Speakers

Biography

Often described as “Africa’s Optimist-in-Chief”, African Development Bank Group President Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina (1960) is widely lauded for his visionary leadership and passion for Africa’s transformation. Formerly the Nigerian Agriculture Minister, Dr Adesina was first elected President of the African Development Bank Group on 28 May 2015. He was re-elected for a second five-year term on 27 August 2020 with 100% of the votes. On 31 October 2019, Dr Adesina led the African Development Bank Group to achieve the highest capital increase since the Bank Group’s establishment in 1964, when shareholders from 80 member countries raised the general capital from $93 billion to a historic $208 billion. With Dr Adesina at the helm, the African Development Bank Group responded boldly to the coronavirus pandemic. On 3 April 2020, the premier development finance institution launched a landmark $3 billion COVID-19 Social Bond followed by a COVID-19 Crisis Response Facility of $10 billion. Over the course of his distinguished career, Dr Adesina has been recognised with numerous awards. On 19 October 2017, the President was conferred with the World Food Prize, generally known as the “Nobel Prize for Agriculture”. On 29 February 2020, he was named African of the Year 2019 by one million readers of the African Leadership Magazine.

Biography

Aziza Akhmouch is the Head of the Cities, Urban Policies and Sustainable Development division within the Centre for entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities of the OECD. She oversees a team of 30+ experts providing governments with new data, evidence, analysis and guidance in a wide range of urban policies to foster smart, inclusive, competitive and sustainable cities. Amongst others, she oversees the OECD metropolitan and National Urban Policy Reviews, and a broad range of thematic work related to housing, transport, cities and inclusive growth, cities and environment, metropolitan productivity and governance, and localising the Sustainable Development Goals. Aziza Akhmouch spearheaded the OECD Principles on Urban Policy and the OECD Water Governance Initiative. She also manages the OECD Champion Mayors Initiative for Inclusive Growth, the OECD Roundtable of Mayors and Ministers, and the OECD-UN Habitat-Cities Alliance National Urban Policy Platform. She holds a PhD and Ms Degree in Geography, specialised in Geopolitics from the University of Paris 8-Vincennes, and a Master’s degree in international relations.

Biography

Jamil Anderlini was appointed Asia editor of the Financial Times in January 2016 to oversee all editorial operations throughout Asia. He previously served as Beijing bureau chief for the Financial Times, Beijing business correspondent at the South China Morning Post, and chief editor of the China Economic Review. Anderlini has won numerous awards, including a UK Foreign Press Association Award, several individual SOPA awards, and the inaugural Jones-Mauthner Award in 2012. In 2013, Anderlini was named a young global leader by the World Economic Forum and shortlisted for Foreign Reporter of the Year at The Press Awards in the UK. He received a BA in English from Victoria University of Wellington. Anderlini was named a Finance Leaders Fellow by the Aspen Institute in 2019.

Biography

Inger Andersen is Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.  Between 2015 and 2019, Ms. Andersen was the Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).  Ms Andersen brings a passion for conservation and sustainable development with more than 30 years of experience in international development economics, environmental sustainability and policy-making, as well as in designing and implementing projects and generating on-the-ground impact. She has played a key role in supporting riparian countries on international water management and hydro diplomacy.  Ms. Andersen also held various leadership roles at the World Bank for 15 years including as Vice President of the Middle East and North Africa and Vice President for Sustainable Development and at the United Nations starting in the UN Sudano-Sahelian Office working on drought and desertification issues.

Biography

Helen Antoniou is an executive coach for corporate leaders and their teams, as well as family business owners and their successors. She is the Chair of the Board of Governors of Concordia University.

In May 2018, Helen published the business biography, “Back to Beer ... and Hockey: The Story of Eric Molson”, that she wrote about her father-in-law and past-chairman of Molson Coors Beverage Company, which was on the Top 10 Non-Fiction Books list of the Globe and Mail. Helen lectures on leadership and the governance of family businesses at institutions such as the MIT Sloan School of Management and the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program.

Helen holds Civil and Common Law degrees from McGill University, a Masters in Law from Université de Paris II, and a Masters in Public Health from Harvard University. She became certified as an executive coach at the Hudson Institute of Coaching in Santa Barbara, California. Her community involvement focuses on health and education.

Biography

Louis Audet is Executive Chairman of the Board of Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Communications Inc., having stepped into the position on September 1, 2018.

Mr. Audet joined Cogeco in 1981 and held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Communications Inc. starting in 1993. Under his leadership, Cogeco has become a leading Canadian communications company, operating internationally and generating revenues of over $2.3 billion annually. As Executive Chair, Louis Audet plays an active executive role focusing on major business issues and strategies while working closely with and supporting recently appointed President and Chief Executive Officer, Philippe Jetté.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of CableLabs. He previously sat on the Boards of Directors of the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association, Clarica,the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, Corporation de l'École Polytechnique de Montréal, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, the Association canadienne de la radio et de la télévision de langue française, and served as Governor of the Council on Canadian Unity. He was also Chairman of the Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf Development Fund.

Over the years, Mr. Audet has often been recognized by both the business and philanthropic communities for his numerous achievements. Amongst his contributions, he acted as co-Chair of the 2017 campaign for Centraide of Greater Montréal and as Chair of the 2014-2020 fundraising campaign for the Old Brewery Mission Foundation, a major foundation which provides emergency and other services for homeless people in the Montreal area.

Mr. Audet holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School (Boston, MA) and has graduated from École Polytechnique (Montréal) with an Engineering Degree, Electronics and Communications. He holds a college diploma (DEC) from Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf (Montréal).

Louis Audet was named Member of the Order of Canada in 2013. In 2018, he was chosen as the United Nations Association in Canada’s annual Global Citizens Laureate. That same year, he received two Honorary Doctorates from Université de Montréal and Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. He has also been inducted into the Club des entrepreneurs du Conseil du patronat du Québec, and was awarded the Order of Merit of the Université de Montréal Alumni Association, as well as the Merit Award of the École Polytechnique Alumni Association.

Biography

Since 2016, Kathy Baig, Eng., MBA, ASC, has been President of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ), the organization that oversees and supports approximately 65,000 engineering professionals in Québec. Under her leadership, the OIQ developed and implemented the ENG2020 Plan and the ENG 20-25 Plan to become the reference for public protection within Québec’s professional system. The outstanding efforts she has made to restore confidence in the engineering profession in the aftermath of the Charbonneau Commission have not gone unnoticed.

Her accomplishments have been recognized by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Québec (Mercury Award for her leadership), by Engineers Canada (Fellow), the national organization of Canada’s 12 engineering regulators, and by the Canadian Academy of Engineering (Fellow). She also received a Canada's Top 40 under 40 Award during the 2019 edition of this prestigious national awards program.

Kathy Baig makes a significant contribution as a member of the boards of directors of Via Rail Canada, the National Optics Institute (INO), Engineers Canada, and Maison Saint-Gabriel.

Before being elected President of the OIQ, Kathy Baig enjoyed an engineering career of over 10 years with multinational corporations (IBM, Johnson & Johnson), an SME (Pyrogenesis) and Aéroports Montréal (ADM), the airport authority that operates and develops two international airports in the Greater Montreal Area.

Kathy Baig has a degree in chemical engineering (Polytechnique Montréal) and in business administration (HEC Montréal).

Biography

Gerard Baker is Editor At Large of The Wall Street Journal.  He writes columns and commentary for the Journal. He is also the host of  “WSJ at Large with Gerry Baker,” a weekly news and current affairs interview show on the Fox Business Network. 

Mr. Baker previously served as Editor in Chief of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones from 2013 to 2018.  Before that, Mr. Baker was Deputy Editor in Chief of The Wall Street Journal.

He has been a journalist for more than 30 years, writing and broadcasting for some of the world’s most famous news organizations, and also has the distinction of being the first British citizen to moderate a US presidential debate when he co-hosted a Republican primary debate in November 2015 that was  watched live by more than 15 million people.

Mr. Baker was previously Deputy Editor in Chief of The Wall Street Journal from 2009-2013.

Before joining the Journal, Mr. Baker was the U.S. Editor and an Assistant Editor of The Times of London, where he wrote news and commentary for Britain’s longest continuously published newspaper and oversaw U.S. coverage for the paper and online editions.

From 1994 to 2004, Mr. Baker worked for the Financial Times, first as Tokyo Correspondent, where he wrote about the country’s financial crisis, and then, from 1998 to 2002, as Washington Bureau Chief, where he led a team of 10 correspondents and provided extensive reporting and analysis of the Federal Reserve. From 2002 to 2004, he was the FT’s Chief U.S. Commentator and an Associate Editor.

Before joining the FT, Mr. Baker worked for the BBC from 1988 to 1994, as a producer, then as U.S. producer, and finally as Economics Correspondent for TV and radio.

In addition to the Journal, the FT, The Times and the BBC, Mr. Baker’s work has appeared in many other publications, and he has been a frequent television and radio contributor in the UK, the U.S. and around the world.

Mr. Baker started his working life in the financial sector, first as an analyst at the Bank of England, then as an economist at Lloyds Bank in the city of London.

He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford University, where he graduated in 1983 with a First Class Honours Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

Biography

Since her first entrepreneurial venture as a teenager, Janet has used her boundless energy and focus to build and shape companies. Part of the Real Ventures team since 2014, she has led investments in over a dozen companies and works actively to help them accelerate growth and create meaningful impact. Janet’s experience as a founder, and her work with industry leaders like Procter & Gamble, McKinsey & Co. and eBay, have given her great insight and practical knowledge, which she passes on to the teams she mentors. Given her background transforming eBay from a Collectibles to a Mainstream marketplace and launching and growing Kijiji into one of the most visited websites in Canada, Janet primarily works with entrepreneurs in marketplaces, fintech, future of work, and AI in enterprise settings. A dynamic, high energy person, Janet has also competed internationally in triathlons and loves spending time in nature and with her family.

Biography

Dan Barclay was appointed CEO & Group Head of BMO Capital Markets in November 2018. In this role, he is responsible for BMO Financial Group’s interactions with corporate, institutional and government clients worldwide. Previously, Dan was Co-Head, Global Investment & Corporate Banking (I&CB) where he oversaw relationships with corporate and government clients, including equity and debt underwriting, corporate lending and project financing, mergers and acquisitions advisory services, and global trade and banking.

Dan has over 27 years of investment banking experience in a broad range of industries. He joined BMO in 2003 as a Managing Director in the Mergers and Acquisitions group, and in 2009 was named Head of Canadian Mergers and Acquisitions. In 2014 he was appointed Head of Investment & Corporate Banking Canada and International. Prior to joining BMO, Dan spent 13 years in investment banking at a global and Canadian investment dealer.

Dan serves on BMO Financial Group’s Executive Committee and chairs BMO Capital Markets’ Operating and Executive committees.

As a proud supporter of the United Way, Dan acted as past co-chair of the BMO Capital Markets Employee Giving Campaign and is a recipient of the Women in Capital Markets Champion of Change Award (2016). He also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada.

Dan holds a Bachelor of Science with Honours from the University of Alberta and an MBA from the University of Calgary.

Biography

The Honourable Perrin Beatty is the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the 200,000-member Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canada’s largest and most representative national business association. Mr. Beatty is the principal spokesperson advocating the policy positions of the Canadian Chamber’s members to the federal government, international organizations, the media and the general public. Prior to joining the Canadian Chamber in August 2007, Mr. Beatty was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME).

A descendant of one of Canada’s most prominent manufacturing families, Mr. Beatty grew up in Fergus, Ontario and graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1971. In 1972 he was elected to the House of Commons as a Progressive Conservative and in 1979 he was appointed Minister of State (Treasury Board) in the government of Joe Clark. He held six additional portfolios in subsequent Progressive Conservative governments, including National Revenue in 1984, Solicitor General in 1985, National Defence in 1986, Health and Welfare in 1989, Communications in 1991, and Secretary of State for External Affairs in 1993.

In 1994, Mr. Beatty joined a number of private sector boards and worked as a consultant in the field of communications. He was a Honourary Visiting Professor with the Department of Political Science, University of Western Ontario. He wrote a weekly column on government and politics for a major Canadian newspaper. From 1995 - 1999, Mr. Beatty was President and CEO of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

Mr. Beatty has served on a number of Canadian government advisory committees, is a member of the advisory council of the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian International Council. In 2008, Mr. Beatty was named Chancellor of the University of Ontario Institute Of Technology. In 2012, Mr. Beatty became a member of the Board of Directors of Mitsui Canada.

Biography

Born in 1969, Arnaud Beaufort is a graduate of the École polytechnique and of Telecom ParisTech.
From 1997 to 2002, he chaired the Bureau of Economic Assessment and Prospective at the Office of Media Development (Prime Minister services); he then joigned the Documentation française in 2002 to manage publishing, promotion and commercial activities, especially online.
In 2007, he became Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of the digital issues of the BnF and Director of Services and Networks.
In 2010, he received the French Public Sector Manager of the Year award.

Biography

John M. Beck is Founder and Chairman of Aecon Group Inc. A graduate in Civil Engineering from McGill University, Mr. Beck has more than 50 years of experience in the construction industry in Canada and internationally. His background includes corporate leadership in numerous construction activities including heavy civil projects and public-private partnerships for the development of infrastructure, such as airports, toll roads and transit systems.

Mr. Beck is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Financing Authority and the Royal Conservatory of Music, and has been Co-Chair of the Infrastructure & Urban Development Industries at the World Economic Forum. He is a member of the Advisory Council for the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary and also a member of the Business Council of Canada. He was previously Chairman of the Board of the Ontario Power Authority, a government agency with responsibility for planning and procuring all of the province’s power needs for the next 20 years. Mr. Beck received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 Award in the Manufacturing and Construction category for Ontario and the 2018 Par Excellence in Business Award from the French Canada Chamber of Commerce – Ontario. He also received the LiUNA Builder’s Award at the 2018 Ontario Business Achievement Awards (OBAA) and was named P3 Champion of the Year by the Canadian Council of Public Private Partnerships in 2013. In recognition of his distinguished achievements and career-long service to the engineering profession, Mr. Beck was inducted as a Fellow into the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

Biography

Amine Ben Ayed is the Co-founder and COO of Dataperformers, a Montreal based company specialized in applied artificial intelligence. He graduated as a Master in Management Science in 2013 and previously obtained his bachelor in computing management. His previous work experience in Asia and Africa includes different IT roles before founding Dataperformers.

Dataperformers is considered among the top AI companies in Canada, already operating in Canada, US and Japan. The company is one of the official AI providers for the government of Canada. Dataperformers also works with major clients such as Aisin Seiki (Toyota Group) (アイシン精機株式会社,, Aishin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha), Autodesk, Transport Canada, World Anti-Doping Agency as well as other major Canadian players such as Desjardins and Invest Quebec.

Recently, Dataperformers has launched Macula AI, designed to accelerate the operationalization of computer vision for SMEs in the manufacturing and supply chain industries.

Biography

As Executive Vice-President and Head of CDPQ Global, Mr. Blanchard is responsible for CDPQ’s three main regional operations outside of Canada: United States/Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. As such, he is responsible for CDPQ’s international offices, with the objective of diversifying the portfolio by taking a holistic view in approaching the various markets. In addition to representing CDPQ with key stakeholders in global organizations, his mandate includes ensuring visibility as a partner of choice in targeted geographies. He sits on the Executive and Investment-Risk Committees.

Mr. Blanchard has a solid track record as a lawyer, as well as in business and international affairs. Before joining CDPQ in September 2020, he was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York from 2016 to 2020. In that role, he demonstrated exceptional leadership in promoting better alignment of capital with sustainable development. From 2017 to 2020, he sat on Canada’s North American Free Trade Agreement Council. Prior to that, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of McCarthy Tétrault, one of Canada’s leading law firms. In the 20 years he worked there, he also served as Managing Partner for Québec, litigator and strategic advisor for companies.

In addition to a Bachelor of Laws from Université de Montréal, Mr. Blanchard holds an LLM in Public International Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He also holds a Master’s in Public Administration and a Master’s in International Affairs, both from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. He was called to the Québec Bar in 1992.

Biography

Mathieu brings 25 years experience in technology and R&D management, innovation and entrepreneurship. Mathieu holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and computer science and a master's degree in industrial engineering at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique. He started his career with Ericsson (1997-1999), prior to becoming the co-founder and CEO of Nomad Logic (2000-2002) and Maetta (2003-2010). From 2010 to 2015, Mathieu worked with the Strategic Technology group of Bombardier Aerospace, a central entity responsible for the Bombardier Aerospace Research & Technology Development program. In 2015, he joined the National Research Council Canada (NRC) and became in 2019 CEO of the Innovation center JACOBB specialized in Artificial Intelligence.

Biography

Charles-Edouard Bouée is the Managing Partner of Alpha Intelligence Capital (AIC), a global  venture capital fund of USD 185 million investing in deep Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) technology-based companies.

From 2013 to 2019, he served as global CEO of Roland Berger, the only leading global consulting firm of European origin, which he led from crisis through transformation to a record year in the firm's history of over 50 years. Today, he acts as a Senior Advisor for the company.

During his more than 20-year tenure in the consulting industry, Charles-Edouard became a seasoned expert in large-scale strategy and reorganization projects, as well as performance improvement. He specializes in disruptive innovation, new technologies and digital transformation, and has developed particular expertise in Artificial Intelligence.

Charles-Edouard has lived and worked in five countries – France, UK, US, Germany and China – and today operates out of China (Shanghai and Hong Kong) with strong ties to his hometown, Paris. A Harvard Business School (HBS) MBA alumni (class of 1995), he is on the Advisory Board of the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), and is involved in various other business and community organizations around the globe, such as the World Economic Forum’s Global Artificial Intelligence Council.

He has authored a number of groundbreaking books on modern management and China, such as China’s Management Revolution: Spirit, Land, Energy (Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2011), Light Footprint Management: Leadership in Times of Change (Bloomsbury, 2013) and Re-entrepreneuring: How Organizations Can Reignite Their Entrepreneurial Spirit (also Bloomsbury, 2018). His latest work on Artificial Intelligence, The Fall of the Human Empire (Bloomsbury, 2019) was first published by Grasset in 2017 (original title: La Chute de l’empire humain), three years after Confucius et les automates (also Grasset, 2014). In October 2020, Grasset published his latest book “L’ère des nouveaux Titans : Le capitalisme en apesanteur”. His books have been translated into various languages, including Chinese and Japanese.

Biography

The Honourable Scott Brison joined BMO as Vice-Chair, Investment & Corporate Banking in 2019. As an elected Member of Parliament, Scott served the constituency of Kings-Hants (Nova Scotia) who elected him to Canada’s House of Commons seven consecutive times over 21 years. During that time he served in government for seven years holding key roles, most recently as President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government from 2015 to 2019, Minister of Public Works and Government Services from 2004 to 2006, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister with special emphasis on Canada-U.S. relations from 2003 to 2004.

In June 2020, Mr. Brison became Dalhousie University’s eighth chancellor.

Mr. Brison is a member of the Trilateral Commission and was named by the World Economic Forum of Davos, Switzerland, as one of its "Young Global Leaders." In August 2010, he was awarded the Order of San Carlos by Colombian President Álvaro Uribe in recognition of his contributions to the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

Mr. Brison serves on the board of Bond Resources Inc., the Canada-China Business Council, the Dalhousie University Board of Governors, the Macdonald Stewart Foundation, CJPAC, the advisory board of the Canadian American Business Council and previously served as Chairman of SeaFort Capital Inc.

Mr. Brison earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Dalhousie University. He has completed the Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century Executive Education Program at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government.

Biography

Ethan Brown is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Beyond Meat, a company dedicated to building meat directly from plants.  Ethan gained an appreciation for agriculture and the natural world from his father, a professor, conservationist, and hobby farmer. This interest shaped the direction of his career, where he sought to make a contribution to climate change through the clean energy sector.  His early work centered on electricity restructuring in support of an open grid, where his analysis at the gubernatorial level directly informed federal and state policies on grid management. Subsequently, Ethan joined the world’s leading Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell developer Ballard Power Systems, rising to report directly to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.

