calgary
(3)
The Airline That Started With Three Planes and a Grudge Against Airfare
It began in 1996 with three secondhand jets and a plan to undercut everyone. Today WestJet carries millions of Canadians a year - and it is still arguing that cheap seats and warm service do not have to be a contradiction.
Vicki Knott
Vicki Knott is the CEO and co-founder of CruxOCM, a Calgary-based industrial autonomy software company building AI-powered automation for oil and gas control rooms. A chemical engineer (P.Eng.) who started on the plant floor and trained as a pipeline control room operator at TransCanada, she left in 2017 to co-found CruxOCM with Roger Shirt. Her company's RIPA (Robotic Industrial Process Automation) technology automates the manual, high-stakes work of pipeline operators, and raised a $17M Series A led by Microsoft's M12 venture fund in 2024.
John Marshall
John Marshall is the President and CEO of Userful, the software company that swapped racks of proprietary AV hardware for a browser and a network cable. Named CEO in October 2018, he pivoted a video-wall vendor into a software-defined platform for enterprise-wide operational awareness, the Userful Infinity Platform, now used by hundreds of enterprises across control rooms, command centers and digital signage. A Northwestern and University of Michigan graduate with 25-plus years leading wireless, IoT and networking startups, he ran Userful to 50% year-over-year enterprise sales growth in 2024 with 80% of revenue flowing through a global channel of roughly 100 partners. Off the clock he is a former backcountry guide and adventure racer turned birder.