Windsor Law alum, Bilal Khan ‘08, is recognized on an impressive list of individuals being honoured as Canada’s 2017 Top 40 Under 40 by Business News Network (BNN).
The award, established in 1995 by Caldwell Partners, recognizes young Canadian business leaders, innovators and visionaries for their outstanding achievements. Khan was selected among hundreds of candidates who were nominated for their achievements in business.
Khan is a lawyer and founding Chief Executive Officer at OneEleven, a scale-up innovation hub in downtown Toronto that assists high-growth startups build their businesses and scale operations.
The company which launched in 2013, is making strides in the business world and even garnered the attention of Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, who visited the team earlier this year for their official grand opening.
Innovative companies like OneEleven are setting the stage for Canada’s tech sector, economic growth and job creation. The recognition is a positive indicator of the impact Khan and his team are making; not only to businesses and communities but the country as a whole.
“There has been a common thread in my career path that connects everything from my undergrad, to law school and beyond and it’s around my ability and belief to make an impact on my community, the people around me, the country and ultimately the world,” said Khan. “I think that's what drove me to want to become a lawyer to begin with, when I look back on why I went to law school it was this ability to have an impact on people's lives.”
Prior to joining OneEleven Khan spent his early career practicing corporate and securities law. He later worked with the United Nations at the Centre for Business and Human Rights before securing a position as the Director of Policy and Senior Advisor to the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Innovation for the Province of Ontario.
Khan admits he has taken an unconventional approach to his career compared to some of his JD colleagues but is thankful for the versatility of a law degree.
“I would say a law degree is an incredibly valuable degree to have,” said Khan. “The experiences that I had in law school and what I learned, particularly at Windsor since it has a strong social justice program is what motivated and inspired me to want to do something that I felt could have a pretty significant impact.”
In addition to his work at OneEleven, Khan is a Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto and at the Brookfield Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Ryerson University where teaches innovation.
He also sits on a variety of boards and advisory groups that continue to fuel his motivation to learn including the Canadian Club of Toronto, Toronto Global, TVO, IMB i3 Advisory Board, Canadian Innovation Exchange and the Small Business Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Advisory board.
“Some of the most interesting things happen at the intersection of different verticals in different industries,” said Khan. “Sitting on these boards is a great opportunity for me to contribute in a meaningful way to different organizations and Industries and to be able to feed that knowledge and information back into the work I'm doing at OneEleven.”
The recipients of Canada’s Top 40 under 40 will receive their awards at a gala this fall.