Though passionate about clean energy, Ethan returned often to the role of livestock in our economy and became convinced that a change in the origin of the protein—from animals to plants--that we place at the center of our plates could simultaneously address human health, climate, natural resource, and animal welfare challenges in a unique and powerful way.  In 2009, Ethan founded Beyond Meat.  Today, the Company sells products in more than 30,000 grocery stores, restaurants, universities, hotels and stadiums globally. The Company’s flagship product, the Beyond Burger, has revolutionized the meat aisle by being the first plant-based burger to be sold in the meat case alongside beef at major grocery chains including Whole Foods Market, Kroger, Target and Safeway. Beyond Meat is routinely recognized for its innovation, including being named Newsweek’s Top Innovators of 2019, Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies 2019, TIME’S Best Inventions of 2018, a United Nations 2018 Champion of the Earth and by Forbes as a CircleUp25 Top Consumer Brand for 2018.

Ethan holds an MBA from Columbia University and an MPP from the University of Maryland. He is a member of the 2017 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute.

Biography

Dr. Barbara Buchner is Global Managing Director of Climate Policy Initiative, and Executive Director of its widely renowned Climate Finance program. Named one of the 20 most influential women in climate change, Barbara advises leaders on climate, energy, and land use investments around the world.

Barbara directs the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance, (the Lab) and its sister programs in Brazil and India. The Lab’s public-private approach solicits, shapes, and tests cutting edge climate finance instruments that resolve financing barriers hindering alternative energy, adaptation, and land use projects. Instruments from the Lab have mobilized over 2 billion US dollars for sustainable development in developing countries in just five years. She is also the lead author on CPI’s Global Landscape of Climate Finance, which has set the benchmark for climate finance tracking.

She is on the Advisory Board of the BCFN Foundation, the Evaluation Board of the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Energy Innovation Fund, and a member of the One Planet Lab.

Biography

Bruce Carnegie-Brown was appointed Chairman in June 2017. He is currently also Vice-Chairman of Banco Santander and Chairman of Cuvva, a digital motor insurance business.

He was a Non-Executive Director of JLT Group plc from 2016 to 2017, prior to which he was Non-Executive Chairman of Aon UK Ltd from 2012 to 2015, Senior Independent Director of Catlin Group Ltd from 2010 to 2014 and Chief Executive for Marsh UK and Europe from 2003 to 2006. He was Chairman of Moneysupermarket Group from 2014 to 2019 and Senior Independent Director of Close Brothers Group plc from 2006 to 2014 and is a Past President of the Chartered Management Institute.

He previously worked at JP Morgan for 18 years in a number of senior roles and was Managing Partner of 3i Group plc's Quoted Private Equity Division from 2007 to 2009.

Biography

Graham Carr is President and Vice-Chancellor of Concordia University. Ranked as Canada’s top university under 50 years old by QS, Concordia has two Montreal campuses that are home to more than 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students and 7,000 faculty and staff.

Graham’s previous leadership positions at Concordia include Provost and Vice-President, Academic Affairs; Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies; and Dean of Graduate Studies.

Born in Quebec, Graham earned his PhD from the University of Maine and is a Professor in the Department of History. His research focuses on North American cultural history, in particular cultural diplomacy and the Cold War.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Centraide (United Way) of Greater Montreal and as the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) representative on the Board of U SPORTS, the national brand for university sports in Canada. Graham is also a member of the Research Committee of Universities Canada. He previously served on the Leadership Council for Digital Infrastructure, as President of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, as Chair of the Canada-US Fulbright selection committee, and for many years on the National Capital Commission’s Advisory Committee for Communications, Marketing and Programming.

Biography

Ani Castonguay is Executive Vice-President, Public Affairs. She oversees internal and external communications, as well as government relations. She is a member of the Executive Committee.

Throughout her career, she has worked for large public and private organizations, recognized both nationally and internationally. First at Bombardier, and later at BCE, she was actively involved in the communications surrounding several major files, including playing a key role in the strategic communications associated with BCE’s proposed privatization in 2007-2008. Since her arrival at CDPQ in 2009, she has acted as Director, and then Vice-President in the Office of the President and Chief Executive Officer before becoming Senior Vice-President, Public Affairs. She has built solid expertise in issues management and in change management within complex environments.

She holds a Bachelor of Communications from Université du Québec à Montréal and a Master of International Communications from the School of International Service at American University in Washington.

Biography

Winston Chan is an entrepreneur and senior advisor of Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Acquisition and Business Families Hub at HEC Montréal. He led  Canadian young entrepreneurs trade missions in China, Australia, Turkey, Germany, France, Mexico, Argentina and Japan. He owns a health clinic in Montreal. He is a member of Employment and Entrepreneurship Taskforce of B20-G20 since 2014. From 2011 to 2013, he was President of the board of Quebec Federation of young chambers of commerce. He is the laureate of Quebec University Medal, the Journal Les Affaires Top 25 under 40 award, the Claude Masson award, the UQTR Pythagore award and the Quebec Federation  of young chambers of commerce Tribute award for his contribution to youth entrepreneurship in Quebec. He has a first cycle doctorate in chiropractic from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières with honorific distinction to student life. He is the Founding President and Co-founder of the Young Leaders’ Circle of the International Economic Forum of the Americas.

Biography

Joyce Chang is Chair of Global Research for J.P. Morgan’s Corporate and Investment Bank, a global leader in Banking, Markets and Investor Services. J.P. Morgan’s Global Research professionals study all sectors in which the firm does business, including equities, fixed income, currency and commodities, emerging markets, derivatives and structured finance.

Joyce was most recently Global Head of Research, a role she held for more than five years (2014-2019). She was previously Global Head of Fixed Income Research and began her career as an Emerging Markets Strategist. From 1997 through 2012, Joyce held top rankings in Institutional Investor surveys for Emerging Markets research, earning 25 #1 individual rankings. In 2014, she was inducted into the Fixed Income Analyst Society Hall of Fame.

Joyce was a Managing Director at Merrill Lynch and Salomon Brothers prior to joining J.P. Morgan Chase in 1999. She serves on the Board of Directors of Trickle Up and Girls Inc. and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Inter-American Dialogue. She is the Senior Sponsor for J.P. Morgan’s Corporate and Investment Bank Women on the Move Network, the network for employees of Asian heritage (AsPIRE) and Nonprofit Board Service. She has been named as one of Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance by American Banker since 2012 and was included in Barron’s inaugural 2020 list of the 100 Most Influential Women in Finance.

Joyce holds an M.P.A. from Princeton and serves on its External Advisory Council for the Center for Public Policy, and has a B.A. from Columbia from where she was awarded the John Jay award for professional achievement and serves on its Board of Visitors.

Biography

Steven Chen is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor. He has founded 4 companies. He was the founder and CEO of Totus Solution, Inc. which is a 40-person, growth company with $15M raised capital and a management team which has built multiple companies with $500M+ exits. He was the Founder & Former CEO of 3eTI, a secure wireless company and an Intel Capital portfolio company with favorable exit. He is also a member of the Blu Venture Investors, an angel investment group with 20 active members. Steven Chen was the CTO and VP of Corporate Development of EFJohnson, a $200M public company. He belongs to multiple entrepreneur networks: the Mindshare Alumni (700+ CEO), the FounderCorps (100+ serial entrepreneurs), MissionLink (100+ CXO in national security) and MJDC (400+ professionals).

Steven Chen has built teams and companies, and has taken multiple cyber security products to market successfully. At 3eTI, he enhanced the Intel Centrino, received the necessary certifications, and added Cisco as a reseller. Honeywell OEM’s the 3eTI secure wireless products and resells globally. 3eTI has a Navy contract and is deployed with the smart meters. At EF Johnson, he formed a partnership with Cisco. At Totus, the team has attracted partnership with global channel partners such as Johnson Controls.

Mr. Chen received his BS in Electrical Engineering from Tamking University in Taipei, Taiwan and his MS in Electrical Engineering from SUNY Buffalo.

Biography

Patrick Child is Deputy Director-General in DG Research and Innovation (R&I) at the European Commission. He leads the policy for implementation, impact & sustainable investment strategies. As a member of the Board of DG R&I, he follows in particular research and innovation in climate action and clean energy and mobility technologies as well as the R&I dimension of the post-COVID recovery and resilience strategy. He is the Commission representative of Mission Innovation (24 countries and the European Commission working to reinvigorate and accelerate global clean energy innovation with the objective to make clean energy widely affordable) and Chairs the MI Steering Committee. He is also the Commission representative in the International Group of Earth Observations (GEO) and lead co-chair of the Executive Committee for 2021.

Until April 2016, Patrick Child was Managing Director of the European External Service with responsibility for administration and finance, covering human resources policy, security and the budget. Before he took up this post in 2011, he was director in the External Relations Directorate General in the European Commission responsible for the management of the network of Commission delegations. He has previously served as head of cabinet for External Relations Commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner and before that Chris Patten from 1999-2004.

With a background in the UK Finance Ministry, he joined the European Commission in 1994, where he started in the Economic and Monetary affairs Directorate General before becoming Commission press spokesman for economic and monetary union from 1995-1999. Mr Child studied mathematics at Cambridge University. He is married with two children.

Biography

Jean-Pierre Clamadieu is a graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure des mines de Paris and an engineer of the Corps des mines. He began his career within the French Administration, particularly working for the Ministry of Industry and as technical advisor to the Minister of Labor. In 1993, he joined the Rhône-Poulenc group where he held several management positions. In 2003, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Rhodia group, and then Chairman-CEO in 2008. In September 2011, following the merger of the Rhodia and Solvay groups, Jean-Pierre Clamadieu was named Vice Chairman of the Solvay Executive Committee. From May 2012 to the end of February 2019, Jean-Pierre Clamadieu served as Chairman of the Executive Committee and CEO of Solvay. On May 18, 2018, he was named Director and Chairman of the Board of ENGIE.

Biography

Martin Coiteux has been Head of Economic Analysis and Global Strategy since April 2020. His mandate is to provide CDPQ with the leadership in economic and business intelligence required for successfully implementing the investment strategy. He also promotes to a wider public CDPQ’s internal expertise in international economics. The team he leads acts as advisors to the various investment sectors and performs world-class economic analyses that identify areas of risk and opportunity in various international markets. The team is also responsible for developing the main through lines of CDPQ’s strategies, in close collaboration with other teams and the Executive Committee. In addition to sitting on that committee, Mr. Coiteux sits on the Investment-Risk Committee.

Before joining CDPQ in January 2019 as Chief Economist, he held the positions of President of the Treasury Board of the Government of Québec, Minister of Public Security and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy. For nearly 20 years, he has been a professor of international economics and international management at HEC Montréal. He was also a Bank of Canada Senior Representative in Québec.

Mr. Coiteux holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from Queen’s University and a PhD in International Economics from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva.

Biography

Colombian and Chilean national, serving in Boards of large companies committed to a better world. Lawyer, with thirty years of international experience in business, civil society and academia. 2019 Fellow at the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University. Named one of the 30 most influential intellectuals in Ibero-América by ESGlobal in 2017. First Vice President for Sustainability for a multinational corporation in Latin America. Co-founded Sistema B, a movement to advance a new economy where success is measured in terms of wellbeing for people and planet. Correa has a passion for nurturing enthusiastic communities of multi stakeholder parties, facilitating critical connections, and creating conditions to foster trust.

Biography

Liz Crampton is an agriculture and food policy reporter for POLITICO Pro. Her coverage focuses on conservation, pesticides and agribusiness.

Before joining POLITICO, Liz covered antitrust enforcement for Bloomberg BNA, reporting on mergers and investigations by the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission. She launched a weekly blog, Fair Play, that explored hot topics on the beat.

She's a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied journalism, political science and UNC basketball. Before coming to D.C., she interned at the Charlotte Observer, Tampa Bay Times and Texas Tribune.

Biography

After a baccalaureate in economics and his military service at ECPAD (Establishment of Communication and Audiovisual Production of Defense), Thierry Dassault was responsible for Civil Equipment for Electronics Serge Dassault in Brazil from 1979 to 1981, general manager of  '' an alarm systems company from 1982 to 1984, associate producer and director of advertising and institutional films at Claude Delon Productions from 1985 to 1993.

From 1994 to 2006, he was Chairman of Dassault Multimedia, which acquired stakes in Infogrames, Gemplus, Infonie, BFM, CdandCo, Net2one, Emme and Welcome Real-time.  He has also personally invested in Chapitre.com.

In 2004, he was the federator of Keynectis, which became OpenTrust in September 2013 and then IDnomic in February 2016, he has chaired from the start.  IDnomic provides electronic certification and security services, used for the digital identification of people, devices or connected objects.  The company was sold to the Atos Group on 09/30/2019.

At the end of 2006, Thierry Dassault created TDH, an investment structure in emerging technologies and niche sectors, which holds stakes in Aquarelle, Bernardaud, Blablacar, Coravin, Halys, La Maison, L Capital, Qista, Scarcell, Wallix Group  and YouScribe.

He was reelected in June 2020, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault (GIMD) and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Rond-Point Immobilière.  He is also President of Dassault Immobilier Canada inc.

He sits on the boards of: Artcurial, CDEFQ (Cercle des Dirigeants d’Entreprise Franco-Québécois) Dassault Médias (Le Figaro), Halys, Immobilière Dassault, Particulier et Finances Editions, Royal Hotel - Winter & Gstaad Palace and Wallix Group.

He is a member of the YouScribe Strategic Committee.

He is president of the 58th National Session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Defense Nationale), Knight of the Legion of Honor and Colonel of the Air Force under the Citizen Reserve.

Finally, he is Vice-President of the Kidney Foundation and member of the Boards of Directors of the Serge Dassault Foundation and of the Association for Research on Alzheimer's.

Biography

Igor De Biasio was born in 1977 in Milan. He began his career as Head of the Northern Italian market at the Eurobusiness company. From 2004 to 2010 he was Senior Account Manager at GFK Retail and Technology. From 2010 to 2016 he worked at Philips S.p.A. as Sales Manager for Italy, Israel, Greece, Malta and Cyprus. From 2017 he held the position of Wholesale Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Moleskine Srl, until June 2019, when he was appointed CEO of Arexpo. In July 2018 he was elected member of the board of directors of the Italian RAI-Radio and Television.

Biography

Holder of a PhD in Management Science (in risks and insurance management) from École Normale Supérieure de Cachan (France), Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin is President and Chief Executive officer at CIRANO (https://www.cirano.qc.ca). CIRANO is an interuniversity centre of research, liaison and transfer of knowledge encompassing 11 universities as well as more than 230 affiliated researchers and 20 key partners (government and business)

Nathalie is also full professor in the Mathematics and Industrial Engineering Department of Polytechnique Montréal and a member of CIRRELT, GMT and IVADO. Since 2015, she is Visiting Scientist at Harvard T. Chan School of Public Health. Her research interests are risk management and decision making in risk and uncertainty as well as the resulting public policies. Her current research projects are focused on socioeconomic impacts of numerical transformation and AI.

From 2011, she started the Barometer CIRANO on risk perception in Quebec, which collects yearly data about Quebec’s population preoccupations. She has published numerous academic articles, several books and more than 30 research reports for governments and other organizations.

Biography

As Chief Executive Officer of Finance Montreal, Jacques leads a team whose mandate is to contribute to the development and promotion of Quebec as a world-class financial centre, in collaboration with members of Finance Montreal and stakeholders from the financial sector.

He is a seasoned executive and leader with nearly 30 years of experience working in the financial sector and for innovative companies, including more than 20 years in senior management roles, in SMEs as well as large private and public companies.  He was previously CEO of the Chambre des notaires du Québec, leading the transformation of the organization, and Senior Vice-President, Commercial Banking and International, at the National Bank of Canada, where he was responsible for all activities related to commercial banking and international services. On the corporate side, Jacques Deforges has acted as a senior executive of multiple companies, public and private, local and international, established and at the start-up stage, such as Teleglobe, Adaltis, Celmed BioSciences and Boomerang Tracking.

In addition to his professional activities, Mr. Deforges is socially committed. He has been involved in the Refuge des jeunes de Montréal organization for nearly twenty-five years, notably as president of the “Dons d'Avenir” fundraising campaign, which raised $1.5 million.

Jacques holds an MBA from Concordia University, as well as a diploma from the Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) in Paris, France, and holds an ACC accreditation from the International Coach Federation (ICF).

Biography

Michael Denham is President and CEO of BDC, the bank for Canadian entrepreneurs.

He leads a team of 2,400 people across Canada who work every day to help entrepreneurs succeed by providing the guidance and financial support they need to build resilient, growing businesses.

A strong advocate for entrepreneurship and innovation, Mr. Denham drives BDC’s positioning as the number one ally of Canadian entrepreneurs. Having more impact on more business owners and being as easy as possible to do business with are among his main priorities at the helm of BDC.

A seasoned business leader with more than 30 years of senior management experience, Mr. Denham held senior roles at McKinsey, Bombardier, Accenture and AquaTerra before joining BDC.

Based in Montreal since 2001, Mr. Denham is bilingual and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and a Master of Science in Economics with distinction from the London School of Economics.

Biography

Hélène Desmarais is a prominent and influential business leader in Canada.  Since it was founded in 1996, Hélène has been Chair and CEO of the Centre d’Entreprises et d’Innovation de Montréal (CEIM), one of Canada’s most successful technology incubator in Canada.  The CEIM has catalyzed the development of hundreds of Canadian startups, some of which have become world-class enterprises.

In 2017, she played a key role in establishing SCALE AI , the Canadian artificial intelligence supercluster, and its main laboratory, IVADO Labs As Founder& Executive Chair of IVADO Labs and Founder & Co-Chair of SCALE AI ,  she steers the two organizations jointly with their management teams . As such, she works with different multinational and hospital leaders to build AI softwares in their supply chain and in the health industry to deliver real-time analysis of medical imagery for clinicians

Ms. Desmarais is also Chair of the Creative Destruction Lab(Montréal) and NextAI- Montreal , two of Canada’s major entrepreneurship incubator in AI programs, which she founded in Montréal. As such, she works with different business leaders to launch innovative start-ups.

As an entrepreneur, Ms. Desmarais chaired the Board of Directors of Gestion Bio-Capital for its first ten years. The venture fund, specializing in biotech start-ups, helped create some 20 businesses, two of them worth over $1 billion.

She is also a corporate director, serving on the board of Christian Dior SA since 2012 where she chairs the Compensation and Nomination Committee  Since 2006, she has also been a board director for Garda World Security and for which she serves on the Audit and Governance committees

In  October 2003, she was named Chair of HEC Montréal and the first women to hold that post In addition , she was the first woman across Canada and North America  to chair the board of an high ranking business school

Since 1995 , she has attended all conferences of the International Forum of the Americas , serves on its board of Governors and chairs its Conference de Montréal steering committee

Hélène Desmarais holds a Bachelor degree in Finance from HEC Montréal

AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS

Ms. Desmarais received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2002 and again in 2012. In addition to her most recent honorary doctorates from Polytechnique Montréal and Mc Master University , in 2009 she was awarded honorary doctorates from St. Francis Xavier and Lumière Lyon II universities. That same year she received the Medal of Honour from the Faculty of Medicine of the Université de Montréal, along with the Order of Canada. She was declared a Great Montrealer in the economic sector and inducted into the Entrepreneurs Club of the Conseil du Patronat du Québec in 2010, and made an Officer of the Ordre national du Québec in 2013 and a Commander of the Ordre de Montréal in 2016.

Biography

He joined Power in 1981 and assumed the position of Vice-President the following year. In 1984, he led the creation of Power Financial to consolidate Power’s major financial holdings, as well as Pargesa Holding SA, under a single corporate entity. Mr. Desmarais served as Vice-President of Power Financial from 1984 to 1986, as President and Chief Operating Officer from 1986 to 1989, as Executive Vice-Chairman from 1989 to 1990, as Executive Chairman from 1990 to 2005 and as Chairman of the Executive Committee from 2006 to 2008. He also served as Vice-Chairman of Power Corporation from 1991 to 1996.

