Speakers

Biography

With more than 3 decades of entrepreneurial success, Kerry Adler has built a venerable career as a widely recognized award winning business leader, visionary, pioneer and trailblazer in the renewable energy and BPO industries.

As one of the first entrepreneurs in North America to spearhead the renewable energy industry, Mr. Adler founded SkyPower in 2003, a globally recognized and leading developer, owner and operator of large utility-scale solar projects with an active presence in over 36 countries and multibillion dollar electricity contracts around the world.

Mr. Adler is a vocal and public champion of solar energy’s global growth potential and under his leadership, SkyPower's vibrant expansion continues to help countries around the world energize their cities. A trusted and sought after energy advisor to numerous Heads of State, Kerry Adler was instrumental in the formation of the Green Energy Act, North America’s first comprehensive clean energy legislation.

Mr. Adler’s proven business leadership spans across multiple, international industries including Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Webhelp Worldwide, an international BPO solutions group, which today has grown to over 40,000 employees. Prior to this, he served as Chairman and CEO of SITEL Canada and EVP, Office of the President, SITEL Corporation, a leading NYSE-listed CRM company with more than 24,000 employees in 18 countries. Mr. Adler also served as EVP and President of the Canadian Telephone Company, Corpfon Cellular, Canada's first Cellular Reseller Network.

Since 2003, Mr. Adler has been designing and developing renewables strategies coupled with driving governments towards their climate change initiatives by executing on technologically advanced infrastructure projects in renewables with a focus on PPP implementation and GDP growth. He is an active board member, supporter and contributor to global organizations including the UN Global Compact, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), United Nations Foundation, Canada-UAE Business Council, Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), Canada Arab Business Council (CABC), Canadian Council on Africa, Special Advisor to the Founders of the IEFA, and a Member of the Government of Canada’s Canada-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), amongst others.

Mr. Adler is also an award winning business leader, having been honoured by the United Nations as the Entrepreneur of the Year in 1999 and once again, by the United Nation Global Compact in 2016 as the Inaugural SDG Pioneer for Climate Action (SDG 13). In 2019, at the 9th Global Ritossa Family Office Investment Summit under the High Patronage of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, Mr. Adler was recognized as one of the early pioneers of solar energy and as a leading authority on renewable energy around the world. Mr. Adler received the ‘Family Office Social Responsibility 2019 Award’, an international award in recognition of outstanding business and environmental contributions through sustainable practices benefiting social and economic development.

In 2018, during the Global Giving Awards, Middle East Leadership Awards, and World Leadership Congress Awards, Mr. Adler was honoured with numerous accolades including CEO of the Year ‘Who Believes in the Spirit of Giving’ Award, the 2018 Award for ‘Environmental & Corporate Sustainability’, and the award for leading the ‘Most Successful Sustained Organization in 2018.’ He is also the recipient of other industry awards that include the ‘Global 2016 ESG Responsible Executive Team Award’ and notable awards for building the fastest growing company in Canada as well as the ‘Global Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ from the UN.

As an innovator, climate action leader and advocate for a renewable future, Mr. Adler is sought-after as a renowned industry spokesperson at dozens of global events annually that include the World Future Energy Summit, Atlantic Council, UN Global Compact, UN Global Leaders’ Summit, UNECE, International Economic Forum of the Americas, and a champion for advancing the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Mr. Adler was educated in both the USA and Canada, where he studied at Bryant University, Concordia University and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with specializations in Management, Administration, Marketing, Economics (with Honors), and in (AI) Neural Language Programming. Mr. Adler is also a board member, advisor and investor to numerous start-up companies in emerging technology, AI, IOT, media, and infrastructure.

Biography

Musabbeh Al Kaabi is the Chief Executive Officer of Petroleum & Petrochemicals, which covers a portfolio of international assets spanning the oil and gas value chain.

Previously Musabbeh was CEO of Mubadala Petroleum, and prior to that, he had a 16-year career with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) leading the Exploration Division.

Biography

H.E. Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei was appointed as UAE Minister of Energy in 2013.

H.E. Al Mazrouei has held multiple positions across both government and the private sectors. He is a member of Mubadala Investment Company’s Board Executive Committee and Audit, Risk & Compliance Committee.

He has been with Mubadala since 2007 and became Managing Director of International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) in 2015.

Biography

John Rutherford Allen assumed the presidency of the Brookings Institution in November 2017, having most recently served as chair of security and strategy and a distinguished fellow in the Foreign Policy Program at Brookings. Allen is a retired U.S. Marine Corps four-star general and former commander of the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and U.S. Forces in Afghanistan.

Allen served in two senior diplomatic roles following his retirement from the Marine Corps. First, for 15 months as senior advisor to the secretary of defense on Middle East Security, during which he led the security dialogue for the Israeli/Palestinian peace process. President Barack Obama then appointed Allen as special presidential envoy to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, a position he held for 15 months. Allen’s diplomatic efforts grew the coalition to 65 members, effectively halting the expansion of ISIL. In recognition of this work, he was presented the Department of State Distinguished Honor Award by Secretary John Kerry and the Director of National Intelligence Distinguished Public Service Award by Director James Clapper.

During his nearly four-decade military career, Allen served in a variety of command and staff positions in the Marine Corps and the Joint Force. He commanded 150,000 U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan from July 2011 to February 2013. Allen is the first Marine to command a theater of war. During his tenure as ISAF commander, he recovered the 33,000 U.S. surge forces, moved the Afghan National Security Forces into the lead for combat operations, and pivoted NATO forces from being a conventional combat force into an advisory command.

Allen’s first tour as a general officer was as the principal director of Asia-Pacific policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, a position he held for nearly three years. In this assignment, he was involved extensively with policy initiatives involving China, Taiwan, Mongolia, and Southeast Asia. Allen also participated in the Six Party Talks on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and played a major role in organizing the relief effort during the South Asian tsunami from 2004 to 2005.

Beyond his operational and diplomatic credentials, Allen has led professional military educational programs, including as director of the Marine Infantry Officer Program and commanding officer of the Marine Corps Basic School. He twice served at the United States Naval Academy, first as a military instructor, where he was named instructor of the year in 1990, and later as commandant of midshipmen; the first Marine Corps officer to hold this position. Allen was the Marine Corps fellow to the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the first Marine officer to serve as a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, where today he is a permanent member.

Among his other affiliations, Allen is a senior fellow at the Merrill Center of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. He is an “Ancien” of the NATO Defense College in Rome, and a frequent lecturer there.

Allen is the recipient of numerous U.S. and foreign awards.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in operations analysis from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Master of Arts in national security studies from Georgetown University, a Master of Science in strategic intelligence from the Defense Intelligence College, and a Master of Science in national security strategy from the National Defense University.

Biography

Don Anderson is the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. In this capacity, he is responsible for the Federal Reserve System's Financial Management Technology services, the Bank’s IT and cyber security functions, Real Estate Services, and Law Enforcement units. Don is currently a member of the Bank's Executive Committee.

In 2017, Don was awarded the Boston CIO of the Year ORBiE award by the Boston CIO Leadership Association.  He is a frequent speaker on Cyber Security, Financial Technology and Digital Transformation.

Prior to joining the Federal Reserve, Don was a senior consultant with Hewlett Packard (HP) Enterprise focused on the development and execution of IT transformation strategies for Fortune 500 companies. While at HP, Don successfully managed a number of multi-million dollar international programs.

He holds a BS degree from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from Bentley University, is a founding member of the Advanced Cyber Security Center (ACSC), a Board Member of the Boston CIO Leadership Association and Wall Street Technology Association (WTSA) and is an active member of the Dana Farber Leadership Council (DFLC).

Twitter: @DonAndersonCIO

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donandersonjr/

Biography

Mason is a serial entrepreneur with fresh food, organics and sustainability always at the core. His current venture, Cece’s® Veggie Noodle Co., was founded in 2015 and is a pioneer brand in making high-quality, fresh pasta out of vegetables. Cece’s innovative veggie products have been recognized with awards from the leading trade associations in the produce industry, the United Fresh Produce Association and Produce Marketing Association.

Before his current venture he founded Greenling.com, the first and largest Local/Organic fresh food and grocery delivery service in Texas serving all major metros. Greenling was sold in 2015.

A longtime Organic agriculture activist, Mason drafted legislation and created the Organic Advisory Board to the Texas Department of Agriculture and formed the Organic Association of Texas, a legislative action and lobbying group for the Organic agriculture industry in Texas. He was honored with the United FreshMKT Achievement Award in 2018 for outstanding achievement and innovation in the marketing and merchandising of fresh produce, and was crowned 'Eco Leader of the Year' by the Austin Business Journal in 2010. Mason and his businesses have also received national innovation awards from Dell and PC Magazine, and more than 25 diverse awards across various outlets, including being crowned ‘Best Local Food Company’ 9 years in a row in the Austin Chronicle. Mason has received national media attention for his companies including feature stories in New York Times, Business Week, Entrepreneur magazine, Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, radio appearances on NPR’s On Point, and others. Mason is also an avid mentor and has served on numerous non-profit boards.

Biography

Mamuka Bakhtadze has been the Prime Minister of Georgia since June, 2018. In his capacity as Prime Minister, Mr. Bakhtadze has established a strong vision for the nation built on strengthening democracy, fostering a vibrant and sustainable economy, while investing in Georgia’s most valuable asset, its people. He has helped advance Georgia’s integration into the EU and NATO, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with allies to strengthen global security. Domestically, Bakhtadze introduced a “Green Economy” agenda and “lean government” initiative that reduced the number of ministries from 14 to 11, and redirected budget expenditures to social programs. He has launched a comprehensive reform program to overhaul the country’s education system, and pledged to allocate 6% of GDP to boost human capital development and empower sustainable economic growth.

Prior to becoming Prime Minister, Mr. Bakhtadze served as Minister of Finance of Georgia. In this role, he carried out a number of reforms to simplify banking regulations and the country’s tax systems.

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

The Honourable Perrin Beatty, PC, OC, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the 200,000-member Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canada’s largest and most representative national business association. Before joining the Canadian Chamber in August 2007, Perrin held the same role at Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME).

A descendant of one of Canada’s most prominent manufacturing families, he grew up in Fergus, Ontario and graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1971.

Perrin was first elected to the House of Commons as a Progressive Conservative in 1972. During his 21 years in Parliament, he served as Minister in seven different portfolios, including Treasury Board, National Revenue, Solicitor General, Defence, National Health and Welfare, Communications and External Affairs.

In 1994, Perrin joined a number of private sector boards and worked as a consultant in communications. In addition, he was an Honorary Visiting Professor in Western University’s Department of Political Science. From 1995 to 1999, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

In keeping with his long-standing interest in education, Perrin served as Chancellor of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology from 2008 to 2015. He has received honorary Doctor of Law degrees from Western University, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and Wilfrid Laurier University.

Perrin is currently a member of the board of directors of Mitsui Canada and in 2018, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada for his lifetime of public service and for his devotion to the development of our nation as a community leader and corporate visionary. In 2020, the Government of Japan awarded Perrin the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, in recognition of his many distinguished achievements in international relations and advancements in Canada-Japan business relations.

Biography

Eric Beauchemin has been with DBRS since 2000 and oversees all corporate rating activities, including ratings on infrastructure providers, project finance and public-private partnership transactions, Canadian provincial governments, municipalities and public sector entities. Over the years, Eric has been involved in the development of many rating methodologies and in numerous major rating assignments at DBRS, including the Aéroports de Montréal, Teranet, Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board and Health Montréal Collective Limited Partnership.
Prior to joining DBRS, Eric was with the federal Department of Finance for three years and conducted public finance research for a year in Thailand. Eric received his MA in Economics from Queen’s University and has a BA in Economics from the Université Laval. He is also a CFA charterholder.

Biography

Michel Bergeron was appointed Chief Strategy Officer of the Business Development of Canada (BDC) in 2018.

In this role, he is responsible for designing, developing and communicating BDC’s overall strategic direction and vision for the future. He leads a multidisciplinary team focusing on corporate strategy and initiatives, digital strategy, partnerships and government relations, economic and market research, and innovation. He is also in charge of the implementation of an integrated approach to develop new products and solutions across all BDC’s lines of business.

Mr. Bergeron has over 20 years of private, public and parapublic experience, dealing with financial sector issues, strategic planning, digital experience, communication, branding and international trade matters.

Before his current position, he was BDC’s Senior Vice President, Marketing and Public Affairs for over 5 years, overseeing branding and advertising, client experience, economic analysis, corporate communications, marketing, public and media relations, research, and digital experience.

He joined BDC in 1999 and has held a variety of field and corporate positions during his career with the bank, including Senior Manager, Loans; Director, Corporate Planning; Director, Strategic and Business Solutions; and Vice President of Corporate Relations.

Mr. Bergeron began his career in the federal government, where he worked in international trade negotiations for the Department of Finance.

He is a board member of Futurpreneur and president of the marketing network of Québec.

Mr. Bergeron holds Law degrees from Laval University and Dalhousie University, and a Master of International Relations degree from Laval University. He also holds the Corporate Director (ICD.D) designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Biography

Biography

Ms. Beschloss is Founder and CEO of RockCreek. Previously, she was Managing Director and Partner at the Carlyle Group. She was Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer of the World Bank and worked at Shell International and J.P. Morgan. Ms. Beschloss has advised governments, central banks, and regulatory agencies on global public policy and financial policy as well as energy policy. She led the World Bank’s energy investments and policy work on areas including sustainable investing, renewable energy, power, and infrastructure projects to reduce carbon emissions and founded its Natural Gas Group as a transitional fuel.

