Operator · Advisor · Builder

I build things.
Then I help you build yours.

From launching a global professional network to building a Toronto garden suite to advising organizations on AI and strategy, every engagement draws on something I've actually done.

Until 2012 · Syria
Damascus
International Procurement · Oil & Gas · ConocoPhillips · Non-profit sector
2012–2016 · Lebanon
Beirut
Humanitarian aid & crisis operations · Dawlaty
2016–2023 · Canada
Toronto
Public Safety Canada · national merchandising operation, Property management, Community leadership
2024–Now
Building
Silaa Network · Garden Suite · AI advisory · Consulting, ETA search

You're in the right place if…

Whether you are building something new, navigating a change, or simply need a thinking partner who has been there, there is a place for you here. Take a look at what I do and see what fits.

Change & AI Adoption

Whether you are an individual navigating a shift or an organization managing change and AI integration, I have been on both sides. Government, humanitarian, social enterprise, and corporate. I help you move through the transition without losing what works.

Book a strategy call →

Homeowners in Ontario

I built a garden suite in Toronto, fast, efficiently, and successfully. HST rebate secured, STR licence obtained, 5-star Airbnb achieved. I can walk you through how to turn your Ontario property into an income-generating asset, from first permit to first guest.

Book a property consult →

Website Builds

Clean, fast, functional websites, no subscriptions, no bloat, no agency fees. I am the client-facing strategist and my developer handles the build using AI-assisted workflows. You get a professional site quickly, at a fraction of the usual cost.

Tell me what you need →

Video & Campaigns

From research documentation to marketing campaigns, I produce video and media projects that tell real stories. Clients include the SAWA team, a research initiative I delivered a full video product for. If you have a story to tell or a campaign to run, I know how to shape and deliver it.

Let's talk about your project →

HR, Policies & Process

HR evaluations, policy development, and process design grounded in real operational experience, federal government, national workforce management, and organizational change. I help you build systems that actually fit how your team works.

Book an HR consult →

Event Planning & Production

Have an event and need someone to plan, manage, and execute it? From corporate networking to community conferences, I have produced sold-out events with sponsors, speakers, and measurable outcomes. Attendees have called them the best events they have experienced in Canada.

Tell me about your event →

In the room & on the record

Available for speaking on community building, AI in organizations, diaspora entrepreneurship, and real estate in Toronto.

Event · SpeakingSilaa Network

Menopause Renaissance Conference

Hosted and produced a flagship Toronto conference challenging health stigma in Arab professional communities. KitchenAid sponsored. Full-room audience.

View the event ↗

Video · Client WorkSAWA Team

SAWA Team, Video Production

A complete video product created for the SAWA research team. Strategy, production, and delivery, from brief to final cut.

Watch the video ↗

Community · ProjectAl-Qazzaz Foundation

Catch-Up Project

Al-Qazzaz Foundation for Education & Development, community programming for newcomer women.

Watch the reel ↗

In their own words

Working with Ruba's Circle was an easy and smooth experience! Their communication and planning pace were excellent, and the final deliverables are both high quality and culturally fitting. I would absolutely work with them again and highly recommend them!

Delaney GlassAssistant Professor, University of Toronto · SAWA project

Thank you so much for all of your enthusiastic support and innovation! It was a pleasure to work alongside you on the Admin team supporting event response. I look forward to our paths crossing again.

Carine RenaudProgram Manager, Government Operations Centre, Public Safety Canada

In recognition of exhibiting initiative and creativity to improve operational efficiencies in the financial reporting process, training, and the Budget and Expenditure Management Tool (BEMT).

Cindy JobinManager, Public Safety Canada · Instant Award

I want to thank you for all your efforts and the opportunities you provide, and I love the new website!

Susan Abu RaslanSilaa member

What I've built & can advise on

Not case studies from someone else's company. Each one is something I founded, funded, built, and operate today.