After Power Financial and the Frère Group of Belgium took control of Pargesa in 1990, Mr. Desmarais moved to Europe from 1991 to 1994, to develop the partnership with the Frère Group and to restructure the Pargesa group. From 1982 to 1990, he was a member of the Management Committee of Pargesa, in 1991, Executive Vice-Chairman and then Executive Chairman of the Committee; from 2003 to 2019, he was Co-Chief Executive Officer and he was named Chairman of the Board in 2013. He has been a director of Pargesa since 1992.

He also serves as Chairman of Power Financial and is a director of many Power Corporation group companies in North America, including Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life, Empower Retirement, Putnam Investments, IGM Financial, IG Wealth Management and Mackenzie. In Europe, he is Chairman of the Board of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert and a director of SGS. He was a director of LafargeHolcim until 2020 and of Total until 2017.

Mr. Desmarais is Chairman of the Board of Governors of The International Economic Forum of the Americas (Canada), a Trustee of The Brookings Institution, Co-Chair of the Brookings International Advisory Council and a member of the Brookings Executive Committee (Washington), a member of the Global Board of Advisors of the Council on Foreign Relations (United States), a member of the Global Advisory Council of Harvard (United States), a member of The Business Council (United States) and of The Business Council of Canada. He is also active on a number of philanthropic advisory councils.

In 1994, he received the Insigne d’Officier de l’Ordre de la Couronne of Belgium. In 2005, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada and he received the Executive of the Year Award from the Academy of International Business. In 2009, he was named an Officer of the Ordre national du Québec and in 2012, Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur in France. He holds a number of honorary doctorates.

He obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University and an MBA from the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD), France.

Biography

Paul Desmarais III is the Chairman and CEO of Sagard Holdings, the Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Portag3 Ventures, and the Chairman and co-founder of Diagram. Within the investment portfolios of Portag3 Ventures and Sagard Holdings, he is the Chairman of Wealthsimple and Dialogue and a director of KOHO Financial and Peak Achievement Athletics.

Paul is also a Senior Vice President of Power Corporation of Canada. As a part of his responsibilities at the holdings, he sits on the boards of Personal Capital, Pargesa, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, and Imerys.

Prior to his current role, Paul worked at Goldman Sachs in the Investment Banking Division, Investment Strategy Group, and Special Situations Group; Imerys in supply chain management and strategy; and Great West Lifeco in risk management. Paul is a recipient of a B.A. in economics from Harvard College and holds an MBA from INSEAD in France.

Biography

Francisco Domínguez Servién was born in the city of Querétaro, capital of the state of Querétaro, on August 11^th, 1966.

He has a college degree as a Zootechnician Veterinarian from the Autonomous University of Querétaro (UAQ); with Specialty in Animal Production by the Autonomous National University of Mexico (UNAM).

Private Sector:

• Managing Director, “Rancho La Cruz de Mayo” (1990 to present day).
• Member of the National Agricultural Board (2002 - 2009).
• Member of the National Confederation of Livestock Organizations (2002 - 2009).
• Member of the Council of Mexican Pig Farmers (2002 - 2009).
• State Councilor, Agricultural Council of the State of Querétaro (2000 – 2009).
• Member of the Foundation “Querétaro Produces” (2000 – 2009).
• Professor at the ITESM, Campus Querétaro (1999 – 2002).
• Professor at the Faculty of Veterinary and Zoological Medicine, Autonomous University of Querétaro (1992 – 2002).

Public Sector:

• Constitutional Governor of the State of Querétaro (2015 to present day).
• Senator of the Republic representing the State of Querétaro; voted as Associate Vice-coordinator of the Parliamentary Group of the National Action Party (September 2012 – February 2015).
• Mayor of the City of Querétaro; General Secretary of the National Association of Mayors -ANAC (October 2009 – December 2011).
• Federal Congressman by the principle of Majority representing the Second District in the State of Querétaro; voted as Associate Vice-coordinator of the Parliamentary Fraction of the National Action Party (September 2006 – February 2009).
• President of the Regional Farming Union, reelected in three occasions (2002 - 2009).
• President of the Committee of Agricultural Promotion and Protection of the State of Querétaro (2002 - 2009).
• President of the Association of Pig Farmers of the State of Querétaro (1995 – 2002).

Biography

Prof. Ursula Eicker is the new Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) for Next Generation Cities at Concordia University Montréal. A German physicist, Eicker has held leadership positions at the Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences and its Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies. She coordinated many international research projects in the fields of energy efficiency in buildings and sustainable energy supply systems for more than two decades.

Since June 2019, she leads an ambitious research program to establish transformation strategies toward zero-carbon cities. The 7 year research program receives 10 million CAD government funding and is supported by a further 10 million Dollars by Concordia University, who invests in the city cluster research with five professor positions in buildings and electrical engineering, biodiversity, philosophy and design. The Concordia Next Generation Cities Cluster addresses the challenges of the urban transformation with a transdisciplinary approach and develops tools and strategies for a sustainable future.

Prof. Eicker has published 7 Books, 23 book contributions, 77 Peer Reviewed Papers and 317 Conference Papers.

Biography

Degree in Economics and Business (long cycle), business branch, financial area, by the University of the Basque Country, Master's Degree in European Studies by the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium), and Master in Advanced European Studies at Nancy European University Centre (France). Her entire professional experience has been focused on international relations. She possesses deep knowledge of the instruments of commercial policy and relations with international bodies. She is a fluent speaker of Spanish, Basque, English, French, and Italian.

In 1995 she started in her position as EU Specialist at Interbask S.A. a public corporation in Brussels. From 1996 to 1999 she was External Action Specialist at the Basque Country Delegation to Brussels. From march 1999 to May 2009 she was Internationalisation Director at the Basque Government’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism. Tasked with designing and implementing the policy to support internationalisation of Basque industry. Then she reached the position of Head of Budgetary-Economic Management at the Housing Operational Processes and Planning Division at the Department for Housing Public Works and Transport, (2009-2012). And since December 2012 she is the Secretary General for External Action of of the Basque Government.

As General Secretary, she is responsible for planning and promoting the Basque Government's Foreign Action and coordinating the delegations. Her fundamental missions consist of offering support and advice to the Government in matters of foreign action; organizing the missions of foreign personalities in the Basque Country, as well as those of Basque authorities abroad, and developing cross-border and inter-regional cooperation relations. Maintaining the Basque Government's relations with international organizations and consular bodies is also part of her daily work.

Biography

Guillaume Faury was appointed Airbus Chief Executive Officer in April 2019 and leads the Company’s Executive Committee. He was previously President of Airbus’ commercial aircraft business, a role he had held since February 2018.

Prior to this, Guillaume was Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Helicopters (2013-2018), where his achievements included restructuring its manufacturing system and introducing new technologies.

Before that, he enjoyed a four-year spell in the car industry at Peugeot (2009-13), the French automotive manufacturer, rising to become the Executive Vice-President for Research and Development and a member of the company’s management board. He presided over significant advances in Peugeot’s lower-emissions hybrid-engine technology and the overhaul of the company’s product range, among other accomplishments.

Between 1998 and 2008, he held various leadership positions in engineering, programmes and flight testing in Airbus’ helicopter business, which at the time operated under the name of Eurocopter. He became Executive-Vice President for Programmes and a member of the Eurocopter Executive Committee, before being appointed as Executive Director for Research and Development.

Guillaume began his career in 1992 as a flight-test engineer for the Eurocopter Tiger helicopter in the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), the French government agency responsible for the development and purchase of defence systems for the French armed forces.

He graduated from the École polytechnique in Paris in 1990 and, subsequently, from the École nationale supérieure de l'aéronautique et de l'espace in Toulouse.

Guillaume’s love of flying and aviation dates back to his childhood. He is a qualified light-aircraft pilot and helicopter flight-test engineer with 1,300 hours of flying experience.

He was born in 1968 in Cherbourg, Normandy, and is married with three children.

Biography

David partners with public and private sector agriculture players across the value chain, in developed and emerging markets. Highlights from his work include launching a country-wide agriculture transformation in East Africa, supporting a multi-national seed manufacturer to enter more than five new markets, and designing a comprehensive food security approach in the Middle East. Prior to McKinsey, David was a Fulbright researcher in Uganda, a field manager with Innovations for Poverty Action in Zambia, and a consultant with the World Bank in Uganda.

Biography

Pierre Fitzgibbon was born in Montréal.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montréal (HEC) and is a Quebec Chartered Professional Accountant.

Before becoming involved in politics, Mr. Fitzgibbon served as managing partner at Walter Capital Partners, a private Equity Firm, between 2015 and 2018.

From 2007 to 2014, Mr. Fitzgibbon assumed the role of president and chief executive officer at Atrium Innovations, a company that develops, manufactures and markets value added products for the health and nutrition industry.

From 2002 to 2007, he put his skills to work at National Bank Group, where he occupied the position of vice-chairman of National Bank Financial, where he mainly acted as head of investment banking and corporate finance services. He was also senior vice president of finance, technology and corporate affairs at National Bank of Canada.

Previously, Mr. Fitzgibbon also held executive positions in finance, as well as in company and business development at Télésystème Mobiles International, Chase Capital Partners Hong Kong, Domtar and Peerless Carpet Corporation.
He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in auditing and consulting services.

Over the last few years, Mr. Fitzgibbon has served on several boards of directors, including that of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, WSP, Héroux-Devtek, TC Transcontinental, Cycle Capital Management, Neptune Technologies, Lumenpulse and Arianne Phosphate.

This committed businessman is involved in his community and in several organizations, including until recently, the Fondation du Dr Julien.

Biography

Ms. Freeland was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre in July, 2013. She was elected as Member of Parliament for University—Rosedale in October, 2015 and re-elected in October, 2019.

From 2015 to 2017, Ms. Freeland served as Canada's Minister of International Trade, overseeing the successful negotiation of Canada's free trade agreement with the European Union, CETA. From January, 2017 to November, 2019, she served as Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. During this time, she was a leading advocate for democracy, human rights, and multilateralism around the world.

As Foreign Minister, she led and successfully concluded the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

In November, 2019, Ms. Freeland was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. In this capacity, she led Canada’s united response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She was appointed Minister of Finance in August, 2020.

An esteemed journalist and author, the Deputy Prime Minister was born in Peace River, Alberta. She was educated at Harvard University before continuing her studies on a Rhodes Scholarship at the University of Oxford.

After launching her career in journalism as a Ukraine-based freelance correspondent for the Financial Times, The Washington Post, and The Economist, Ms. Freeland went on to various roles at the Financial Times of London. She then served as deputy editor of the Toronto-based Globe and Mail between 1999 and 2001, before returning to the Financial Times as deputy editor and then as United States managing editor.

In 2010, she joined Canadian-owned Thomson Reuters. She was a managing director of the company and editor of consumer news when she decided to return home and enter politics in 2013.

Ms. Freeland has written two books: Sale of the Century: The Inside Story of the Second Russian Revolution (2000); and Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else (2012). Plutocrats has been an international best-seller and won the Lionel Gelber Prize and National Business Book Award.

In 2018, the Deputy Prime Minister was recognized as Foreign Policy's Diplomat of the Year. She was also awarded the Eric M. Warburg Award by Atlantik-Brücke, for her achievements in strengthening transatlantic ties. In 2020, she was awarded Freedom House’s Mark Palmer Prize, in recognition of her years of work in championing democracy and human rights.

Ms. Freeland speaks Russian, Ukrainian, Italian, French, and English. She lives in Toronto with her husband and three children.

Biography

Belén Garijo is Vice Chairman of the Executive Board and Deputy CEO of Merck as well as CEO of Healthcare. She joined Merck in 2011 as Chief Operating Officer of the Biopharma business, becoming President and CEO of Healthcare in 2015. In July 2020, Belén Garijo was appointed Vice Chairman of the Executive Board and Deputy CEO in addition to her role as CEO of the Healthcare business.

Under her leadership, Healthcare at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany has become a key player in the area of oncology, immunology and immuno-oncology, after the profound repositioning of the portfolio, the reorganization of R&D and the transformation of the commercial model. Belén Garijo has forged two major global alliances to further contribute to the portfolio’s maximization. She has also focused on globalization by expanding the business to growth markets as well as to Japan and the U.S.

Before joining Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Belén Garijo served as the Senior Vice President of Global Operations Europe at Sanofi-Aventis and Global Integration Leader of Genzyme after its acquisition by Sanofi. She previously held several local and global executive positions, both in R&D and commercial, at various companies at the forefront of the Healthcare sector.

She started her career as a practicing physician at La Paz hospital in Madrid before moving to the pharmaceutical industry.

Belén Garijo was born on July 31, 1960 in Almansa, Spain. She is a medical doctor, specialized in clinical pharmacology. She is married and has two daughters.

Responsibility for Group functions

§ Group Human Resources

§ Environment, Health, Safety, Security, Quality (EQ)

External positions

§ 2014: L’Oréal SA, Independent Director of the Board

§ 2013: Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Member of the Board

§ 2012: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A., Independent Director of the Board

Biography

Before entering politics, Nadine Girault worked in the competitive field of Information Technology/electronics sales. She then worked for the Montréal Urban Community’s police department, where she developed a unique proactive training concept for its 2,500 officers and commanders.
Over the course of the following 15 years, Ms. Girault held leadership positions at a number of major financial institutions, where she earned a reputation as an agent of change skilled at instilling a culture of performance by aiming for high standards, while remaining focused on customer needs. She also worked as a leadership, marketing and business development consultant.
Nadine Girault holds a BBA with a major in finance and marketing from HEC Montréal. She was awarded a Silver Medal in 2002 for her MBA in financial services from Université du Québec in Montréal.
Ms. Girault is very involved in her community and was an active member of numerous committees and boards of directors for various organizations, including Investissement Québec, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, École supérieure de ballet du Québec, Fondation de l’Hôpital Jean-Talon, the Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont Foundation, 24h Tremblant and Association des femmes en finance du Québec.
Nadine Girault was elected MNA for Bertrand on October 1, 2018, and was appointed Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie on October 18, 2018.

Biography

Andrés Gluski has served as President and CEO since 2011, after serving as COO for five years. Previously he served as CEO of AES businesses in Chile and Venezuela. Before joining AES in 2000, Andrés held senior positions in banking, telecom, the IMF and the public sector.

Under his leadership, AES has become a world leader in implementing clean technologies, including energy storage and LNG. Navigant Research has consistently ranked Fluence—AES’ joint venture with Siemens—as the #1 grid-scale energy storage integrator in the world. Andrés also established sustainability and corporate social responsibility goals that resulted in AES’ inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for North America and designation as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere® Institute. In 2018 the company established aggressive carbon reduction goals and became the first publicly-traded power company to issue a climate report that complies with recommendations from the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures.

He is a member of the Boards of Waste Management, Fluence and the Edison Electric Institute. He is also Chairman of AS/COA and serves on the US-Brazil and US-India CEO Forums. Andrés is a magna cum laude graduate of Wake Forest University and earned his MA and PhD in economics from the University of Virginia.

Biography

Christoph Gollner is Coordinating Programme Manager for the SET Plan Action 3.2/JPI Urban Europe Programme on Positive Energy Districts and Neighbourhoods for Sustainable Urban Development (PED Programme) for JPI Urban Europe since 2018, coordinating operational programme activities, involvement of stakeholders/cities and content-related development of the PED Programme (PED mapping, PED framework), as well as (co-)organizing events and meetings. He is graduate engineer in spatial and urban planning and has been working for the Austrian Academy of Sciences and in urban revitalization for the City of Vienna.

Biography

PhD in economics from the University of Chicago. He was a professor at PUC-RJ, Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) and the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA). Founder of Banco Pactual (BTG-Pactual), Abril Educação, Faculdades Ibmec and Instituto Millenium. He joined boards of directors of large companies. Paulo Guedes was also a columnist for the Folha de S. Paulo and O Globo newspapers and the Exame and Época magazines.

Biography

Graduate of the Ecole nationale d’administration (French National School of Administration) (the Léon Gambetta class), Catherine Guillouard began her career at the Ministry of Economy in the French Treasury. In 1997, she joined Air France where she was notably Senior Vice-President of Flight Operations, Senior Vice-President of Human Resources and Change management and Senior Vice-President of Finance for the Group. In 2007, Ms. Guillouard joined Eutelsat Communications as Chief Financial Officer and Member of the Group’s Executive Committee. She left this position in 2013 to join Rexel Group as Chief Financial Officer in charge of Finance, Control and Legal Affairs and then Deputy CEO, member of the Executive Board and the Executive Committee. Catherine Guillouard has been a board member at Engie since 2015 and at Airbus since 2016.

On August 2nd, 2017, Ms. Guillouard was appointed Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of RATP Group. She is also Vice-President of Systra’s supervisory board, the RATP Group and SNCF joint engineering subsidiary.

Biography

Angel Gurría came to the OECD following a distinguished career in public service that included two ministerial posts. As Mexico’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from December 1994 to January 1998, he made dialogue and consensus-building one of the hallmarks of his approach to global issues. From January 1998 to December 2000, he was Mexico’s Minister of Finance and Public Credit. For the first time in a generation, he steered Mexico’s economy through a change of Administration without a recurrence of the financial crises that had previously dogged such changes.

Biography

Mansoor Hamayun is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bboxx, a dynamic young company that designs, manufactures, distributes and finances innovative solar systems to improve access to energy across Africa and the developing world.

Since 2010, Bboxx has sold 70,000 solar kits and impacted 350,000 lives across 40 countries.

Born in 1988 in Pakistan, he was raised in Sweden and studied Electrical Engineering at Imperial College London.

From 2008-2010 he was the founder and leader of a student charity, e.quinox, which brought electricity to 6 villages in Rwanda. Following university, Mansoor worked as a manager for Rolls-Royce Civil Aviation business, supporting the introduction of Boeing 787 Dreamliner for LAN airlines, working on corporate cost reduction in the Asian region service and overhaul business.

As CEO, Mansoor leads Bboxx in all aspects of its business – from its engineering lab in London to its factory in China, to distribution from its 32 local shops in Kenya and Rwanda.

Mansoor is a Pakistan-Swedish national with fluent English, Swedish and Urdu. He resides in London.

Biography

Robin Harding is Tokyo Bureau chief for the Financial Times. Established in 1888, the FT is one of the world’s leading news organisations, especially for economic and financial news.

The FT is recognized internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. It is part of Nikkei Inc., which provides a broad range of information, news and services for the global business community.

In his current role, Harding’s reporting focuses on Japan’s economy, politics and international relations. Robin was the FT’s US economics editor from 2010-2014, based in Washington DC, where he covered all aspects of the US and international economy, from the Federal Reserve to the IMF. He has also worked as a member of the FT’s editorial board and contributes occasional columns on economics to the paper’s opinion page.

Robin was born in Durham, in the north of England, and has a degree in economics from the University of Cambridge. From 2001 to 2004, studied at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo on a Monbukagakusho Scholarship, where he received a master’s degree. Before becoming a journalist, he worked in banking, asset management and public policy research.

Biography

Professor Lesleyanne Hawthorne (PhD, MA, BA Hons, Dip Ed, Grad Dip Mig Studies) is based at the University of Melbourne, and in 2016-20 is leading a study comparing economic migration policy and outcomes in Australia and Canada. Her research concerns global labour migration, including factors influencing workforce mobility, foreign qualification recognition, labour market integration, and international student flows. Professor Hawthorne has undertaken a wide range of cross-national projects, most recently commissioned by the International Labour Organization, the European Commission, the World Health Organization, the Australian, Canadian and New Zealand governments, UNESCO, the US Migration Policy Institute, the International Organisation of Migration, the Global Forum of Federations, and APEC.

Biography

Matt Hayden is the Assistant Secretary (Acting) for Cyber, Infrastructure, Risk and Resilience Policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  In this role, Mr. Hayden manages, directs, and coordinates development of Department-wide cyber, infrastructure, risk, and resilience policies and is responsible for administering the policy development process. Additionally, Mr. Hayden serves as an expert advisor on Cyber, Infrastructure, Risk and Resilience matters to the Under Secretary, Secretary, and other high-level officials.

Mr. Hayden previously was the Senior Advisor to the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Private Sector within the Office of Partnership and Engagement at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  In these roles, Mr. Hayden advised the Secretary, and Director on the impact of the Department's policies, regulations, and processes on private sector companies, and enhanced strategic communications in order to help the public and private sectors jointly meet their shared responsibility for homeland security.

