Nona Vincent
President, AKI Recruiters
Hailing from Rapid Lake and Gatineau, Quebec, Nona Vincent is Algonquin Anishinaabe and a member of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake. At the age of 21 he embarked on a career as a General Contractor, overseeing the rehabilitation and renovation of over 1000 residential units in Ottawa for some of the city's leading property management companies. As the President of AKI General Contractors, he led the interior fit-up for three Mexi's locations and developed three Oxygen Fitness locations in the Ottawa area. More recently he developed a housing program for his community of Rapid Lake, training over 30 community members in all aspects of new home building, resulting in healthy, high quality housing for eight families. In 2025 Nona spearheaded the creation of the Anishnabe Alliance to advance the well-being and self-determination of the11 Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation communities across the Kitchi Sibi (Ottawa River) watershed in Quebec and Ontario through economic development, education, housing, and culture and recreation.
Ottawa, Ontario-based Ross Holden has over 25 years' experience as a consulting policy and Indigenous relations advisor in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. His areas of expertise include stakeholder engagement, community relations, policy research, public and Indigenous governance, energy and climate change, and security and defense. In the past five years he has advised the defence and construction sectors in the development and implementation of Indigenous Participation Plans (IPPs). From Indigenous supplier development and business-to-business (B2B) matchmaking, to developing Indigenous training, recruitment and employment pipelines, Ross has established himself as a leader in promoting and boosting the involvement of First Nations, Metis and Inuit Peoples the construction industry.
Ross Holden
VP Marketing and Business Development
AKI Recruiters
AKI Recruiters promotes and facilitates the employment and training of Indigenous peoples in the construction sector. AKI Recruiters is a collaboration between its President, Nona Vincent, and Ross Holden, Vice President Marketing and Business Development.
