The Conscientious capitalist
Brad Katsuyama
Co-founder and CEO of IEX Group (New York)
Age: 37
Hometown: Markham, Ontario
Claim to fame: The star of Michael Lewis's bestseller Flash Boys quit his job at RBC to launch an ethical stock exchange that got full status from the SEC in June.
Job prospect: Head of Canada's new national securities regulator
The digital do-gooder
Sue Gardner
Digital maven (San Francisco)
Age: 49
Hometown: Port Hope, Ontario
Claim to fame: The former head of CBC.ca and executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation most recently worked with the Tor Project, dedicated to protecting anonymity online.
Job prospect: Head of the CBC as the CRTC revamps its mandate (and would-be PC leader Kellie Leitch calls for its destruction)
The roboticist
Chris Urmson
Former CTO of Google's self-driving car project (Mountain View, Calif.)
Age: 40
Hometown: Winnipeg
Claim to fame: The robotics genius joined Google in 2009 from Carnegie Mellon University, but quit a few months ago amid conflicts with his new boss.
Job prospect: Host of Canada's Worst Driver (or head of GM Canada's new autonomous vehicles project)
The economist
Marie-Josée Kravis
Economist (New York)
Age: 67
Hometown: Ottawa
Claim to fame: One of the smartest economists we know. Bonus: She'll bring along husband Henry Kravis, of KKR fame.
Job prospect: Stephen Poloz's term is up in three years…
The venture capitalist
Katherine Barr
General partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures (Silicon Valley)
Age: 44
Hometown: Perth, Ontario
Claim to fame: One of few women VCs in Silicon Valley, and co-founder of the C100, which helps Canadian tech firms raise money in the U.S. She also sits on Bill Morneau's economic advisory committee.
Job prospect: Same job, but stationed in Waterloo, bringing billions in financing north
The mogul
Elon Musk
Founder of Tesla and Space X (Bel Air, Calif.)
Age: 45
(Mom's) Hometown: Regina
Claim to fame: Okay, so the real-life Iron Man (genius-billionaire-playboy- philanthropist, minus the suit) only spent a few years in Canada attending Queen's University, but he still holds a Canadian passport.
Job prospect: Replacing VIA Rail's perennially late passenger service with his Very High-Speed Transit Hyperloop, "a cross between a Concorde, a railgun and an air hockey table"
The academic
Marc Tessier-Lavigne
President of Stanford University (Stanford, Calif.)
Age: 56
Hometown: Trenton, Ontario
Claim to fame: The pioneering neuroscientist, former Stanford faculty member and outspoken advocate for higher education took over his alma mater this past fall.
Job prospect: Advising Justin Trudeau on the increasingly erractic and terrifying behaviour of world leaders
Stars we want back
- Samantha Bee. Biting late-night host of Full Frontal
- Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson. Hollywood’s highest-paid actor and People’s 2016 Sexiest Man Alive
- Sidney Crosby. Pittsburgh Penguins captain
Silicon Valley imports we want back
- Jeff Skoll. Investor, philanthropist and filmmaker
- Chamath Palihapitiya. Venture capitalist and Golden State Warriors part-owner
- Garrett Camp. Uber co-founder and venture capitalist
Canadians they can keep
- Shane Smith. Co-founder and CEO of Vice Media
- Michael Pearson. Former CEO of Valeant Pharmaceuticals
- Ted Cruz. Republican politician