Additionally, Mr. Hayden served as the Executive Director of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) which leverages the experience, expertise, and national and global connections of the HSAC membership to provide the Secretary real-time, real-world, sensing and independent advice to support decision-making across the spectrum of homeland security operations.

Prior to joining DHS, Mr. Hayden served as a Deputy Executive Director for the National Disability Rights Network.  He oversaw the use of technology and modernization for the national membership including operational and policy programs including, accessibility of digital content, securing PII, cloud utilization, and e-records management.

Biography

Pierre Heilbronn is responsible for the Bank’s country and sector strategies, policy engagement, TC and initiatives upholding and supporting the Bank’s transition mandate.

Before joining the EBRD in November 2016, he was deputy chief of staff for France’s Minister of Economy and Finance. Before that, he served as the European advisor of the French Prime Minister and for six years. Earlier in his career, he assisted in the creation of the European External Action Service. As head of Cabinet of the European Commissioner for External Relations and Management of Development Aid, he worked on the Neighbourhood policy and on the management of EU development aid at the programming cycle.

Pierre Heilbronn started his career in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Department of European cooperation) and the Ministry of Finance.

He graduated from the Institut d’Etudes politiques de Paris and the Ecole nationale d’administration (ENA). He holds a Master of Economics from Cambridge University and a Master of European studies from the College of Europe of Bruges. He also studied in Yale University and Georgetown University.

Biography

Chieh Huang is Co-Founder and CEO of Boxed.com, a company that is disrupting the wholesale shopping club experience by enabling you to shop for bulk-sized items online or via mobile app and have them delivered directly to your door.  Forbes Magazine has named Boxed one of the next “billion dollar startups.”

Started in Huang’s garage 5 years ago, Boxed now has hundreds of employees in facilities all over the United States. Since the garage, the company has sold hundreds of millions of dollars of products and has raised over a quarter billion dollars in funding to date.

Huang’s personal honors include being named to “Bloomberg 50”, Bloomberg Businessweek’s 50 people to watch in 2018, to National Retail Federation’s list of People Shaping Retail’s Future, as one of Crain’s 40 Under 40 and Goldman Sachs’ list of “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs.”  In addition, Entrepreneur Magazine included Chieh on their list of “The 50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs.”

You can read more about Chieh’s story in People Magazine’s profile of him for their “American Dream” series, tracking his growth from humble beginnings to running a fast-growing online retailer.  You can also catch more of him at TED.com delivering a talk about his lifelong battle against micromanagers.

Biography

Anne-Marie Hubert, Eastern Canada Managing Partner, is known for promoting growth in people and organizations she is involved with.

She has a track record of helping clients successfully re-think business models to create more solid foundations that leverage people and disruptive technologies for growth and long-term competitive advantage, while managing underperformance risk.

Having been a member of the EY Global Advisory Council and of EY Canada’s Executive Committee, Anne-Marie has a reputation for disrupting the status quo to make it easier for our people to provide quality services and positively impact our economy and communities.

Biography

Rich has been a leading science and technology journalist for 35 years. He co-founded in 2004 a London- and Brussels-based media company, Science Business Publishing Ltd, where he is now editor-in-chief and vice chair of the board. Before that, he was managing editor of the Wall Street Journal’s European edition in Brussels; technology editor of the newspaper; and a staff reporter. In his 25 years with the Journal, he worked in Philadelphia reporting on energy, in Washington reporting on stock market and commodities regulation, and in London covering European technology and policy.

He is an hororary professor at University College London’s Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy.

He is co-author of a book on “fractal” analysis of financial markets with the late Yale/IBM mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot: The (mis)Behavior of Markets: A fractal view of risk, ruin & reward. (Basic Books, New York; Profile Books, London.) The book has been translated into 13 languages, won Business Book of the Year award at the 2004 Frankfurt Book Fair, and according to Die Zeit was on Angela Merkel’s nightstand during the crash of 2008.

He has also been a member or chair of various research and innovation expert groups for the European Commission, and for Euroscience Open Forum.

He is a graduate of Harvard College, a former Knight Fellow at MIT, and lives in Brussels.

Biography

Steven K. Hudson is a highly accomplished entrepreneur, senior executive, and investor with extensive experience in leading new business initiatives and achieving growth objectives with some of the world’s leading finance companies. He has a distinguished track record across several business sectors with extensive expertise in the global financial and capital markets.

Mr. Hudson is Chief Executive Officer of ECN Capital Corp. (TSX: ECN), a leading provider of prime credit portfolios to more than 90 US financial institutions. With managed and advised assets of US$32 billion, ECN Capital originates, manages, and advises on prime credit assets offering unsecured and secured consumer portfolio solutions as well as credit card portfolios.

Previously, Mr. Hudson served for five years as the Chief Executive Officer of Element Financial Corporation. Under Mr. Hudson’s leadership, Element’s assets increased from just over $400 million to more than $24 billion, establishing it as North America’s largest independent equipment finance company and as one of the largest fleet management companies in the world.

Mr. Hudson is an active community leader and philanthropist, including serving as a significant donor to St. Michael’s Centre for Urban Health Solutions as well as being named a World Fellow by the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation.

He has served as a board member on numerous organizations, including CHC Helicopter Corporation, First International Asset Management, Altamira Investment Services and AGRA.

Mr. Hudson has a Bachelor of Business Administration from York University. In recognition of his achievements, he received his Fellowship with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario in 2000.

An entrepreneur, investor and incubator of successful businesses, Mr. Hudson has a distinguished track record across several business sectors, with deep expertise in financial and capital markets. He is the founder and principal of Cameron Capital, a private investment firm established more than 20 years ago. In 1984 Mr. Hudson founded Newcourt Credit Group. Under his leadership as CEO, Newcourt grew to become a worldwide leader in equipment and asset finance with owned and managed assets exceeding $36 billion prior to its sale to CIT Group in 1999.

Mr. Hudson has been an active director on numerous boards of both public and private corporations and an active community leader and philanthropist.

Mr. Hudson graduated from York University in 1981 with an Honors Bachelor of Business Administration degree and received his Fellowship with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario in 2000. In 1996, Mr. Hudson received the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award and was named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40.

Biography

Glenn Hutchins is Chairman of North Island and North Island Ventures and a co-founder of Silver Lake. He is a director of AT&T, Virtu Financial and Digital Currency Group; Co-Chair of the Brookings Institution and CARE; on the Executive Committee of the Boston Celtics Basketball Team and the Obama Foundation; and a board member of the New York Presbyterian Hospital and the Center for American Progress. He is also a member of the International Advisory Board of GIC Private Limited, the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore.

He was a Director and Chair of Audit and Risk Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 2011- 2020.  Mr. Hutchins also served President Clinton in both the transition and the White House as a special advisor on economic and health-care policy.

He was previously chairman of the board of SunGard Data Systems, Inc. and Instinet, Inc. and a long-time director of Nasdaq, Inc.  He was also a director of the Harvard Management Company for a decade and co-chairman of Harvard University’s capital campaign.

Mr. Hutchins and his wife, Debbie, founded the Hutchins Family Foundation which, among other projects, is supporting the construction of the Obama Presidential Center and has created the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University; the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at The Brookings Institution; and the Chronic Fatigue Initiative, which conducted basic research into the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome.

Mr. Hutchins has published essays on economic and public policy in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, Fortune and Foreign Affairs. He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Mr. Hutchins holds an A.B. from Harvard College, an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Biography

Caroline Hyde co-hosts Bloomberg Television’s afternoon programming from 2pm-5pm ET daily from New York.

Previously Hyde co-hosted “Bloomberg Markets” from London and was the European Technology and Media correspondent for “Bloomberg Technology.” She has also served as the network’s chief European correspondent, traveling the region to report on the most important business, economic and political issues shaping global markets.

Hyde joined Bloomberg in 2008 to cover the European debt markets for Bloomberg News as a corporate finance reporter, focusing on company loans and bonds as well as sovereign debt. She covered the freeze in the European loan market following the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the unraveling of the European sovereign debt crisis, as well as breaking news on the sales and performance of government bonds from Greece ahead of its bailout. Hyde has also provided in-depth reports on the London property sector, tech scene and shone a light on the European start-up community.

Prior to joining Bloomberg, Hyde worked in public relations for London’s Moorgate Group, where she was a debt market specialist, managing campaigns for clients including Standard & Poor’s and Lloyds Banking Group. She holds an MA (Oxon) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University.

Biography

Jan Jambon, 1960, Brasschaat, execute MBA from the University of Antwerp, Bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Brussels. Former federal Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Security and the Interior.  Politician for the N-VA (New-Flemish Alliance). Known for his role during the terro and security crisis in 2016. Currently serving as the Minister-President of Flanders. Under his leadership, Flanders should become an uncontested reference in the Europe of the twenties. Both economically as societally.

Biography

Marie-Paule holds a Master's in International Affairs, with a focus on international finance and economic policy, from Columbia University-SIPA, and a Bachelor of Laws from Université de Montréal. Marie-Paule took over the leadership of the Forum after working on the adoption of research, science and innovation policies within the Quebec government. Previously, she was an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company and a commercial litigation lawyer at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg. Between 2016 and 2018, Marie-Paule took part in Québec’s first efforts to structure its rising AI ecosystem.

Biography

Philippe Jetté was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Cogeco Inc. and of Cogeco Communications Inc. in September 2018.

Mr. Jetté was previously President of Cogeco Peer 1 as of October 2015. Before that, he was Senior Vice President, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer of Cogeco Communications Inc. starting in 2013 and served as the Company’s Vice President, Chief Technology Officer from 2011 to 2013.

With more than 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, Mr. Jetté combines practical technological know-how, mastery of complex network engineering, years of strategic planning, and experience in development, marketing and sales with an extensive knowledge of the market.

Prior to joining Cogeco, Mr. Jetté was President, PJCS Inc. between 2008 and 2011. He served as Vice President, Wireless Data Solutions, Bell Canada between 2006 and 2008, as well as General Manager, Enterprise Marketing between 2005 and 2006 and Director, Wireless Technology between 2000 and 2005 for Bell Mobility.

Mr. Jetté holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from École Polytechnique (Montréal) where he acts as a Governor of the Alumni Association.

Biography

Biography

Kunal Kapoor, CFA, is chief executive officer of Morningstar. Before assuming his current role in 2017, he served as president, responsible for product development and innovation, sales and marketing, and driving strategic prioritization across the firm.

Since joining Morningstar in 1997 as a data analyst, Kapoor has held a variety of roles at the firm, including leadership positions in research and innovation. He served as director of mutual fund research and was part of the team that launched Morningstar Investment Services, Inc., before moving on to other roles including director of business strategy for international operations, and later, president and chief investment officer of Morningstar Investment Services. During his tenure, he has also led Morningstar.com and the firm’s data business as well as its global products and client solutions group.

Kapoor holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and environmental policy from Monmouth College and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation, is a member of the CFA Society of Chicago, and served on the board of PitchBook, a private firm that provides a comprehensive private equity and venture capital database, prior to its acquisition by Morningstar in late 2016. Kapoor is also a member of the board of trustees of The Nature Conservancy in Illinois. In 2010, Crain’s Chicago Business named him to its annual 40 Under 40 class, a list that includes professionals from a variety of industries who are contributing to Chicago’s business, civic, and philanthropic landscape.

Biography

Rishi Kapoor is Investcorp’s Co-Chief Executive Officer. He oversees the Firm’s Real Estate, Credit Management, and Absolute Returns businesses globally across North America, Europe and India; Private Equity and Fundraising activities in North America and India, and Institutional Fundraising in Europe. Rishi chairs the Global Private Equity Investment Committee and is a member of various other investment committees across the different business lines.

Prior to his appointment as Co-CEO, Rishi had held several senior management positions within Investcorp including as Chief Financial Officer between 2003 and 2015. He joined Investcorp from Citigroup in 1992.

Rishi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Rishi is a member of Duke University’s Middle East regional advisory board. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for National Bank of Bahrain, Gulf Air Group, Bahrain Airport Company and Gulf Aviation Academy. In 2017, Top CEO Middle East recognized Rishi amongst the top 100 best performing CEOs in the GCC and, in 2018, Forbes Middle East recognized Rishi as a top Indian Executive in the Arab world.

Biography

Anja Karadeglija is the editor of The Wire Report, a daily online news outlet from Hill Times Publishing covering the Canadian media and telecom industries. She heads a team of journalists on Parliament Hill who report on political, tech, regulatory and business developments affecting the industry. Anja has degrees in journalism and political science from Carleton University. She sits on the board of directors of the Canadian Association of Journalists.

Biography

Karen joined Bridgewater in 2006 and heads Investment Research. She oversees teams of investors developing systematic insights on global markets and economies and is a regular author of Bridgewater’s Daily Observations, with a focus on fixed income, monetary and fiscal policy, money and credit flows and portfolio construction. Karen received her AB from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs with a Certificate in Finance. She is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, an Atlantic Council Millennium Fellow, and serves on the Board of Seeds of Peace, a nonprofit cultivating young leaders to transform conflict in the Middle East and South Asia. Karen was included in Fortune’s 40 Under 40 most influential leaders in business.

Biography

Jed Kolko is Chief Economist at Indeed. Previously he was Chief Economist and VP of Analytics at Trulia, the online real estate marketplace. He has also led research teams at the Public Policy Institute of California and at Forrester Research. Jed specializes in using large-scale proprietary and publicly available datasets to uncover insights about labor markets, the future of work, demographics, housing markets, and urban trends. He earned his B.A. in social studies and his Ph.D. in economics at Harvard University.

Biography

Sakis is the CEO of RGS, a leading technology company creating a suite of tools in the ESG space for investors that make decisions on how to allocate capital.

Sakis is also the co-founder and has served as the Managing Partner of KKS Advisors, a leading strategy consulting firm in the field of sustainability. He is a research partner at the High Meadows Institute, assisting with the Institute’s Future of Capital Markets project, which explores the role of business leadership in contributing to a framework for a sustainable capital markets system. Sakis has also served as strategic advisor to the Rockefeller Foundation’s Revalue Ecosystems team. As well as consulting on their theory of change and how to effectively align long and short-term goals, Sakis advised grantees on how to optimize their projects for maximum impact.

Sakis has authored and coauthored articles published in many journals including the Journal of Financial Transformation, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance and Harvard Business Review.

Prior to co-founding KKS, Sakis spent several years working for major consulting firms including Deloitte, and IBM Global Business Services.

Sakis holds a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Imperial College London and an MSc in Mining Engineering and Metallurgy from the National Technical University of Athens.

Biography

In January 2020, Bernard Labelle was appointed to serve as CGI’s Chief Human Resources Officer, responsible for overseeing the company’s human resources strategy, including talent management, leadership development, organizational design, compensation and benefits, and HR technology roadmap. In this role, Bernard is a member of CGI’s Executive Management Committee, which oversees the implementation of the company’s enterprise-wide strategy.

The CHRO appointment follows Bernard’s seven-year tenure as Senior Vice-President of Global Human Resources and the Leadership Institute. In this role, Bernard led CGI’s global human resources operations, including its HR business partners, centers of expertise, shared services and Leadership Institute. During this time, Bernard and his team drove forward major enhancements, including the harmonization of HR activities across CGI to improve the experience of leaders and professionals and to drive greater efficiencies throughout operations. This included the implementation of a global HR management platform, bringing together various systems and processes into one self-service tool.

A champion of fostering and promoting CGI’s unique culture, Bernard operates through the company’s philosophy of shared leadership, empowering his global network of HR professionals to take a consultative approach in helping the business transform and achieve relevant outcomes. This mindset comes from Bernard’s consulting background, whereby he joined CGI in 1997 as Director of Consulting Services and became Vice-President of Consulting Services the same year.

From 2008 to 2013, Bernard served as Senior Vice-President of CGI’s Quebec City business unit, collaborating with commercial and government clients across this metro market to help them transform through CGI’s end-to-end capabilities and industry and technology expertise. Prior joining CGI, Bernard worked in the areas of healthcare, university teaching and management consulting.

Bernard holds a Master of Business Administration in Management from Université Laval and is a Certified Corporate Director (ASC). He has garnered a number of awards and honours throughout his career. In 2011, he received the Hermès Award from Université Laval’s Faculty of Business Administration. He also was honored as a Le Soleil/Radio-Canada Lauréat de Québec.

In 2013, he received the Gloire de l’Escolle medal from Université Laval at the Prix des Grands diplômés ceremony. In addition, he was recognized as one of 40 leaders by the Association des MBA du Québec in commemoration of the Association’s 40th anniversary.

In 2018, Bernard received a CGI Builders Award for his contribution to the growth and success of the company.

Biography

Kim Lachapelle has been Vice-President, Strategy, Risks and Performance at the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) since September 2018.

In this role, she is responsible for the AMF’s integrated risk management program and for supporting the AMF’s various units by monitoring, developing and maintaining the relevance of the organization’s performance indicators.

Ms. Lachapelle supports and oversees the strategic monitoring activities of AMF staff and their participation in various national and international forums so as to promote an integrated view of market developments and the work conducted within those forums and enhance the AMF’s strategic directions and risk management. Ms. Lachapelle also develops, coordinates and monitors the AMF’s strategic planning and annual activity plan.

In early 2020, her responsibilities as Vice-President were expanded to encompass changes to AMF Monitoring, Risks and Performance and the addition of a new branch, AMF Data Valorization, Fintech and Innovation. This new branch enables the AMF to both optimize the use of data in support of its actions and be as proactive as possible with respect to technology and industry transformation. The branch is responsible for developing and coordinating data governance and valorization activities, furthering the development of the fintech strategy, and rolling out the innovation strategy.

Prior to this, from 2008 until her appointment at the AMF, Ms. Lachapelle was Secretary General of the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), the council of the securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, where she helped to improve the management and co-ordination of regulatory proposals and initiatives and develop and implement the CSA strategic plan.

Before joining the CSA, Ms. Lachapelle served as Corporate Secretary of Jean Coutu Group (PJC) Inc., where she oversaw large transactions. She was also Corporate Secretary and Legal Counsel at Pebercan Inc. and, prior to that, practised insurance law with Robinson, Sheppard, Shapiro. Ms. Lachapelle is known for her leadership in the management and governance of complex environments and the development of lasting relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

Ms. Lachapelle holds a Bachelor of Laws from the Université de Montréal and has been a member of the Québec Bar since 1992. In 1999, she completed an MBA at HEC Montréal. Ms. Lachapelle is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators Canada and completed the Canadian Securities Course (CSI) with honours. She is a member of the boards of directors of the Externat Mont-Jésus-Marie corporation and the Québec branch of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA). From 2011 to 2016, Ms. Lachapelle served as director and then chair of the board of the Centre d’accès à l’information juridique (CAIJ).

Biography

Marco Lambertini became Director General of WWF International in April 2014, to drive the achievement of the global conservation organization’s critical mission to save life on Earth and to lead the secretariat team based in Gland, Switzerland.

With 35 years of conservation leadership, Marco Lambertini began his association with WWF as a youth volunteer growing up in his native Italy. Prior to joining WWF, he served as Chief Executive of BirdLife International. That role saw him broaden BirdLife’s global reach and relevance, and develop decentralized structures for most effective global conservation impact. He managed a highly decentralized secretariat, overseeing a global partnership of over 120 civil society organizations based in countries and territories in all continents.

Marco Lambertini has a degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Pisa, and has published books ranging from Safari in Africa (Muzzio) to A naturalist’s guide to the Tropics (Chicago University Press).

Highlights from among Marco’s top conservation achievements so far include:

• Large-scale changes of attitudes and practices regarding nature and wildlife in Italy;
• The establishment of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, the largest marine protected area in Europe; and
• The Harapan Rainforest initiative in Sumatra, the world’s first forest restoration concession.

Biography

Keisha Lance Bottoms is the 60^thMayor of Atlanta.

A daughter of Atlanta, Mayor Bottoms is committed to realizing her vision of One Atlanta – an affordable, resilient and equitable Atlanta – which stands as a model city for both commerce and compassion.

