cooking.
Nicholas Brathwaite is a Founding Managing Partner of Celesta Capital, a global deep tech venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley. Nic has decades of experience in technology development, business building, and investment. Prior to Celesta, Nic co-founded Riverwood Capital, a private equity firm focused on investments in high growth technology and related companies. Nic has spent over 25 years as a technology operating executive, most recently as the Chairman and CEO of Aptina Imaging, a semiconductor industry leader in developing CMOS image sensors for mobile phones, automotive applications, medical devices, and industrial applications.
Nic served as the Chief Technology Officer at Flextronics for more than a decade, where he oversaw the launch and growth of several of Flextronics’ largest business units, including an innovative push into product development. He started his career at Intel before leaving to become a founding member of nChip where he was responsible for the development of industry-leading advanced multi-chip module assembly processes. Currently Nic serves as a Board Director at several public and privately held companies, including Northwestern Mutual, Power Integrations, Atonarp, ParkourSC, and others. Nic earned a M.Sc. Degree in Polymer Science from the University of Waterloo, Canada and a B.Sc. (Honors) Degree in Applied Chemistry from McMaster University, Canada.
He was granted honorary doctorates by McMaster University and The University of the West Indies and was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by the University of Waterloo.
As the co-founder of Execution Labs, he was a hands-on early stage investor to over 20 independent game studios from North America and Europe. Between 2000-2009, he served as the executive director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and was honoured for his industry-building efforts with the inaugural Ambassador Award at the Game Developers Conference. In 2009, Jason was named to Game Developer Magazine’s “Power50,” a list which profiles 50 of the most important contributors to the state of the game industry. As a sought-after expert on the game industry, Jason has lectured at conferences and universities worldwide.
Dr. Shanté Williams is currently the CEO of Black Pearl Global Investments, a healthcare venture capital firm. She is a distinguished Venture Capitalist, business owner, Inventor, Intellectual Property Strategist, Author, and Private Investor. In her career years, she has used her wealth of scientific knowledge as well as her passion for innovation to solve multiple complex problems across the industries of health, finance, and real estate.
Dr. Williams continues to break barriers with Black Pearl’s fund focused on reducing health disparities across the globe. Black Pearl is an advocate for those that continue to experience inferior outcomes and reduced access. Black Pearl’s tag line “Be Well. Do Well.” captures the firm’s mission to invest in transformative companies around the world. Dr. Williams and her partners are seeking to change healthcare worldwide.
