October 21 – 24, 2025

connect
innovate
accelerate

October 21 – 24, 2025   •   Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

October 21 – 24, 2025

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

The DEN Summit is your chance to make authentic global connections and explore Canadian partnerships. Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur, start-up founder, investor, or a corporate executive, this summit is designed to elevate your journey.

The DEN Summit

Canada’s premier gathering for visionary leaders and innovators in business. Taking place in Edmonton, Alberta, in October 2025, this landmark event brings together top minds from around the world to explore groundbreaking trends, hear from world-renowned speakers, and forge resilient partnerships.

Whether you’re an established executive or an emerging entrepreneur, The DEN Summit is the ultimate destination to connect, collaborate, and shape the future of business.

Join us as we build the foundations for tomorrow’s success, today.

Discover Edmonton

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Featured Speakers

Vusi Thembekwayo

World renowned business leader
Speaking on the Main Stage October 21
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Erica Dhawan

Award Winning Author
Speaking on the Main Stage October 22
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Chris Barton

Founder of Shazam & Tech Investor
Speaking on the Main Stage October 23
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And many, many more to come...

Stay up to date on our upcoming speaker announcements and event updates!

Why Attend the DEN?

DYNAMIC KEYNOTE SPEAKERS​

Learn valuable insights from a variety of industries from well known experts in their field.
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ENGAGING BREAKOUT SESSIONS​

Gain knowledge, specialized insights, actionable skills, and forward-thinking strategies from various business sectors, functions, and educational topics.
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NETWORKING FOR EXECUTIVES​

High-level networking with CEO-level business owners and entrepreneurs to foster meaningful connections and exchange ideas.
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EXCLUSIVE VIP ACCESS​

Exclusive meet-and-greets, keynote breakfasts, and cocktail events.
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Exclusive VIP Access

Experience VIP access to meet-and-greets, keynote breakfasts, and cocktail events. Network with industry leaders in a relaxed, high-level setting and build lasting connections.

Who Should Be Here?

START UP FOUNDERS

The DEN Summit offers startup founders an unparalleled opportunity to accelerate their entrepreneurial journey.
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INFLUENCERS & ENTREPRENEURS

The DEN Summit is an essential event for influencers and entrepreneurs seeking to elevate their ventures in the dynamic landscape of Canadian business.
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INVESTORS & SPONSORS

The DEN Summit presents a valuable opportunity for investors and sponsors looking to connect with emerging talent and innovative ventures in the Canadian entrepreneurial landscape.
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CORPORATE PROFESSIONALS

The DEN Summit is an event catered to corporate professionals who are eager to explore entrepreneurial avenues or enhance their leadership roles within their organizations.
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Our Sponsors
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Announcements

Featured Speaker

Vusi Thembekwayo

World renowned business leader, speaker and investor

Meet Vusi Thembekwayo; world renowned business leader, speaker and investor who redefines excellence in every endeavor. Founding CEO of award-winning investment firm MyGrowthFund Venture Partners, Co-founder of Club 100 and School of Scale as well as GQ Business Leader in 2020, Vusi’s innovative strategies and profound insights have transformed industries and empowered countless leaders.

Over his 20year career, Vusi has spoken in 6 of the 7 continents. A true global sensation. He is widely trusted by Fortune 500 companies and has been featured on prestigious platforms like CNBC and Bloomberg. He is not just a success story but a force to be reckoned with.

Erica Dhawan

Featured Speaker

Erica Dhawan

Leading Authority on 21st-Century Teamwork, Collaboration, and Innovation

Erica Dhawan is an internationally recognized leading authority, speaker and advisor on 21st-century teamwork, collaboration and innovation. Named as one of the top 50 management thinkers in the world by Thinkers50, she is the author of two bestselling books, Get Big Things Done: The Power of Connectional Intelligence and Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance.

As we continue to experience an increasingly digital world where work practices are changing blisteringly, Erica shares innovative strategies to unlock the collective power of teams, build a culture of trust across any distance and create authentic engagement to ensure competitiveness.

Rated #1 on the Top Women Keynote Speakers list, Erica frequently appears in the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and The Wall Street Journal. Erica speaks on global stages ranging from the World Economic Forum at Davos to the US Army and companies such as Coca-Cola, FedEx, Goldman Sachs, Walmart, and Cisco. She holds degrees from Harvard University, MIT Sloan, and The Wharton School.

Featured Speaker

Chris Barton

Founder and Creator of Shazam, Entrepreneur, Inventor, and Tech Investor

Chris Barton wanted a way to identify songs anywhere he heard them. There wasn’t one – so he invented an app called Shazam. Chris’s creation is nothing short of pure magic. Chris seeks to delight people by using technology to make seemingly impossible ideas come to life. Shazam is just one of them.


It changed the way the world discovers music and laid the groundwork for the consumer AI industry we know today. In addition to creating Shazam, Chris holds twelve patents and played key roles in the early days of Google and Dropbox. Chris’s newest venture, Guard, aims to use AI to detect drowning in swimming pools – a never-before accomplished effort. In his speeches, Chris’s story and storytelling completely captivate audiences. He inspires people to make big things happen in their organizations – to create magic in defiance of the obstacles.


