CHARLES CHANG, BBA '95
President & Founder, Lyra Growth Partners Inc.

Award: Professional Achievement

Seasoned in both Vancouver and global business markets, SFU Beedie alumnus Charles Chang is the founder and head of Lyra Growth Partners, a venture growth equity company that helps aspiring entrepreneurs build companies with passion and purpose. He is a renowned and respected leader in the field of social entrepreneurship and innovation and his contributions to business, philanthropy, and education are helping to raise a new generation of changemakers and problem solvers.

Charles made his name by creating and leading plant-based nutrition company Vega, which he started from his basement in 2004 and financed with his life savings, a second mortgage on his home and credit cards. By the time he sold Vega in 2015, Charles had grown the company into an iconic lifestyle brand with products in over 20,000 stores across North America.

In 2016, he made a transformative gift to SFU to establish the Charles Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship, an interdisciplinary home and academic hub where students and ideas converge to foster entrepreneurial thinking and action.

Charles is also co-founder of PowerPlay Young Entrepreneurs, a non-profit organization that helps elementary school students develop an entrepreneurial mindset.

He resides with his family in West Vancouver, BC and is an active member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO), an avid golfer, fly fisher, mountain biker, and skier.