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Derrick Raphael

Co-founder, ICON Talent Partners

TalentBrampton

Derrick Raphael co-founded ICON Talent Partners with his wife Marilyn Raphael, a Canadian non-profit incorporated in May 2019 that trains Black, Indigenous and racialized students and professionals for careers in corporate law, venture capital, private equity and tech. A US-licensed lawyer, he became ICON's first full-time employee and was its CEO as of February 2024.

Derrick hasn’t spoken on a TechTO, TechVancouver or TechWaterloo stage. This profile is here because Derrick co-founded ICON Talent Partners, which appears in 1 talk in the archive.

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Quick answers

Did Derrick Raphael co-found ICON Talent Partners?

Yes. In a University of Waterloo interview published February 1, 2024, Raphael says in his own words that he "co-founded ICON with my wife Marilyn Raphael". The same page identifies him as CEO and founder of ICON Talent Partners.

What is ICON Talent Partners?

A Canadian non-profit that supports Black, Indigenous and racialized youth and professionals moving into competitive fields such as corporate law, venture capital, private equity, technology and startups, per the University of Waterloo interview (February 1, 2024). Corporations Canada records show it was incorporated federally on May 9, 2019, at an address in Brampton, Ontario, with Marilyn Raphael, Derrick Raphael and Panin Kusi-Achampong as directors.

What did Derrick Raphael do at ICON?

A BEKH featured-entrepreneur profile describes him as a Princeton and Duke alumnus and a US-licensed attorney who moved from the United States to Canada, saw no Canadian equivalent of the US mentorship programs he knew, and started ICON with his wife rather than wait for someone else to. That page says ICON runs on about 20 volunteers and that Derrick is its first full-time employee (checked 2026-09-21; the page carries an August 15 date without a year).

What does Derrick Raphael do now?

The most recent dated source found is the University of Waterloo interview of February 1, 2024, which lists him as CEO and founder of ICON Talent Partners. No 2025 or 2026 page confirming a current role could be found, and ICON's own website at icontalent.org returned a hosting-suspended page when checked on 2026-09-21, so his present-day role is not verified here.

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Maintained by TechTO · facts sourced and dated · last reviewed Sep 21, 2026