Breakout Session 2

Hersh Perlis is the co-founder and Director of the Legal Innovation Zone (LIZ) at Ryerson University. Hersh briefly left the LIZ to become Chief of Staff of Deloitte’s Artificial Intelligence practice – Omnia. Prior to coming to Ryerson he spent almost 5 years at Queens Park as a Senior Advisor to several ministers.

Hersh oversaw a number of initiatives while at Deloitte including the integration of the firms’ AI practice in Chile and with the development and execution of strategic programs to help continue the rapid growth of Deloitte’s AI practice. While at Queens Park he created, expanded and oversaw a number of key initiatives on behalf of the government. These included the 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games as well as other initiatives such as the Industrial Electricity Incentive Program and the Right to Play program for rural and remote First Nation communities. Prior to his time in government he was Director of Development for a national not-for-profit organization. Sports, politics and the lake are his passion and he enjoys them with his wife and two sons.

Lucrezia Spagnolo is the Founder and CEO of VESTA Social Innovation Technologies; a social enterprise at the intersection of gender-based violence, technology, and access to justice.  To support survivors of sexual assault, VESTA Community, an online anonymous reporting tool, was created. In partnership with sexual assault centres and police, survivors can access local services and can provide police with the circumstances of their assault with the option of remaining anonymous.

Prior to starting VESTA, Lucrezia was an Executive in the international payments industry. She held a variety of roles in small, medium and Fortune 500 companies, in Canada and abroad. Lucrezia’s extensive experience and empathetic leadership made her a sought after leader, often promoted to lead international expansion and business transformation. Her social entrepreneurship journey began in 2013, when as an Executive-In-Residence of the Ashoka Foundation, she worked with a social enterprise in Mexico to transform their business processes to expand to other countries and scale their impact.

Lucrezia is a graduate of McGill University and is a sought after speaker on Social Justice & Entrepreneurship, Tech4Good and Women and Gender Equality.

Aliya Ramji is a partner of McCarthy Tétrault and co-founder of MT>Ventures, a wholly-owned division of the firm. Based in Toronto, Aliya is focused exclusively on start-ups, scale-ups and other fast-growth businesses. In addition to delivering tailored legal advice and other strategic value to high-potential businesses in the start-up or scale-up phase, Aliya regularly advises venture capital, angel and strategic investors, as well as parties looking to create strategic alliances or partnerships with founders or start-ups.

Prior to joining the Firm, Aliya was Senior Director, Legal and Corporate Affairs, at Figure1, a highly successful med-tech start-up for health care professionals. Aliya delivered diverse legal and business advice, supporting Figure1 through global expansion to more than 100 countries, various strategic alliances, multiple rounds of venture capital financing, and a host of privacy, data governance and complex regulatory matters.

Aliya is immersed in Canada’s vibrant start-up sector, with particularly deep roots with founders, investors, incubators and academic programs in Toronto, Waterloo, Ottawa and Hamilton. Aliya brings a rare blend of technical legal expertise and business acumen, always underscored by a highly practical and results-oriented mindset. She “speaks the language” of start-ups and has a proven track-record of helping founders and investors seize opportunities, navigate challenges and grow successful businesses.

Aliya presents frequently on a broad range of issues facing founders and the start-up community, and authors a popular advice column, “Ask Aliya”, for lawyers who are the first legal hire at their company. She also teaches Legal Aspects of International Business and Business Law at Ryerson University, and is a committed mentor to several founders and young lawyers, particularly women in start-ups. In 2016, Aliya was named one of the “Top 10 Thirty-Somethings” by the Association of Corporate Counsel and the "Young Alumni of Influence” by the University of Toronto, University College.

Aliya earned a J.D. from Queen’s University and a Masters in Law from NYU School of Law. She is called to the bar in Ontario and New York.

Shane Murphy is currently Chief Operating Officer at Ownr, a portfolio company of RBC Ventures, where he oversees customer engagement and the online processes that serve thousands of Canadian entrepreneurs.

Shane was previously Co-Founder of Founded Technologies, a legal technology startup that was acquired by RBC Ventures in 2020. Prior to starting his own company, Shane was a commercial litigator practising in Toronto. He holds law degrees from McGill University, and a master's degree from the London School of Economics.