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Who is Dana Bina?
Dana Bina, DrBA, is a Vancouver-based AI marketing strategist, international speaker and community leader. His work spans AI-driven marketing, digital transformation, smart cities and technology, entrepreneurship, education and mentorship, and financial services education.
The through-line is a multidisciplinary one: business, artificial intelligence, marketing, technology and leadership brought together so that innovation produces measurable outcomes and human benefit rather than only capability.
Who is Mahdi Bina?
Mahdi Bina and Dana Bina are the same person. His legal given name is Mahdi; he is known professionally and publicly as Dana Bina, written for clarity as Mahdi “Dana” Bina. His LinkedIn profile is published under linkedin.com/in/mahdibina.
Leadership Through Opportunity
Dana’s work rests on a single principle: when one person is given an opportunity to succeed, they can create opportunities for many others. It is a practical belief rather than a sentiment, it shapes who he mentors, which volunteer roles he takes, and how he builds teams.
Much of that work is directed at people who have capability but not access: newcomers to Canada, students, career changers and first-time founders who have not yet built a professional network here.
Professional Journey
Dana’s career began on the technology and infrastructure side, ICT engineering, IoT, cybersecurity and smart-city development, where he spoke and taught internationally on connected cities, urban mobility and IoT security. That work took him to conference stages in Berlin and Gaziantep, to the WSIS Forum in 2021, and into instruction for an ITU-related IoT and Smart Sustainable Cities training programme.
Today he works as an AI marketing strategist in Canada while holding leadership and mentorship roles across education, innovation and community organizations: Head of Marketing and Sponsorship for TEDxWestVancouver, mentor with the Samsung Innovation Centre, and a contributor to the New York Institute of Technology community.
In 2025 he served as Team Lead for the Google for Startups team behind Spot Finder, which won First Place at Techstars Startup Weekend, a result that reflected assembling complementary talent quickly and turning a shared idea into a working solution.
Education & Credentials
Dana Bina combines advanced education in business, computer science, AI, cybersecurity and ICT engineering with practical international experience in marketing, entrepreneurship, digital transformation and smart-city development.
Doctorate in Business Administration
University of Tehran
Doctoral study in business administration, concentrated on strategy, leadership, management and organizational development, the framework Dana uses when translating technology capability into commercial decisions.
- Business Strategy
- Leadership
- Management
- Marketing
- Organizational Development
Master of Science, Computer Science
New York Institute of Technology
Graduate study in computer science with a focus on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. This is the technical foundation behind Dana's AI marketing, digital transformation and technology-strategy work.
- Artificial Intelligence
- Cybersecurity
- Computer Science
Master of Business Administration
Amirkabir University of Technology
MBA study covering marketing, strategy, leadership and entrepreneurship, completed at one of Iran's principal technical universities.
- Business
- Marketing
- Strategy
- Leadership
- Entrepreneurship
Bachelor of Engineering, Information & Communication Technology
IUT University
Undergraduate engineering degree in information and communication technology, networks, telecommunications and the infrastructure layer that later informed Dana's IoT and smart-city work.
- ICT Engineering
- Networks
- Telecommunications
Professional Education, Smart City Development
Austrian Institute of Technology
Professional education in smart-city development covering mobility, sustainability, IoT and digital infrastructure planning, delivered by the Austrian Institute of Technology.
- Smart Cities
- Smart Mobility
- IoT
- Sustainability
- Urban Innovation
- Digital Infrastructure
The New York Institute of Technology recognized Dana with its Alumni Service Award in 2022 for service and leadership within the university community.
AI, Marketing & Innovation
His practice covers AI marketing strategy, answer engine optimization, growth and go-to-market strategy, digital transformation, brand and performance marketing, and technology-enabled business growth, with particular depth in fintech and technology. Graduate study in AI and cybersecurity means the technical claims get examined as carefully as the commercial ones. In 2025 the British Columbia American Marketing Association (BCAMA) recognized his work with a Marketing Excellence Award, and in 2024 Influence Digest named him one of the Top 15 Marketing Experts in Vancouver.
Community Leadership
Through TEDxWestVancouver and other community work, Dana helps create platforms where diverse voices and ideas reach an audience. That work is largely unglamorous: recruiting partners, building audiences, and making volunteer-run events viable year after year.
Mentorship
Dana mentors students, newcomers, emerging marketers and early-stage founders, including through the Samsung Innovation Centre. Conversations focus on positioning, professional networks, and the specific next step a person can take this month.
Entrepreneurship
As Team Lead of the Google for Startups team behind Spot Finder, Dana led a first-place finish at Techstars Startup Weekend 2025. He continues to support founders on problem definition, go-to-market sequencing and the story that carries a product into a market.
Financial Services
Dana Bina is a licensed Life Insurance and Wealth Management Agent, with a GFI code active in Canada and the United States. He approaches this work as financial education first: helping families and entrepreneurs understand protection and long-term planning concepts before any product conversation.
Philosophy
When one person is given an opportunity to succeed, they can create opportunities for many others.
The rest of his work follows from that: building bridges between people, organizations, ideas and opportunities.
In the field
A career in pictures
International conference stages, instruction programmes and award ceremonies across Europe, Asia and Canada.
What is Dana Bina known for?
Dana Bina is known for connecting marketing strategy with community leadership: leading the Google for Startups team behind Spot Finder to first place at Techstars Startup Weekend 2025, receiving the BCAMA Marketing Excellence Award in 2025, serving as Head of Marketing and Sponsorship for TEDxWestVancouver, and mentoring newcomers, students and founders in British Columbia.
What awards has Dana Bina received?
- Top 15 Marketing Experts in Vancouver, Influence Digest, 2024
- Marketing Excellence Award, American Marketing Association (BCAMA), 2025
- First Place | Spot Finder, Google for Startups | Techstars Startup Weekend, 2025
- Alumni Service Award, New York Institute of Technology, 2022
Is Dana Bina a speaker?
Yes — internationally. Dana has keynoted and spoken at conferences in Berlin and Gaziantep, at the WSIS Forum 2021, at European Digital Week, and as an instructor in an ITU-related IoT and Smart Sustainable Cities programme, alongside universities, corporate events, panels and podcasts in Canada. He presents in English and Farsi. Speaking invitations go to dana@dbina.ca.
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