Kevin O’Leary
Star of ABC’s Shark Tank, Venture Capitalist and Investor

Kevin O’Leary’s success story began in his native Canada, “with a big idea and zero cash.” In 1986, he founded SoftKey Software Products, later to be called The Learning Company, in his Toronto basement. Under O’Leary’s leadership, the company became a giant in its sector before it was acquired for $4.2 billion. In 2000, O’Leary founded O’Leary Ventures, a generalist venture capital investment platform that has since invested in start-ups and early-stage companies across virtually every sector. In 2003, he co-founded Storage Now, a leading developer of climate-controlled storage facilities, which was later acquired for $110 million. His next investment, Stream Global Services, was later acquired for $820 million. 

In 2006, O’Leary joined the Canadian cast of Dragon’s Den, the international business reality show and forerunner of the U.S. Shark Tank franchise. His tough critiques and brutal honesty made him a popular judge. In 2009, he was invited to join the founding cast of ABC’s Shark Tank, alongside Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec, Lori Greiner, Daymond John, and Barbara Corcoran. Shark Tank continues to be one of the most popular television programs of all time, garnering multiple awards and nominations, including four Emmy awards. Reflecting his commitment to “eco-preneurship,” O’Leary also co-hosted The Discovery Channel’s Project Earth series, which explored radical ideas to combat global warming. 

O’Leary currently serves as chairman for a portfolio of companies that reflect his guiding principles for business. They include venture capital investment platform O’Leary Ventures; Beanstox, an automated internet-based investment advisory service; and O’Shares Investments, which provides ETFs for long-term wealth management. He is the founder of O’Leary Financial Group, and Chief Sommelier of award-winning O’Leary Fine Wines. Since 2021, O’Leary has also been a strategic investor in WonderFi, now one of the largest regulated crypto asset trading platforms in the world. 

A strong believer in financial education and fostering the next generation of entrepreneurs, Kevin O’Leary is the author of a bestselling series of books: Cold Hard Truth; Men, Women and Money; and Family, Kids and Money. He has spoken to future entrepreneurs at Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, Notre Dame, Waterloo and McGill. Corporate speaking audiences have included Ernst & Young, MassMutual, First Third Bank, Constant Contact, Comcast, Zendesk, Cisco Systems, National Conference of State Legislatures, and ExxonMobil. 

O’Leary serves on the investment committee of Boston’s prestigious 200-year-old Hamilton Trust. He is an avid chef, wine lover, world traveler, photographer, electric guitarist, guitar collector, and die-hard New England Patriots fan. 

Mr. O’Leary received an honours bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and psychology from the University of Waterloo and an MBA in entrepreneurship from the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario.

Craig Dubitsky 
Friendly co-founder, happy coffee 
Founder, hello products 
Former Chief Innovation Strategist, Colgate-Palmolive 

Craig is the friendly co-founder of happy coffee (along with Robert Downey Jr), founder of hello products, and former Chief Innovation Strategist of Colgate-Palmolive.  

happy coffee launched in early 2024 with a mission to elevate the everyday. Priding itself on using only the best, selectively sourced green beans produced by thoughtful growers and opting for a slow roasting process to protect the finest of flavor, happy not only delivers a seriously delicious™ cup of coffee but they care about the person drinking it. In an effort to de-stigmatize mental health, happy coffee has partnered with NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization, with a dedication to building better lives for millions of Americans. Think of it as coffee with a conscience.  

hello, the world’s first naturally friendly™ oral care brand, was acquired by Colgate in January of 2020. hello remains the fastest-growing oral care brand in the US, with products now available in over 55,000 food, drug, and mass retailers. hello was named by Inc Magazine as one of the Best Places to Work, as well as “One of the 25 Companies That Are Changing the World.” Dubitsky himself was named to Advertising Age’s Creativity 50, the publication’s annual list of the most influential and innovative creative thinkers, and one of the 100 Most Inspirational Marketers in the World by The Internationalist.  

Prior to hello, Craig was a co-founder and creative lead at eos products, a founding board member at Method Products, and a strategic advisor to Seventh Generation, Boots, and various private equity funds.  

Craig is an inductee in the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO) Hall of Fame, an Entrepreneur in Residence at Babson, and serves as an Advisory Council Member at the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship at The Simon School of Business at The University of Rochester. Craig loves people, design, brand, packaging and people. Yes, he said people twice. 

Tracey Massey
Chief Operating Officer, NIQ 

Tracey Massey currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of NIQ. As COO, Tracey is responsible for all commercial and product aspects, including revenue, product development plans, business units’ strategies, and all market-facing aspects of NIQ.  
 
Tracey is an accomplished global executive with over 30 years of experience and a successful track record in enhancing and expanding global businesses. Her philosophy of winning with clearly articulated strategies coupled with the infusion of trust and resources allows Tracey to empower people and nurture highly engaged teams.  
Prior to joining NIQ, Tracey served as Global President and Chief Executive Officer of Mars Pet Nutrition, where she led the world’s largest pet food business, revamping its product portfolios for continuous growth. Prior to that role, she was Regional President Mars Confectionary Americas, where she successfully led her team through the integration of Mars Chocolate Americas with the Wrigley Co. Americas.  
 
Tracey has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Loughborough University in England, and is a published thought-leader and speaker on topics such as women’s success in STEM and embracing the power of diversity. 

Ben Macedo
SVP BASES Global Commercial Leader, NIQ

Ben Macedo, Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer of NIQ BASES, has been consulting on new product innovation with both Fortune 500 companies and start-ups for over 20 years. His areas of expertise include identifying “white space” opportunities, ideation, sales forecasting, and honing launch activation with pack design and other marketing levers. In his tenure with BASES, Ben has seen thousands of new product ideas and launches and is adept at understanding the factors that differentiate the winners from the rest of the pack.