KELOWNA – CBC today announced that Kelowna’s Lane Merrifield will join the DRAGONS’ DEN lineup for season 13, premiering fall 2018. Merrifield will bring a wealth of knowledge and skill to the show with first-hand experience establishing and growing multi-million dollar businesses.
“I am thrilled to be joining the incredible lineup of Dragons in the Den this season,” said Merrifield. “I’ve been fortunate enough to experience the power and adventure of entrepreneurialism throughout my life, and I can’t wait to share that joy and experience with others. We are privileged to live in a country where entrepreneurs are given a platform like this and I’m honoured to be a part of it.”
Merrifield is the creative genius and virtual game-changer behind Club Penguin, the world’s largest children’s social network. At 28 years of age and just 18 months after launching the network, he sold it for $350 million and accepted his next challenge as one of the youngest executive vice presidents at the Walt Disney Company, where he grew Club Penguin to the billion dollar brand it is today.
After departing Disney, he launched FreshGrade, a learning assessment tool that is currently being used in 80% of school districts across Canada. One year later, he founded Wheelhouse, an organization that invests in and supports early-stage tech companies and entrepreneurs. Lending his hand to up-starters, Merrifield also keeps his influence in the corporate world by sitting on the board of Spin Master.
Over the years, his teams have won dozens of awards including a prestigious BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television) Award for Club Penguin. Lane has received an Honorary Fellows Award, a Business Leader of the Year award from the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce and he was also listed as one of The Hollywood Reporter’s Top 35 Executives under 35.