Built · Running

Silaa Professional Network

Founded and currently managing Silaa, a professional network for Arabic-speaking women, built under Ruba's Circle. A full web platform with directory, events, training, and bilingual community features. Silaa events have attracted academic collaborators including the University of Toronto Anthropology department's SAWA team.

Founded & managing · silaa.me · UofT Anthropology SAWA collaboration
Built · Advising

Garden Suite, Etobicoke

Designed, permitted, financed, and built a garden suite on my Toronto property, fast and efficiently from approvals to keys. Secured the government HST rebate, obtained a Short-Term Rental (STR) licence with the City of Toronto, and achieved a 5-star Airbnb rating. A complete, successful project now operating as both a long-term rental and Airbnb.

Permitted. Built. Renting in Toronto.
Advisory · Ongoing

AI & Organizational Strategy

Delivered AI usage policy gap analysis and governance frameworks for nonprofit leaders. Supporting organizations on AI integration, change management, and operational design. Certified in AI process implementation.

Nonprofit AI policy. Change management. Federal operations.
Built · Civic

Community Leadership

Within a year of arriving in Canada, joined CultureLink's board and served as Chair (2017–2020). Panelist with Senator Ratna Omidvar on inclusive workforce policy. Spoke at the Rotary International Convention in Toronto. Chaired research for the Private Refugee Sponsor Network of Ontario.

Board Chair. Senator panel. Rotary International.
27+
Years Experience
3
Countries Operated In
Non‑profit
Community Sector
Property
Real Estate & Rental
Business
Founder & Operator
Federal
Government Experience

Three decades, three countries.
One consistent thread.

I started my career in Damascus as an International Procurement expert in oil and gas at ConocoPhillips, then shifted to the non-profit sector, where I spent almost 13 years. I began that work in Syria. When the war came, I moved to Lebanon and spent four years building humanitarian response initiatives and managing Dawlaty's programs, all while my own family navigated displacement.

When I arrived in Canada in 2016, I brought all of that with me. I volunteered and worked in property management, then merchandising, and went on to lead national operations across Canada. I worked inside Public Safety Canada, chaired EDI committees, and then turned my attention to building something of my own.

The thread across all of it: I always build, develop, or create, even in hard conditions and with limited resources. And it works. That's what I bring to every engagement.

What is Ruba's Circle?

It is the people I know, trust, and work with. Over thirty years across three countries and multiple sectors, I have built a wide circle of talented professionals in areas ranging from technology and design to policy, communications, and operations. When you work with me, you get access to that circle. I connect the right people to the right opportunities and bring in exactly the expertise a project needs, without the overhead of a large firm.

Reserve Time With Me
Credentials
AI Process Certification
Organizational AI integration & implementation
Public Safety Canada
Federal programs · EDI committee lead
Sheridan College · U. of Wolverhampton
Business & management credentials
London Chamber of Commerce
Professional certification
CultureLink, Board Chair
Board & Chair 2017–2020 · newcomer integration

Acquiring an established Canadian business.

Through the Ruba Bilal Search Fund, I am conducting a focused, full-time search to acquire a privately held business in home services, specialty trades, or essential facilities maintenance, primarily in the Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa. Canada is in the middle of its largest ownership transition in history, and I am looking for owners who have built something real and want to see it carried forward by the right hands.

Sector Focus
Home services, specialty trades and essential facilities maintenance
Geography
Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa, with select national opportunities
Ideal Seller
Retirement-motivated owner with a profitable business and loyal team
Start a Confidential Conversation
No obligation. Strictly confidential. ruba.bilal@rubascircle.ca

Let's figure out
your next move.

30 minutes. No pitch. I will tell you what I actually think, based on what I have actually done. Open to advisory engagements, and to quiet, confidential conversations with owners and investors considering a transition.

Reserve Time With Ruba
Calendly booking. Response within 24 hours. Toronto and remote. ruba.bilal@rubascircle.ca
Land Acknowledgment

We acknowledge the land we are meeting on is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.