Planting seeds for the next generation

For Keenan Pascal, opportunity isn’t something you wait for — it’s something you create.

After establishing a career in finance at Scotiabank and then ATB, in 2016 he made the leap into entrepreneurship, launching his own company in a rapidly evolving industry. Today, he is the CEO of Token Holdings, which includes a portfolio of companies in the consumer packaging space: Token Naturals, a cannabis manufacturing company, Token Bitters in the mocktails space and a newly acquired partnership in Hansen Distillery.

That same drive has shaped Pascal’s approach to giving back, leading him to create the new NBCC Award for Excellence in Business. The award will recognize Black undergraduate students based on both academic standing and community engagement.

Already a member of the Alberta School of Business (ASB) Advisory Council, Pascal found the decision to deepen his involvement with the school an easy one.

“The connections I made and the experience I had at the U of A are such a profound part of my life,” he says. “I thought I should really give back.”

Pascal has a long history of community involvement — including with the U of A’s ELITE Program for Black Youth — but he wasn’t content to stop there. 

“I’m impatient,” he says with a laugh. “If there’s an opportunity to help and I can give back, why not do it? I’ll plant seeds now and see what comes from it.”

Drawing on his longstanding relationship with the National Black Coalition of Canada (NBCC) — from attending their events with his parents as a child to now serving on the executive board — he saw an opportunity to build a bridge between the organization and Black students at the U of A.

Creating the first ASB award for Black students is a milestone Pascal says is “very near and dear” to his heart.

“There are a lot of opportunities to recognize the strong Black presence at the U of A,” he says. “We’ll hear their stories, reward them for all the hard work they’ve done — and if we can take some burden off the student financially, we’re really happy to do that.”

“You may as well make some people smile while you’re going through life.”