Iris E. Wagner

Iris Wagner feels like she has found her calling. She considers Memoirs Productions to be her life’s work. Launched as an ethical will and video biography company, Memoirs Productions enables Iris to utilize her years of professional experience to deliver A&E- style broadcast-quality productions filled with heart.Armed with a degree in business, she was fast-tracked at Canada’s largest bank from International Finance to a prestigious Corporate/International Management Development program. Corporate life was not for her though; she was attracted to working with entrepreneurs. She moved to the technology industry, coordinating a private placement with key investors and becoming the acting CFO for a high tech startup. She also drafted the first strategic plan for a software development firm, which is now a world leader in its market.Seeking a creative outlet, she completed a graduate degree in Film and Communications at Concordia University. To supplement her income while pursuing her studies Iris negotiated sales for a premier downtown real estate office.Iris’ early work in the film industry includes the launch of the largest pre-lease of an IMAX film, Super Speedway. She consulted to an LA-based developer to open a giant-screen theater. She also managed the Eastern Canada tour of a major annual film series.Iris never lost sight of the importance of community service. She has volunteered for numerous organizations, eventually becoming President of the Board of Jewish Vocational Service, where she re-branded a 50-year old non-profit agency with a multi-million dollar budget.Iris was nominated to the Wexner Heritage Foundation Program, based in New York and considered by some to be the “Rhodes Scholarship for leadership development”. It was at a Wexner retreat that Iris first learned about ethical wills. She was profoundly affected by the idea of the preservation of values, beliefs, lessons learned, reflections on life, and important messages to future generations.Ms. Wagner firmly believed in the importance of preserving life stories and realized that this was a service no one was performing. So in 2001 she founded Memoirs Productions by approaching an entrepreneur/philanthropist she knows well; he agreed to have her produce his parents’ legacy. Thrilled with the result, he immediately contracted her to produce his own video biography. This was the first of many productions that Iris was inspired to create.A strong and enthusiastic communicator, Iris has been invited to speak frequently on the preservation of legacies to different organizations in the United States and Canada. They include: Purposeful Planning Institute, Family Firm Institute, TIGER 21, Institute of Investor Research, Campden Conferences, Institute of Private Investors, Attorneys for Family-Held Enterprises, Family Wealth Alliance, CAFE, CITIBANK Global Family Office, Fidelity Family Office and numerous professionals’ and multi-family offices.In June 2008 Iris Wagner was honored to receive the RayLign Family Well-Being Award in Greenwich, Connecticut. The Award is given to an individual or organization that exemplifies a professional commitment to and unbounded enthusiasm for RayLign’s purpose of perpetuating well-being for families through the generations. In 2011, she was asked to write the Prologue for Living Legacies, a collection of Women’s ethical wills. In 2012 she was invited to become Co- Executive Producer of the Bergdorf Goodman legacy documentary.Iris Wagner is passionate about preserving life stories and values: the essence of what truly matters. Her life’s mission and personal legacy is apparent in each of the heirlooms that she and her team at Memoirs create.