Chris grew up with a French mother and British father – both of whom were university professors. Academics were a struggle for him, and Chris would come to realize he had undiagnosed dyslexia. Chris flipped this challenge on its head and learned to embrace what he now calls his superpower. Chris believes that dyslexia has allowed him to overcome barriers to achieve his many accomplishments. When Chris had the idea to identify music using a mobile phone, no technology existed to achieve his goal. He was told by Professors at MIT and Stanford that the necessary pattern recognition algorithm was impossible. Even after inventing a new technology that didn’t yet exist, he had to build a search engine supercomputer from scratch, create the world’s largest music database, and create a user experience on very basic mobile phones. Did Chris ever think the experts were right? “No way,” he says.


When Chris came up with the idea for Shazam in 2000, it was three years before iTunes and eight years before the App Store. Shazam launched as a phone number that you dialed, and the service struggled, teetering near bankruptcy for six years until the App Store launched in 2008, allowing Shazam to unleash its full potential on the world.
In 2018, Shazam was acquired by Apple for a reported $400 million, making it Apple’s 6th largest acquisition of all-time.


Shazam has been downloaded over 2 billion times and is used each month by over 300 million people, making it one of the world’s most popular apps. It has become an integral part of our everyday lives, with its ability to instantly identify songs and provide a range of music features such as lyrics. Shazam has become a verb, and it has changed the way the world discovers music.

Chris has also played a key role in tech history as a founding member of Google’s Android Partnerships team where he created Android’s mobile operator partnership framework. He also spent four years at Dropbox where he led carrier partnerships and was one of the first 100 people at the company.

Holding 12 patents, including one found within the Google search algorithm, Chris has made significant contributions to the tech industry.
He also invests in a wide range of start
-ups, including artificial intelligence for heart health and inflammatory disease therapeutics.
Today, Chris spends much of his time building his third startup company, Guard, an artificial intelligence system that detects drowning in swimming pools.

When he has time, Chris enjoys speaking at events and sharing lessons learned from his experiences overcoming the impossible.
He inspires people with firsthand stories that highlight key take – aways across technology innovation, persistence, removing friction, and entrepreneurship. Chris gives audiences a new framework for making big things happen. His truly inspirational story motivates them to take action.
Prior to his technology career, Chris was a strategy consultant and earned two master’s degrees from UC Berkeley and Cambridge University.

When he isn’t working or speaking, you can find Chris enjoying the outdoors and spending time with his son, Jude.

Start-up Founders

The Den Summit offers startup founders an unparalleled opportunity to accelerate their entrepreneurial journey. By bringing together a diverse network of seasoned investors, industry experts, and fellow innovators, the event fosters an environment ripe for knowledge exchange and strategic partnerships. Attendees can gain invaluable insights through keynote speeches, interactive workshops, and panel discussions that delve into the latest trends and challenges in the startup ecosystem. Moreover, the summit provides a platform for founders to showcase their ventures, attract potential investors, and receive constructive feedback. In essence, The Den Summit serves as a catalyst for growth, equipping entrepreneurs with the resources, connections, and inspiration needed to navigate the complexities of building a successful startup.

Influencers & Entrepreneurs

The Den Summit is an essential event for influencers and entrepreneurs seeking to elevate their ventures in the dynamic landscape of Canadian business. By attending, they gain access to a wealth of knowledge and insights from industry leaders, networking opportunities with like-minded professionals, and actionable strategies tailored to the unique challenges and opportunities faced by entrepreneurs today. Whether you’re looking to expand your brand, secure financing, or navigate the complexities of starting and growing a business in Canada, The Den Summit offers the tools, connections, and inspiration needed to succeed

Investors & Sponsors

The Den Summit presents a valuable opportunity for investors and sponsors looking to connect with emerging talent and innovative ventures in the Canadian entrepreneurial landscape. By attending, they gain direct access to a curated group of ambitious entrepreneurs and influencers who are shaping the future of various industries. This event offers a platform to discover high-potential investment opportunities, forge strategic partnerships, and align their brands with the next wave of successful businesses. Sponsors and investors can leverage the insights, connections, and exposure at The Den Summit to stay ahead in a competitive market, making it a must-attend event for those looking to influence and support the growth of new ventures.

Corporate Professionals

The Den Summit is an invaluable event for corporate professionals who are eager to explore entrepreneurial avenues or enhance their leadership roles within their organizations. Attending the summit allows them to gain fresh perspectives on innovation, business trends, and strategies that drive success in today’s fast-paced market. With access to a diverse network of entrepreneurs, influencers, and industry leaders, corporate professionals can expand their connections, learn from real-world experiences, and discover new approaches to problem-solving and growth. Whether looking to foster intrapreneurship within their company or transition into the entrepreneurial world, The Den Summit offers the inspiration, knowledge, and resources to empower their professional journey.