In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with Sue Paish, CEO of DIGITAL, to explore why Canada struggles to turn world-class research into globally competitive companies, and what it takes to change that. Sue reflects on an unconventional career spanning law, healthcare, diagnostics, and national innovation, sharing how repeated leaps into unfamiliar territory shaped her approach to leadership, risk, and collaboration. We unpack how DIGITAL built one of Canada’s most ambitious innovation ecosystems by prioritizing outcomes over process, and why trust-based networks, fast decision-making, and coordinated action became critical during COVID-19. The conversation also explores Canadian business culture, the tension between caution and ambition, and why Sue believes the country’s future depends on becoming bolder, more accountable, and more willing to back winners. At its core, this episode is about leadership beyond the playbook, building systems that reward execution, and reimagining what Canadian innovation can become at scale.

In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with Ian MacKinnon, serial entrepreneur and cybersecurity expert, to unpack the realities of building and protecting products at scale. Ian traces his journey from a scrappy 2014 hackathon project to co-founding Later, which grew into one of the most widely used Instagram marketing platforms in the world, serving over 6 million brands before its acquisition in 2022. He reflects on the early chaos of startup life, including a near-catastrophic database failure that forced him to confront the fragility of fast-moving systems, and how that moment reshaped his thinking around risk, resilience, and responsibility. We explore the tension between speed and security, and why many high-growth companies underestimate the cost of getting it wrong. Ian introduces his current work at Stingray Security, where he’s focused on protecting users from increasingly sophisticated scams and phishing attacks. The conversation expands into the evolving threat landscape, the psychology behind social engineering, and why people remain the most exploited layer in modern systems. This episode also examines the mindset required to move between building and defending technology, the discipline of anticipating failure, and the importance of embedding security into products from the very beginning. At its core, it’s about navigating growth with awareness, understanding where systems break, and building with a deeper sense of accountability in an increasingly risky digital world.

In this episode of High Agency, we sit down with Chloë Swain, Founder and CEO of FutureTwin, to explore how young people can navigate an uncertain future, and what it means to come of age in a world where AI is constantly reshaping careers. Chloë traces the origins of her work to Indigenous communities, where elders serve as pillars of knowledge and guidance. She reflects on the absence of that intergenerational connection today, and how that gap, alongside under-resourced education systems, leaves many students making life-defining decisions with limited support. We unpack the shortcomings of traditional career guidance and the growing mismatch between education and the future of work. She introduces FutureTwin: AI-powered digital counterparts designed to help individuals explore multiple possible futures. These “twins” extend mentorship, offering ongoing guidance across education, career decisions, and personal growth. This conversation also explores the weight of uncertainty, the tension between opportunity and anxiety in the age of AI, and the importance of learning to work with emerging technologies. At its core, it’s about expanding possibilities, rethinking how we make decisions, access opportunity, and shape more intentional futures.