Ms. Beschloss is Chair of PBS Foundation, and trustee of the Institute for Advanced Study, World Resources Institute, Council on Foreign Relations, Global Alliance for Vaccines, and Georgetown University.

She was recognized by Carnegie Corporation in their Great Immigrants, Great Americans 2020 list, received the Institutional Investor Lifetime Achievement Award and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award, and been listed among the “Most Powerful Women in Banking” by American Banker.

Ms. Beschloss holds an MPhil (Honors) in Economics from the University of Oxford, where she taught international trade and economic development. She is the co-author of The Economics of Natural Gas and author of numerous journal articles on energy, finance, renewable energy, and impact investing.

Biography

Dr. NADIA BHUIYAN She is currently serving as the Vice-Provost of Partnerships and Experiential Learning at Concordia University. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Concordia University and her MSc and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University. She taught at McGill and Queen’s University. Her research focuses on product development processes, dealing with the design, development, production, and distribution of goods and services. Dr. Bhuiyan also a Professor in the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering at the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science. She has also served as associate director and director of education of CIADI (Concordia Institute for Aerospace Design and Innovation), and director of the Master of Aerospace Engineering program. With extensive experience in the world outside the university, Nadia Bhuiyan has successfully negotiated industrial research and training collaborations with major aerospace companies including Pratt & Whitney Canada, Bombardier Aerospace, Bell Helicopter and Siemens Canada. She is a strong advocate for providing strategic opportunities that not only grant students first-hand experiences in their chosen careers, but also provide tangible benefits to participating organizations. ​

Biography

The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau was elected as the Member of Parliament for Compton—Stanstead in October 2015. She has served as a minister since 2015, and is currently the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

Minister Bibeau began her career at the Canadian International Development Agency, and went on postings to Morocco and Benin. After settling down with her family in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, she became a successful businesswoman and was actively involved in her community.

In her formal role as Minister of International Development, she helped refocus Canada’s international assistance on helping the poorest and most vulnerable people and on supporting fragile states. In June 2017, after several months of consultations, Minister Bibeau launched Canada’s new Feminist International Assistance Policy. This innovative new vision will make Canada a leader in the fight against poverty by prioritizing gender equality in the country’s international assistance programming.

Supported by this new policy, Minister Bibeau advocated for actions and initiatives that empower women and girls, and she defended their rights. As well, she was at the heart of Canada’s strategy for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development objectives both at home and around the world.

Helping Canada exercise its leadership on global health issues, she played a key role in ensuring that Canada hosted the Fifth Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Montréal in September 2016, and that it will host the Women Deliver conference in Vancouver in 2019, which will bring together 6,000 people.

In her current role, Minister Bibeau’s overarching goal is to support the agricultural sector in a way that allows it to be a leader in job creation and innovation. Knowing that Canada’s farmers, ranchers and food processors are the foundation of our food sector, she will help Canada’s agriculture sector be more innovative, safer, and stronger.

Biography

Perianne Boring founded the Chamber of Digital Commerce building it into the world’s largest trade association representing the blockchain industry. Perianne was named among CoinDesk’s “10 Most Influential People in Blockchain 2016” and “Top Woman in Bitcoin 2015” for her public policy accomplishments. An avid public speaker, she has presented at leading industry events including the Consumer Electronic Show (CES), Money 20/20, South by Southwest (SXSW) and many others. She also contributes to Forbes through her column, “The Beauty of the Blockchain.” Prior to forming the Chamber, Perianne was a television anchor of an international finance program that aired in more than 100 countries to over 650 million viewers.

Perianne began her career as a legislative analyst in the U.S. House of Representatives, advising on finance, economics, tax and healthcare policy. She holds her bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics from the University of Florida.

Biography

Carl is a Montreal based retail strategist and board advisor with over 25 years of hands on operational, marketing, merchandising and retail executive experience. He has worked across a full array of retailer environments from the very large, such as 10 years with Costco Wholesale to working as a strategy consultant for a group of 800 independent retailers across Canada. As founder of StudioRx, now working with CloudRaker, he guides senior retailer leaders to better leverage their combined choices of technology, analytics & design to create positive outcomes both for their customers and bottom line. He also advises technology companies on how to best tailor their solutions to address needs that matter most to retailers. He spent a year working with a team of computer vision (AI) researchers as their retail strategy & global commercial lead. He holds an MBA from Queen’s University and advices several retail associations and innovation labs including the Retail Council of Canada, the Quebec Center for Commercial Innovation and the Bensadoun School of Retail Management School at McGill University.

Biography

Lise Estelle Brault is Senior Director Fintech, Innovation and Derivatives at the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF). She oversees the AMF’s fintech and innovation initiatives, aiming at developing the internal expertise with regards to emerging technologies and business models in finance as well as making the AMF a key member of the local fintech ecosystem. As part of her responsibilities, she chairs the AMF Technological Innovation Advisory Committee, which a forum for discussion on fintech innovations and related regulatory, market efficiency and consumer protection issues. She also co-chairs the CPMI-IOSCO Joint Working Group on Digital Innovation and chairs the IOSCO Fintech Network DLT Workstream, two groups studying the various use cases of the distributed ledgers/blockchain technology in financial markets. Moreover, Lise Estelle is a member of the Conseil de direction of IVADO and a member of the Montreal FinTech Station advisory committee.

Regarding derivatives, Lise Estelle co-chairs the Canadian Securities Administrators’ Derivatives Committee, whose mandate is to develop common regulatory approach for Canada’s derivatives markets. Moreover, she chairs the AMF Derivatives Advisory Committee, a forum to gain insight into relevant issues and maintain an open dialogue between sector participants and the AMF with respect to the efficiency of the exchange-traded and over-the-counter derivatives framework. She is also an active contributor to the IOSCO Committee on Derivatives. Her department is responsible for the implementation of derivatives regulatory policy in Quebec, including the ongoing development of over-the-counter derivatives oversight following the financial crisis. Her team is also responsible for developing the AMF expertise in the analysis of trade repository derivatives data.

Lise Estelle has also contributed to the Women's Development and Leadership Committee at the AMF with, among others, the implementation a mentoring program. In 2017, she won the Rising Star prize offered by the Association des femmes en finance du Québec.

Prior to joining the Autorité des marchés financiers, Lise Estelle gained ten years of experience in financial risk management at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and at PSP Investments during which she developed a thorough knowledge of investment strategies involving derivatives. She has also designed and implemented risk management policies for portfolios of liquid and illiquid assets.

Lise Estelle holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she studied finance and economics. She also has a bachelor joint honors in mathematics and economics from the University of Montreal.

Biography

Meredith Broussard is an assistant professor at the Arthur L Carter Journalism Institute of New York University and the author of "Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World." Her research focuses on artificial intelligence in investigative reporting, with a particular interest in using data analysis for social good. She is an affiliate faculty member at the Moore Sloan Data Science Environment at the NYU Center for Data Science, a 2019 Reynolds Journalism Institute Fellow, and her work has been supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences as well as the Tow Center at Columbia Journalism School. A former features editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer, she has also worked as a software developer at AT&T Bell Labs and the MIT Media Lab. Her features and essays have appeared in The Atlantic, Harper's, Slate, and other outlets. Follow her on Twitter @merbroussard or contact her via meredithbroussard.com.

Biography

Molly E Brown, PhD is the Chief Science Officer of 6th Grain Corporation and a research professor of the Department of Geography at the University of Maryland College Park (UMCP). Molly has two decades of experience in interdisciplinary research using satellite remote sensing data and models with socio-economic and demographic information to better understand food security drivers.  She has projects in Africa and south Asia and has lived in Senegal while in the Peace Corps in the early 1990s.  She has published over 120 journal articles in a variety of disciplines and has two books.

Biography

Before assuming the position of President and CEO of CAPI, Dr. Buckingham acted as the Chairperson of the Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal, a private lawyer, government lawyer, law professor, author and consultant in the areas of agricultural law, food law and international trade in agricultural products. Passionate about the various aspects of agriculture and food since growing up on the family farm in Saskatchewan, Dr. Buckingham has since pursued his food and agriculture interests in a variety of professional contexts and geographic locations. He is the co-author of five books, including Agriculture Law in Canada (Butterworths: 1999), and is the sole author of Halsbury's Laws of Canada: "Agriculture" volume and "Food" volume (LexisNexis: 2009 and 2014), as well as an extensive array of chapters and entries in other books and academic journals. Born in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, he and his family have resided in Ottawa for the past two decades.

Biography

Stefano Buffagni (Milan, 6th September 1983) is a Chartered Accountant, Statutory Auditor and an Italian politician of “Movimento 5 Stelle”.
June 13th 2018 - Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. March 4th 2018 – Deputy of the Republic of the 18th parliamentary term - Member of the Committee on Budgetary Control. From 2013 to 2018 – Regional Councilor of Lombardy during the 10th parliamentary term – Member of the Committee on Budgetary Control, Productive Activities and Employment, Trade and Tourism.
Chartered Accountant and tax Advisor - He deals with budgets, business assessments, tax planning, international taxation, due diligence, M&E and, in particular, with evaluation of multiannual works and tenders procedures, acting as Advisor for important engineering design activities.
Master's Degree in Economics and Management for Business at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan.
Degree in Economics and Business Management from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan.

Biography

Dr Edward Cameron is a specialist in climate change and human rights. For over two decades he has with governments, philanthropies, companies, civil society, academia, and across the UN family to build a just and sustainable world. He has served with the European Union, the government of the Maldives, the World Bank, the World Resources Institute, and recently spent five years as Managing Director at BSR, a global private-sector facing non-profit, working with close to three hundred multinational corporations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance climate resilience. Dr Cameron holds a PhD in business, economics, and social sciences, having conducted 10 years of doctoral research on climate justice. He currently works as a senior advisor to the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, the Government of Ireland, the Global Commission on Adaptation, and The Asia Foundation. He lives in Manchester, Vermont with his wife and two sons.

Biography

Dominique Charron is IDRC’s Vice-President, Programs and Partnerships. Prior to being Vice-President, Dominique was the Director of IDRC’s Agriculture and Environment program. She supervised research focused on increasing agricultural productivity and food security, reducing vulnerability to climate change, and protecting the public against infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases. Dominique joined the Centre in 2006 as head of the Ecosystems and Human Health program. Previously, she managed research programs at the Public Health Agency of Canada. Dominique Charron holds a PhD in epidemiology and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Guelph.

Biography

He graduated with honors in 1989 from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations with a specialization in international journalism and completed his postgraduate course at Moscow State University specializing in global economic issues.

In 1992, he was an intern at the New York Institute under the Investments and International Accounts Program and in 1993 joined a course for banking specialists at Fairfield University (USA).

From 1991 to 2003 Mr. Cheremin headed different banks.

In 2004, he was appointed CEO of Moscow Bank of Reconstruction and Development (MBRD).

From 2005 to 2009 he acted as the Chairman of the Board of MBRD, he also served as Senior Vice President and Head of External Relations of JSFC Sistema.

From 2009 to 2010 — Deputy Chairman of the Board of JSFC Sistema.

From 2009— Chairman of the Board of Business Council for Cooperation with India, member of the Russian-Indian Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation.

November 8^th 2010, Mr.Cheremin was appointed Minister of the Moscow City Government, Head of the Moscow City foreign economic and international relations Department.

Biography

Gregory Chrispin has been appointed Executive Vice-President of Wealth Management and Life and Health Insurance.

In this capacity, he will also be responsible for the activities of Desjardins Financial Security, Desjardins Securities, Disnat and Desjardins Global Asset Management, which are all subsidiaries of Desjardins. He is also Director of NorthWest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Mr. Chrispin heads an increasingly important activity sector, not only in Quebec, but nationwide. His mandate will be to oversee the development of products and services geared to the specialized savings and life and health insurance needs of our members and clients. He will also support the integrated distribution of these products in the caisse network and the complementary networks.

Mr. Chrispin began his career with a major Canadian insurance company and has some 30 years of experience in the financial sector. The variety of strategic roles he has played in the specialized investment product industry in Canada has shaped his unique expertise and vision in the area of wealth management.

An associate of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the CFA Institute, Mr. Chrispin sits on several committees of Montreal-based not-for-profit organizations.

Biography

Named one of Ottawa’s Forty Under 40 by the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, Catherine Clark is a nationally respected broadcaster, emcee, writer and the President of Catherine Clark Communications Inc.

Through her work in television and radio, Catherine has interviewed Canada’s most influential people, and is currently co-host of Before the Bell, a live journalism series featuring Canada’s top decision makers discussing major issues of the day.

She has hosted and co-produced The Residences, a documentary series offering an unprecedented look behind the scenes at Rideau Hall and 24 Sussex Drive, and is currently working on a documentary about the Canadian Parliament’s Centre Block.

Catherine is the Giving Back columnist for Ottawa at Home Magazine, authored the #150GreatPeople blog, has written for the Toronto Star and The Ottawa Citizen, and been published in The Globe and Mail and Canadian Living.

