About Us
Who We Are
Change Connect is a Canadian training company based in Markham, Ontario, serving small and mid-sized businesses across the GTA and Ontario.
Founded in 2011 by Agnes Lan, we have spent more than 14 years working with growing business teams across manufacturing, distribution, construction, professional services, and other SMB sectors. Today, our training programs help teams build stronger skills in sales development, customer experience, AI enablement, and leadership development.
We are an SMB serving other SMBs. We understand that training needs to be relevant, clear, and connected to the work employees are actually doing every day.
Change Connect
How We Work
Our training is instructor-led, structured, and built around real workplace application.
Participants learn through guided sessions, role-based exercises, team discussion, and between-session practice. This approach helps employees connect what they learn to real sales conversations, customer interactions, AI tasks, management situations, and day-to-day workplace responsibilities.
We keep the learning focused, practical, and easy to apply so teams can build capability without unnecessary complexity.
Meet Our Instructors
Agnes Lan, MBA, P.Eng, CSL
Senior Instructor
Agnes Lan has over two decades of experience in business strategy and sales training. She holds a BASc from the University of Toronto, an international MBA from HKUST and Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, and a Masters Certificate in Analytics and AI for Leaders from Schulich. Her expertise spans training teams on strategic execution, sales growth, and AI adoption across SMBs and enterprises. Agnes has been recognized with the 2019 Talent Magnet of the Year from the Toronto Board of Trade and the 2018 Employer Excellence Award from the Markham Board of Trade.
Vyona Ma, CSL
Senior Instructor
Vyona Ma has over a decade of experience training teams in B2B sales, revenue management, and sales operations across startups, large private companies, and not-for-profits. She holds a Certified Change Management Agent designation through Prosci Methodologies and is a Rogers Media Business Impact of the Year Award recipient. She has also delivered business training through the Richmond Hill and Georgina economic development offices.
Michael Izzi, JD/MBA
Instructor
Michael Izzi holds a Juris Doctor from Queen’s Faculty of Law and an MBA from Smith School of Business. He is also a Certified Change Management Agent through Prosci Methodologies. Michael delivers training across strategic account management, business development, customer success, and process improvement, with a focus on technology-enabled workflows. His legal, business, and analytical background gives participants a structured and practical approach to solving real business problems.
Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta, MBA, C.Dir.
Associate Instructor
Yvonne is a Change Management Strategist and Advisor, Founder of The Change Leadership, and a Change Leadership Advocate with over 20 years of experience helping organizations lead strategic, technology, and regulatory change. She has worked with global organizations including RBC, TD, Deloitte, Loblaws, the Ontario Public Service, and JP Morgan Chase, and also serves on the Board of Directors for the Ontario Education Quality and Accountability Office. Yvonne is passionate about helping professionals and organizations navigate change effectively, creating stronger outcomes for stakeholders, teams, and the wider community.
Christos Nikitopoulos
Associate Instructor
Christos Nikitopoulos is a senior executive and advisor with more than 30 years of leadership experience spanning technology, media, advertising, and sports. He has held senior leadership roles at Uber, The Trade Desk, Google, Rogers, CBC, and the Olympic Media Consortium, leading growth, innovation, and business transformation initiatives. As a Senior Associate with Change Connect, Christos contributes to learning programs and select advisory engagements, bringing a practical, business-first perspective to leadership, innovation, and emerging technologies. He is passionate about helping organizations, teams, and professionals navigate change, unlock growth opportunities, and build high-performing teams.
Christos Nikitopoulos
Associate Instructor
Marco is a Senior Product Owner with 15+ years of experience delivering platform solutions across organizations of every size, from small businesses to large enterprises. His background spans financial services and media, including leading a 3,000+ user platform rollout at a major Canadian bank and supporting digital transformation initiatives for SMB clients.
Marco specializes in translating business requirements into practical, scalable solutions, owning delivery from discovery through implementation. He holds a CSPO certification (Scrum Alliance) and a Masters Certificate in Analytics & AI for Leaders from Schulich, bringing hands-on fluency in AI and data tools to every engagement.
Outside of work, Marco is a lifelong film enthusiast and longtime TIFF member, bringing the same passion for storytelling and audience experience into how he approaches product and client work.