ELO is pleased to announce that Dale Lutz, Co-Founder, Safe Software, will be speaking at the ELO Forum Toronto on November 19, 2025, at the Toronto Airport Marriott Hotel and at the ELO Forum Vancouver will take place on November 5, 2025, at the Paradox Hotel.
Dale will be speaking on "All I Really Need to Know in Business I Learned in Kindergarten at ELO Conferences: A 20 Year Retrospective."
After attending nearly every ELO Conference since 2005 (only skipping once for a wedding—no, not his own), Dale has collected a wealth of insights and advice that have shaped his journey as an entrepreneur and mentor. In this session, he’ll share his personal “greatest hits” collection of ELO lessons, featuring everything from practical business wisdom to unexpected gems that might surprise you. Whether you’re looking to grow your business, fine-tune your leadership, or just enjoy a good story, Dale’s mix of serious insights and lighthearted takeaways will give you something valuable to reflect on—or at least enjoy a laugh or two along the way.
Dale is a farm-boy turned tech entrepreneur with a Master’s in Computing Science from the University of Alberta. His entrepreneurial journey began early when, at just 10 years old, he won a 4H public speaking competition with his speech titled “Raising Rabbits For Fun and Profit." Some years later, he co-founded Safe Software, a global spatial data integration software company that started with two guys in their spare bedrooms. This was a software developed to exchange maps between the BC government and forest companies and grew to over 250 employees with customers around the world. After 30 years and 9 days, Dale sold his interest in December 2023, giving him more time for family, mentoring young entrepreneurs, and refining his philanthropic life plan.
Originally from Alberta and a BC resident since 1988, Dale has served on the board of Barnabas Family Ministries for 13 years, most recently helping lead a successful Executive Director transition. He’s attended nearly every ELO conference since 2005, which has been key to shaping his business philosophy. Now, post-exit and "fun-employed," he’s still learning and reflecting on business best practices—while also figuring out retirement, though by all accounts it seems he’s already quite good at it.
Dale has been a stalwart supporter of ELO for 20 years as an advisor and advocate for the core purpose: connect, equip and celebrate Christian marketplace and entrepreneurial leaders.
(NOTE: this year's ELO Forum Winnipeg is on October 22, 2025--Dale would be speaking there, too, but he did that last year!)
Interested in attending?