A lifelong public servant, Mayor Bottoms is the only Mayor in Atlanta’s history to have served in all three branches of government, serving as a judge and City Councilmember before being sworn in as Mayor.

Leading with a progressive agenda focused on equity and affordable housing, Mayor Bottoms serves as Chair of the Community Development and Housing Committee and the Census Task Force for the United States Conference of Mayors.

Georgia Trend magazine named Mayor Bottoms the 2020 Georgian of the Year. Among Mayor Bottoms’ notable accomplishments to date include the establishment of the City’s first fully-staffed Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, the appointments of a LGBTQ Affairs Coordinator and a Human Trafficking Fellow, the citywide elimination of cash bail bond, the closure of the Atlanta City Detention Center to ICE detainees, and the rollout of the most far-reaching financial transparency platform in the City’s history – Atlanta’s Open Checkbook.

Under Mayor Bottoms’ leadership, the City of Atlanta led the historically successful staging of Super Bowl LIII, which included unprecedented community benefits – a $2.4 million renovation of John F. Kennedy Park on Atlanta’s Westside, more than 20,000 trees planted throughout the community and the seamless coordination of 40 federal, state and local public safety agencies.

A product of Atlanta Public Schools, Mayor Bottoms graduated from Frederick Douglass High School and received her undergraduate degree from Florida A&M University. She earned her Juris Doctorate from Georgia State University College of Law.

An active member of the community, Mayor Bottoms is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, Jack and Jill of America, The Links, Incorporated, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She has also served on the board of Families First and shares her personal story of adoption and advocates on behalf of adoption and foster care.

Mayor Bottoms is the daughter of Sylvia Robinson and R&B icon Major Lance. She resides in historic Southwest Atlanta with her husband, Derek W. Bottoms, their four children- Lance, Langston, Lennox and Lincoln, and their family dog, Logan.

Biography

Award-winning business journalist Amanda Lang has been covering business in North America for 20 years. Lang is the host of Bloomberg Markets for BNN Bloomberg, a global program airing daily from Toronto and New York. Previously, Lang was CBC’s senior business correspondent, reporting for its flagship nightly news program, The National, and host of The Exchange with Amanda Lang, a daily business program airing on CBC News Network. For five years before that Lang hosted The Lang and O’Leary Exchange, with Kevin O’Leary. And prior to that the pair co-hosted SqueezePlay, on BNN, for 6 years.

Lang studied Architecture at the University of Manitoba, before becoming a journalist. Her first job in journalism was for the Globe and Mail, and subsequently Lang joined the Financial Post newspaper, where she became the paper’s New York correspondent. In New York she made the leap to television, where she first was part of the team that launched BNN and before long wound up at CNN as a reporter and anchor. Lang is also a best-selling author. “The Power of Why,” (HarperCollins, October 2012) explores the connection between curiosity and success. “The Beauty of Discomfort” (HarperCollins, April 2017) examines how difficult change can be, and set out strategies for how to achieve it.

Biography

Since joining Export Development Canada in 2014, Mairead Lavery has put values and ethics at the center of her leadership approach. Appointed President and CEO on February 5, 2019, Mairead set out three pillars for her leadership: Champion for Trade; Environmental, Social and Governance Responsibility; and Inclusion, Diversity and Equity. These values are the centerpiece of her – and EDC’s – business agenda.

Under her direction, EDC has pursued ambitious objectives, achieving unprecedented growth, and helping more Canadian companies do business in 200 markets around the world, while generating over $100 billion in trade and investment annually. In 2020, EDC became a major contributor to the Federal government’s COVID-19 economic response, helping deliver billions of dollars in liquidity to companies across Canada.

EDC also stands as the single largest financier of Canadian cleantech, a proud supporter of women-owned and women-led businesses, and regularly ranks among Canada’s Top 100 Employers. Mairead is also the Board Chair for the EDC subsidiary, FinDev Canada, Canada’s international development finance institution.

Prior to joining EDC, Mairead held executive roles at Bombardier, where she managed a range of large complex portfolios over a sixteen-year career. She is a native of Northern Ireland, has a degree in Management and Accounting from Queen’s University Belfast, and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. She is also the first woman to occupy EDC’s chief executive role in its 75-plus year history.

In 2015, Mairead experienced another very proud milestone: becoming a Canadian citizen.

Biography

President, International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

Jean Lebel is one of Canada’s strongest voices on the interface between research, development and foreign policy and on agriculture, health, inclusive economies and technology and innovation.  As president of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), an institution that invests in knowledge, innovation, and solutions to improve lives and livelihoods in the developing world, Jean Lebel leads IDRC’s contributions to Canada’s international priorities. He is responsible for significant funding partnerships with foreign governments, philanthropic organisations, and the private sector.

Prior to assuming the presidency of IDRC, Lebel served as vice-president of the Program and Partnership Branch, overseeing all IDRC programming. Before joining IDRC, he worked in both the academic and private sectors. Lebel has worked in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, where he conducted ground-breaking work in agriculture and in ecosystem approaches to human-health.

Lebel has served on boards of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research, the Centre for Global Pluralism,‎ the International Economic Forum of the Americas, and the World Economic Forum’s Stewardship Board on Economic Progress. He was also a mentor with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation (2016-2017).

Lebel holds a PhD in environmental sciences from l’Université du Québec à Montréal and an MScA in occupational health sciences from McGill University.

Biography

A French and Canadian citizen, Axelle Lemaire works as a Parner at the strategy consulting firm Roland Berger. She is the Global Head of Terra Numerata, the company's digital ecosystem composed of +110 startups specialized in the fields of innovation and sustainability. Between 2014 and 2017 Axelle was a member of the French Government in charge of digital affairs and innovation. She called her portfolio "the ministry for imagination". Axelle helped launch the French Tech program for startups, introduced the Digital Republic Bill to Parliament, initiated the first national artificial intelligence strategy in Europe, negotiated net neutrality and supported multiple projects in relation with accessibility and inclusion. She was awarded the "Innovation in Politics" European Prize in 2018 for the way in which her Bill was discussed with citizens, using an online platform and a fully transparent and collaborative process. Axelle worked previously as an elected Member of the French National Assembly, sitting on the Legislative Committee, where she was keen to promote gender equality and introduced the crime of modern slavery into the criminal code. She also spent many years working in the House of Commons in London, UK.

With her political, legal and business background, Axelle believes that technologies can empower people to make the world a better place. She chairs the strategic committee of Hopening, a company advising NGOs and charities in their fundraising activities, and sits on the steering committee of PositivePlanet, an NGO empowering people to help them create their business in impoverished areas.

Biography

Enrico Letta is the Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) at Sciences Po in Paris and also the President of the Jacques Delors Institute.

He was the Prime Minister of Italy from April 2013 to February 2014. Before he served as Minister for EU Affairs (1998-1999), as Minister for Industry, Commerce and Crafts (January-April 2000, during the second D’Alema Government), as Minister for Industry, Commerce and Crafts and Foreign Trade (2000-2001, during the second Amato Government) and as Undersecretary of State to the Prime Minister of the centre-left government led by Romano Prodi from 2006 to 2008.

Between 2001 and 2015 he was Member of the Italian Parliament, excluding between 2004 and 2006 when he was Member of the European Parliament. He also served as deputy Secretary of the Democratic Party (PD) from 2009 to 2013.

From 1993 to May 2013 he managed an independent think tank, Arel, founded by the late Beniamino Andreatta. He was also Vice Chairman of Aspen Institute Italia, President of the Italy-Spain Dialogue Forum, and a member of the Trilateral Commission.

He was born in Pisa (Tuscany) in 1966 and he spent the first years of his life in Strasbourg. He graduated in International Law at the University of Pisa and obtained a PhD in European Union Law at the School for Advanced Studies “Sant’Anna” of Pisa.

Biography

Congressman Ted W. Lieu was first elected in 2014 to represent California’s 33rd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, succeeding retiring 40-year incumbent Henry Waxman. In 2016 and 2018, Congressman Lieu was reelected and currently serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He was also elected by his Democratic Colleagues to serve as a Co-Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.

Ted is a former active duty officer in the U.S. Air Force and currently serves as a Colonel in the Reserves, stationed at Los Angeles Air Force Base.

In Congress, Rep Lieu has established himself as a leader on the environment; cybersecurity; civil liberties; and veterans. He has been an outspoken proponent for tackling climate change.  The Congressman has been a leader in Congress against ethnic and racial profiling, and discrimination against the LGBT community.  He serves as Whip of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Co-Chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus, and Co-Chair of the Cloud Computing Caucus.

Biography

Jin is the inaugural President and Chair of the Board of Directors. Prior to this, he served as Secretary-General of the Multilateral Interim Secretariat tasked with establishing the Bank. Jin has rich experience across the private and public sectors and with MDBs. He served as Chair of China International Capital Corporation Limited (China’s first joint-venture investment bank), Chair of the Supervisory Board of China Investment Corporation and Chair of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds. He previously served as Vice President and then Ranking Vice President of the Asian Development Bank and as Alternate Executive Director for China at the World Bank and at the Global Environment Facility. Jin spent nearly two decades at the Chinese Ministry of Finance, reaching the rank of Vice Minister. He holds a master’s degree in English Literature from Beijing Institute of Foreign Languages (now Beijing Foreign Studies University) and was a Hubert Humphrey Fellow in the Economics Graduate Program at Boston University from 1987 to 1988. Jin is a national of the People’s Republic of China.

Biography

Mr. Liu is Vice President at Huawei Technologies. He currently oversees Huawei's public and government affairs file. Thus, he has worked for Huawei for 15 years and has held various leadership positions, including technical services, marketing, public affairs, communications and regional management.

Prior to his current position, he served as Vice President of Huawei in Brazil (2014-2018). The latter also spent more than three (3) years as Vice President of  Delivery and Services for the America Movil Key Account in Mexico (2010-2013).

Mr. Liu graduated from Xidian University and holds a bachelor's degree in telecommunications engineering.

Biography

World-renowned in cybersecurity, risk, compliance and governance, Kris leads EY Global Advisory Cybersecurity services. She regularly keynotes at RSA, InfoSec and Security World conferences as well as appearing in publications such as Forbes, Fortune, SC Magazine, InfoWorld and USA Today.

Prior to joining EY, Kris was CEO of an AI-driven network security company. Previously, she was also the general manager of a multinational information technology company’s security services division, charged with building end-to-end cybersecurity programs for clients worldwide. In this role, she participated internally as a member of the growth and transformation team. Externally, she has served as advisor and sat on the boards of a number of public and private organizations.

Kris earned a BA in English from Lafayette College, US.

Biography

Manny Maceda is the Worldwide Managing Partner of Bain & Company. He is responsible for all aspects of the firm's strategy, team and operations across Bain's global network of 50+ offices. Manny leads the firm in its mission to deliver the best client results in the management consulting industry. Additionally, Manny is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bain & Company. He originally joined Bain in 1988.

Manny’s past roles include Chairman of the Asia-Pacific region and Global Leader at various times of Bain’s Full Potential Transformation Group, Performance Improvement practice, Reengineering practice and Global Recruiting Team. He has served on the firm’s Management Committee, Nominating Committee and Global Operating Committee.

Manny specializes in working with large corporate transformations involving strategy, growth, cost reduction, performance improvement and organizational effectiveness across a range of industries with most depth in technology companies. Prior to taking on his current role, he was the lead Bain partner in support of client relationships with a global private equity fund, a global computing company, a global e-commerce player, an Asia-Pacific communications company and a global sports apparel company.

Manny holds an MS in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a BS in Chemical Engineering (magna cum laude) from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Prior to joining Bain, he worked with E.I. Du Pont de Nemours in the Engineering Plastics Group and with Unocal Corporation in Refinery Process Engineering.

Manny is a member of the Advisory Board of the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Biography

David R. Malpass was selected as 13^th President of the World Bank Group by its Board of Executive Directors on April 5, 2019.  His five-year term began on April 9.

Mr. Malpass previously served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs for the United States.  Mr. Malpass represented the United States in international settings, including the G-7 and G-20 Deputy Finance Ministerial, World Bank–IMF Spring and Annual Meetings, and meetings of the Financial Stability Board, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

In 2018, Mr. Malpass advocated for the capital increase for the IBRD and IFC as part of a reform agenda featuring sustainable lending practices, more efficient use of capital, and a focus on raising living standards in poor countries.  He was also instrumental in advancing the Debt Transparency Initiative, adopted by the Bank Group and the IMF, to increase public disclosure of debt and thereby reduce the frequency and severity of debt crises.

Before joining the U.S. Treasury, Mr. Malpass was an international economist and founder of a macroeconomics research firm based in New York City.  He served as chief economist of Bear Stearns and conducted financial analyses of countries around the world.

Previously, Mr. Malpass served as the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Developing Nations and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Economic Affairs.  He focused on an array of foreign policy and development issues, including U.S. involvement in multilateral institutions; the Bank Group’s 1988 capital increase, which supported the creation of the Bank’s environment division; the Enterprise for the America’s Initiative; and Brady bonds to address the Latin American debt crisis. He also served as Senior Analyst for Taxes and Trade at the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, and as Staff Director of the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress.

Mr. Malpass has served on the boards of the Council of the Americas, Economic Club of New York, National Committee on U.S.–China Relations, Manhattan Institute, and Gary Klinsky Children’s Centers, as well as various for-profit entities.  He is the author of numerous articles on economic development.

Mr. Malpass earned his bachelor’s degree from Colorado College and his MBA from the University of Denver.  He was a CPA and undertook advanced graduate work in international economics at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and has studied Spanish, Russian, and French.

Mr. Malpass and wife Adele Malpass, a journalist, live in Washington, D.C. They have four children and share a strong family interest in development issues.

Biography

Jean-François (“JF”) Marcoux has 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and investor. Before co-founding White Star Capital with Eric and Christian in 2013, he was the cofounder of Ludia Inc., a leading video game publisher, and served as its EVP & CFO. While at Ludia, JF managed all non-product related operations including Finance, Legal, Strategy and HR. JF gained extensive operational experience with his role at Ludia which grew from a startup to a highly-profitable 250 employees at the time of his departure. Ludia was acquired in late 2010 by FremantleMedia, a leading global TV producer. Prior to co-founding Ludia, JF held senior positions in M&A, financing and VC in the media and technology sectors, with a large publicly-traded media and printing company, a leading Canadian Investment Bank and one of the largest institutional fund managers in Canada.

He represents White Star on the boards of Mnubo, Immunio, Gymtrack and Salesfloor.

JF graduated from HEC Montreal, holds an M. Sc. in Finance from the University of Sherbrooke, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He divides his time between Montreal and New York.

Biography

Michala Marcussen assumed the role of Societe Generale’s Group Chief Economist in September 2017 and leads a team of over 30 economists and sector engineer’s in her role as Head of Economic and Sector Research in the Risk Division. She is a member of Société Générale’s Group Management Committee and has been with the Group since 1994. She began her career with Den Danske Bank in 1986 and has worked in Copenhagen, Brussels, London and Paris.

With over 30 years of experience in the financial industry, she is a frequent commentator in the economic debate and has done extensive work on European integration, the long-term economic outlook, fair value of interest rates and pension savings. Michala Marcussen holds a Master of Science in Economics from the University of Copenhagen and is a CFA charterholder. Michala Marcussen is also Vice President of the SUERF (European Money and Finance Forum) Council of Management.

Biography

Studies: Sciences Po Paris, ESSEC (Business School) , Bachelor of laws.

After 3 years in the long-term financing sector, Patrick Martin joined the family SME Martin Belaysoud Expansion (Industrial Supplier), founded in 1829. He is the current CEO and majority shareholder.

o 200 subsidies in France, 1 subsidy in Slovakia and a business presence in Western and Northern Africa and Middle East.
o 100 000 professional consumers, from crafts to multinationals, from many professional sectors.
o Turn-over: more than 700 million euros
o 2.600 employees
o Top 3 in its sector in France.

Fan of high mountains activities. 60 years old – Married - Three children.

Biography

Based in London, Jonathan is a globally recognised expert on soft power, public diplomacy, and place branding. As a Partner at Sanctuary Counsel, he currently oversees the firm’s public sector practice. Jonathan has advised governments across four continents on matters of reputation, policy, and effective global engagement. Before joining Sanctuary Counsel, Jonathan was General Manager for Asia at Portland in Singapore, where he built up and oversaw the company’s work across Asia Pacific. Before working in the private sector, Jonathan was Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government (IfG), a think tank in London. While at the IfG, Jonathan developed the world's first composite index for measuring the soft power of countries. This earlier work informed Jonathan’s creation of the Soft Power 30, which is widely used as a benchmark by foreign ministries across the globe.

Biography

Bill McDermott is President and Chief Executive Officer of ServiceNow, the digital workflow market leader with more than 12,000 colleagues worldwide. He is one of the most respected and admired leaders in the technology industry, with a career of leadership success spanning Xerox, Gartner, Siebel Systems, SAP and ServiceNow.

Since he joined ServiceNow in late 2019, McDermott has accelerated the company’s strategy to help its customers win the “workflow revolution.” As the global coronavirus pandemic took hold in early 2020, Bill and the ServiceNow team innovated faster than ever, delivering free emergency response workflow applications and a cutting-edge Safe Return to Workplace suite. ServiceNow’s momentum is palpable, with leading customer retention rates, high net promoter scores and near 100% growth in market value since the beginning of 2020.

The SAP Turnaround
Bill spent 17 years at business software market leader SAP, Europe’s most valuable technology company. During his tenure, the company’s transformation was widely cited as a study of business model innovation and
cultural evolution, with key metrics like revenue, operating profit, brand value and market value all quadrupling on his watch. SAP also emerged as a leading social citizen, relying on green power for its data centers and becoming the most sustainable software company on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. SAP employees gave McDermott the highest approval rating of any chief executive on popular employment website Glassdoor.

Guiding Global Brands
In addition to his executive leadership of ServiceNow, SAP, Siebel, Gartner and Xerox, Bill has sat in the board rooms of innovative companies in a range of industries. He has served as an external director for performance apparel maker Under Armour (2005-2019), engineering software maker Ansys (2007 – 2019) and cyber security maker Dell SecureWorks (2016-2019). Bill has also served on a wide range of CEO leadership coalitions, including the Business Roundtable, the Business Council and the European Roundtable of Industrialists.

Civic and Social Leadership
Bill is passionate about engaging and mentoring young people, consistent with the real-life education of his own early days, chronicled in his internationally best-selling memoir, Winners Dream: A Journey from Corner Store to Corner Office. He has received countless awards, including the first-ever “Leader Worth Following Award” from LeaderCast and the We Are Family Foundation Promise Award. He has also been recognized by the Children’s Aid Society, City Year and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

Education and Personal
Bill is a proud graduate of Dowling College, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and the Executive Development Program of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife Julie have two grown sons and are proud parents of a new puppy. They reside in Northern California.

Biography

Jose is responsible for Nuveen’s vision, strategy and day-to-day operations. He and his leadership team set and execute key growth initiatives and provide oversight of all investment management teams and client businesses. He also chairs the Nuveen Executive Committee.

Jose previously served as President and CIO of Nuveen, responsible for overseeing all investment activities for more than $1 trillion in assets spanning the globe and covering equities, fixed income, real estate, private markets, natural resources, other alternatives and responsible investments. Prior to that, he led TIAA’s global real assets division, where he was responsible for setting strategy and developing our investment capabilities across real estate, agriculture, timber, infrastructure, energy and alternative credit strategies. He joined TIAA in 2004, and has more than 25 years of investment experience at firms including AIG, Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan.

Jose serves on the board of the Robert Toigo Foundation, an organization that fosters career advancement and increased leadership of underrepresented talent. He is also executive sponsor for the Inclusion and Diversity initiative at TIAA, working to build and promote a diverse and inclusive environment throughout the enterprise. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Manhattan College and an M.B.A. from Dartmouth’s Amos Tuck School of Business.

