Speaker Biographies

Kenny Crandlemire
The Mestern Group - CIBC Wood Gundy
Kenny is an Investment Advisor and Associate Portfolio Manager for The Mestern Group at CIBC Wood Gundy in Ottawa. He is a CFA charter holder. He specializes in providing bespoke wealth management services for entrepreneurs, incorporated professionals, and high-net worth families.
Outside of the traditional wealth management services, he acts as a quarterback for all client personal and business related financial needs. This includes connecting business owners with financing providers, helping individuals with their decision on whether or not to incorporate, and much more.

Chris Skelton
BizSold
Chris Skelton has been assisting clients with franchise growth, sales, and operations for the past couple of decades. With a wealth of experience in assisting investors and franchisors, Chris has come to quickly identify what business opportunity aligns best with the right candidate.

Ryan Coyle
Connect Assett Management
An astute and highly accomplished real estate investor and owner of Connect.ca Realty, Ryan is a respected and authoritative figure in Canadian real estate. With 20+ years of real estate investment experience, Ryan has built a personal portfolio of over 40 doors and has created over $2 Billion in wealth for Canadians through real estate. Connect.ca Realty helps hundreds of Canadians successfully invest in real estate every year. Knowing at a young age that a regular pension plan (if he even had one) would never be enough to retire comfortably, Ryan became obsessed with everything to do with real estate investment. Having learned first-hand how to accumulate massive wealth with real estate Ryan is passionate about passing on this knowledge and helping others do the same.

Jason Peyman
Mann Lawyers
Jason obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University and is a graduate of the joint law degree program between the University of Ottawa and Michigan State University. His practice focuses on residential real estate, as well as corporate/commercial law. He provides clients with help throughout the stages of a real estate transaction and assists clients with real estate issues such as preparing co-tenancy agreements and advising clients regarding boundary disputes. For corporate/commercial clients, he prepares and reviews commercial agreements, such as asset and share purchase agreements, shareholder agreements, leases, and license agreements.

Ahsan Ansari
TD Canada
Ahsan has been in his current role with as Regional Manager, Franchise Banking for 2 years at TD Bank, and with franchise industry for over 8 years. As Regional Manager, Ahsan is one of TD's franchise industry experts and is responsible for growing TD's franchise banking portfolio while ensuring that franchisee customers are provided with legendary customer service. Ahsan also brings to the table over 15 years of lending experience from Commercial and Small Business at TD. He enjoys collaborating with both franchisors and franchisees to assist them with all of their credit and Banking needs.

Anthony Temperato
TD Insurance
With a passion and dedication for building lasting client relationships, I bring a wealth of expertise in helping small business owners navigate the complexities of risk management and insurance solutions tailored to their unique needs.
Leveraging my in-depth insurance product knowledge and passion for working with small business owners, I am committed to helping my clients discover tailored solutions that effectively safeguards their business assets and legacies.
As a trusted partner, I will take you through a deep discovery process to understand your insurance needs, recommend solutions, and work closely with a team of TD Insurance specialists who are experts in pricing and, underwriting to meet your specific needs. At TD Insurance we are committed to delivering exceptional customer service and value and offering a wide range of products at different price points and to stand with our customers
when they need us most.

Neil Schwartz
Mann Lawyers
Neil is a business lawyer within the Corporate Group at Mann Lawyers and provides advice in all areas of corporate and commercial law. He supports entrepreneurs, professionals, and organizations, big and small, in their pursuit of good governance, commercial success, and legal compliance. He can help with organizational planning, professional corporations, business acquisitions and sales, commercial leasing, financing, and other general business issues.
Prior to joining Mann Lawyers, he worked for several years as a corporate lawyer with a multinational firm and as in-house counsel at one of Canada’s largest crown corporations. Most recently, he helped build a Canadian startup into a leading national player in the immersive entertainment space.
He is a member of the County of Carleton Law Association and sits on the Board of Directors of the Ottawa Network for Education, a local charity that does amazing work for kids and families in the Ottawa area.
When not in the office, he can usually be found playing sports, exploring nature or spending time with his wife Caitlin and their three rascals, Cale, Declan and Reid.