Friday Meetup #SpeakerSeries
About the Session:
Rethinking Hiring: How Happy Hive Helps Companies Tap Into Untapped Talent by Kaaren Whitney-Vernon
In this session, Kaaren Whitney-Vernon, serial entrepreneur and founder of Happy Hive, will share how companies can move beyond outdated hiring playbooks to discover high-potential talent too often overlooked by traditional systems.
For decades, hiring practices have relied on resumes, credentials, and keyword filters that don’t accurately reflect what candidates are truly capable of. These legacy approaches routinely exclude skilled people—especially those from underrepresented communities—who have the potential to drive innovation and growth.
Kaaren will introduce Happy Hive, a platform designed to help organizations build structured, competency-based frameworks that focus on potential rather than pedigree. You’ll learn how rethinking hiring at every stage can open doors to more diverse talent pipelines and create fairer, more effective pathways into meaningful work.
Key Topics & Insights:
• Why Traditional Hiring Falls Short: Explore how credential bias and vague job descriptions contribute to missed opportunities and limit access.
• Building the Right Foundation: Learn how Happy Hive helps companies audit their current practices, define core competencies, and build structured hiring rubrics that drive better decisions.
• A Smarter Way to Assess Talent: Discover how real-world, role-specific challenges can give deeper insights into how candidates think, solve problems, and fit your values.
• Driving Business Value: Understand why companies using competencies in hiring see up to 36% greater accuracy in predicting success on the job.
• How to Get Involved: Whether you’re actively hiring or preparing for the future, find out how to access Happy Hive’s consulting services, assessment tools, and diverse talent pipelines.
If you’re ready to rethink how your organization identifies and grows talent, this session will give you actionable strategies to build more inclusive, forward-thinking hiring practices that unlock potential—and drive results.
About our Guest Speaker:
Kaaren Whitney-Vernon, Founder, Happy Hive
Kaaren Whitney-Vernon is a serial entrepreneur passionate about closing communication gaps—whether between brands and consumers or companies and job seekers. She is the founder of Happy Hive, a platform that helps businesses hire based on competencies and potential, opening doors for diverse talent often overlooked by traditional systems.
Before launching Happy Hive, Kaaren founded Youth Culture Inc., Canada’s leading teen media company, and co-launched shift2, a branded content studio with Shaftesbury, where she produced award-winning campaigns for clients including Walmart and RBC. She also served as Executive Producer of the cult digital series Carmilla, which amassed over 100 million views.
Kaaren has been featured in Adweek, The Wall Street Journal, The Globe and Mail, and CBC, and she founded the North American chapter of the Branded Content Marketing Association. She frequently judges top industry awards and speaks internationally on innovation in hiring, storytelling, and content.
About our Host:
Mark Harrison, Founder, MH3 Collective & Co-Founder, Black Talent Initiative
Mark Harrison is the founder of the MH3 Collective, a group of ventures whose purpose is to connect people & ideas to create social impact. The Collective includes Humanity, a creative agency for the Human Age; Sidekick, a team of purpose-driven strategy consultants; T1, a sponsorship agency that works with impactful brands; and SponsorshipX, a global community of marketing practitioners. In addition, he Co-founded the Black Talent Initiative to support the Black community in professional workplaces and Park Street Education, a charity to remove all barriers to children’s education.
His community involvement also includes being Board Chair of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto, a Board Member of the CAMH Foundation, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences/The JUNO Awards, Ontario University Athletics, and an advisor to several ventures, including the Crankworx World Tour, and NFL Canada. In addition, Mark sits on the Board of Playmaker Capital, a leading digital sports media company.
Mark is a recipient of the Harry Jerome Award (Business Category), annually presented by the Black Business and Professional Association (BBPA). In addition, his success in marketing over the last thirty years has led him to be the Association of Canadian Advertisers’ 2022 Gold Medal Award winner.
Mark is also CBC Metro Morning’s business columnist, where you can hear his regular takes on corporate and societal matters.
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BTI Friday Meetups are a weekly source of information and inspiration for the Black Talent Initiative community. This is a space to share, learn, and engage with talented leaders driving meaningful change.
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