Gavinder Bhatia is the Founder & CEO of Brick & Bear, redefining executive support through Fractional Operating Partnerships. An engineer by training, she began her career on the plant floor — arms in, shoulder-to-shoulder with production teams — before moving through engineering leadership, supply chain, procurement, marketing, strategy and general management. That 360° experience shaped her career at Estée Lauder, Kraft Foods, and Weston Foods, where she learned how scale, systems, and strategy drive performance. As CEO of Dufflet Pastries, Gavinder saw firsthand the realities of mid-sized business leadership in Canada — where volatility is constant and the pressure is not only to grow, but to be resilient without the resources larger competitors take for granted. With an engineering degree and an MBA, Gavinder combines the discipline to build and prioritize the right systems with the ability to connect and lead with a human touch. Through Brick & Bear, she and her team of seasoned executives embed as Operating Partners — trusted peers who roll up their sleeves to clear bottlenecks, expand capacity, and accelerate growth. Her mission is to give CEOs the space and support to lead with clarity, confidence, and resilience — without carrying it all alone.