TBIF Conversations in Calgary: April Hicke and Lara Murphy
About this Event
Join us in Calgary for the next instalment of The Brand is Female Conversation Series presented by TD Women in Enterprise.
Some of the most powerful businesses are built not simply by identifying a gap in the market, but by questioning why that gap exists in the first place. Join us for a conversation with Lara Murphy, President and CEO of Calgary Wild FC and owner of Ryan Murphy Construction, and April Hicke, Founder and CEO of Toast, two Calgary entrepreneurs who have built successful organizations while challenging conventions in industries where women have historically been underrepresented.
From construction and professional sport to technology, Lara has spent her career entering spaces where few women have traditionally held positions of ownership and leadership. As owner of Ryan Murphy Construction, Calgary’s only female-owned commercial construction firm, she has built a nationally recognized business while championing greater inclusion within the industry. Today, as President and CEO of Calgary Wild FC, she is helping build the business of professional women’s sport in Canada from the ground up, creating new opportunities for athletes and a new generation of fans.
April is tackling another persistent gap: the representation and advancement of women in technology. She founded Toast to rethink how women access opportunities, networks and compensation in the tech sector. What began as a community for women in tech has evolved into a fast-growing talent and recruitment company connecting thousands of women with employers while helping organizations build more diverse teams. In the process, April is demonstrating how a clear social purpose can become the foundation for a scalable business.
Together, Lara and April offer two compelling examples of what happens when entrepreneurs refuse to accept the status quo. Their stories raise bigger questions about who gets access to opportunity, how businesses can challenge entrenched systems, and what it takes to turn a mission into an organization built for growth.
Join us for an inspiring conversation about entrepreneurship, breaking barriers, building and scaling businesses, creating opportunity, and what it means to lead change from within industries that are themselves being transformed.
Event details:
When: Thursday, September 17th, 2026
What time: 9am networking breakfast, followed by a panel from 9:30am to 10:30am
Where: aspiHer Women's Business Club Calgary, 139 17th Ave SW
The panel will be moderated by Eva Hartling, Founder, The Brand is Female.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
CAD 26.25