Biography

Robert Coallier has served as CEO of Agropur since February 2012. Prior to joining the organization, he held a variety of positions at several companies, including Industrie C-MAC. He also worked in the consumer product and retail trade industries for Molson and Dollarama, and sat on the boards of directors of a number of public and private entities, including Agropur, where he was an Independent Director for two years before being appointed CEO. Early in his career, Mr. Coallier held positions at National Bank and at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which is among the leading pension fund managers in North America, and where he acquired nearly eight years of in-depth knowledge related to funding mergers and acquisitions, international trade and financial markets. Today, as CEO of Agropur, his focus is on the positioning and growth of the Cooperative within an increasingly competitive and globalized market. Robert Coallier was born in Montréal, and earned an MBA degree from Concordia University and a BA from McGill University, both in Montréal. Mr. Coallier lives in Montréal with his wife Elaisne and their two children.

Biography

Bruno Colmant holds a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in applied economics from the Solvay Business School Economics & Management (ULB). He also holds a Master of Sciences in Industrial Administration from Purdue University (USA) and a Master in Fiscal Sciences (ICHEC-ESSF).He is a member of the Belgian Royal Academy. He carries carious certifications, including ACI, ICMA, FRM, PRMiA, CFA, CIIA, CMF, CeFA and numerous IIA certifications. He is a chartered accountant and tax advisor and owns the “agent de change” certification. Bruno Colmant began his career at Arthur Andersen, Dewaay and Sofina. He was Managing Director at ING (1996-2006), Cabinet Head of the Belgian Finance Ministry (2006-2007), CEO of the Brussels Stock Exchange, Member of the Management Committee of NYSE Euronext and Chairman and CEO of Euronext Brussels (2007- 2009) and Deputy CEO at AGEAS (2009-2011). From 2001 throughout 2015, he has been a Partner of the consulting firm Roland Berger and an economic advisor to the AGEAS CEO. After having been the CEO of Degroof Petercam, he is now the Head of Private Banking. He lectures at University of Louvain, the Brussels University and other entities. He authored or co-authored more than 80 books.

Biography

Guy Cormier has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Desjardins Group since April 2016. Desjardins is the leading cooperative financial group in Canada and sixth in the world, with assets of over $248 billion. It is one of the 20 largest employers in the country, supported by the skills of its 47,000 employees and the commitment of more than 5,000 elected officers. Drawing on the strength of its caisse network in Quebec and Ontario and its subsidiaries across Canada, Desjardins Group offers a full range of financial products and services to its millions of members and clients. Desjardins specializes in wealth management, life and health insurance, property and casualty insurance, personal services, and business and institutional services.

Mr. Cormier has been with Desjardins since 1992, and was General Manager of several caisses in the network. He was Vice-President of Cooperative Network Finance from 2009 to 2012, before being appointed Vice-President of Cooperative Network, in 2012, and then Senior Vice-President of Cooperative Network and Personal Services in 2013.

Mr. Cormier has always encouraged audacity, agility and innovation to improve the experience of members and clients. Under his leadership, the organization's AccèsD Services earned their 11th Customer Operations Performance Center (COPC) certification, making Desjardins the only financial institution in the world to hold the certification that long. It was also under Mr. Cormier that new innovative technology-focused service centres were launched, earning several awards internationally.

In 2014, he was invited to give lectures and take part in round tables for events organized by the World Health Organization and the International Summit of Cooperative.

In 2013, the Quebec MBA Association recognized Mr. Cormier as one of 40 Quebecers with a major influence on business in the province.

Biography

Biography

Martha Crago began her five-year mandate as McGill University’s Vice-Principal (Research and Innovation) on July 1, 2017.

Prior to returning to McGill,Prof. Crago was the Vice-President (Research) and Professor in Human Communication Disorders at Dalhousie University.Her previous university administrative positions include Vice-President of International and Governmental Relations at the Université de Montreal as well as the Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and Associate Provost (Academic Programs), both at McGill University.

Prof. Crago has been an active researcher in language acquisition across a variety of languages and learners, including monolingual and bilingual Indigenous children learning Inuktitut, Cree, Mohawk, and Algonquin, as well as those learning English, French and Arabic. Her work has been published extensively in scientific journals and books, and she is the Editor-in-Chief of Applied Psycholinguistics, published by Cambridge University Press. She was Vice President of the International Association for the Study of Child Language from 2007 to 2010.

Prof. Crago was named Femme de Mérite de Montréal in 2000, Chevalier de l’Ordre des palmes academiques by the French government in 2009, and Woman of Excellence in Nova Scotia in 2015. She is also the recipient of a McGill University Prize for her contributions to research.Prof.Crago was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2017.

‎Prof. Crago is the Chair of the Research Committee of the U15 group of Canada’s research-intensive universities. Previously, she was a member of the American Association of Universities Deans of Graduate Studies’ group, the Universitas 21’s Research Directors and Graduate Studies Group, and the Board of the US Council of Graduate Schools. She was the founder of the Canadian Consortium of Ocean Research Universities and the co-founder of the International Forum for Public Universities, a consortium of 21 non-English language world-class universities. She has served as President of the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies and as a member of the University Advisory Group at Industry Canada. In 2016, she was selected by the Minister of Science of Canada to be a member of an Advisory Panel on the Funding of Fundamental Research. In 2014, she served on the One Nova Scotia Coalition, the purpose of which was to propose an economic action plan for the province.‎

Prof. Crago founded and was the Chair of the Board for the Institute for Ocean Research Enterprises. She was also the Canadian academic member of the federal government’s Joint Canada-Brazil Committee and was the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Network of Centres of Excellence in Marine Environment Observation Prediction Response (MEOPAR). Prof. Crago was also a member of the Boards of the Consortium for Aerospace Research and Innovation in Canada (CARIC)and Ocean Network Canada (ONC), and she was a member of the Research Partnership Committee of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). In addition, she has been on the Advisory Committee of the National Research Council – Institute of Marine Biosciences and on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Light Source, a global centre of excellence in synchrotron science and its applications.

Biography

Professor Herman Daems is Chairman of BNP Paribas Fortis and Chairman of the Board of Directors of KU Leuven, one of the oldest universities in the world.  Previously, Herman Daems was also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Barco and Chairman of the Belgian Corporate Governance Committee.  He is Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Economics of KU Leuven.  He has had a long career as professor of strategic management and international business at KU Leuven and at several leading foreign universities and was chairman of the Gimv investment company for many years. In 2009 he received the Leadership Award from the Flemish Management Association (vMA). In November 2012 Professor Daems developed the Strategic Action Plan Limburg in het Kwadraat, SALK.

He has written several books in English and Dutch.  In 2011 he published a collection of his columns in the Belgian press under the title: " Anders Gedacht, Ideeën over ondernemers, aandeelhouders en bedrijven ". In 2014 a sequel was published under the title "Verder Gedacht" and his most recent publication is the book "De Uitgeputte Overheid.  Waarom het beleid stokt".

His Majesty King Philippe granted him the noble title of Baron in April 2014.  In July 2017,  he awarded a Golden Spur for Economic Excellence by the Flanders-Europe Movement. The Movement Vlaanderen-Europa vzw presents this award to deserving personalities in the socio-economic field'.

Biography

Biography

A CIRANO Researcher and Fellow since 2003, Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin has been President and Chief Executive Officer of CIRANO since 2016, has been leading the Baromètre CIRANO project on risk perception in Quebec, which annually collects data on Quebecers' concerns on 47 social issues since 2011, is responsible of the CIRANO Pole on the Socio-economic Impacts of Digital Intelligence and Main Researcher of the theme Innovation and Digital Transformation. Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin is Full Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal. She is also a Visiting Scientist at Harvard T. Chan School of Public Health and an associate researcher at the Institute for Data Valorization (IVADO).

Holding a Ph.D. in Management Science (in risks and insurance management) from École normale supérieure de Cachan, her research interests focus on risk management and decision-making in different risks and uncertainty contexts as well as public policies. Her research combines economic analysis, cost-benefit analysis, survey data analysis, and more recently massive unstructured data analysis.

In 2008 she created the RISQH network to raise awareness and share experiences on risks management, and patient safety and quality of care in health care facilities.

She participated in the creation of the Montreal Declaration for a Responsible Development of AI.

She is also co-PI of the "Monitoring and Surveys" function at the International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technology.

She has published numerous scientific articles, several books and more than 30 reports for government and other organizations. She has given more than a hundred conferences and is regularly solicited to speak in the media.

Biography

Derek DeCloet is Executive Editor of The Globe and Mail and Editor of Report on Business. He has been writing about business and finance since the late 1990s. He joined the Globe and Mail in 2003 and began writing Vox, the newspaper's popular investment column. He won the 2009 National Magazine Award for business writing. His column appears monthly in Report on Business Magazine.

Biography

Architect and Urban Planner. She studied Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania (U.S.A.) and obtained her license from Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru (PUCP, Peru). She obtained a Master’s degree in Building and Urban Design in Development from University College London (U.K.). Belen specialises in resettlement processes, sustainable and resilient urban and architectural design, and the generation of socially and environmentally just habitats. She coordinated the action-research project CASA [Ciudades Auto-Sostenibles Amazónicas]: generando Hogares (CASA: Self-Sustainable Amazonian Cities) part of the Climate Resilient Cities initiative by IDRC, CDKN, and FFLA. She currently leads the Lima chapter of the action-research project KNOW: Knowledge in Action for Urban Equality funded by GCRF.

CASA has received multiple awards and recognitions nationally and internationally. It won the 2nd price on the Resilient Design Competition organised by the 8th International Conference on Building Resilience and the NGO Building 4Humanity, the Architectural Innovation Award on the 18th Peruvian Architectural Biennal, and the Water Research Price at the World Archotecture Festival, all in 2018.

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

Marc-Antoine Dilhac is professor of philosophy at the Université de Montréal and holds the Canada Research Chair in Public Ethics and Political Theory. In 2017, he instigated the project of the Montreal Declaration for a Responsible Development of AI, and chaired its scientific committee. Since 2013, he has been Director of Ethics and Politics at the Centre de recherche en éthique (Center for Ethics, Montréal). He specialized in theories of democracy and social justice, as well as in questions of applied ethics. His current research focuses on the ethical and social impacts of AI and issues of governance and institutional design, with a particular focus on how new technologies are changing public relations and political structures. Marc-Antoine Dilhac is director of Deliberation at the Observatory on the social impacts of AI and digital technologies, associate member at Mila, and member of the AI Advisory Council of the Government of Canada. He holds a PhD in political philosophy from the Université de Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Biography

Mark Dudman is a seasoned executive with a history of successfully launching companies and highly innovative products. He has held senior leadership roles in the Healthcare, Telecom, Billing Systems, and Robotic industries.

Mark is an active Healthcare speaker and technical advisor and has spoken at the White House on technology and interoperability in Healthcare; at the World Economic Forum on Artificial Intelligence; and with the FDA on US healthcare policy. Additionally, he holds two technical and business advisory board positions at MIT. Mark is a vocal advocate for women in technology and is the founding leader of the Women of Watson Health Technical Guild with over 1800 active members.

Mark is the Head of Global Product and AI Development for IBM’s Watson Health. He provides management leadership and technical direction across the Oncology, Genomics, Life Sciences, Imaging, Payer, Provider, and Government market segments.  Mark leads the innovation, execution, and delivery of Watson Health products and is responsible for a team of over 2,000 Architects, Engineers, Researchers, Physicians, and Data Scientists. His teams are achieving over 200 AI and Healthcare related technology patents each year.

Prior to joining IBM, Mark was the President of Product Operations at NantHealth, where he led global product research and development. In June of 2016, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Mark, and the executive team took NantHealth public with a very successful IPO.

Mark earned his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Biography

Elyas Felfoul is the Director of Partnerships and Policy Development at WISE, a global platform that aims at transforming the world of education through innovation – WISE is an initiative of Qatar Foundation.
Since 2013, Mr. Felfoul has led the development of partnerships with organizations and forums in different regions of the world – such as the Raisina Dialogue, in India; the International Economic Forum of the Americas in Canada and the USA; the Paris Peace Forum in France; the Global Citizenship Forum in Armenia, Concordia Summit in the USA and Latin Americas; and more, which have broadened the reach of discussions about
education among audiences from diverse sectors of society and multiple geographic regions.
He is also in charge of supervising the organization of WISE’s biannual summit in Doha and its international policy engagements; and managing outreach to governments, top academic professionals, though leaders and decision makers.
Before joining WISE, Mr. Felfoul held the role of political advisor to Quebec’s Minister of Justice and Leader of the Quebec Parliament in Canada; and worked on mergers and acquisitions with a Toronto-based company.
Born in Tunisia, he moved to Canada at the age of twelve. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from Université de Sherbrooke and a Master’s in Public Policy from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Biography

Christiana Figueres is a Costa Rican citizen and was the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 2010 - 2016.

During her tenure at the UNFCCC, Ms. Figueres brought together national and sub-national governments, corporations and activists, financial institutions and NGOs to jointly deliver the historic Paris Agreement on climate change, in which 195 sovereign nations agreed on a collaborative path forward to limit future global warming to well below 2°C, and strive for 1.5°C in order to protect the most vulnerable. For this achievement Ms. Figueres has been credited with forging a new brand of collaborative diplomacy, for which she has received multiple awards.

