IION’s Advisors bring diverse expertise and perspectives, united by a commitment to supporting entrepreneurs, strengthening businesses, and driving economic growth.

Accelerate subsidizes one-on-one advisory services for innovative, for-profit companies to validate their business, overcome growth obstacles, and seize growth opportunities. IION will match eligible companies with an expert advisor. Opportunities include Business & Market Validation, Importing / Exporting and Defence Readiness.

Karen Jones-Gibbons

CEO - Karen Jones Consulting Inc.

Accelerate Service - Business Advisor

  • Karen has two decades of experience providing strategic business advisory services to companies to help plan for sustainable growth and long-term success. Karen supports companies with business & strategic planning, market research and marketing/communication strategies. Karen helps businesses make informed decisions and build clear, actionable plans.

Kyla Taylor

Founder - Launch & Prosper Consulting

Accelerate Service - Business Advisor

  • Kyla helps founders and businesses navigate complexity, growth, innovation and transformation. Kyla is known for connecting vision with execution by helping businesses develop clear strategies, strengthen stakeholder engagement, position themselves for success, and turn ideas into action. Kyla supports businesses as they launch, scale and grow.

Greg Enns

Founder & President- Pigeon Bay Strategies

Accelerate Service - Defence Industry Advisor

  • Greg has over twenty-five years of experience leading major defence programs, strategic growth initiatives and business development efforts across the defence and security sectors. Greg helps companies enter and grow within the defence market with expertise in defence readiness assessments, Controlled Goods Program compliance, procurement readiness, market access & defence supply chain positioning.

Brenda Soucy

Founder - Soucy Consulting

Accelerate Service - Import and Export Advisor

  • Brenda has over twenty years of experience in international logistics, customs compliance and cross-border operations. Brenda helps companies improve supply chain efficiency, improve logistics workflows and resolve complex transportation and customs challenges. Brenda connects companies to partners to keep goods moving efficiently across borders.

Peter Studer

Managing Senior Partner - CFN Consultants

Accelerate Service - Defence Industry Advisor

  • An experienced business development professional with over forty years in the public and private sectors, Peter excels at identifying and facilitating connections in the aerospace, space, defence, marine and public safety markets. He provides clients with advice, information, and exposure in the areas of government procurement, industrial capacity and capabilities, business development and trade show preparation.

Ignite AI helps innovative, for-profit companies explore, adopt, and scale artificial intelligence. The program brings together three pillars, including the Catalyst advisory service, which offers up to $10,000 in reimbursed one-on-one strategic guidance, personalized support, and mentorship from advisors with practical, sector-specific expertise. 

Ashwini Tripathi

Founder & CEO -Aebeolle Consulting Inc.

Ignite AI Advisor

  • With nearly 15 years of consulting experience across healthtech, SaaS, AI, life sciences, agritech, robotics, chemicals, public sector, cybersecurity, and beverage, Ash has worked with clients across Canada, the US, Europe, and international markets.

    He brings a rare combination of strategic rigour and hands-on execution, from MVP scoping and AI architecture to go-to-market design, workflow automation, and digital product development across web and mobile platforms.

Sara Phelan

Owner - Evalu8-Evolve

Ignite AI Advisor

  • Sara Phelan is a business strategist, certified business and executive coach, former business broker, and Strategic AI advisor helping small businesses adopt AI with clarity, structure, and reduced risk. 

    As the founder of Evalu8-Evolve and creator of the Evalu8 Framework, Sara helps owner-led businesses assess where they are today, identify practical AI opportunities, and build clear action plans across leadership, operations, marketing, sales, customer experience, team, and financial decision-making.

Michael Cheung

C-Founder / Managing Partner - CollectiveXP (CXP)|

Ignite AI Advisor

  • Michael Cheung is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at CollectiveXP (CXP), a Toronto-based firm that builds custom AI agents for growing businesses, and CXP Capital Partners, a search-fund acquisition platform actively investing in the ETA space.

    With over 20 years of experience spanning banking, management consulting at Deloitte (M&A and sales strategy), and operational leadership as a VP of Operations at a high-growth startup through its Series B, Michael brings a rare combination of financial rigour and operational execution to his work. He holds an MBA and is a CPA, CMA, and PMP.

Todd Morris

Todd Morris Consulting Inc. o/a Business Lab

Ignite AI Advisor

  • Todd Morris is an AI Advisor and Educator who helps founders and businesses turn AI potential into practical business outcomes. With more than two decades across software engineering, product leadership, intelligent automation and applied AI, Todd brings technical depth and business sense to what is worth building.

    At the centre of his approach is the AI Home Base - a persistent AI workspace built with you and owned by your business. It's where you explore opportunities, learn, experiment and build practical AI solutions.

Jason Hurlbut

Founder & Chief DreamWeaver - StilwaterAI

Ignite AI Advisor

  • Jason Hurlbut is the Founder and Chief DreamWeaver of StilwaterAI, an AI services and development firm based in Huntsville, Ontario.

    He works with business leaders across Northern Ontario, Muskoka and Parry Sound to turn AI from a talking point into working systems: AI awareness and readiness, including hands-on team training, practical AI use policies, and custom AI-powered assistants that automate real work and stay supported after launch.

George McKeown

Founder & CEO - LumberHub

Ignite AI Advisor

  • George McKeown is the founder and CEO of LumberHub, a software and digital trading platform for the lumber industry, and serves as Head of Digital Trading at Sitka Forest Products. He holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Toronto.

    He combines commercial experience with a technical background in software development, data analysis, and applied AI. George has built pricing, quoting, inventory, and workflow systems used in live commodity trading environments and has advised industrial companies on technology adoption and digital transformation.

The SDPP accelerates company growth projects by providing innovative, for-profit companies with a wage subsidy to hire an individual (participant) for a 16-week work placement. As an added value, the participants take part in scheduled workshops & an innovation retreat led by two experienced advisors, focused on personal and professional development.

Helen Antebi

Owner - Helen Antebi Consulting Inc.

Skills Development Placement Program (SDPP) Advisor

  • Helen’s experience includes coaching for emerging leaders, leadership team development and growth, training and workshops and facilitating the merging/co-creation of workplace cultures following acquisition or restructuring, including leadership and senior management coaching for transition.

Tony Cox

Owner - Leaders of the Day

Skills Development Placement Program (SDPP) Advisor

  • Tony Cox is a provocative thought leader who has prided himself on consistently taking the “road less traveled” in his life. His presentations powerfully motivate audiences to consider how they can choose to make bold and liberating choices in their own lives and to consistently move in the direction of their dreams.