Olds College has announced that former Dragon Brett Wilson will be the keynote speaker at its black-tie gala on March 23. This year, the event's theme is Cirque du Gala.
“As we bill this event as a highlight of the social and business calendar, we always want to make sure that we deliver a high-end product for that,” said Jordan Cleland, vice-president of advancement at Olds College.
“Brett Wilson is certainly a high-end name-brand speaker in a Canadian context.”
Wilson is a well-known Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist. He started his career as an engineer in the oilfields of Western Canada, before going back to university to study for an MBA. After graduation, he switched careers and became an investment banker, working for and founding investment firms that deal with the oil and gas industry.
In 2008, Wilson joined the popular CBC program Dragon's Den. During his time on the show, he was known as one of the gentler and kinder Dragons, brokering more business deals than any other Dragon in all versions of the program. He left the show in 2011 after he and CBC failed to reach an agreement on his contract.
He launched his own reality TV show Risky Business, which aired last fall on Slice.
“Brett understands the drivers of the Alberta economy,” said Cleland.
“He understands being a small-town Western Canadian boy, the value of rural economies, both agriculture and other components of rural entrepreneurship.”
Olds College counts on Wilson to help sell out the event. This year, the gala will be held at the Ralph Klein Centre, enabling the college to raise the number of guests from 342 to 500.
“We are quite confident in our ability to increase our guest list because we have always sold out our event and had a waiting list in the past,” said Cleland.
“Having a name-brand, renowned keynote speaker will be a huge part of our ability to do that.”
For information on tickets, please visit http://www.oldscollege.ca/events/gala/ or contact Doreen at 403-556-8232.