Biography

Kristi Mitchem is chief executive officer and head of BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM), BMO’s asset management division, where she leads a team of investment professionals dedicated to delivering superior performance across a range of asset classes including multi-asset, alternative and more traditional exposure to listed fixed income and equities. BMO GAM has over $300 billion in AUM and is recognised as a world leader in ESG investing and corporate engagement. Prior to joining BMO in 2019, Ms. Mitchem served as the CEO of Wells Fargo Asset Management where she led 28 autonomous investment teams. She has more than 20 years of experience in roles related to asset management, defined contribution pension plans and equities markets at State Street Corporation, BlackRock, and Goldman Sachs. Ms. Mitchem is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion. At State Street she was a driving force in bringing to market a gender diversity index exchange-traded fund (ticker: SHE) designed to invest in U.S. companies committed to advancing the roles women play in their management and on their boards. Ms. Mitchem was named one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by the San Francisco Business Times in 2018, as one of the Top Women in Asset Management by Money Management Executive in 2017, and as one of Treasury & Risk's Top 100 Influential People in 2008. She is also listed in several patent filings focused around guaranteed income requirements. Ms. Mitchem earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Davidson College, where she graduated summa cum laude and was awarded First Honors. She earned a master's degree in business administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she was an Arjay Miller Scholar. She is also a Fulbright Scholar.

Biography

Biography

Born in Monza in 1963. He was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Energy Evolution in Eni on July 1, 2020.

He joined Eni in 1992 after acquiring a great deal of professional experience in industrial companies and also as a management consultant.

He worked in the Administration and Control area of the Exploration and Production division until 2006, becoming head of the division.

From 2006 to 2009 he was Director of Planning and Control for the Eni group, before returning to E&P as Executive Vice President for the Central Asia, Far East and Pacific Region business areas. In this role he contributed to the consolidation of Eni’s activities in the Exploration and Production division, to the launch of new development projects and to Eni’s entry into new countries.

From December 5, 2012 until July 31, 2020 he was the Chief Financial Officer of Eni and Manager charged with preparing the company’s financial reports pursuant to art. 154-bis of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998.

From 2014 until September 2016, alongside his role as Eni's Chief Financial Officer, he was also responsible for Eni’s Integrated Risk Management department.

He graduated in Economics and Business Administration from Bocconi University Milan in 1987.

Biography

Oliver Moore writes about cities for The Globe and Mail, Canada’s pre-eminent national broadsheet. An award-winning journalist, he joined the newspaper in 2000 and has reported from countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia. He spent several years based in Halifax, covering eastern Canada, and reports now from Toronto.

Biography

Claude Morency is Managing Partner of Dentons’ Montréal office (since 2007) and is a member of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution group. His practice focuses on corporate, commercial and construction litigation. Claude has extensive knowledge and experience in managing and conducting large-scale litigation before arbitral or judicial courts. In construction law, Claude has represented parties involved in litigation where tens or hundreds of millions of dollars were at stake and raising very complex technical evidence issues. In commercial matters, Claude works mainly on shareholder law matters and contractual disputes. Claude also has experience defending parties involved in investigation processes, including a public inquiry commission, as well as in statutory criminal matters.

A member of the National Management Committee, Claude plays an active role in the national management of the firm while maintaining a very active practice.

Biography

Kuben is an activist and a public servant in South Africa committed to the achievement of a socially just world. He has a Bachelor of Science degree and a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Management from Wits University and an MBA from the University of Birmingham, UK. He joined the National Treasury at the beginning of 1998. Kuben headed the Budget Office from 2006 to 2010 and completed a two year stint at the UK Treasury, working in their Budget Division. He then headed the Secretariat of the National Planning Commission between 2010 and 2013. After serving as an Adviser to the Governor in the South African Reserve Bank for two years, he was appointed in April 2015 to serve as Deputy Governor of the Bank where he was responsible for overseeing the establishment of the Prudential Authority. He was appointed as the CEO of the Prudential Authority in April 2018. He is also a member of the Monetary Policy Committee.

Biography

Dr. Mona Nemer is the Chief Science Advisor to Canada’s Prime Minister, Minister of Science and Cabinet. Her mandate is to provide advice on issues related to science and government policies that support it. This includes advising on ways to ensure that science is considered in policy decisions and that government science is fully available to the public.

Before becoming the Chief Science Advisor, Dr. Nemer was Professor and Vice-President of Research at the University of Ottawa and Director of the school’s Molecular Genetics and Cardiac Regeneration Laboratory. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from McGill University and did post-doctoral training in molecular biology at the Institut de Recherche Clinique de Montréal and Columbia University.

Dr. Nemer is a leader in the area of molecular cardiology; she has discovered several genes essential for normal heart development and function. Her work has contributed to the development of diagnostic tests for heart failure and the genetics of cardiac birth defects. She has published more than 200 highly cited scientific articles and trained over 100 students from around the world.

Dr. Nemer is a member of the Order of Canada, a fellow of the Academy of Sciences of the Royal Society of Canada, a knight of the Ordre national du Québec and a knight of the French Republic’s Ordre national du Mérite. She is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has also been awarded honorary doctorates from France, Finland and Lebanon.

In 2018, Dr. Nemer was awarded the Arthur Wynne Gold Medal by the Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences.

Biography

From promoting Canada to the world as a great place to do business, to helping our entrepreneurs and businesses grow and access new markets – Minister Ng is focused on helping Canadians succeed.

First elected the Member of Parliament for Markham–Thornhill in April 2017, Minister Ng was first appointed to Cabinet in July 2018 as Minister for Small Business and Export Promotion. After being successfully re-elected in October 2019, she became Canada’s Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade.

Prior to serving as a Member of Parliament, Minister Ng served as Appointments Director for the Prime Minister, and as Executive Director for the President of Ryerson University where she oversaw the creation of a world-leading business incubator for tech start-ups.
Throughout her 20 years of public service, Minister Ng has been a devoted community leader with a focus on creating jobs, fostering entrepreneurship, and empowering small business to innovate and grow.

Biography

Tom is employed by Wexford Science + Technology as Senior Vice President, Innovation and Economic Development. In this role, he guides Wexford’s implementation of its Knowledge Community strategy across their development stakeholders globally to position Wexford’s research park developments as critical hubs in the regional innovation ecosystem.

Tom is an engaging speaker who has recently delivered keynotes on creating innovation ecosystems and helping Universities, research institutions, cities, regions, and federal governments, leverage their research and technologies into knowledge-led economic development, at the Associated of University Research Parks, the Austin Chamber of Commerce, the Society for Research Administration, and the NATO Industry Summit. He has also appeared on CNBC, CBC, CNN, and CBS and his opinions have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune, The Globe and Mail, and The New York Times, among others.

Additionally, Tom serves as an innovation advisor to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade – Canada; helping Canadian companies successfully expand their operations into the United States and assisting US companies in developing Canadian partnerships and markets. He also serves as an advisor to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on global innovation, and the Brookings Institution for Innovation District research and measurement.

Previously, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff at Broadwing Inc., an NYSE-listed, telecommunications provider, providing executive leadership in the areas of corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and innovation.

Prior to that, he served as Special Assistant to United States Senator Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), providing advice on foreign policy issues. Tom also provided policy advice to the Reagan Administration and developed a research methodology that has become a standard at Congressional Quarterly magazine.

Biography

Thomas Park is Vice-President, Operations & Strategy at BDC Capital since 2016. In this role, he is responsible for all aspects of operational management and strategic planning for BDC Capital. In 2019, he provided support to the Corporate Strategy & Initiatives team to help define and plan BDC’s digital transformation strategy.

Before joining BDC, Thomas was Program Officer with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he supported the leadership team in developing and executing their family planning initiative. Prior to this, he served as Senior Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company. While there, he worked extensively in Francophone and Anglophone Africa, Indonesia and Pakistan, particularly on public health system transformation strategies and operations. He previously worked at the United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the International Criminal Court. He began his career as an associate, focusing on international and corporate financial transactions and mergers and acquisitions at McCarthy Tétrault LLP.

Thomas currently sits on McGill University’s Global Health Programs International Advisory Board. He is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council at Ryerson University’s Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science and the Banff Forum. He is also an alumnus of the Governor General’s Leadership Conference. In 2017, Thomas was recognized as one of the country’s outstanding young leaders in Canada’s Top 40 under 40.

Thomas holds bachelor’s degrees in Civil and Common Law from McGill University, a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

Biography

Federico Pasin holds a PhD from the École Centrale Paris and a Master’s in Industrial Engineering from the École polytechnique de Montréal. He is a Full Professor in the Department of Logistics and Operations Management and Director of HEC Montréal.

He took on his new duties on June 1, 2019, for a four-year term, as the 11^th Director in the history of the School.

Professor Pasin has been with HEC Montréal since 1994, where he has held many administrative and management positions, including Director of the Bachelor's in Business Administration (BBA) program and Director of the Department of Logistics and Operations Management.

He has also served as HEC Montréal Secretary General and Director of International Activities and directed many other departments at the School, including Legal Affairs, the Secretariat of Instances, Student Services, Career Management Services, Document Management and Archives, and International Activities and Student Mobility.

As HEC Montréal Director, Professor Pasin chairs the Boards of Directors of the Quantitative Techniques for Economics and Management (QTEM) university alliance, SCALE.AI and the Canadian Federation of Business School Deans (CFBSD), and also sits on the HEC Montréal Board of Directors , the HEC Montréal Foundation Board of Directors and the HEC Montréal International Advisory Board.

His main teaching and research interests are logistics, quality management and improving operational systems.

He has published widely on these topics in prestigious journals, including the International Journal of Operations and Production Management, the European Journal of Operational Research, the International Journal of Production Economics and Computers & Education, and has been cited as an expert over 1,500 times.

In addition, he has regularly served as a trainer and advisor for high-profile Canadian and foreign organizations for over 20 years.

Biography

For more than a decade, Mr. Payeur has held various positions in the Quebec government in the field of energy efficiency. First as head of the commercial sector, he was appointed head of a team of professionals working in regulation and program design in 2012 before taking the lead in partnerships and now energy strategies at Transition énergétique Québec, now part of the Ministry of Energy and natural resources.

Engineer by training, Mr. Payeur is namely responsible for the activities related to the place of hydrogen in Québec’s energy transition, and is interested in questions relating to the energy systems as a whole.

Biography

Chris is an experienced strategy and communications professional from Canada with 15 years of experience in China. Fully bilingual (written/spoken) English and Chinese, Chris has built his career upon being a constructive bridge between different people, interests, and cultures.

Chris is President and CEO of the Canadian Ecosystem Institute, an organization providing market research, communications strategy and PR support to companies across Canada. Chris is also Co-Founder of Vancouver's preeminent networking and events organization, West Coast Opportunity Accelerator (WCOA) - Inspiring positive action through local opportunities in tech and business.

Chris pursued an MBA from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and is a passionate badminton player and chess player.

Biography

Nicolas Pinaud is OECD Sherpa to the G20 and the G7. In this capacity, Mr Pinaud is responsible for the contributions of the OECD to the G20, G7, APEC and other multilateral fora. Mr Pinaud also worked as an Advisor to the OECD Secretary-General from 2010. Mr Pinaud started his career as a country-risk analyst at Société Générale Group before joining the OECD in 2002. From 2002 to 2007, he worked in the OECD Development Centre on Issues of North–South and South-South macroeconomic interdependence and on the development of financial markets in emerging market economies. Between 2007 and 2010, Mr Pinaud was seconded to the private office of the French Minister for Employment before joining the Office of the OECD Secretary-General in 2010. Mr Pinaud is a French national. He graduated from the École Normale Supérieure d'Ulm (Paris). He holds a Masters’ degree in Development Economics, a Masters’ degree in Political Science and a Masters’ degree in History from the University of Paris-1-Sorbonne.

Biography

First elected as city councillor in Saint-Marie district in 2013, Projet Montréal members chose Valérie Plante to lead the party in 2016. Her contagious passion and energy has helped her rally people around her progressive vision. Deeply concerned about participatory democracy, Valérie Plante has a bold plan for Montreal centered on increased access to public transit, better urban planning and public services, the economy and the environment. Her commitment is to bridge the gap on these issues for all 19 city boroughs.

Before jumping into the political arena in 2013, Valérie Plante studied anthropology, museology, multiethnic intervention, and was actively involved with numerous community groups, such as Fondation Filles d’action.

She became Mayor of Montreal on November 5, 2017.

Biography

On September 1, 2011, Rémi Quirion, OC, PhD, CQ, FRSC, became Québec’s first chief scientist. As such, he chairs the boards of directors of the three Fonds de recherche du Québec and advises the Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology on research and scientific development issues.

Until his appointment as chief scientist, Rémi Quirion was the vice-dean for science and strategic initiatives in the faculty of medicine at McGill University and senior university advisor on health sciences research. He was the scientific director of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute Research Centre, a full professor in the department of psychiatry at McGill University and the executive director of the International Collaborative Research Strategy for Alzheimer’s Disease of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Professor Quirion was the first scientific director of the Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA), one of Canada’s 13 health research institutes.

His work helped to elucidate the roles of the cholinergic system in Alzheimer’s disease, of neuropeptide Y in depression and memory and of the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in pain and opiate tolerance. Rémi Quirion earned his PhD in pharmacology from Université de Sherbrooke in 1980 and carried out his postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Mental Health in the United States in 1983. He has over 650 publications in prominent scientific journals and is one of the most extensively cited neuroscientists in the world. He has received several awards and honours, including the Ordre national du Québec (Chevalier du Québec, CQ) in 2003, the Prix Wilder-Penfield (Prix du Québec) in 2004 and the Order of Canada (OC) in 2007. Mr. Quirion is also a member of the Royal Society of Canada.

Biography

Jean Raby is CEO of Natixis Global Asset Management and a member of the senior management committee of Natixis. Mr. Raby joined Natixis in 2017 and leads the firm's Asset Management, Private Banking and Private Equity businesses.
Before joining Natixis, Mr. Raby served as Chief Financial Officer of SFR (2016), an integrated media/telecom operator in France. Prior to that he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial and Legal Officer for Alcatel‐Lucent, the global telecom equipment manufacturer (2013‐ 2016). He previously worked in Goldman Sachs' investment banking division for 16 years (1996‐2012), where he rose to become a Partner of the firm in 2004 and co‐CEO of the division for France, Belgium and Luxembourg and head of the firm's Paris office in 2006 before becoming co‐CEO of Goldman Sachs in Russia in 2011. He began his career in 1989 as a corporate lawyer with Sullivan & Cromwell in New York and Paris.
Mr. Raby, a dual Canadian and French citizen, earned a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) from Université Laval in Canada, a master's degree in international relations (MPhil) from the University of Cambridge in the U.K., and a Master of Laws degree (LLM) from Harvard Law School in the U.S. He is
a member of the New York Bar. He sits on the board of SNC Lavalin, the Canadian engineering group, and on the board of Université Laval (Canada).

Biography

Over the years, Rémi Racine has positioned Behaviour as a world leader in the video game industry. Under his leadership, Behaviour has produced more than 200 titles, sold over 70 million games, and has ranked simultaneously among the Deloitte Technology Fast 50™ and Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies™ from 2006 to 2008. More recently, Behaviour was named “Best Place to Work” by gameindustry.biz and won top awards at the Mercuriades, the prestigious contest organized by the Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce. An active member of the video game industry, Rémi has acquired a solid reputation within the business community. The company won many awards and is ranked among the best developers in the world.

For three years, he was also president of Alliance numérique, Québec’s multimedia and interactive digital content association. He was inducted into the Canadian Game Development’s Hall of Fame as one of the pioneers of the industry and is a member of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences and of the International Game Developers Association. He was Chair of the Board for the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montréal in 2008-2009 and of the Board of CBC/Radio-Canada from 2012 to 2018.
He is currently Chair of the Board for Stationnement de Montréal and the Agence de la mobilité durable de Montréal.

Rémi Racine has a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Biography

Gabriela Ramos is the Assistant Director-General for the Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO, where she oversees the contributions of the institution to build inclusive and peaceful societies. Her agenda includes the achievement of social inclusion and gender equality, advancing youth development; promotion of values through sports;  anti-racism and antidiscriminatory agenda and ethics of artificial inteligence. Her appointment at UNESCO allows her to continue supporting an agenda of inclusive growth, and the respect of human rights and human dignity.

Prior to this position, Ms. Ramos served as the Chief of Staff and Sherpa to the G20/G7/APEC in the OECD, contributing to the global agenda as well as leading the OECD's New Approaches to Economic Challenges, Inclusive Growth Initiative, Gender Strategy and the work on well-being and children. In 2019, she launched the Business for Inclusive Growth (B4IG) platform, bringing together 40 major multinational companies committed to reducing inequalities. Previously, she was Director of the OECD Office in Mexico and Latin America and a member of the Mexican foreign service.

In 2013, she was decorated with the Ordre du Merit by the President of France. Her work to promote gender equality earned her the 2017 and 2018 Forbes Excellence award as well as being included as part of Apolitical’s 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy in both 2018 and 2019. A Fulbright and Ford McArthur fellow, she is member of the board of the Paris Peace Forum, UNICEF Advisory Board, Steering Group of the International Gender Champions Paris Hub, Multi-Stakeholder Council to the Global Solutions Initiative, Lancet Commission on Gender-Based Violence and Maltreatment of Young People, and Lancet Commission on COVID-19.

Biography

Kimberly A. Reed was appointed by President Donald A. Trump to serve as President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), a position that includes being Chairman of EXIM’s Board of Directors. Reed is serving for a term expiring on January 20, 2021. Reed is a senior executive with a 23-year career across a variety of sectors and has led efforts focused on American job creation, trade, economic development, and government reform. She is a noted international speaker and has testified before the United States Congress, United Nations, and American Medical Association.
Reed most recently served as President of the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation where she collaborated with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and State to increase acceptance of U.S. exports in emerging market countries. At the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Reed headed the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, where she oversaw the award of $4 billion in tax credits, loans, and grants to financial institutions and economic development groups investing in distressed communities across the nation. Reed also served as Senior Advisor to U.S. Treasury Secretaries John Snow and Henry Paulson. As counsel to three committees in the U.S. House of Representatives—the Ways and Means, Government Reform and Oversight, and Education and the Workforce Committees—she focused on oversight and reform of federal agencies. She was Vice President for Financial Markets Policy Relations at Lehman Brothers in New York. Recognized as one of the “100 Women Leaders in STEM,” Reed serves on the boards of the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement and American Swiss Foundation and was the first woman elected as Chair of the Republican National Lawyers Association. She previously served the boards of the Alzheimer’s Association, Tax Coalition, National Coalition for Food and Agriculture Research, and West Virginia Wesleyan College.

Originally from Buckhannon, West Virginia, Reed earned her J.D. from West Virginia University College of Law and B.S. from West Virginia Wesleyan College. She is a Certified Association Executive (CAE), earned a Professional Certificate in Finance from the New York Institute of Finance, and has spent time in more than one hundred countries.

Biography

Born in Hull (Gatineau) on November 25, 1944, son of Carmel Rémillard and Jeannine Desjardins, Gil Rémillard is married to Marie DuPont. They have one son, Nicholas-Philippe, and two grandchildren, Matthieu-Gil and William, whose mother is Élizabeth Côté. Gil has two brothers, Jean and Martin and a sister, Sylvie.

Gil Rémillard holds degrees in Philosophy (1965), Political Science and Economics (1968), was called to the Québec Bar (1969), and has a PhD in Law (1973). He has worked in the fields of university teaching, private law and politics.

Career

From 1965 to 1969, when he was studying at the University of Ottawa, Gil Rémillard worked as a freelance journalist for Radio-Canada on Parliament Hill.

Professor and lawyer (1973 – 1985)

Upon returning from Europe in 1973, where he completed his PhD, Mr. Rémillard began teaching constitutional and administrative law in the Faculty of Law at Laval University in Québec City; he also taught in several other universities. During this time, he also practiced law at the Chouinard, Rémillard, Bussière & Robinson law firm and acted as advisor to the Québec and Ottawa governments on reforming administrative bodies and on certain constitutional issues, among them cable distribution. In 1983, he became a special constitutional advisor to Brian Mulroney, then Prime Minister of Canada, and an advisor to the United Nations Canadian delegation in New York. He has appeared before all levels of the Canadian court system, including the Supreme Court of Canada. From 1981 to 1985, he organized and chaired the Québec Constitutional Conferences at Laval University, which included a number of high-profile speakers, among them Prime Ministers Trudeau and Mulroney, as well as Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (former Secretary-General of the United Nations), Mother Teresa and Marguerite Yourcenar.

