Fenton Jagdeo Jr. believes the new rule for being successful is that there are no rules. To become an era-defining dynamic worker the most important factor is the ability to be curious. Radically curious. Then to activate and execute that curiosity into innovation. This approach ensured Fenton optimized his curiosity and leveraged his experiences into pivotal career opportunities. He’s an entrepreneur and problem solver whose ideology is rooted in creating better for the ecosystems he operates in, impacting everyone positively. Fenton does this through a passion for action, inspiring others, and investing in those also building for better.

In 2022, he was named to Bay Street Bull’s Top 30×30, showcasing incredible individuals who are redefining the way we do business, championing their communities, and cultivating entirely new industries. Fenton was also selected for the Peak's Emerging Leaders list for 2024, which highlights young leaders shaping Canada's economy, culture, and society. 

Fenton is passionate about innovation, the importance of youth leadership, resiliency in the face of adversity, diversity as a competitive advantage, the future of mobility, optimizing GenZ relationships and how consumer companies can court them, building startups, and navigating the venture ecosystem.

Currently, he’s the youngest person ever on the Toronto Transit Commission’s (TTC) board of directors and the founding entrepreneur for venture-backed company, Faculty, a cosmetics brand for men. His company raised $3 million in seed funding led by The Esteé Lauder Cos., making Fenton one of the very few Black Canadians to raise capital for a venture. In 2023, the brand was acquired by Estée Lauder Companies.

Fenton is an EDI Advisory Council Member, operates a venture fund with a focus on pre-seed to Series A companies,and is the Co-Founder of BIPOC Mentor Network, a better people network driven to democratize opportunity for BIPOC & LGTBQ+ students. He is also the youngest teacher on staff at OCAD University, the largest and most comprehensive art, design, and media university in Canada. A ‘professor of strategy’, he teaches a Masters Student class in Strategy Development where students explore scenario planning, strategic choices, identifying growth areas, innovation capability, building new growth businesses and ventures, and choice defense with business modeling.    

An Ivey HBA graduate, he was previously a board member of the world’s largest neighborhood library system, the Toronto Public Library, where he was responsible for leading the strategic planning committee and developing the library’s five-year strategy. He was also a management consultant at Deloitte, Monitor and Doblin, where he helped advise private and public sector leaders. He now consults independently to senior government and business leaders across the world, helping them navigate the toughest innovation and business challenges with a design-forward leadership mindset. Recently, he advised Saudi Arabia on the world’s most ambitious infrastructure project, and a hotelier in Lebanon. In addition, Fenton ran a PPE operation out of Sudan and was a second strategy hire at Freshii, working closely with the CEO on new initiatives designed to push industry boundaries. He also owns a dental clinic whose mission is access to expert dental care with transparent pricing and person-first ideology.                                                                                                                 

He’s lectured on innovation, business strategy, and leadership for various corporate teams, associations, and educational institutions. Some of his previous clients include Loblaws, Oxford Properties Group, Accenture, Ivey Business School, and more. Fenton’s knack for storytelling began when he won the Toronto District School Board Storytelling Competition in conjunction with The Word on The Street, Canada’s largest literary festival celebrating storytelling, ideas and imagination. Since that time, Fenton has been lecturing, entertaining, and inspiring tens of thousands.

All of this having grown up on Jane Street and attending what many would consider one of the roughest high schools in Toronto, gives Fenton the lived experience when he speaks about resilience, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

His career is all over the place, but he doesn’t plan on changing that any time soon. Afterall, the new rule for being successful is that there are no rules.