Since then Ms. Figueres has continued to serve her one and only boss, the global atmosphere.  She sits on multiple boards and is a founding partner of Global Optimism Ltd., a purpose driven enterprise focused on social and environmental change.  She convenes Mission 2020 and co-chairs the Global Covenant of Mayors.

She is a graduate of Swarthmore College and the London School of Economics. She lives in London and has two fantastic daughters.

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

Since June 2002, Lady de Rothschild has been the Chief Executive of E.L. Rothschild LLC, a private investment company.  She is also the Founder and CEO of the Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism, a charity devoted to advancing economic and social inclusion.

E.L. Rothschild invests in media, asset management, luxury consumer goods and real estate worldwide. Holdings include The Economist Group, Bronfman/E L Rothschild, R Chocolate London, real estate and financial instruments. Lady de Rothschild is currently a member of the Board of Directors of The Estee Lauder Companies, and was a Board member of The Economist Newspaper Limited from October 2002-2017. She is a member of the Board of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the McCain Institute for International Leadership and the ERANDA Rothschild Foundation.

Lady de Rothschild has been a featured speaker for the United Nations, the World Bank, Conference of Montreal, the OECD, the British Academy, and The Economist’s World In series. Her opinion pieces have been published in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Guardian and The Daily Beast. She graduated Magna cum Laude and Beta Kappa from Pomona College in Claremont, CA and from Columbia University School of Law, NYC with a Juris Doctor with honors.

Biography

Biography

Pierre Fortin is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Quebec at Montreal, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and past president of the Canadian Economics Association. He has published widely in Canada and abroad, mainly in the areas of economic growth and fluctuations, labour markets, and monetary, fiscal and social policies. He has been awarded the Gold Medal of the Governor General of Canada, the Prize of the French Canadian Association for the Advancement of Science, the Douglas Purvis Memorial Prize (best publication on Canadian economic policy), four times the Gold Medal of the National Magazine Awards Foundation (best regular column in a Canadian magazine), and the titles of knight of the National Order of Quebec and commander of the Order of Montreal. In 1995, he was cited as “the most distinguished Quebec economist” of the decade by membership vote of the Quebec Association of Professional Economists (ASDEQ). He has been an adviser to a Minister of Finance of Canada and chief economic adviser to a Quebec Premier. He holds baccalaureates in classical humanities and mathematics (BA and BSc Laval), a master in mathematics (MSc Montreal) and a doctorate in economics (PhD California at Berkeley). He is a father of five children.

Biography

Kathy Fox selected air traffic control as a career in 1974, and worked at Transport Canada control towers in Baie- Comeau, Sept-Îles, Saint-Hubert and Montréal-Dorval, as well as at the Montréal Area Control Centre.
From 1982 until 1986, she was responsible for air traffic control training at the CEGEP Saint-Jean-sur- Richelieu, a cooperative training program coordinated by Transport Canada and the Quebec Ministry of Education.
Ms. Fox left operational controlling in 1992 to accept a developmental assignment with Air Traffic Services Headquarters in Ottawa, assuming progressively senior positions. She transferred to NAV CANADA in 1996 and became Director, Safety & Quality, in 1997; then Director, Air Traffic Services, in 1999. In 2000, she was appointed Assistant Vice-President, Air Traffic Services.
She became Vice-President, Operations, in 2003 and provided executive leadership and direction throughout NAV CANADA’s Operations Group. She retired from NAV CANADA in June 2007 and was appointed as a Member of the TSB in July 2007.
Ms. Fox has been extensively involved in other aviation activities for over 45 years, including sport parachuting and commercial aviation. She holds an airline transport pilot licence and flight instructor rating, and has flown over 5000 hours. She is a recipient of the Fédération aéronautique internationale Paul Tissandier Diploma and the Queen Elizabeth II Anniversary Medal for her contributions to sport parachuting in Canada.
Among other awards and distinctions, Ms. Fox received the Transport Canada Aviation Safety Award in 1999. In 2004, she was inducted into the Quebec Air and Space Hall of Fame. She received the Elsie MacGill Northern Lights Award in 2010 and the David Charles Abramson Flight Instructor Safety Award in 2011. She was also inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame and into the Women in Aviation International (WAI) Pioneer Hall of Fame in 2016
and 2018 respectively.
Ms. Fox holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from McGill University. She also completed a Master of Science in Human Factors and System Safety with Lund University in Sweden.

Biography

Amy oversees the Fund’s investment activities and operations. Her career spans over 20 years of high technology entrepreneurship, private equity, and research. Prior to the Fund, she served as co-founder and CEO of technology accelerator Clean Energy Trust which has invested in dozens of early-stage clean energy companies across the Midwestern US. Amy also held roles at private equity firm MVC Capital and Stanford Research Institute. Earlier in her career, she was co-founder and CEO of a tech company that she sold to Lego Systems.
Amy serves on Advisory Boards for the WISER Institute at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Northwestern University and the Museum of Science and Industry. In 2014, she was awarded the Corporate Citizen of the Year Award from the Executives’ Club of Chicago, and Leading Woman in Technology from the Illinois Technology Association. She has a BA from Stanford University.
Amy currently sits on the Board of Directors for Aquilon, SparkCognition and Aurora Solar.

Biography

Neil Fraser is the President of Medtronic Canada and Regional Vice-President - Canada, Medtronic plc, one of the largest medical technology, services, and solutions companies in the world. Through innovation and collaboration, Medtronic helps to improve the lives and health of millions of people each year.

Neil is also the Chair of MEDEC and a Board Member of Baycrest Health Sciences. In 2014, he was a member of the federal Advisory Panel on Healthcare Innovation and the Ontario Health Innovation Council.

He is a frequent speaker on the topics of value-based procurement, outcomes-based healthcare, and the medical device sector’s role in improving clinical outcomes, economic value, and access to quality healthcare.

Biography

The Honourable Chrystia Freeland is Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

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 and September 2021.

From November 2015 to January 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

Lise Gagnon joined the Olymel team in December 2007. She is Vice President, Marketing, but is also responsible for research and development (R&D). She brings to the company over 20 years of experience in the food sector, and proven skills with the marketing tools and promotion and visibility strategies needed to successfully market products manufactured by Olymel. The challenges Lise Gagnon and her team must face daily in order to better feed the world include mobilizing her team around development of new products, finding innovative solutions that address consumer concerns for a healthy and balanced diet, and successfully marketing our brands. Her initiatives have helped Olymel win several awards, including the 2012 DUX for reducing the amount of sodium in its processed poultry products by 26 tons well before the target date set by Health Canada.

Biography

Anne Gaviola is the Economics and Money Editor at VICE Canada where she covers fintech, cryptocurrency, housing, cannabis, climate change and consumer issues. Anne is a financial journalist and breaking news specialist who has also worked at CBC and BNN Bloomberg. She began her journalism career as a reporter for CTV in Canada's capital city Ottawa before moving to Toronto to work at The Weather Network. Anne has a keen interest in blockchain technology and is a Certified Bitcoin Professional. She spent some time learning about cryptocurrency and working in the industry, at one of Canada's leading blockchain companies.

LinkedIn profile here.

Follow Anne on Twitter.

Biography

Anja Geitmann obtained her PhD in 1997 from the University of Siena (Italy), following undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Constance (Germany), Oregon State University (USA), and Stockholm University (Sweden). Between 1997 and 2001 she performed postdoctoral research at the Université Laval, Québec, and at the University of Wageningen, The Netherlands. From 2001 to 2015 she was Professor at the Department of Biological Sciences of the Université de Montréal and Scientist at the Institut de recherche en biologie végétale. In 2015 she joined McGill University as Professor in the Department of Plant Science, Dean at the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Associate Vice-Principal of Macdonald Campus. She currently serves as President of the Canadian Society of Plant Biologists and as Past-President of the Microscopical Society of Canada. She is the Vice-President of the International Association of Plant Sexual Reproduction Research and she serves on the editorial boards of multiple scientific journals including Plant Physiology.

Biography

Juergen Gerke serves as CEO and chairman of the board of management at Allianz Capital Partners since 2015. Juergen oversees the Renewables investment business, Legal and Compliance as well as Communications.

Prior to becoming CEO he was CFO at Allianz Worldwide Partners from 2013 to 2014, and CFO of Allianz France from 2007 to 2013. Juergen has among others held roles in Dresdner Bank, Euler Hermes and the European Commission.

Juergen holds a degree in law from the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, and participated in executive programs at INSEAD, Harvard and IMD.

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

James P. Gorman is Chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley.

Mr. Gorman became CEO in January 2010 and Chairman in January 2012. He joined the Firm in February 2006 and was named Co-President in December 2007.
Before joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Gorman held a succession of executive positions at Merrill Lynch. Prior to this, he was a senior partner of McKinsey & Co. and began his career as an attorney in Melbourne, Australia.

Among his civic activities, Mr. Gorman serves as a Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Council on Foreign Relations, Chairman of the Financial Services Forum, and Co-Chair of the Board of Overseers of the Columbia Business School, and is a member of the Business Council and the Business Roundtable.

He formerly served as President of the Federal Advisory Council to the U.S.
Federal Reserve Board, Co-Chairman of the Partnership for New York City, Chairman of the Board of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and Co- Chairman of the Business Committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Mr. Gorman, who was born in Australia, earned a B.A. and Law degree from the
University of Melbourne and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.

Biography

Mr. Grantham co-founded GMO in 1977 and is a member of GMO’s Asset Allocation team, serving as the firm’s chief investment strategist. He is a member of the GMO Board of Directors and has also served on the investment boards of several non-profit organizations. Prior to GMO’s founding, Mr. Grantham was co-founder of Batterymarch Financial Management in 1969 where he recommended commercial indexing in 1971, one of several claims to being first. He began his investment career as an economist with Royal Dutch Shell. Mr. Grantham earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Sheffield (U.K.) and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He is a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, holds a CBE from the UK and 3 honorary degrees.

Biography

 Bill Greuel is currently the CEO of Protein Industries Canada, an organization focused on the growth of Canada’s plant-based food industry. Bill was born and raised on a mixed farm near Bruno, Saskatchewan, and has, since he can remember, been involved and employed in agriculture. 

After completing a BSA and MSc at the University of Saskatchewan, Bill joined Zeneca Seeds where he helped bring to market the world’s first canola hybrids. In his time with Zeneca Seeds, Bill also served as the Product Development Manager for Latin America where he worked to introduce canola into crop rotations in Brazil and Paraguay. 

In 1999, Bill joined the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture as the Oilseed and Transgenic Crop Specialist, later becoming the Manager of Research and Development where he delivered Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund. In 2008, while completing his MBA at the University of Regina, Bill joined BASF as the Clearfield Trait Intellectual Property Manager. He worked six years for BASF ending his tenure there as the Canadian Market Manager for Functional Crop Care, BASF’s combined inoculant and seed treatment business. 

In 2014, Bill returned to the public service, serving first as the Executive Director of the Crops and Irrigation Branch, and later as the Assistant Deputy Minister of Regulatory and Innovation for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. It was in his role as ADM that Bill learned about and became involved in the development of Protein Industries Canada, becoming the organization’s first CEO in 2018.

Biography

Mr. Salvatore Guerrera is the President, Founder & CEO of SAJO Group. The core company is engaged in turn-key construction, design-build, procurement and project management and is recognized for its expertise in North-American, European and International markets.

He is also the Chairman of Guerrera-Tedeschi Investments Inc. SAJO Group’s investment holding company.  Mr. Guerrera brings over 40 years of experience as an entrepreneur and private equity investor.

Mr. Guerrera has been involved in the arts, as well as many charitable, philanthropic and community organizations for more than 25 years. In 2017 he was appointed a member of the Order of Canada.

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

Mona is a Senior Director at the Office of Strategic Affairs, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court. Her role includes analysis of social and economic developments globally and locally and drafting of publications and white papers to influence policy making. She also manages a large portfolio of philanthropic initiatives around global health. Prior to joining the crown Prince Court she worked at  Booz and Company as part of the public sector practice team focusing on a wide range of public policy issues including: social and labor policies and macroeconomic policy among other areas. She also worked as an economist with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). She has authored and co-authored several papers including an IMF paper on the determinants of Public Private Partnerships.  She has three major books: “Looking Ahead: The 50 Trends that Matter” ; “Looking Ahead: The Global Sustainable Agenda” and “The Giving World: How maximizing three financial forces could revolutionize global development”.

Mona holds a PhD in Development Studies from the University of Oxford and a Master in Public Administration International Development from Harvard Kennedy School. She is a recipient of both the H.R.H. Princess Banderi Al-Faisal Public Service Fellowship and Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Tuwaijri International Public Service Fellowship. She is a WEF Young Global Leader, the founding Curator of the World Economic Forum Abu Dhabi Global Shapers Hub and a member of the WEF Development Finance Global Future Council.

Biography

Jacqueline Hansen is a Senior Business Reporter for CBC News. Based in Toronto, she files stories for CBC's national TV and radio programs, including The National, World Report, and World at Six, and writes for CBC.ca. Jacqueline is also a professor in the journalism program at Seneca College in Toronto, where she teaches cross-platform reporting.

