ELO Network participants to benefit from Ray Pennings talk at ELO Forums, while Cardus ENG Fellows learn from ELO’s Dr. Rick Goossen.

With an exciting new program for next generation business leaders set to launch soon, Cardus is announcing a powerful new partnership with the Entrepreneurial Leaders Organization (ELO) Network.

Through this partnership, Cardus is a National Gold Sponsor of ELO’s 2026 three Forum events across Canada, and Executive Vice President Ray Pennings will speak at the ELO Forums in Winnipeg (October 22) and Toronto (November 18) on the future of faith and implications for business leaders. The inaugural cohort of the forthcoming Cardus’ Entrepreneurial NextGEN (ENG) Fellowship program will also participate in the ELO Forum Toronto. Ray Pennings will also participate in August in the ELO Oxford Leadership Program. 

“At these Forum events, I look forward to bringing both data and perspective on the changing Canadian demographics and how those demographics are changing the social environment within which we do business,” said Pennings. “ELO is the premier resource to help meaning-driven business and entrepreneurial leaders succeed, and we’re delighted to connect them with our ENG Fellows for mutual benefit as ELO shapes the growth of our Fellows and as our Fellows share their insights and experiences within the ELO Network.”

In addition, ELO will sponsor Cardus’ 2026 Ian Shugart Lecture, and ELO founder Dr. Richard Goossen will speak to the ENG cohort in January 2027. Dr. Goossen commented that, “Greater collaboration between Cardus and ELO Network is a great fit. Cardus is a leading North American think tank with a 25-year track record of impact. ELO has collaborated well with Cardus for many years and is both values aligned and shares the pursuit of excellence as a reflection of a divine calling.”

The Cardus’ ENG Fellowship brings together 12 visionary Christian business leaders each year to discover how faith, entrepreneurship, and civic leadership come alive together—gaining the frameworks, mentorship, and peer community needed to build businesses that can renew society. 

The program is directed by David Smith and Lois Benham-Smith, two veteran Canadian business and civic leaders who came to Cardus with a shared conviction that senior Christian entrepreneurs are an under-leveraged force for social renewal, and an underserved one. David Smith is a former president of Compass Group Canada, one of Canada’s largest employers, and Lois Benham-Smith is a founder and former executive director of a leading Ontario pregnancy care centre.

Applications are being accepted until June 30, 2026, with the first gathering scheduled for September 2026. Please visit HERE for full program details including eligibility, and to apply.