Speaker Bio
Mark Brand is a trailblazing chef and entrepreneur in the fields of social impact and community development. Having created more than a dozen brick-and-mortar businesses and a multinational charity, his leadership spans a powerful ecosystem of purpose-built organizations. In Vancouver, this includes Upward Kitchens West, Upward Café & Kitchen, A Better Life Foundation, Persephone Brewing Company, and the long-running Plenty of Plates community dinner model. Across Halifax, his enterprises include Upward Mobility Kitchens, Upward Kitchens East, Upward Café (The Nook on Gottingen), the Sharpen Up youth culinary program, the school lunch and breakfast programs powered by Upward, and the emerging Upward Farms greenhouse initiative focused on microgreens, herbs, and regenerative food systems. Each of these ventures exists for one purpose: dignified food security, community employment, and transforming systems through collaboration.
Beyond his entrepreneurial endeavours, Brand’s influence is felt in the realms of education and innovation. As a Stanford fellow and Professor of innovation and design thinking, he has played a pivotal role in advancing knowledge and fostering creative problem-solving in the field of social impact.
His work extends globally through partnerships and service. He has served as Executive Chef for the American Refugee Committee, collaborated on Pope Francis’s Climate Challenge, and held the post of Entrepreneur in Residence for the City of Sydney, Australia. These experiences underscore his belief that global solutions must be rooted in grassroots, lived expertise. His contributions have been recognized with Canada’s Golden Jubilee Medal and King Charles III’s Coronation Medal, honouring his extraordinary service to country and community.
Alongside his impact organizations and partnership initiatives, Brand recently launched BETTER, an iHeart Original radio show and podcast distributed across Rogers and Bell Media. Through this platform, he shares stories and tools for transformation, equipping listeners with tangible practices to lead better lives—beyond rhetoric and into action.
Brand’s diverse contributions, from culinary entrepreneurship to international advocacy, exemplify resilience, leadership, and an unwavering commitment to building a better world through collaboration, compassion, and innovation.
At the core of his work lies a profound belief in the power of true partnership. Brand champions the idea that only through genuine collaboration can the meaningful, systemic progress we seek be achieved, captured in his lifelong mantra: “There is no ‘Us and Them,’ only Us.”
Speaker Topics
Mark Brand believes that good business doesn’t have to come at the cost of doing good. Discussing the tenants of blending corporate and community leadership, Mark draws on his own decades-long experience of successful social entrepreneurship to guide and encourage audiences in their own endeavours.
Fully customizable, Mark can discuss his own experience (and lessons learned); the best practices for employing people who traditionally have had barriers to employment; mentorship; the importance of leverage and partnerships; thinking outside the box; and sticking to your philosophies during tough economic times.
Mark Brand, a celebrated entrepreneur, social innovator, and thought leader, brings a transformative perspective on leadership and purpose-driven business. In this engaging session Mark shares actionable insights on balancing profitability with impact, fostering team loyalty, and building brands that resonate deeply with customers and communities.
Mark’s journey as the founder of multiple successful ventures, including socially conscious restaurants, offers unparalleled lessons for leaders navigating the complexities of scaling operations while maintaining authenticity and connection. Attendees will explore how to:
- Cultivate a mission-driven company culture that enhances employee satisfaction and retention.
- Leverage community engagement to boost brand loyalty and customer trust.
- Lead with empathy to inspire high-performing teams.
This keynote is designed to empower managers with tools and strategies to transform their leadership approach, aligning it with the values and expectations of today’s consumers and employees.
Successful and vibrant communities are built with real inclusion. Mark Brand works in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, a community long recognized as being in flux. The space of one city block separates million dollar condos and 8×10-single-room occupancy’s dedicated as housing for the mentally ill and addicted.
Brand’s work in the DTES encompasses food security, training, employment, and strategic partnerships with developers and social enterprises alike. He works to change policy municipally–and perception nationally–in an effort to help create and build better communities that are rich, inclusive, and wonderful places in which to live and work, and where residents look after one another.
He speaks on this topic with the passion that translates to all levels of business and society, regardless of color, creed, or financial status.
Testimonials
“Mark Brand is easily among the most prolific if not captivating and inspirational speakers to ever have taken the TEDx stage. Within seconds of beginning his talk, Mark turned a room of 2,000 TED enthusiasts into Brand-Fans with his high energy story. He’s one of those rare speakers that could turn a standalone reading of the Phonebook into a mesmerizing soliloquy just by injecting his own experience and voice into it. If you haven’t had the chance to hear Mark speak yet, find a way.”
“Mark Brand is cool. During a well-attended public forum on improving our downtown, Mark spoke eloquently and honestly about what it means to be an entrepreneur who invests in his community and its residents, demonstrating that success and social enterprise can – and oftentimes should – go hand in hand. He lives it, he preaches it; he is it”
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