Biography

JA Canada is a registered non-profit organization with 16 Charter licensed offices across Canada.  JA works in partnership with the school system and corporate supporters to teach youth financial literacy, entrepreneurship and work readiness skills. In 2018 JA reached 280,000 youth in Canada via its national network of over 10,000 volunteers.  JA is the world’s largest NGO with over 10 million alumni annually.

As a long-standing member of the JA family dating back to 2004, Scott understands and is committed to the JA goal to inspire students and prepare them to succeed in a global economy.

Scott served as the President and CEO of JA Southern Alberta since 2008 before assuming the leadership of the national organization in July 2016. In addition to his extensive professional background in business development, marketing and entrepreneurship Scott led the development of several innovative fundraising and program initiatives while building JA Southern Alberta to one of the strongest JA Charters in Canada.

With over 15 years in not-for-profit management, Scott was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his contributions to the charitable sector. Prior to JA, Scott was co-owner of an international distribution company. He has served as a director on not-for-profit, corporate and public company boards. Scott holds a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Marketing from the University of Calgary.

Sharing the values and vision of Junior Achievement, Scott is committed to strengthening national economies via the future success of today’s youth through their financial literacy, workplace readiness, and entrepreneurial skill development.

Biography

Appointed

Doris was appointed Group Chief Operating Officer in October 2015, supporting the Group Chief Executive in defining and executing the business strategy, reinforcing exemplary control and governance, ensuring strategic functional alignment and enabling efficient business growth. Doris also serves as the curator for the Standard Chartered art collection.

Career

Doris joined the Group in March 2007, and has served as the Group Head of Market Risk and the Chief Operating Officer for Wholesale Banking. Doris started her career at Dresdner Bank in Frankfurt. She held several market risk leadership roles in Frankfurt, Tokyo and London, before taking over global responsibility for Dresdner Kleinwort’s market risk function.

Biography

Focused on opportunities and results, Anne-Marie leverages internal and external knowledge, experience and the global firm to drive change. She has a passion for helping clients re-think business models to create more solid foundations for growth and long-term competitive advantage, while managing underperformance risk.

As a former member of the EY Global Advisory Council and EY Canada’s Executive Committee, Anne-Marie has a reputation for disrupting the status quo and for putting forward services and solutions in anticipation of client and market needs. In the process, she provides our people with market enablers to help them grow their networks and build both their personal and the EY brand.

She’s the Chair of the Canadian chapter of the Human Technology Foundation, and serves on the Board of Directors of Montréal International, the Québec Artificial Intelligence Institute (MILA) and the Institute of Corporate Directors – Québec Chapter.

In 2004, Anne-Marie was named a Fellow of the Ordre des comptables agréés du Québec, which recognizes outstanding achievements in the profession. In 2015, Concordia University recognized Anne-Marie with an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa. And on December 30, 2016, she was named a Member of the Order of Canada for her commitment to parity and inclusion in business and for her skill in corporate governance.

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

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; Vice Chair of  the Obama Foundation; on the Executive Committee of the Boston Celtics Basketball Team; and a board member of the New York Presbyterian Hospital. 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

Tracey Hyatt Bosman develops and executes location selection and incentives strategies for BLS & Co.'s corporate and institutional clients. She has over twenty years of professional experience across a wide range of sectors, including data centers, manufacturing, headquarters, back office and contact center operations, and logistics. Prior to joining the firm, Tracey spent more than five years as director of strategic consulting with Grubb & Ellis, where she also was co-leader of its national Clean Energy Practice Group and a member of the national Data Center Practice Group.  Tracey is an experienced economic developer, having worked at both the county and state levels, including as vice president of policy and operations for the Chicago-area Lake County Partners and Senior Manager of prospect activities for the South Carolina Department of Commerce.

Tracey holds a Masters in International Business Studies and a B.A. in International Studies from the University of South Carolina. She is a member of the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC) and the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), a Board Member of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, a Circle Leader for The Policy Circle, and current member and past Board Member of the Site Selectors Guild.

About Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Co.

Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Company, LLC (BLS & Co.) helps some of the world’s largest corporations and middle market companies optimize their location portfolios, secure incentives, obtain development approvals and optimize energy strategies. Location Economics™, the firm’s trademarked multi-disciplinary approach, focuses on creating value for companies and their communities. BLS & Co. is headquartered in Princeton, N.J., with offices in New York, Chicago, Cleveland and San Francisco, CA.  www.blsstrategies.com.

Biography

Tyson has worked in both the public and private sectors over the course of his career.  Starting in the Federal civil service, Tyson developed hands-on experience across the entire spectrum of issues facing Canada’s foreign and domestic threats.  He worked closely with government agencies in Canada and abroad to collaborate and achieve successful outcomes.

After departing the Government of Canada, Tyson spent the next number of years building and supporting enterprise risk management programs for multinational organizations in both financial services and electronics manufacturing.  During this time, Tyson worked globally to understand and integrate regional nuances into a corporate framework to support business success.  It was during this period that Tyson obtained his Global Masters of Arts Program designation from The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University.   His thesis explored the contributing decision support factors for comparative country selection by corporations.

Most recently, Tyson led BrightPlanet, a US-based ‘big data’ pioneer, as its VP Business Development & Strategy.  In this role, Tyson helped shape BrightPlanet into a successful member of the data & analytics ecosystem to support risk management across government and industry.  This included a key focus on threat identification and cybersecurity initiatives.

Biography

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

Premier Kenney committed himself to public life in the early 1990s as President of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, where he fought hard for lower taxes and fiscal responsibility.

In 1997, at the age of 29, Calgary voters elected him to Parliament where he worked to unite conservatives nationally. During his time in Parliament, Jason was voted the “best overall,” “hardest working,” and “most knowledgeable” MP by his colleagues in Maclean’s Magazine’s annual survey.

Mr. Kenney served as Minister for Multiculturalism for eight years in Prime Minister Harper’s government, reaching out to new Canadians as a strong advocate for pluralism. He became Canada’s longest serving Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, welcoming over 1.3 million newcomers to Canada while implementing comprehensive reforms to Canada’s immigration, refugee and citizenship programs, leading the National Post to call him “perhaps Canada’s best immigration minister ever.”

From 2013 to 2015 Mr. Kenney served as Minister of Employment and Social Development, where he implemented a “skills for jobs” strategy to increase support for skilled trades and apprenticeship learning. In 2015, he served as Minister of National Defence, deploying Canada’s military to combat ISIS in the Middle East, and to Ukraine to help modernize that country’s defences.

In 2017 Mr. Kenney was elected Leader of Alberta’s Progressive Conservative Party with a mandate to reunite the province’s divided free enterprise political movement. He then helped to lead the creation of the new United Conservative Party, and was elected its Leader, becoming Leader of the Opposition.

In April, 2019 he led his party to an election victory with 55% of the popular vote in a campaign focused on economic growth, and advocating a fair deal for Alberta in the Canadian federation. He was sworn-in as Alberta’s 18th Premier on April 30, 2019.

Biography

Since September 2002 Dr Michael Kerkloh (65] is at the helm of FMG, the Munich Airport operating company, as President and CEO. Under his leadership, Bavaria's gateway to the world has moved up to join the ranks of Europe's top air transportation hubs, with annual traffic exceeding 46 million passengers in 2018. Dr Kerkloh has very successfully promoted a strategic partnership with Lufthansa German Airlines and in a unique joint venture both airport and airline have built terminal 2 and a state-of -the-art satellite to serve the growing demand of air traffic in Munich. Munich Airport was appointed Europe's first "5 -Star Airport".  In the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2019, Munich Airport was again voted Europe's Best Airport, a repeat winner of the award for the twelfth year, selected in a survey with a sample of 13.5 million international travelers. Kerkloh graduated in Economics at the University of Frankfurt and completed a doctorate in Political Science. He started his career in aviation at Frankfurt airport and was later appointed managing director of Hamburg airport. From 2013 until 2016 he was president of the German Airports Association [ADV). In 2017 Kerkloh was elected president of Airport Council International [ACI] Europe and now represents the interests of more than 500 airports in 45 European countries.

Biography

Dr. Raj Khosla is Robert E. Gardner Professor of Precision Agriculture at Colorado State University and is a globally recognized authority on Precision Agriculture. He has been engaged in precision agriculture since inception and has made significant contributions in the development and spread of Precision Agriculture worldwide. He is the Founder and Past-President of the International Society of Precision Agriculture. Most recently, he served as the member of National Academy of Science Executive Committee on Science Breakthrough 2030. In 2017, his research was recognized with the “Werner L. Nelson Award for Diagnosis of Yield-Limiting Factors Award” by the American Society of Agronomy. Previously, he has been recognized as the “Precision Ag Educator of the Year 2015” by the US agricultural industry. In 2012, Dr. Khosla was named the Jefferson Science Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences and was appointed as the Senior Science Advisor on Food Security to the U.S. Department of State. In 2011, he was inducted by NASA to the US “Presidential Advisory Board on Positioning, Navigation and Timing” to work on the US space based GPS policy.

Prof. Khosla is the Fellow of American Society of Agronomy; Fellow of Soil Science Society of America; Fellow of Soil and Water Conservation Society and Honorary Life Fellow of International Society of Precision Agriculture.

His main research focus has been on “Management of in-field soil and crop spatial variability using innovative technologies (such as GPS, GIS, and Remote-sensing) for variable rate precision nutrient management, particularly Nitrogen. He has generated many discoveries in precision agriculture, most widely recognized among them is the innovative technique of quantifying variability of spatially diverse soils using satellite based remote-sensing to create management zones, which is currently being used by farmers in Colorado, across US and in other countries around the world. He currently has projects in multiple countries and is championing efforts to enhance crop input use efficiency, productivity, profitability, and sustainability of large and small scale agricultural production systems. He has co-authored over 200 publications (book chapters, refereed journal articles, extension articles, proceedings, bulletins, reports, popular press articles, digital media, and others). He has been invited globally to over 30 countries.

Biography

Sean Kidney is CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative, an international NGO, working to mobilize global capital for climate action.  Projects include a green bond definitions and certification scheme with $34 trillion of assets represented on its Board; working with the Chinese central bank on how to grow green bonds in China; market development programs in Brazil, Mexico, ASEAN and Africa; and market tracking services for the green bonds industry. He is a member of the European Commission's Platform on Sustainable Finance, and was a member of its predecessors, the 2017 EU High Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance and the EU Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance. He is also a member of green finance committees in China, India, Mexico and Kazakhstan. Sean is also a Professor in Practice at SOAS University of London.

Biography

Thomas Kinisky is Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer at Saint-Gobain, one of the world’s largest building materials companies and manufacturer of innovative material solutions, and serves as Chairman of Saint-Gobain in North America. As a member of Saint-Gobain’s Executive Committee, Mr. Kinisky drives the strategy and application of Saint-Gobain’s global innovation efforts across a wide range of disciplines, including R&D and the company’s external ventures.

Globally, Saint-Gobain employs more than 179,000 people in 67 countries with annual sales of $49.4 billion in 2018. In North America, Saint-Gobain has approximately 160 locations and more than 15,500 employees across the U.S. and Canada with sales of approximately $6.5 billion in 2018.

Most recently, Mr. Kinisky served as President and CEO of Saint-Gobain North America, where he drove the company’s growth by investing in talent, focusing on customer-centricity and ensuring clarity of purpose.

Thomas Kinisky is Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer at Saint-Gobain, one of the world’s largest building materials companies and manufacturer of innovative material solutions, and serves as Chairman of Saint-Gobain in North America. As a member of Saint-Gobain’s Executive Committee, Mr. Kinisky drives the strategy and application of Saint-Gobain’s global innovation efforts across a wide range of disciplines, including R&D and the company’s external ventures.

Globally, Saint-Gobain employs more than 179,000 people in 67 countries with annual sales of $49.4 billion in 2018. In North America, Saint-Gobain has approximately 160 locations and more than 15,500 employees across the U.S. and Canada with sales of approximately $6.5 billion in 2018.

Most recently, Mr. Kinisky served as President and CEO of Saint-Gobain North America, where he drove the company’s growth by investing in talent, focusing on customer-centricity and ensuring clarity of purpose.

Mr. Kinisky joined Norton Company (which was acquired by Saint-Gobain in 1990) in 1989. He spent over a decade working in research and development in various roles, including as Vice President of Technology and New Business Development for the company’s Abrasives Division. He was named President of Saint-Gobain Crystals in 2002. Mr. Kinisky was President of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics from 2008 until assuming leadership of Saint-Gobain North America in 2017. He was appointed to his new role as Chairman of the company in North America and Chief Innovation Officer globally in 2019.

Mr. Kinisky holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Pace University and a Master of Science in materials science from New York University (Polytechnic University). He has authored many technical publications and holds five U.S. patents. Throughout his career, Kinisky has been active in technology education as an industrial adviser to the engineering programs at several universities.

Mr. Kinisky joined Norton Company (which was acquired by Saint-Gobain in 1990) in 1989. He spent over a decade working in research and development in various roles, including as Vice President of Technology and New Business Development for the company’s Abrasives Division. He was named President of Saint-Gobain Crystals in 2002. Mr. Kinisky was President of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics from 2008 until assuming leadership of Saint-Gobain North America in 2017. He was appointed to his new role as Chairman of the company in North America and Chief Innovation Officer globally in 2019.