Politician (1985 – 1994)

On December 2, 1985, Mr. Rémillard was elected as the MNA for the Québec City riding of Jean-Talon; 10 days later, he was sworn in as a member of Premier Robert Bourassa’s Liberal government. Within that government he held several positions, being successively Minister for Canadian Intergovernmental Affairs, Minister of International Relations, Minister of Public Security, and Minister of Justice. As Québec’s Minister of Justice for nearly six years, Mr. Rémillard was responsible for implementing the new Civil Code of Québec, which came into effect January 1, 1994. In 1990, he presided over the creation of the Human Rights Tribunal of Québec and, on June 4, 1990, convened a major Justice Summit and created the Prix de la justice Award. Each year, the award recognizes the outstanding achievements of individuals who have worked to ensure and promote the quality, universality and accessibility of justice.

As Minister of Canadian Intergovernmental Affairs, Mr. Rémillard headed the negotiations which led to the Meech Lake (1987) and Charlottetown (1992) Accords. While not officially part of the Canadian Constitution, these two agreements had a considerable impact on Canadian federalism, primarily because the Parliament of Canada recognized the “Québec nation.” In addition, the distinct nature of Québec and the principles of cooperative federalism that were central to the Meech Lake Accord are now recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada as points of reference for interpreting the Canadian Constitution.

As Minister of International Relations for the Bourassa government, Mr. Rémillard negotiated the agreement that would lead to the creation of the International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF). As the Minister responsible for International Relations and La Francophonie, in 1987, he hosted the organization’s second summit in Québec.

Professor and Lawyer (1994 – the present)

In January 1994, Mr. Rémillard left the political arena. From February 1, 1994 until March 1, 2016, he taught at the École Nationale d’Administration Publique (ÉNAP), where he lectured on administrative and international law and gave a course on the principles and issues involved in public administration. He also served as counsel to the law firm Fraser Milner Casgrain, now Dentons Canada LLP.

In 1995, along with his wife Marie DuPont and his son Nicholas Rémillard, he founded the International Economic Forum of the Americas, which annually presents the following events: the World Strategic Forum in April in Miami; the Conference of Montreal in June; the Toronto Global Forum in September; and the Conference of Paris in November. The primary goal of these forums is to promote understanding of the major issues involved in economic globalization.

From 1996 to 2002, Mr. Rémillard acted as an advisor to the governments of the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria concerning the reform of their Civil Codes, as part of the preparation for their entry into the European Union.

From 2008 to 2011, he served as Chair of the Board of Governors for the Université de Sherbrooke. From 2009 to 2012, he acted as a negotiator for the Québec Government and Secretary General of the Québec-France Mutual Recognition Agreement that establishes equivalency of professional qualifications for many trades and professions on both sides of the Atlantic. From 2010 to 2013 he sat on the roundtable of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); in December 2015, the Government of Canada appointed him Chair of the Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission. As Founding Chairman of the International Economic Forum of the Americas, in partnership with HEC Montreal, Sciences Po Paris, the University of Seoul, the University of California in San Diego, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in 2017 he created the International Institute of Economic Diplomacy.

Publications

Mr. Rémillard is the President and publisher of the economic magazine FORCES and IEFA Magazine, the official magazine of the International Economic Forum of the Americas. He is also the author of several books and articles, among them: Le fédéralisme canadien, et Le fédéralisme canadien, Éléments constitutionnels de formation et d’évolution, Volumes I and II. He has edited a number of collections, including Global Economy: The Foundation for the Next Era of Growth, which was published in 2014.

Honours

In 1992, he was made Doctor Honoris Causa by the Faculty of Law and Political Science of Aix-Marseille University, France. In 1994, he was awarded the Mérite du Barreau by the Québec Bar for his assistance in creating the new Civil Code of Québec. In 2001, he was appointed to the Order of Canada and, in 2002, was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In 2004, he received the Ordre national du Québec and, that same year, was made a Knight of France’s Légion d’honneur by then-President Jacques Chirac; in 2017, he was made an Officer of that same organization by then-Prime Minister Manuel Valls.

In May 2007, he was granted the honorary title of Advocatus Emeritus by the Québec Bar. In 2013, he was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and the France-Canada Institute’s Samuel de Champlain prize. That same year, Ottawa’s Saint Paul University named him Alumnus of the Year and established a fund in his name to help children with learning disabilities. On June 11, 2017, he was awarded the 50^th Anniversary Medal by the Québec Ministry for International Relations and La Francophonie (MRIF), in recognition of his years of service as Minister.

Social Involvement

A dyslexic himself, Mr. Rémillard devotes his efforts to supporting organizations that help children with learning disabilities. He serves on a number of Boards of Directors, one of which is the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, co-chaired by former Governor General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul, that helps welcome new citizens and integrate them into Canadian life.

Biography

Nicholas Rémillard, President and Chief Executive Officer, International Economic Forum of the Americas (IEFA), is responsible for the direction and strategy of the IEFA’s four major economic events: the Conference of Montreal, the Toronto Global Forum, the World Strategic Forum and the Conference of Paris.
Since the organization’s inception over 25 years ago, Nicholas Rémillard has held a variety of management roles, ultimately serving as President and CEO from 2010. His contribution led to the rapid expansion of the organization where he launched the Toronto Global Forum and the Palm Beach Strategic Forum in 2007 and 2011, respectively. The latter event is now held in Miami under its new appellation: the World Strategic Forum. In addition to these North American conferences, the IEFA has also shifted towards Europe and will be hosting its fourth edition of the Conference of Paris in November 2020.
Beyond his role at the IEFA, Nicholas Rémillard also serves as Honorary Consul General of Iceland in Montreal.
Nicholas Rémillard holds a law degree from the University of Ottawa.

Biography

Odile Renaud-Basso is the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The EBRD’s Board of Governors elected Ms Renaud-Basso as the Bank’s seventh President in October 2020 during its 29th Annual Meeting.

She took up the role in November 2020, replacing Sir Suma Chakrabarti, who had stepped down in July 2020 after serving two full four-year terms. She is the first ever woman head of a multilateral development bank.

As Director General at the French Treasury, Ms Renaud-Basso oversaw the development of France’s economic policies, leading on European and international financial affairs, trade policies, financial regulation and debt management.

In this position, she also served as Vice-President of the European Economic and Financial Committee, deputy to the G7 and G20 groups and French Governor or Alternate Governor of the World Bank, EBRD and African Development Bank. She is also Chair of the Paris Club.

Prior to her current role, she was Deputy Director-General of the Caisse des Dépôts, a large French public financial institution.

Ms Renaud-Basso is a graduate of the Paris Institut d’Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po), and an Ecole Nationale d’Administration alumnus. She also attended Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Biography

Irina Rish is an Associate Professor in the Computer Science and Operations Research Department at the Université de Montréal (UdeM) and a core faculty member of MILA - Quebec AI Institute. She holds Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Autonomous AI and a Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Canada AI Chair. She received her MSc and PhD in AI from University of California, Irvine and MSc in Applied Mathematics from Moscow Gubkin Institute. Dr. Rish's research focus is on machine learning, neural data analysis and neuroscience-inspired AI.

Her current research interests include continual lifelong learning, optimization algorithms for deep neural networks, sparse modeling and probabilistic inference, dialog generation, biologically plausible reinforcement learning, and dynamical systems approaches to brain imaging analysis. Before joining UdeM and MILA in 2019, Irina was a research scientist at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, where she worked on  various projects at the intersection of neuroscience and AI, and led the Neuro-AI challenge. She received multiple IBM awards, including IBM Eminence & Excellence Award  and IBM  Outstanding Innovation Award in 2018, IBM Outstanding Technical Achievement Award in 2017, and IBM Research Accomplishment Award in 2009.

Dr. Rish holds 64 patents,  has published over 90 research papers, several book chapters, three edited books, and a monograph on Sparse Modeling. She is IEEE TPAMI Associate Editor (since 2019), a member of the AI Journal (AIJ) editorial board (since 2016), served as a Senior Area Chair for NIPS-2017, NIPS-2018, ICML-2018, an Area Chair for ICLR-2019, ICLR-2018, JCAI-2015, ICML-2015, ICML-2016, NIPS-2010, tutorials chair for UAI-2012 and workshop chair for UAI-2015 and ICML-2012; she  gave several  tutorials  (AAAI-1998, AAAI-2000, ICML-2010, ECML-2006) and co-organized multiple workshops at  core AI conferences, including 11 workshops at NIPS (from 2003 to 2016), ICML-2008 and ECML-2006.

Biography

David Rosenberg co-founded and leads AeroFarms, a clean-technology company that builds and operates advanced vertical farms in urban environments.

AeroFarms has been recognized as a Circular Economy 100 company, was listed on Fast Company’s 2018 global list of Most Innovative Companies and Inc. Magazine’s list of the 25 Most Disruptive Companies.  AeroFarms also received the New Jersey Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence and was voted as the Best Growth Company to invest in at the Wall

Street Journal’s ECO:nomics conference in addition to being a finalist for The Circular Awards at The World Economic Forum. David is also the founder of a nanotechnology company.

David is a member of the World Economic Forum where he co-chairs the Young Global Leaders Circular Economy Taskforce.  David is also a member of the B20 Sustainable Food System Taskforce, which advises the G20. In addition, David serves as a Managing Trustee of New Jersey’s Liberty Science Center – a prominent US interactive science museum. David was also privileged to co-chair New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s Agriculture Transition Committee. In 2018, David was honored as Ernst & Young’s (NJ) Entrepreneur of the Year (Food and Beverage).

David received his BA from UNC Chapel Hill and holds an MBA from Columbia University.  He competed for the U.S. in Fencing where he was a finalist at a world cup and represented the NYAC, winning three U.S. National Team Fencing Championships and two individual silver medals.

Biography

Janet Rossant, CC, PhD, FRS, FRSC is Senior Scientist and Chief of Research Emeritus at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and President and Scientific Director of the Gairdner Foundation. She is an internationally recognized developmental and stem cell biologist, exploring the biology of the early embryo and its stem cells and their applications to understanding and treating human disease. She has also been actively involved in ethics and public policy discussions around stem cell research and genetic modifications. She led the Research Institute at the Hospital for Sick Children from 2005 to 2015. She has received many honors and recognition for her work, including six honorary degrees, and election to the Royal Societies of London and Canada and the US National Academy of Sciences. In 2018 she received the N. American L’Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science Award.

Biography

Eric Roston has spent 20 covering climate change in all its incarnations—from science, to technology, finance, business, and government. Since joining Bloomberg News in 2011, he has overseen a sustainability news site, covered diverse climate-related topics, and helped drive award-winning graphics.

His book, The Carbon Age: How Life’s Core Element Has Become Civilization’s Greatest Threat, was published in 2009 by Bloomsbury USA, and has been translated into several languages. Roston was a senior staff analyst for the 2010-2011 U.S. National Oil Spill Commission, and worked for the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, a think tank at Duke University.

Previously, Roston was a correspondent in TIME magazine’s Washington bureau, where he covered national politics, economics and energy. He joined the magazine in 2000 as a business reporter in the New York bureau, covering stories such as the collapse of Enron, China's emergence as a force in global trade, and advanced computing. An eyewitness to the collapse of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, Roston was a part of the reporting team that won a National Magazine Award for best single-issue coverage.

He holds an M.A. in Russian history, and a B.A. in the history of the World Wars, from Columbia University.

Biography

For nearly 30 years, Dr. Guy Rouleau and his team have focused on identifying the genes causing several neurological and psychiatric diseases, including autism, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, hereditary neuropathies, epilepsy and schizophrenia, as well as providing a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that lead to these disease symptoms. Among Dr. Rouleau’s main achievements are his contribution to the identification of dozens of disease-causing genes and his discovery of new mutational mechanisms.

Dr. Rouleau has published over 850 articles in peer-reviewed journals and has been quoted more than 81 000 times (Google Scholar). He has supervised more than a hundred students at the Masters, PhD and Post-doctoral levels in addition to receiving numerous awards for his contribution to science and society.

As co-founder of the Tanenbaum Open Science Institute, Dr. Rouleau is pioneering a new way of doing research by transforming The Neuro into the first academic institution to adopt Open Science principles in order to accelerate discovery and benefit patients and society.

Biography

After completing a PhD in operations research at MIT in 1973, Jean-Marc Rousseau taught at the Université de Montréal Department of Computer Science and Operations Research (DIRO) from 1973 to 1992, and led the UdeM Transport Research Centre (now CIRRELT) from 1979 to 1987. He co-founded GIRO Inc. in 1979 and was CEO of CIRANO from 2002 to 2005. A member of Anges Québec since 2011, he advises start-ups and sits on several boards and advisory committees. He has authored more than 80 scientific publications and been awarded 13 prizes and distinctions during his academic and professional career.

Biography

Mary is President and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute (www.canurb.org). An impassioned civic leader with diverse experience in the business, government, not-for-profit and philanthropy sectors in Canada and the US for over 30 years, Mary has been a steady advocate and champion for place-based approaches to building livable and resilient cities, and community-driven local economies. She has led campaigns, organizations, initiatives, and companies spanning a few months to several years. Mary was deeply engaged in the self-organizing initiatives that emerged in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, providing support to two dozen initiatives that focused on various forms of resilience. She also supported, in her role at MAS NYC, community engagement efforts during the recovery from Superstorm Sandy, and Rebuild by Design. Subsequently, Mary has led local, national and international urban initiatives from Toronto and New York City, including the initial development of Re-Imagining the Civic Commons, an initiative to strengthen elements of the urban fabric that create social cohesion and community resilience, including libraries, community centres, parks and other ‘third places’. Following her return to live in Toronto, in addition to her role leading CUI, Mary is a Senior Fellow with Evergreen (http://www.evergreen.ca) and Future Cities Canada (www.futurecitiescanada.ca), Lead Facilitator for the National Urban Project (http://www.theurbanproject.ca) and serves on the Advisory and Governing Boards of the New Cities Foundation (www.newcities.org) and The Bentway respectively (www.thebentway.ca) . Mary is also Senior Fellow with Shorefast (http://www.shorefast.org), a charity and social enterprise focused on building place-based economic development strategies that strengthen local communities and foster their resilience.

Biography

Jean-Louis Roy was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec by Québec’s Cabinet on May 16, 2018.

Academic, journalist and diplomat Jean-Louis Roy was Director of the Centre for French-Canadian Studies at McGill University from 1975 to 1979, editor of the Montréal daily Le Devoir from 1981 to 1986, Québec’s Delegate-General in Paris from 1986 to 1990, Secretary General of the intergovernmental agency Agence intergouvernementale de la francophonie (now the Organisation internationale de la francophonie) from 1990 to 1998, and President of Rights & Democracy from 2002 to 2007. He also founded Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Watch in 2008. From 2001 to 2007, he was chancellor of Université Sainte-Anne in Nova Scotia.

His expert advice has been sought by many international organizations, including the OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights), the OIF (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie), UNESCO, ISESCO (the Islamic Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization), the IFDD (Francophone Institute for Sustainable Development), and many governments around the world, including those of Québec and Canada.

Roy was a member of the Boards of Directors of the Fondation Gorée (Senegal), the Paris-based Jour de la Terre organization and the MCFR (Montréal Council on Foreign Relations). He sat on Export Development Canada’s Corporate Social Responsibility Advisory Council and chaired the Board of Directors of the Centre de la francophonie des Amériques. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Ordre national du Québec and of the Strategic Orientation Board of the AUF (Agence universitaire de la francophonie) in Paris, a network of 850 universities around the world.

Roy has a degree in History from Université Laval, a degree in Modern Philosophy and an MA in Medieval Philosophy from Université de Montréal, and a PhD in History from McGill University. He taught contemporary history and international relations at McGill University, at ENA (the National School of Public Administration) in Paris and at York University’s Glendon College, where he founded the Chair in Québec Studies, and at the Universities of Ottawa, Moncton, and Trois-Rivières. He also taught geopolitics to Ph.D. students at Montréal’s École Polytechnique.

He was a guest researcher at the Université de Montréal’s Public Law Research Centre and guest lecturer or visiting professor at the following universities: Beijing, Shenzhen, Paris, Lyons, Dakar, Yaoundé, Warsaw, Bucharest, Mexico City, Bogotá, Tegucigalpa, Tokyo, Calgary, Ouagadougou, Port-au-Prince, Dalhousie and Sherbrooke.

Roy has honorary doctorates from the following universities: Moncton, NB (Law), Ste-Anne, NS (Literature) and Ottawa, ON (Social Sciences). He has received awards and honours from more than 25 countries. He has also been awarded the Rotary Club International’s Paul Harris Fellow Medal.

He has written many works of history, political analysis and fiction. His books have been translated into English, Portuguese, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic and have been published in Canada, the United States, France, Belgium, Brazil, Lebanon, Morocco, Senegal and China. The complete text of his lectures and the list of his published works (in French only) are available at www.partenariat-international.com.

Biography

Erik J. Ryan is SNC-Lavalin’s Executive Vice-President, Strategy, Marketing and External Relations. Mr. Ryan is responsible for SNC-Lavalin’s strategic planning, corporate marketing, corporate communications, government and aboriginal affairs, and mergers and acquisitions.

Mr. Ryan, a Quebec native, was previously Senior Vice-President Communications and External Relations at Rio Tinto Alcan, where he was in charge of the group’s global reputation management and stakeholder engagement strategy. Mr. Ryan joined Rio Tinto Alcan in 2002 in the Strategic Management Support team and then held positions of increasing responsibility, most notably in mergers and acquisitions, strategy and government negotiations.

Prior to this, Mr. Ryan worked with the Boston-based Monitor Group in the area of global strategic consulting. He has over 25 years of experience in various aspects of corporate external relations, including contract negotiations, business development, community relations, and strategy development and execution. Mr. Ryan holds a Bachelor of Engineering from McGill University and an MBA from Harvard University. He also sits on several Canadian non-profit boards and has chaired many, such as the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal and the Quebec Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

Biography

Guy Ryder was elected Director-General, International Labour Organization, by the ILO’s Governing Body in 2012 and took office in October that year.

He was re-elected for a second term, which started on 1 October 2017.

Guy Ryder is committed to promoting decent work for all and to working through tripartism and social dialogue to make a positive difference in the working lives of people everywhere including and particularly in the lives of the most vulnerable.

The ILO celebrated its centenary in 2019 and Guy Ryder was instrumental in setting the Future of Work as the defining theme of the centenary to position the organization to meet the challenges of the 21^st century. Under his leadership, the Global Commission on the Future of Work was established in 2017.  Subsequently, the International Labour Conference adopted the Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work in 2019. The Declaration, centred on the Organization’s founding values, drives the promotion of a present and future of work that is fair and just by actively shaping the new forces impacting on the world of work. Guy Ryder collaborates closely with the UN System to support global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

In the social and economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, Guy Ryder is engaged in working with the ILO’s Members and in partnership with the multilateral system and other relevant parties, to apply the principles of the Centenary Declaration in the response to the crisis as well as to the challenge of recovery.

Guy Ryder joined the ILO in 1998 as Director of the Bureau for Workers’ Activities and, from 1999, as Director of the Office of the Director-General.

In 2002, he was appointed General Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). He was elected as first General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) when it was created in 2006.

In 2010, Guy Ryder came back to the ILO as Executive Director.

Born in Liverpool (UK) in 1956, Guy Ryder studied Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge and Latin American Studies at the University of Liverpool.

The ILO is a tripartite organization comprising governments and representatives of employers and workers.

Biography

Isabelle Ryl is professor at the University of Lille. From September 2010 to March 2018, she was director of the Paris Inria research center, whose researchers works in computer science and applied mathematics. She is also interested in the link between research and innovation and was acting Deputy CEO for Transfer and Industry Partnerships at Inria from March 2018 to September 2018. She was vice-president of Cap Digital (French center of excellence digital content and services) from 2014 to 2019 and has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Agoranov incubator since 2011 and of the Innovation Council (interministerial council in charge of defining the orientations and priorities of the innovation policy) since July 2018. She is currently director of the PRAIRIE (PaRis Artificial Intelligence Research InstitutE) which is one of the four institutes launched as part of the French national strategy for artificial intelligence.

