Jose Manuel Castellon Alvarez, MBA, is the Founder and CEO of IB7 Consulting Ltd., a Winnipeg-based foreign direct investment (FDI) intelligence firm that helps foreign small and medium enterprises (SMEs) enter the Canadian market — and Canadian SMEs expand into Latin America and Europe.

Born and raised in Mexicali, Baja California, Jose Manuel built his career intentionally across four industries — steel, electronics manufacturing, aerospace, and IT service delivery — including senior roles at Honeywell Aerospace, Boeing Canada, and CentrePort Canada. He holds an MBA from Audencia Business School in Nantes, France (2016–17), where his thesis on state incentives for attracting SMEs to North America became the founding thesis of IB7.

Alongside IB7, Jose Manuel is Lead Instructor (IT Service Delivery) at Red River College Polytechnic — a strategic pivot he describes as foundational to IB7’s technical capabilities — and an active mentor with PMI Manitoba’s Level Up Mentorship Program. He is a member of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce and works trilingually in Spanish, English, and French.

His upcoming engagements include a business development mission to Milan in July 2026, advancing Canada’s trade relationships across the Latin American and European corridors. He is increasingly sought as a speaker on intentional career achoring, FDI strategy, and the entrepreneur’s project management mindset — themes drawn from a career he frames as built by design, not by accident.

Margarita Serova is a Chartered Marketer (CM), marketing strategist, and workshop facilitator with over 15 years of experience in marketing, business development, and strategic partnerships across international and Canadian markets. She helps professionals strengthen their professional visibility, networks, and positioning through her LinkedIn & Networking Hack workshops and consulting practice.

Before launching her consulting work, Margarita built her career working on real estate and construction–related projects, coordinating initiatives that involved multiple stakeholders, cross-functional teams, and long-term collaboration.

She is an active Toastmasters member and a selected speaker for TEDx Waverley (April 2026).

Margarita is also the founder of Biz Moms Club, a community supporting mothers navigating both professional ambition and motherhood. She often says that motherhood, careers, and business are much like agile projects — requiring constant adaptation, stakeholder alignment, and clear communication. She believes the same mindset applies to professional visibility and networking, where relationships and communication are key assets for project professionals.

Most hiring managers will tell you that skills, certifications, and experience matter. They do. But after a certain point, everyone sitting in the interview chair is qualified.

So why does one person get the opportunity while another equally qualified person does not?

Drawing on almost 35 years of experience as a programmer, project manager, consultant, and executive, Ken Howell will share what he has learned from reviewing thousands of resumes and interviewing hundreds of professionals. Through real stories and practical examples, he will discuss the things that often influence hiring decisions but rarely appear on a job posting.

This session is designed for project managers, business analysts, newcomers to Canada, and experienced professionals in ANY field who want a better understanding of what hiring managers are actually looking for and how to stand out for the right reasons.

Participants will leave with practical ideas they can apply immediately to strengthen their professional credibility, improve their interview approach, and better position themselves for future opportunities.