Mr. Kinisky holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Pace University and a Master of Science in materials science from New York University (Polytechnic University). He has authored many technical publications and holds five U.S. patents. Throughout his career, Kinisky has been active in technology education as an industrial adviser to the engineering programs at several universities.

Biography

Brandon Krieg is the CEO and co-founder of STASH - the financial platform revolutionizing the way millions of Americans save and invest for their future. Prior to co-founding STASH, Brandon spent over 15 years in financial services, most recently as head of electronic execution for Macquarie Securities Group. He co-founded EdgeTrade, one of the first and largest electronic trade execution and algorithmic software firms. When Knight Capital Group acquired EdgeTrade, Krieg became their head of electronic sales. Brandon has been recognized by Goldman Sachs as one of 2018’s “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs.” STASH was highlighted by the Wall Street Journal as one of the "Top Tech Companies to Watch in 2018."

Biography

From September 2005 to August 2013, Pascal Lamy served for two consecutive terms as General Director- of the World Trade Organization (WTO).  A committed European and member of the French Socialist party, he was Chief of Staff for the President of the European Commission, Jacques Delors from 1985 to 1994. He then joined the Credit Lyonnais as CEO until 1999, before returning to Brussels as European Trade Commissioner until 2004. Mr. Lamy holds degrees from HEC School of Management, the Institut d’Etudes Politiques (IEP) and the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA).

Pascal Lamy was appointed, in 2015, interministerial delegate for the preparation of the French candidature for the Universal Exhibition 2025, and in 2016 President of the French Committee of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) and chair of the European group of experts in charge of evaluating the impact of EU research funding. He shares his other activities between the Jacques Delors Institute (President emeritus), the presidency of the World Committee on Tourism Ethics, as well as various mandates or missions related to international affairs. He is also President of the Board of Directors of the Musiciens du Louvre  (Orchestra of Marc Minkowski), member of the Board of Directors of the Fondation nationale des Sciences politiques, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the Thomson Reuters Founders Share Company, Transparency International France and the Center on Regulation in Europe (CERRE), special advisor of TradeMarkEastAfrica (TMEA) and of the World Trade Board, member of the Advisory Board of Transparency International, the Oxford Martin School, of UNITAID, of the Friedland Institute, of Chatham House’s group on EU-Chia partnership and affiliate Professor at HEC. He is currently also member of the Global Future Council on regional Governance at the World Economic Forum.

Pascal Lamy is author of various books and reports on global governance, Europe and international trade. His latest publications are:  Oxford Martin Commission: “Now for the long term” (2013); “The Geneva Consensus” (Cambridge University Press, 2013); “Quand la France s’éveillera” (Odile Jacob, 2014), Où va le monde ? (Odile Jacob, 2017)

Pascal Lamy also lectures to the benefit of Institut Jacques Delors or other non-profit organisations on issues related to globalisation, global governance, international trade, international economics, regional integration, European and French issues.

In a recent poll casted by the British magazine Prospect (April 2014), Pascal Lamy is in the top 50 of the world’s leading thinkers. He is also ranked among the 100 most influential thinkers of the “Thought leader Map 2015” published by the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute.

Biography

Pierre Lavallée was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer in 2018 and is responsible for strategic business leadership and overall performance of the organization.

As the inaugural CEO, his role includes establishing strategy, policies and procedures; building a highly skilled and motivated team of professionals; and developing partnerships with investors and public-sector proponents to support innovative infrastructure transactions.

Before joining Canada Infrastructure Bank, Mr. Lavallée held several senior positions at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) over six years, most recently as Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Investment Partnerships.

Prior to CPPIB, Mr. Lavallée was Executive Vice President, Reitmans (Canada) Limited, based in Montreal. He also spent 18 years with Bain & Company in Toronto, where he led the Canadian retail, telecom and private equity practices and was Managing Partner for Canada for three years. Before joining Bain, Mr. Lavallée served as a Trade Commissioner in the Department of External Affairs and International Trade, based in Ottawa and Japan.

He holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Economics and a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Ottawa.

Mr. Lavallée sits on the Investment Committee of the endowment for Pearson College UWC.

Biography

Philippe Le Houérou is Chief Executive Officer of IFC. Since joining IFC in March 2016, Mr. Le Houérou has designed and is implementing a new strategy aimed at creating new markets and creating opportunities in developing countries. This implies more proactive engagement to seek systematically private sector solutions to development challenges, notably in the poorest countries. Shareholders’ support of this strategy led to their endorsement in 2018 of an historic capital increase for IFC. Prior to his arrival at IFC, Mr. Le Houérou was Vice President for Policy & Partnerships at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 2015. He previously held several leadership positions at the World Bank, including Regional Vice President for South Asia; Regional Vice President for Europe and Central Asia; and Vice President of Concessional Finance and Global Partnerships. He holds an MBA from Columbia University and a Ph.D in Economics from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris.

Biography

Victoria Lennox is the Co-Founder, President and former CEO of Startup Canada, the national rallying community supporting and giving a voice to Canada’s 2.3 million entrepreneurs. She is an innovation policy and program architect, ecosystem diplomat, and an angel investor passionate about fostering equality, hope, peace, and prosperity through entrepreneurship. Victoria is recognized by the United Nations Development Programme and the European Union as one of the foremost experts in entrepreneurship education; ecosystem and program architecture, governance, development and implementation; and, in fuelling entrepreneurship movements and awareness campaigns.
As one of Canada’s leading proponents of entrepreneurship and innovation, Victoria works alongside government, industry, and entrepreneurs to construct the nation’s entrepreneurship ecosystem and to ensure that the right policies, programs, and enabling frameworks and infrastructure are in place to compete and thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
As the co-founder for the US-based Startup Nations and as the founder of a UK-based charity supporting young entrepreneurs, Victoria supports the development of enterprise and social innovation organizations in more than 20 countries; provides advisory support to international organizations in the areas of entrepreneurship networks, education and policy development; and
supports colleges and universities in enhancing their entrepreneurial activities.
Victoria was a UK Top 30 Under 30, the recipient of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion, a recipient of Canada’s Volunteer Awards, and has received many other accolades, awards, and prizes for her leadership. Having completed her Masters at the University of Oxford in Global Governance and Diplomacy, and as the first woman president of Oxford Entrepreneurs, today Victoria resides in Ottawa, Ontario, the capital of Canada.

Biography

Rob Leslie is the founder and CEO of Sedicii. Rob is a serial entrepreneur has a successful track record of establishing and growing businesses to considerable scale. Sedicii was founded in 2013 and has won over 15 technology and innovations awards to date including, most recently, the BBVA Open Innovation “Fintech for Future” Award. BBVA is the oldest and largest Fintech Innovation Program in the world and has highlighted Sedicii as “the start-up with the greatest potential to transform the financial sector in the next 10 years!” Sedicii has developed a patented zero knowledge proof protocol to help people and businesses prove their identities in real-time without compromising their right to privacy.
Rob is a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer for his work on the zero-knowledge proof protocol and has spoken at Davos on cybersecurity, digital identity and other technology issues affecting the world’s economies.
Prior to Sedicii he co-founded Kyckr (ASX:KYK) which is now listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and provides organisational identity services for KYC & AML services to banks and other regulated financial institutions across the globe. Rob was also part of the original management team in Dell Japan that established and grew the business to almost 300 employees and $300M turnover in its first 4 years.

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

Jade is Head of Research & Partnerships with the Center for the Governance of Artificial Intelligence (GovAI), at the University of Oxford. She is also a researcher with the Center and a Rhodes scholar, undertaking a PhD in the geopolitics of AI at Oxford. Her research focuses on analyzing the relationships between technology firms, the government, and researchers across the life cycle of a strategic, general purpose technology. This is with the view to understanding how these dynamics seed cooperation and conflict, and what implications this has for the safe and ethical deployment of advanced AI. As Head of Research & Partnerships, Jade plays a central role in steering GovAI’s research priorities and projects, facilitating research collaborations, and leading on our partnership and impact strategy.

Jade has a background in engineering, international law, and policy design and evaluation. She has and continues to be engaged in entrepreneurial activities, having founded three social ventures, a start-up incubator, and an impact investment fund.

Biography

Mr. Lévesque began his economist career in 1983 with the Quebec Government, first with the Crop Insurance Board and later with the Department of Finance.  He joined Finance Canada in 1991 and moved up the ranks in economic development, tax policy and federal-provincial relations, leading to his appointment as Associate Deputy Minister of Finance in 2004.

He was promoted to Deputy Minister in 2006 with responsibility for intergovernmental affairs in the Privy Council Office.  He was appointed as Deputy Minister of International Trade in 2008, as Canada’s Sherpa and personal representative of the Prime Minister in 2010, and as Deputy Minister of Transport Canada in 2012.

Mr. Lévesque left the public service in July 2015 and later joined the International Forum of the Americas as Chief of Operations for the Montreal Conference.  In April 2017, he was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Finance Montreal, the cluster of financial institutions in Quebec.

Born and raised in Quebec City, Mr. Lévesque obtained a first degree in Mathematics and a Masters in Economics from Laval University.

Biography

Chris Levesque joined TerraPower as president in 2015 and became CEO in 2018. Levesque started his career as a nuclear submarine officer, rising to chief engineer. He later worked for AREVA in multiple roles, including Board chairman and president of their joint venture with Newport News Shipbuilding. Prior to joining TerraPower, Levesque directed a project for one of America’s first new reactor builds in decades at Westinghouse Electric. He earned his M.S. in mechanical engineering and Naval Engineer degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Biography

Ethy is the Founder of Impact Innovation Israel, a strategic consultancy firm focusing on tech and innovation in sectors where there is a substantial impact on society and the environment.

Ethy works across multiple technology sectors and provides tech and innovation adoption advisory to Multi Nationals Corporations as well as to academia and government.

Ethy has a wide experience in creating the right settings to promote innovation and providing innovators the right tools and skills to bring their ideas to live and to commercialise them.

Ethy is the co-Founder and Israel CEO of the Bridge Hub.  A global Agrifood tech innovation hub launched recently. The Bridge Hub is based in Australia and Israel and its aim is to support the whole agrifood tech eco-system - from the researcher and entrepreneur, through the growers, farmers and food producers all the way to large corporates wanting to launch a new product. The Bridge Hub provides the necessary assistance by bringing Agrifood tech initiatives to global scale and guiding innovators through the global AgriFood eco-system. The Bridge Hub provides a way to validate and test technologies in real conditions with the best partners and help farmers and growers overcome their challenges and increase productivity and efficiency through the use of technology.

Ethy has held senior roles in the Israeli Government focusing on International Trade, Innovation and Investments. She was posted in Hungary, Thailand and Australia as the Israeli Trade Commissioner where she created economical links and bridges between the countries. Through her carrier with the Israeli government, Ethy has helped hundreds of start ups validate their technology, scale up and raise capital. She has initiated several projects and programs that have had a global impact on remote communities.

Following her passion for technology and its impact on society, Ethy has initiated AMSA - the Advanced Manufacturing Strategic Alliance - through which she is promoting a very practical but comprehensive plan to upgrade the manufacturing sector with a strong focus on SME’s and inclusion. She advises government on the best ways to implement advanced manufacturing solutions across all sectors of the industry, especially agriculture.

Ethy has served on the board of Rafael, the leading Israeli defense company and has served as the Economic Advisor at the Office of the President of Israel.

Ethy is dedicated to assisting female entrepreneurs and is a Director and mentor at Springboard - the leading accelerator for female entrepreneurs. Springboard is a not for profit dedicated  to helping female founders grow their business, raise capital and go global.

Ethy is a passionate mother of 5, founder and basketball player.

Biography

Dr. Fang Liu is the Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). She was first appointed for a three-year term starting August 2015, and has recently been reappointed for a consecutive three-year term until July 2021.
Prior to her appointment as Secretary General, Dr. Liu served for eight years as the Director of ICAO’s Bureau of Administration and Services (ADB). During her tenure, she contributed extensively to ICAO’s Senior Management Group and also participated in the High-Level Committee on Management within the United Nations common system. She transformed the administration of ICAO by enhancing efficiencies, improving governance, and providing effective management and support in areas such as human resources, language services, and conference and information technology services.
Prior to joining ICAO, Dr. Liu served the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), where over the course of twenty years she successively held the posts of Legal Counsel, Deputy Director, Director and Deputy Director General, Department of International Affairs and Cooperation. She was responsible for China’s international air transport policy and regulations, bilateral and multilateral relations with international and regional organizations including ICAO, the World Trade Organization, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the European Union, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Dr. Liu was also chief negotiator for the Chinese government for bilateral and multilateral air transport agreements with foreign countries.
During her career with the CAAC, Dr. Liu was elected chair of the Aviation Group of the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and was nominated by China to sit on the Air Transport Regulation Panel in ICAO. She also served as an expert on mediation and dispute resolution.
Dr. Liu earned a PhD in international law at Wuhan University, China, and a Master’s degree in air and space law at Leiden University, the Netherlands. She was the Director of the Association of Air Law of China and of the Association of Private International Law of China, and has published articles and delivered lectures on a wide range of topics in international air transport regulation and air law. She speaks Chinese and English and has knowledge of French.

