Presenters and Speakers | DECA Conference

Meet our keynote speaker

Meng Wang

Founder at Our Little Treasures

Meng Wang is a proud UW alumna and Young Alumni Award recipient. After graduating from the School of Accounting and Finance, she began her career in investment banking before joining Uber, where she co-founded Uber Eats in Toronto and helped scale it globally.

Today, she is drawing on both her professional experience and her learnings as a mom of two to build Our Little Treasures (OLT), an innovative circular baby clothing company. OLT combines premium, sustainably made babywear with an industry-first Trade-Up program that gives parents savings when they return outgrown clothes. The result: sustainable babywear that’s more accessible for families, while reducing waste and creating a better future for the next generation.

Meet our panellists: Looking to the Future of Business

Claire Purvis

Associate Director, Hub for Sustainability Integration, University of Waterloo

Read Claire's Bio

Claire is a seasoned sustainability professional, management consultant and skilled project manager, with over 15 years of direct industry experience in the sustainability space. She holds a Masters in Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo, and also holds the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR) certification. Claire will be leading the Hub for Sustainability Integration, and will be building out the student consultancy course under the Sustainability and Financial Management Program.

Jasper Lam

Product Owner on the Global Digital Strategy & Operations Team at Sanofi

Read Jasper's Bio

Jasper is a product owner on the Global Digital Strategy & Operations team at Sanofi, where he leads a number of key internal projects focused on standardizing and scaling how digital portfolios and products are managed across Sanofi. He is currently spearheading the development of next generation GenAI tools designed to redefine portfolio management, delivering predictive insights, reducing manual work, and empowering leadership to make better, faster decisions.

Prior to joining Sanofi, he helped establish analytics capabilities at a U.S.-based national provider of childhood mental health care and behavioral therapy. He also spent several years at PwC in the data and analytics consulting team helping clients across a variety of sectors leverage data and AI to create innovative solutions that drive value..

Dr. Jennifer Lynes

Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development.

Read Jennifer's Bio

Dr. Jennifer Lynes is associate professor at the University of Waterloo in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development. Her area of expertise is at the intersection of sustainability and marketing, with a particular focus on how organizations communicate information about climate change. She holds an advisory position with the Privy Council’s Program of Applied Research on Climate Action.

For over two decades she has demonstrated leadership in sustainability through her research, teaching and long-standing support of community initiatives. This includes 10 years as a board member for REEP Green Solutions and six years as director of Canada’s leading program in the environment and business. Her work has been featured in the Nature Energy, the Globe and Mail and on CBC’s The Current.

Dr. Dan Murray

Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development.

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Dan Murray has an undergraduate degree and PhD in Environmental Planning, Dan specializes in working on large and messy problems, such as strategic planning, watershed management, policy development and evaluation. A key part of this work is engaging and working with multiple stakeholders, and having a strong background in research design, methods, and research project management.

Dan has worked in regional government, academia, non-profit organizations, and as a consultant.

Jonathan Yu

Chief Financial Officer of CanCap Group

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Jonathan is the Chief Financial Officer of CanCap Group, a specialty finance company dedicated to providing innovative, technology-driven lending solutions to underserved consumer markets. Prior to joining CanCap, he was CFO of Fionic Canada, a fintech lender leveraging machine learning and AI credit decisioning.

Prior to his fintech journey, he was at RBC and most recently served as the Senior Vice President and CFO of Capital Markets, the investment banking division of Canada's largest bank. A proud alumnus of the University of Waterloo, Jonathan holds a Master of Accounting degree and is a CPA (Canada & US) and CFA charterholder.

Dr. Jeffery Wilson - Moderator

Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo and Director of the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED).

Read Jeffery's Bio

“Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

– Lewis Carroll

I am enthusiastic. I care. I work hard. I love my family. I have other attributes as well. I am stubborn. I move fast. I get grumpy, especially when tired. The positive ones (enthusiasm, caring, working hard, love) are the values I try to emulate in my teaching. I am an associate professor at the University of Waterloo, School of Environment Enterprise and Development. In addition to teaching, I strive to advance interesting and innovative research that has positive impact. Prior to joining the University of Waterloo in 2019, I was a consultant specializing in sustainability measurement and strategy. I had a lot of great mentors during that part of my career. I learnt the importance of building relationships, integrity, and surrounding yourself with a great team. As a dad and a teacher, I want young people to know amazing things happen all the time. Yes, the environmental challenges we face are real and complex. I am not in denial. But, like I tell my boys, here we are. This is our moment. We can freeze up in fear or be bold. Being bold is so much more fun.

To learn about my professional work and for a full list of publications see my Google Scholar Profile

Meet our panellists: Redefining Business: A student perspective on innovation and impact

Jack R.

Biotechnology and Chartered Professional Accounting student at the University of Waterloo

Read Jack R's Bio

Jack is currently in his third year of the Biotechnology/CPA program. Through the co-op program, he has gained experience working as an Accounting Student at the Town of Aurora and in Tax at a major accounting firm. In his free time, Jack enjoys playing the bass guitar, watching Formula 1 and baseball, and solving Rubik’s Cubes.

Rachael M.

Sustainability and Financial Management student at the University of Waterloo

Read Rachael M's Bio

Rachael joined SFM to explore her interests in accounting and finance while continuing to learn about climate and social issues around the world. Within the program, she has found success in building close connections and advancing her career. Next winter, Rachael will be returning to a top accounting firm for another co-op term. She first connected with the team through a case competition and has since gained experience working with major clients in Canada’s financial sector.

Muhammad H.

Accounting and Financial Management student at the University of Waterloo

Read Muhammad H's Bio

Muhammad is a 4^th year AFM student-athlete majoring in Financial Markets and pursuing his CFA designation while also competing for the UW Varsity Rowing team. He is currently at an internship as an Investment Analyst on the Large-Cap Canadian Equities team at large investment firm. In his free time, he is an avid sports fan of all Toronto teams and the Buffalo Bills.

Cailyn A. - Moderator

Political Science, Business, and Sociology student at the University of Waterloo

Read Cailyn A's Bio

Cailyn A, a Political Science, Business, and Sociology student at the University of Waterloo. Cailyn currently serves as a Marketing and Recruitment Associate with the School of Accounting and Finance. With experience across government, recreation, housing, and marketing, she’s passionate about connecting people through creative communication and community engagement.