Biography

Éric Salobir is the President of the Executive Committee of the Human Technology Foundation and the founder of OPTIC,  an international research and action network that places people at the heart of technology  development.

OPTIC brings together several thousand researchers, entrepreneurs and technology developers. This network carries out research projects in practical ethics leading to the publication of articles and reports (www.optictechnology.org). It also assists public policy makers and entrepreneurs in assessing the impact of technologies through coaching  and training. In Paris, the network runs Lab.222, a think tank dedicated to ethical innovation.

A graduate of the ISC Paris business school, Eric Salobir has worked at the French Embassy in Prague (economics and trade section), and at Crédit Lyonnais (now LCL) in the investment banking department in Paris.

Eric Salobir joined the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) in 2000. He is a priest with degrees in theology and philosophy. He has been editor-in-chief of the radio station ROC FM and a member of the board of directors of the French Federation of Christian Radios. He was also responsible for the web TV of Catholic programs for the French television channel France 2.

As an expert to the Holy See, Eric Salobir advises leaders of major companies and public policy actors on ethical issues related to disruptive technologies. He is the author of the book "Dieu et la Silicon Valley" (God and Silicon Valley) to be published in the autumn.

Biography

Richard Shearmur is professor and director of the McGill School of Urban Planning. His research focuses on the location of economic activities, questioning how intangible processes such as innovation, as well as more tangible ones such as work, can be assigned a location in geographic space, and in metropolitan areas more specifically. He has published extensively on these topics, in particular 'The Geography of Knowledge' (Regional Studies, 2020) and 'The End of Location Theory?'

Biography

Anya Sirota is an architectural designer, researcher, and educator. As founding principal of the award-winning studio Akoaki, she works at the intersection of architecture and urban design. Her collaborative projects, created through a distinct synthesis of aesthetics, social enterprise, and cultural programming, have established a reputation for innovation in the urban realm. Ranging in scale from scenographic interventions to experimental building typologies and neighborhood plans, Akoaki’s explorations have contributed to numerous international exhibitions and publications.

Sirota received her Master of Architecture degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Culture and Media from Brown University. She is currently on faculty at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, where she serves as Associate Dean and director of the Michigan Architecture Preparatory program.

Biography

Sir Martin Sorrell is Founder and Executive Chairman of S4 Capital plc, which is building a purely digital advertising and marketing services business for global, multinational, regional, local clients and millennial-driven influencer brands.

Sir Martin was CEO of WPP for 33 years, building it from a £1 million “shell” company in 1985 into the world’s largest advertising and marketing services company. When Sir Martin left in April 2018, WPP had a market capitalisation of over £16 billion, revenues of over £15 billion, profits of approximately £2 billion and over 200,000 people in 113 countries. Prior to that, Sir Martin was Group Financial Director of Saatchi & Saatchi plc for 9 years and worked for James Gulliver, Mark McCormack and Glendinning Associates before that.

S4 Capital plc merged with MediaMonks, its content practice, in July 2018 and MightyHive, its programmatic practice, in December 2018 and has added eight further content programmatic and data companies to both practices in 2019 and six in 2020. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange under SFOR.L and after a little over two years, S4 Capital plc has over 2870 people in 30 countries, with a market capitalization of over $2.7 billion.

Sir Martin supports a number of leading business schools and universities, including his alma maters, Harvard Business School and Cambridge University and a number of charities, including his family foundation.

Biography

William C. Stone founded SS&C in 1986 and has continuously served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer.  Mr. Stone took SS&C public in 1996 and private in 2005 with The Carlyle Group.  SS&C went public a second time in 2010 and now trades on Nasdaq (SSNC) with an enterprise value of $20 billion.

Prior to founding SS&C, Mr. Stone directed the financial services consulting practice of KPMG LLP, an accounting firm based in Hartford, Connecticut and was Vice President of Administration and Special Investment Services at Advest, Inc., a financial services company.

Biography

Recognized for her industry knowledge and client-centric approach, her practice focuses on capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, securities and financial services regulation and investment products. As a senior partner in the Business Law Group in Montréal, Sonia delivers her team’s expertise to each project and transaction.

Sonia regularly counsels public companies, financial institutions and intermediaries in the areas of corporate finance, reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, governance and compliance. She also provides insightful and practical advice to dealers and advisors in financial services and fund managers as well as clearing houses and other regulated entities in the areas of securities, derivatives (both exchange traded and OTC) and insurance regulation and investment products with an emphasis on financial products such as collective investment vehicles, investment funds (domestic and off-shore), structured debt offerings and trading and clearing services.

An active contributor to the community, Sonia is the chair of McCarthy Tétrault’s national Annual Disclosure & Governance Seminar for public companies, a member of the derivatives consultative committee of the Québec Autorité des marchés financiers and leads courses on mergers and acquisitions, securities and derivatives law at the Faculties of Law, McGill University, Laval University and University of Ottawa. Additionally, she is a director of the Batshaw Centres Foundation which supports the work of the Batshaw Youth & Family Centres’ social services for at-risk Montréal youth.

Sonia obtained her BA (philosophy) from Vassar College and her BCL and LLB degrees from McGill University. She was called to the Québec bar in 1988 and the Ontario bar in 1994.

Biography

Ludovic Subran is the Chief Economist of Allianz SE, the largest insurer in Europe. Before that he was the Chief Economist of Euler Hermes, the leading credit insurance company. Before joining the financial sector, Ludovic has worked for prestigious institutions such as the French Ministry of Finance, the United Nations and the World Bank. He has helped design economic policies in more than 30 countries around the world.

Ludovic Subran graduated from the École Nationale de la Statistique et de l’Administration Économique and from the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris. He has appeared on tier 1 media worldwide where his knack for words and gusto for economics are highly appreciated. Ludovic sits on the boards of several companies, non-profits and think tanks, where he shares his expert knowledge and foresight. He is fluent in French, English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German and Arabic.

Biography

Alexandre Synnett has been Executive Vice-President and Chief Technology Officer since June 2020. His primary mandate is to pilot CDPQ’s technology strategy, which aims to create even more value through an integrated approach. His responsibilities include investment activities and technology risk management, as well as the organization’s digital transformation. He sits on the Executive Committee.

Mr. Synnett has over 20 years of experience in information technology and operations, primarily in the financial sector. He joined CDPQ in May 2010, and before his appointment held the role of Executive Vice-President, Digital Technology and Operations. Prior to that position he was Vice-President responsible for the Business Intelligence Centre of Expertise, Data Management and Data Management/Operations, Private Equity and Infrastructure. He was promoted to Senior Vice-President, Operations, in 2017.

Before joining CDPQ, Mr. Synnett held the roles of Senior Director of the Business Intelligence Centre of Expertise and Vice-President, Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence at National Bank of Canada.

He holds an MBA with a specialization in financial services from Université du Québec à Montréal, a Graduate Diploma in Information Technology Sciences from École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS-UQAM) and an Advanced Certificate for Executives in Management (ACE) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management.

Biography

Prof Philippe A. Tanguy is the President of Polytechnique Montreal, one of the largest technological university in Canada. Between 2009 and 2017, he served in several top R&D executive positions in Berlin and Paris for the 4^th international integrated energy company Total, focusing on corporate science policy as well as open innovation in the field of renewable energy and hydrogen. Prior to this, Prof Tanguy had pursued a 25-year academic career in several universities in Canada, including 15 years as an industrial research chairholder and head of a R&D center in process engineering at Polytechnique Montreal. He is presently the Chairman of the World Council of Chemical Engineering, a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, a fellow and founding member of the Hassan II Academy of Sciences and Technologies of Morocco, and an honorary fellow of the Institute of Chemical Engineers. Prof Tanguy's education background includes a doctorate degree in physics, a Ph.D. in chemical engineering, and a managerial training at the MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Prof Tanguy is a registered engineer in the Province of Québec, Canada.

Biography

Philippe is an entrepreneur passionate about the startup world. He is the founder of the International Startup Festival (Startupfest), a successful series of international conferences on the business of startups. Startupfest has earned itself a reputation for being unforgettable and unconventional, incorporating unique opportunities into an unbeatable festival atmosphere over its 10-year history. As a result of the event’s success, Philippe also founded related initiatives: ScaletechConf and the Elevator World Tour. He is also the co-founder of FWD50, a three-day conference where the leading minds in government and technology come together to redefine what's possible in an era of digital systems and connected citizens. In addition to his contribution to the startup ecosystem in Canada, he is also a board Member of the OSMO Foundation and Bonjour Startup Montreal, hubs that support the growth and development of Montreal’s next generation technology entrepreneurs.

Biography

Mr. Paul Thompson was appointed as Associate Deputy Minister at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada in November 2017.

He has held executive positions in various departments including the Privy Council Office, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Treasury Board Secretariat. Prior to his current role, he held several Assistant Deputy Minister positions at Employment and Social Development Canada and most recently as the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister for the Skills and Employment Branch.

Mr. Thompson has 3 teenage children and enjoys staying active in a number of summer and winter sports and outdoor activities.

Mr. Thompson holds a Master of Arts degree in Economics from Queen's University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of Toronto.

Biography

Sharon is the chair of the Deloitte Global Board of Directors. Prior to leading the board, Sharon was the deputy CEO and managing partner Global & Strategy of Deloitte North West Europe (NWE), and a member of the Deloitte Global Board of Directors. She is an advocate for collective action on environmental sustainability and climate change, and has long championed Deloitte’s ambition to achieve higher representation of women in leadership globally.

As a member of the NWE Executive, Sharon’s main responsibility was to lead the worldwide dimension of Deloitte NWE’s strategy, which recognises the importance of international trade and investment to Deloitte NWE, its clients, and stakeholders. Between 2015 and 2019, Sharon was the executive sponsor for the creation of Deloitte NWE, designed to expand the capacity of Deloitte firms within the region to serve clients and attract talented people.

Prior to her role as Managing Partner Global & Strategy, Sharon was a Deloitte UK audit partner for 20 years, and has more than 30 years of experience auditing and advising clients across a broad range of sectors. This includes extensive experience serving as lead audit partner for FTSE-listed clients, coordinating services around the globe, and an outstanding record of delivering service with quality and distinction.

In addition to delivering audit services, Sharon has significant advisory experience, including two secondments to Deloitte UK’s financial advisory business and helping her clients with various mergers & acquisitions activities. Earlier in her career, Sharon spent a year in industry as the finance director of a subsidiary of a listed company.

In addition to a number of executive roles, including Deloitte UK managing partner Talent and Deloitte UK managing partner Regional Markets, Sharon has spent more than three decades on boards, including as chair. This includes nine years on the Deloitte Global Board of Directors and six years on the Deloitte UK Board of Directors.

Sharon’s other board experience includes six years on the Confederation of British Industry Board of Directors and four years as a Trustee for Prostate Cancer UK. She is a current member of the A4S Advisory Council, the Social Progress Imperative Board of Directors, and the Stewardship Board of the World Economic Forum Platform for Shaping the Future of the New Economy and Society.

Sharon graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Philosophy, Economics, and Politics; and she is a fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. She lives in the UK with her husband John and their two dogs, has three grown-up stepdaughters, and enjoys watching Manchester United and playing golf.

Biography

Raffaele Trapasso is an economist and international civil servant concerned about higher education, skills policies, and regional development. He currently works with the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities where he coordinates the Organisation’s work on Higher Education Innovate (HEInnovate) and on “The Geography of Higher Education”. Trapasso published in peer-reviewed journals and, over the past decade, has co-authored several OECD reports focussing on skills policies, green economy, regional development, and open government, among others. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars. Before joining the OECD he had served as a policy advisor to national and local governments. Trapasso holds a Ph.D. in economic policy from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan, and a degree in economics from the University Federico II of Naples. A native of Catanzaro, Calabria, Raffaele is based in Paris, is married and father of two boys.

Biography

Doug Turnbull is Vice Chairman and Country Head, Canada at DBRS Morningstar Credit Ratings. In this role, Mr. Turnbull is responsible for overseeing all of DBRS Morningstar’s day-to-day operations in Canada. As part of the executive team, Mr. Turnbull also focuses on the strategic development of DBRS Morningstar’s global rating business and senior outreach activities for the company.
Mr. Turnbull has more than 35 years of experience in the investment banking industry, and is the retired Deputy Chairman, TD Securities Inc. Mr. Turnbull has worked in Toronto, Tokyo and New York, where he advised government, corporate, infrastructure and public sector clients on numerous public and private market transactions.
Mr. Turnbull is Chairman of the board of directors of The Canadian Ditchley Foundation, the Canadian Foundation of Economic Education and Provident Healthcare Foundation. In addition, he is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation and the Advisory Board of Mera Cannabis Corp. Mr. Turnbull has held a number of board positions with public sector and not-for-profit organizations, including, Metrolinx, the Ontario Financing Authority, George Brown College Foundation, the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, the Advisory Panel of the Canadian Electricity Association and ORBIS Canada. Mr Turnbull was also Co-Chair of the Canada-Assembly of First Nations, Joint Working Group on Resource Development.

Biography

As Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas in Canada, Sonja Volpe is responsible for leading the Canadian business strategy, overseeing the nearshoring operations platform and all aspects of regulatory and internal controls compliance. Sonja is a member of the Americas Executive Committee, the Americas Business Committee and the Global Banking Americas Executive Committee.

Sonja first joined BNP Paribas in 2015 as Head of Financial Institutions Coverage in Canada. In this role she was responsible for the firm’s global client relationships with the Canadian banks, insurance companies, pension plans and the government sector. She has been instrumental in building a strong client franchise across each client industry segment and establishing a high performance coverage team.

Sonja has 20 years of experience covering Canadian financial institutions and public sector clients. Prior to joining BNP Paribas, she was a Senior Banker at Citibank Canada where she covered a number of large global client relationships in the financial services sector.

Sonja has a Bachelor's Degree in Honours Modern Languages and Linguistics and an MBA from McMaster University.

Biography

Leslie Weir became the Librarian and Archivist of Canada on August 30, 2019. She is the first woman to be appointed to the position since the National Library of Canada and the National Archives of Canada merged to form Library and Archives Canada in 2004.

Prior to her appointment, Ms. Weir was University Librarian at the University of Ottawa from 2003 to 2018. She also held positions at the National Library of Canada and the Statistics Canada Library.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Weir has demonstrated vision, dedication and outstanding service by encouraging connections both within and outside the world of librarianship. She guided many transformative moments at the Canadian Research Knowledge Network and research libraries in Canada. Ms. Weir is one of the founding architects of Scholars Portal, the state-of-the-art research infrastructure in Ontario universities that brings together information resources and services in support of research and learning.

Ms. Weir also served as President of Canadiana.org, where she oversaw the introduction of the Heritage Project, in collaboration with Library and Archives Canada, to digitize and make openly accessible some 60 million heritage archival images. She was also President of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries from 2007 to 2009.

Ms. Weir was born and raised in Montréal. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Canadian History from Concordia University in 1976, and a Masters in Library Science from McGill University in 1979.

Ms. Weir has received numerous awards throughout her career, including the following:

• the Canadian Library Association Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship in 2015
• the Ron MacDonald Distinguished Service Award from the Canadian Research Knowledge Network in 2016
• the Ontario Council of University Libraries Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, and
• the Canadian Association of Research Libraries Award for Distinguished Service to Research Librarianship in 2018

Biography

Daryl Wilson is a versatile leader with more than 35 years of progressive industrial management experience in environmental technology, operations, manufacturing, human resources, product development, and organisational change developed in world class organisations, including Dofasco, Toyota, and Zenon Environmental. For the last 14 years, Daryl Wilson served as CEO of Hydrogenics, a leading provider of advanced hydrogen solutions.

Biography

Andrew W. Wyckoff is the Director of the OECD’s Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) where he oversees OECD’s work on innovation, business dynamics, science and technology, information and communication technology policy as well as the statistical work associated with each of these areas.

His experience prior to the OECD includes being a program manager of the Information, Telecommunications and Commerce program of the US Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), an economist at the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and a programmer at The Brookings Institution.

He has served as an expert on various advisory groups and panels which include joining the Global Board of Trustees of Digital Future Society (DFS), being a Commissioner on the Lancet/FT Governing Health Futures 2030 Commission, the International Advisory Board of the Research Council of Norway and Head of OECD’s Delegation at the G20 and G7 meetings on ICT and Digital Economy.

Mr. Wyckoff is a citizen of the United States, holds a BA in Economics from the University of Vermont, and a Master of Public Policy from the JFK School of Government, Harvard University.

Biography

Philippe Zaouati is Managing Director of Mirova, an asset management company specializing in sustainable investment, which he created within Natixis in 2014, recognized as one of the pioneers of green and sustainable finance. After a career in various financial institutions, including Caisse des Dépôts and Crédit Agricole, notably as an expert in quantitative management, head of international distribution and head of marketing and communication, he has devoted himself for ten years to the development of responsible investment.

Author of several books including "Green finance begins in Paris" in 2018 and "Sustainable finance: ringing in a second chance" in 2020, he has contributed to market and regulatory developments in France and Europe. Successively Chairman of the Responsible Investment Committees of AFG and EFAMA, member of the high-level expert group on sustainable finance at the European Commission in 2018, co-founder and Chairman of the Finance for Tomorrow initiative, member of the One Planet Lab, group of experts created by the President of the French Republic, he has notably contributed to the development of responsible investment labels and transparency standards on climate. Since 2015, he has been particularly involved in the development of impact investing, particularly in natural capital.

Involved in public debate, Philippe Zaouati contributed to the writing of Emmanuel Macron's presidential program on the environment, before being the referent of La République en Marche in Paris from 2017 to 2018. He is co-founder and President of the think tank Osons le Progrès which aims to be a laboratory of progressive ideas.

Philippe Zaouati is also the author of several novels, including "Les refus de Grigori Perelman", the English translation of which will be published by the American Mathematical Society, and more recently "Applaudissez-moi !".

Philippe Zaouati is a graduate of the National School of Statistics and Economic Administration (ENSAE) and a member of the Institute of French Actuaries. He teaches sustainable finance at Sciences Po.

Biography

Olivera Zatezalo is the Chief Security Officer at Huawei Technologies Canada, and her responsibility is to ensure Huawei Technologies Canada’s operations is compliant with Canadian cyber security laws and regulations. IT World Canada (ITWC) and the Women in Security and Resilience Alliance (WISECRA) have named Huawei Technologies Canada's Chief Security Officer, Olivera Zatezalo, as one of Canada's Top Women in Cyber Security in 2020. She was recognized for her work in spearheading security initiatives in Canada's evolving cyber-threat landscape – as well as her position as a role model for women in the sector.

With over 20 years of experience in the telecommunication industry, Olivera is best known for creating value through collaborative leadership style, agile execution, and for her global cyber security expertise. Up until joining Huawei Technologies Canada, Olivera was responsible for cyber security governance, management and operations within an international communication provider operating in Canada, US, UK and France, and was a member of Canadian Security Telecommunication Advisory Committee. Currently, she serves as a member of Evanta Toronto CISO Governing Body. She is a frequent speaker at events around the globe and across Canada – as well as being actively engaged as a mentor with a number of post-secondary programs in Ontario (University of Toronto SCS, University of Guelph, and Leading Cyber Ladies Toronto). Olivera holds Masters in Electrical Engineering from University of Belgrade and is a Certified Information Security Manager.

Biography

Ethan Zindler is Head of Americas at BloombergNEF, a provider of insight, data and news on

energy, advanced transportation, commodities, and emerging technologies. He manages analyst and commercial teams in New York, Washington, San Francisco, and Sao Paulo while also overseeing Climatescope (www.global-climatescope.org), a project profiling clean energy conditions in developing countries.

He joined BNEF (originally known as New Energy Finance) in 2005 as its first U.S. employee and has held several positions with the group.  His prior employment includes stints at The Cape Cod Times, the White House, and MTV.  Zindler is a Senior Associate (non-resident), at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Energy and National Security Program.

Zindler holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA from Georgetown University.