Biography

Mr. Karim LOTFI SENHADJI is the CEO of OCP Africa, a OCP subsidiary with 13 offices in Africa and over 150 employees. Prior to holding this position, Mr. LOTFI SENHADJI spent more than 7 years at OCP in different leadership positions, including as OCP’s Shipping and Logistics Vice President and as the Director of OCP Group Management Control Department. Before joining OCP, Mr. LOTFI SENHADJI held different managing positions at several Moroccan and multinational companies, including Holcim Group, Altadis Maroc and Méditelecom.

Mr. LOTFI SENHADJI has degrees from MIT in Boston and HEC Paris and holds an Executive MBA from ESSEC & Mannheim Business schools. He is also a graduate of the Marrakech’s Royal Air Forces School where he received his diploma in aeronautic engineering and trained as a pilot.

Biography

John has been in the financial services industry for the last 22 years and occupied various senior and Executive roles in companies like Old Mutual, Sanlam and Metropolitan. He is currently the Head of Stakeholder Relations and CSI at Santam. His role is to position Santam as a relevant and responsible corporate citizen with all key and relevant Stakeholders in South Africa.

John’s expertise range from Business strategy development, Sales Management and Leadership Development.  He serves on various Boards and forums in the short-term insurance industry.

John was raised in Graaff-Reinet in the Karoo. He matriculated from Spandau Senior Secondary school and went on to do his pre-and post-graduate studies at UWC in the Western Cape, USB and Milton Keynes in Scotland. He is married to Thandi and has 2 adult children.

Biography

Marcos began his career by teaming up with a fellow UofC alumni and starting his own company, Bitonic, shortly after graduating. Calgary-based Solium acquired Bitonic in 2002; with Marcos taking on the role of Chief Technology Officer, and what had begun as a bit of contract work became the beginning of a lifelong passion. Over the past 19 years, he has been on the Board of Directors and has held several leadership roles at Solium, most recently the role of CEO. Marcos has had the opportunity to watch the software he started building, evolve from a fledgling start-up platform with a handful of staff to a world class SaaS provider with over 800 employees globally. His long stewardship of Solium culminated in a recent acquisition by Morgan Stanley for $1.1B

Under his leadership Solium’s Shareworks platform has evolved into a world class suite of products and services, used by more than 3,000 companies spanning the globe – heavy hitters like Uber, Levi’s, Shopify, RBC, SpaceX, GM all use the Shareworks platform and it’s many features to simplify their equity plan management.

Marcos holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Calgary, and was the winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for the technology sector, Western Canada.

Biography

Stephen Lund is a dynamic business leader with over 30 years of experience in banking, venture capital, finance and economic development.

He is the Chief Executive Officer of Toronto Global, the organization responsible for attracting new international investment to the Toronto Region.

From 2015-2020 Stephen was the CEO of Opportunities NB (ONB), the lead business development organization for New Brunswick, CEO of CyberNB, and Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Small Business. He was responsible for all Investment Attraction and Exporting activities and oversaw a lending portfolio of $420 million. Under Stephen’s leadership, ONB consistently exceeded its targets, had among the best results in Canada, and produced the best results in the province in over 20 years. ONB attracted some of the top companies in the world, and with the creation of CyberNB within ONB, New Brunswick was recognized as the premier jurisdiction in Canada for cybersecurity. ONB was named one of Atlantic Canada’s Top Employers for four years in a row and one of Canada’s Top 40 Most Admired Corporate Cultures in 2018.

As CEO of Nova Scotia Business Inc. (NSBI) for over a decade, he consistently surpassed targets, assisted in the revitalization of Halifax’s downtown core, and played a key role in the province being named by fDi Intelligence (Financial Times) as the best-performing region in North America in attracting inward investment.

Prior to his NSBI tenure, Stephen was Vice-President of one of Canada’s largest venture capital firms and a corporate banker with Canadian and international banks.

Stephen was recognized by Atlantic Business Magazine as one of the Top 50 CEOs in Atlantic Canada five times in a row, was named one of the Top 500 most influential people in Financial Centres worldwide, and has been inducted into Atlantic Business Magazine’s CEO Hall of Fame. He participated as a judge at the Canadian FinTech & AI Awards, Accenture’s Healthcare Innovation Challenge, and Atlantic Business Magazine’s Top 50 CEO Awards.

Stephen earned a prestigious X ring from St. Francis Xavier University, holds an MBA from Queen’s University, obtained an ICD.D from the Institute of Corporate Directors, and completed executive-level studies at Harvard, University of Chicago and Queen’s University.

He is currently the Chair of the board of directors of the Conference Board of Canada and has served on numerous private and volunteer boards, including the IWK Children’s Health Centre and the QE2 Hospital Foundation. He was a champion for Junior Achievement and was the inaugural Chair of the Heart & Stroke Hockey Heroes Fundraiser. Stephen has also participated in the World Triathlon Championships, the Boston Marathon, and the Canadian University Hockey Championships.

Stephen and his wife Sandy have two boys, Connor and Shaun.

Biography

November 2018, GCL System Integration Technology Co., Ltd announced the official appointment of Mr. Eric Luo as Chairman and CEO of the company, as well as Executive Director and Senior Industrial Partner of GCL Group, who previously served as the VP of GCL New Energy Holdings Limited and President of GCL North American Branch.

Eric was Executive Director and CEO of Shunfeng International Clean Energy Limited from 2014 to 2017 and nominated for Asian CEO of the Year 2014 by Power & Electricity World Asia in recognition of his leadership and contribution to the growth and evolution of power, energy, and utilities in Asia Pacific. Prior to that, Eric served as CEO of Wuxi Suntech Power Co., Ltd., the GM of Thomson Consumer Electronics Inc., the Global Head of Strategic Sourcing and China GM of Nortek Inc.

Eric was one of the keynote speakers at Davos Annual Meeting in 2016 and 2018 and awarded as the Outstanding Leader at Global Energy Leaders Summit in 2019. Eric is currently serving as the industry advisor to US-China Green Fund. Eric has over 20 years of management experience and prior to that, he served as Eric obtained an MBA degree from Michigan State University.

Biography

Mark was appointed President & CEO in June 2016, where he is responsible for leading CPP Investment Board and its investment activities.

Mark joined CPPIB in 2012 as CPPIB’s first President for Asia. In November 2013, he became Head of International where he was responsible for the organization’s international investment activities, managing global advisory relationships and leading the organization internationally.

Prior to joining CPPIB, Mark had a 20 year career at Goldman Sachs, where he was most recently Vice Chairman of Asia ex-Japan. Mark has been based in Asia for more than 20 years where, among other roles, he ran the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs in Asia ex-Japan for six years. Mark was a member of Goldman Sachs’ Asia Management Committee and the Firmwide Capital Committee. 

Mark studied undergraduate and graduate medicine and holds a BA in Physiological Sciences from Oriel College, Oxford University and BM BChir from Downing College, Cambridge University.  He qualified as medical doctor in 1990.  After practicing medicine in the UK, in 1991 he joined Goldman Sachs in London in European Corporate Finance. 

Mark is married with two children. He was named one of Canada’s Top 10 CEOs in 2018 by Glassdoor in its Employee Choice Awards.

Biography

Tristan Mallet is a Principal at GAMMA, BCG's data science and artificial intelligence practice. He focuses on applying machine learning and optimization to address operational topics at industrial goods companies.

Most recently, Tristan was seconded for a year as interim CEO of SCALE AI, the Montreal-based supercluster funded by the Government of Canada and industry partners, that aims to propel supply chains with artificial intelligence. He also worked as a strategic advisor to IVADO.

Tristan has mainly worked in the mining, utility, engineering and aerospace industries. His experience spans across operational efficiency, business transformation, go-to-market, capex optimization, strategic sourcing, ecosystem development.

Biography

Shingai Manjengwa (twitter: @tjido) is the Chief Executive Officer of Fireside Analytics Inc., a Canadian ed-tech start-up that offers customized, cloud-hosted, data science training and consulting services to corporates, governments, and educational institutions. Data Science courses by Fireside Analytics have over 300,000 registered learners on platforms like IBM’s CognitiveClass.ai and Coursera.

An IBM Influencer, author and NYU Stern alumni, Shingai is also the founder of Fireside Analytics Academy, a registered private high school (BSID: 886528) that teaches high school students to solve problems with data! The IDC4U, High School Data Science program is a formal high school academic credit and it is inspected by the Ministry of Education in Canada. The program is completely online, international students are welcome and, the curriculum is offered in 3 private high schools in Ontario, Canada.

Shingai is an international speaker and she has represented Canada at the G20 Young Entrepreneur’s Summit with Futurpreneur Canada.  The G20 YEA is a global network of young entrepreneurs that convenes annually in advance of the G20 Leaders’ Summit, to champion the importance of entrepreneurship in G20 member nations.

Biography

Dr. Marrone is currently CEO/Founder of Marrone Bio Innovations (MBI), a company she started in 2006 to discover and develop bio-based products for pest management and plant health. On August 2, 2013, MBI listed its stock as MBII on NASDAQ. The company’s award-winning products are used in fruit, nut, vegetable and row crop markets. MBI also is also marketing Zequanox® for invasive zebra and quagga mussels. MBI has several more products in the pipeline, including a biofumigant and three bioherbicides. In January 2019, she was awarded the “Sustie” award by the Ecological Farming Association for her decades-long leadership in sustainable agriculture. In October 2014, Dr. Marrone was awarded Agrow’s “Best Manager with Strategic Vision” for her career-long leadership in biopesticides. Dr. Marrone received the NRDC’s Growing Green Award in “Business Leader” category, to recognize new pioneers in sustainable farming and food. The company received the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award and a California Department of Pesticide Regulation IPM Innovator award. Dr. Marrone founded AgraQuest in 1995 and served as its CEO, Chairman and President until March 2006. AgraQuest commercialized biopesticide products that became the biological standards for their categories. Before AgraQuest, she was founding president and business unit head for Entotech, Inc. in Davis (CA), a biopesticide subsidiary of Denmark-based Novo Nordisk. At Monsanto, she led the Insect Biology group, which was seeking alternative ways to control insect pests. She is an alumni-elected trustee of Cornell University, Treasurer of the Association for Women in Science, Board member of the Foundation for Food and Ag Research and is past-Treasurer of the Organic Farming Research Foundation. She is Founding Chair of the Bio Products Industry Alliance (BPIA), a trade association of more than 100 biopesticide and related companies. She is on the UC Davis Ag and Environmental Sciences Dean’s Advisory Council and served for many years on the Cornell University College of Ag and Life Sciences Dean's Advisory Council. She holds several hundred patents and is in high demand to deliver keynote addresses on the future and potential of biologicals for pest management, innovation and entrepreneurship. She was elected by her peers as a Fellow of AAAS (American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science). She has a B.S. in entomology with Honors and Distinction from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in entomology from North Carolina State University.

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 900 million euros
o 2.600 employees
o Top 3 in its sector in France.

Fan of high mountains activities. 61 years old – Married - Three children.

Biography

Gina McCarthy has dedicated her 35-year career in public service to environmental protection and public health. Her leadership and perseverance has led to federal, state, and local actions on critical environmental issues, and
her significant accomplishments include action to advance environmental, clean energy, public transportation and public health goals consistent with a growing economy in New England and across the United States.
From 2013 – 2017, McCarthy served as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under President Obama. As Administrator, McCarthy was the nation’s leading advocate for common-sense strategies to protect public health and the environment. Willing to take bold action, Administrator McCarthy achieved notable success by finalizing the Clean Power Plan (CPP) which set the first national standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for fossil-fuel fired power plants. The CPP demonstrated the United States strong commitment to climate action, sparking broad international support for adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement. Under her leadership, EPA also finalized the Clean Water
Rule to protect rivers and streams that 117 million American s rely on for their
source of drinking water.
Prior to her role as EPA Administrator, McCarthy held the position of Assistant
Administrator in EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. Previously, McCarthy served as the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental
Protection, where she began an initiative called “No Child Left Inside” to
introduce families to the natural world by visiting state parks, and she helped
design and implement the nine-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the nation’s first cap and trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for power plants. She has also held senior positions in Massachusetts, serving five governors, including Deputy Secretary of the Office of Commonwealth Development and Undersecretary for Policy for the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs.
Since leaving the Obama Administration, McCarthy served as a fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government’s Institute of Politics and as the Menschel Senior Leadership Fellow at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and joined Pegasus Capital Advisors, a private equity firm, where she serves as an operating advisor focused on sustainability and wellness investments. Recently, McCarthy was appointed a Professor of the Practice of
Public Health in the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and granted a joint appointment at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. McCarthy has also taken on the role of Director of Harvard T.H. Chan’s new Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment (C-CHANGE) where she is leading the School’s efforts to turn the challenge of climate change into an opportunity to use science to motivate actions that improve public health today while moving towards a more sustainable future.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Social Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts at Boston and a joint Master of Science in Environmental Health Engineering, Planning and Policy from Tuft’s University.
A native of Massachusetts, McCarthy lives in the Greater Boston area with her
husband and spends as much time as she can with her three children Daniel, Maggie, and Julie.

Biography

Jon McNeill serves as Lyft's Chief Operating Officer. Prior to Lyft, he was Tesla’s President of Global Sales, Service and Delivery, overseeing all customer-facing operations.  Before joining Tesla, McNeill was the CEO and founder of multiple software, manufacturing and automotive companies.  Fast Company magazine named him one of the 10 most innovative CEOs in the US.  In 2012 Jon was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year and in 2013 he was named "Most Admired CEO" by the Boston Business Journal. Jon began his career at Bain & Company.  He is a graduate of Northwestern University.

Biography

Saad Mered is the Chief Executive Officer for Zurich Canada. In this role, he is responsible for leading all aspects of Zurich’s Canadian business. He reports to North America CEO Kathleen Savio.

Prior to this role, Mered served as Group Chief Claims Officer, where he was responsible for leading the Global Claims function, improving claims capabilities and strengthening customer focus. His previous leadership roles at Zurich include Chief Executive Officer for the Middle East and Africa and Chief Executive Officer for the Middle East.

Mered joined Zurich in 2008, bringing more than 24 years of experience in the insurance industry. He began his career at AIG, where he held a number of underwriting leadership and general management roles in the U.S., Europe and Egypt. Immediately prior to joining Zurich, Mered was responsible for overseeing operations and strategic growth initiatives focused on the small business segment, internationally.

Educational background

Mered holds a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Biography

Betsy Nelson became the EBRD's Vice President Risk and Compliance and Chief Risk Officer in November 2016. She was previously Vice President of Risk. She is a member of the Bank's Executive Committee.

Ms Nelson joined the EBRD in March 2012 as Vice President of the then combined Risk and Resources (Human Resources, Administrative Services and IT) and has extensive experience in the financial sector.

For the three years prior to joining the EBRD, she was the Head of Credit Department in the Risk Specialists Division of the Financial Services Authority (FSA, now PRA) in the United Kingdom, where she built the Authority’s first Credit Department with a team of wholesale, retail, structured finance and Basel credit model experts. Before this she had a career spanning 30 years at JPMorgan Chase. She has worked most of her career in Europe and the UK. In her last 10 years at JPMorgan Chase, she held a number of senior management positions, including Head of Corporate Banking and Head of Client Credit Management, both for the EMEA region.

Ms Nelson has a proven track record in risk management and driving organisational change, as well as in developing effective teams and promoting employee development. She has served as Co-Chair of the City Women’s Club. In 2007 she was awarded “Champion Award” from the UK Business in The Community for her work in diversity at JPMorgan Chase. Elizabeth Nelson has a BA in Spanish from the University of Minnesota and holds an MBA from the Thunderbird School of International Management.

Biography

Patrick Murck’s practice focuses on the legal and regulatory issues facing fintech and emerging payment systems. He has a deep understanding of the fintech industry, having been involved in a number of startups as an employee, entrepreneur and advisor.
Prior to joining Cooley, Patrick was a co-founder of the Bitcoin Foundation where he served at times as General Counsel and Executive Director. Patrick has engaged regulators and policymakers in the US and Europe on bitcoin and the emerging digital economy. He was named among America’s 50 Outstanding General Counsel for 2014 by the National Law Journal. In addition to his role with Cooley, Patrick currently serves as a fellow with Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society where he conducts research on the law and policy implications of bitcoin, distributed ledgers and smart contracts. Patrick also serves as President Board member for the BitGive Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on charitable giving and social impact using bitcoin.

Education
• The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law JD, 2006, Cum Laude
• American University BA, 2002, Journalism

Bar Admissions
• District of Columbia
• Virginia
• Not admitted to practice in Massachusetts

Biography

After having served as Chief Operating Officer of Hydro-Québec and President of Hydro‑Québec Production from 2018 to 2020, and as Chief Innovation Officer of Hydro‑Québec and President of Hydro‑Québec Production from 2020 to 2021, David Murray became Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Vice President – Generation, Health, Safety and Environment in February 2021, when Hydro‑Québec transformed its operating divisions into groups. As Chief Innovation Officer, he is tasked with developing an overall innovation vision and strategy to develop the full potential of the company’s technologies for the benefit of Québec’s energy future. He also spearheads the company’s R&D efforts and the activities of its commercial subsidiaries, including Hilo, EVLO, Dana TM4 and the Electric Circuit. As Executive Vice President – Generation, Health, Safety and Environment, he manages the operations, development and maintenance of the company’s generating facilities, whose total installed capacity exceeds 37,000 megawatts, as well as electricity sales and energy trading on wholesale markets. He also oversees occupational health and safety, as well as environmental governance and expertise.

Mr. Murray joined Hydro‑Québec in 2015 as Vice President – Information and Communications Technologies and was promoted President of Hydro‑Québec Distribution in 2016. Previously, he held a number of strategic management positions at Bombardier Aéronautique, where he contributed to the launch of Bombardier Avions d’affaires and served as Vice President and General Manager responsible for the Learjet 70/75 programs and the Learjet plant in Wichita, Kansas. He also worked for Flextronics, Nortel Networks and Rolls Royce.

David Murray holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from HEC Montréal. He is a governor of the Mouvement québécois de la qualité, co‑chair of the Canadian Red Cross Campaign – Emergency Support When You Need It currently under way in Québec and a member of the board of Centraide du Grand Montréal.

Biography

Born in 1983, Hanane MOURCHID obtained a Chemical engineering degree from the Mohammadia School of Engineers in Morocco in 2006. She joined, during the Same year, the  BMCE Bank as an MOA project manager. In 2007, she joined the OCP Group in Safi platform, and worked as a process improvement engineer and then as an industrial construction project manager . In 2011 she worked on Operational change management & lean manufacturing projects. She took in charge production plants as a phosphoric acid production manager for 4 years, and then as a senior production manager of the Maroc Phosphore I Complex. In 2017 She was appointed director of the Jorf Fertilizer Company V in Jorf Lasfar . Since June 2018 she is VP-Head of Circular Economy Program within OCP.

Hanane Mourchid attended the HEC Paris Executive Development Program and holds the MIT Executive Education Program Certificate. In 2017 she received MBA from Africa Business School-Mohamed VI Polytechnic University and the Certificates of Business Excellence and Business Specialty & Strategy  from Columbia University in New York.

Biography

Gaétan Morin has been President and Chief Executive Officer of the Fonds de solidarité FTQ since 2014. A member of the Fonds team since 1989, Mr. Morin held a variety of roles in the organization before becoming president, including Executive Vice-President, Corporate Development and Investment, Senior Vice-President, Natural Resources and Consumer Goods, Investment Director, Portfolio Manager and Financial Adviser.

Before joining the Fonds, Mr. Morin worked in business financing for various securities brokers, including Pemberton Securities and Saumier Morrisson et associés. Prior to this, he served as Project Manager for a number of mining companies and for the Ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec.

Gaétan Morin sits on the boards of the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, SSQ Financial Group, the Fondation de l’entrepreneurship and the Cercle des présidents du Québec. In 2005, he was awarded the Prix Mérite Ressources by the Ordre des géologues du Québec.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and geology, as well as a master’s degree in economic geology from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).

Biography

Recognized as a results-driven figure, the Honourable Christian Paradis was Member of the Parliament of Canada for the Mégantic-L’Érable from 2006 to 2015, and Cabinet Minister between 2007 and 2015, of Public Works and Government Services, Natural Resources, Industry and International Development and  La Francophonie. During his years in office, he led very important files in Canada and at the global stage, he played a leadership role with his involvement in developing and pushing on blended finance for international development.

The Honourable Christian Paradis did not seek a fourth mandate and he joined GardaWorld in January 2016 as Senior Vice President, Strategic Development, Protective Services. His mission is primarily to promote the benefits of public-private partnerships of security services in Canada. When implemented with rigor and common sense, outsourcing is equally capable of making a significant contribution to public services. Over the last years, the Honourable Christian Paradis could indeed see and appreciate the importance of the protection services of the population, both in Canada and around the world.

Mr. Paradis graduated from the University of Sherbrooke in civil law and holds a graduate degree in corporate law from Université Laval. He has been member of Quebec Bar since 1997.

The Honourable Christian Paradis is member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada since 2007. He is recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012).

He is a member of the Boards of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce of Canada, Canada World Youth and Canadian Wildlife Foundation. He also co-founded Global Development Solutions (GDS) Canada inc., an organisation facilitating social impact investments in frontier and emerging markets.

Biography

Marc Parent was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of CAE in August 2009. Mr. Parent joined CAE in February 2005 as Group President, Simulation Products, responsible for the Company’s civil simulation products business as well as the design, manufacture and support of products for
the Company’s civil and military training businesses. His role was expanded in May 2006, when he was appointed Group President, Simulation Products and Military Training & Services. In November 2008, he was named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, responsible for all four of CAE’s business segments and new growth initiatives.
Mr. Parent has more than 30 years of experience in the aerospace industry. He started his career in 1984 with Canadair as an engineer on the Challenger and
Canadair regional jet programs. Beginning in 1993, he held positions of increasing scope in aircraft product development, starting as head of the Challenger 604 program development team; in 1995, he headed the Q400 turboprop aircraft development program; and in 1998, he was promoted to Vice President, Program Management, with responsibilities covering all
Bombardier aircraft development programs.
From 2000 to 2004, Mr. Parent held numerous executive positions within Bombardier Aerospace, leading a number of facilities and product lines. In 2000, he held the position of Vice President, Operations, at Bombardier’s de Havilland site in Toronto; in 2001, he was promoted to Vice President and General Manager of Operations of the Toronto facility; in 2003, he held
the position of Vice President and General Manager, U.S. Operations, with responsibilities encompassing Learjet facilities in Wichita and Tucson; and in March 2004, he returned to Montreal as Vice President and General Manager of Challenger 300, 604, and 850/870 programs as well as the CRJ 200 Regional Aircraft product line.
Mr. Parent was honoured in 1999 as one of “Canada’s Top 40 under 40 leaders. He was also selected as a 2010 Fellow of SAE International for his leadership and contributions in aircraft product development and for his successes at Bombardier and CAE. He received the 2005 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Aerospace Engineering Leadership Award, and is a past recipient of the SAE Forest R. McFarland award. In February 2011, Marc Parent was named Canadian Defence Review’s first ever Defence Executive of the Year. In 2016 he was awarded the Prix Mérite 2016 of the Association of Polytechnique Graduates.
In January 2016, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Business  Council of Canada, in November 2017 to the Board of Directors of TELUS and in April 2018 to the Board of Directors of the McGill University Health Centre Foundation. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) since October 2007, and was the AIAC’s Chairman of the Board from September 2009 to August 2010. Mr. Parent held the position of Chairman of the Board for Aero Montreal, the Quebec Aerospace Cluster, from October 2008 to April 2010 and continues in his role as a member of its Board of Directors. He is a past member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI).
A native of Montreal, Mr. Parent is a graduate of mechanical engineering from Montreal’s École Polytechnique and of the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by École Polytechnique for his contributions to the aerospace industry in Montreal and internationally. Mr. Parent is an active pilot holding an Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) from Transport Canada.

Biography

Mrs. Elba Rosa Pérez Montoya holds a BSc. degree in Philosophy and Sociology and a MSc. degree in Cuban and Latin American Philosophic Theory.
Mrs. Pérez Montoya began her career as professor at the Faculty of Social and Humanistic Sciences at the Oriente University in Santiago de Cuba, where she held the positions of Head Professor of the Philosophy Department and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. She is currently Assistant Professor.
From 2000 to 2012 she worked at the Department of Science of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and served as Head of the Department for 6 years. In 1997, she was appointed member of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party and she has been elected as member of the National Assembly of People's Power since 2013.
In 2012, Mrs. Pérez Montoya was appointed Minister of Science, Technology and Environment. In this capacity, she has conducted important tasks relating to the setting up and implementation of new policies in numerous areas, including science, technology and innovation, environment, standardizations, food safety and industrial property. In addition, CITMA is responsible for the implementation of Cuban State´s Plan for Confronting Climate Change.
Mrs. Pérez Montoya has represented the Cuban Government at several world summit meetings on environmental issues, science and technology, namely, 24th Ibero-American Summit; Sessions 19, 20, 21 and 23 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Second Meeting of the UN Environment Assembly.

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

Appointed Senior Vice-President, Channels and Marketing, in March 2021, Julie Pottier’s mandate is at the core of how EDC serves Canadian companies as they grow their business internationally. From identifying opportunities to better meet the needs of customers to overseeing EDC’s portfolio of Canadian exporters, her responsibilities also include elevating awareness of EDC by engaging with customers, banks and partners to facilitate trade-related business opportunities. She is responsible for the sales force located across Canada, the partner channel, answering customer knowledge pain points and finding solutions to their challenges, and marketing. The Channels and Marketing team has played a vital role in supporting our customers and partners throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and is committed to continuing to support while on Canada is on the journey towards economic recovery.

Since joining EDC in 1992, Ms. Pottier has held a variety of leadership positions at EDC, and has acquired a wealth of experience, including playing a key role in a major system transformation as well as leading and managing EDC’s business development team in Canada. She has also served as Regional Underwriting Director leading a team of underwriters responsible for providing insurance, bonding and financing solutions to Quebec customers and has previously led teams in credit insurance and negotiated strategic alliances.

Biography

Elisabeth Préfontaine is the founder of Octonomics, an independent research and consultation firm.

In over 25 years of work experience, Elisabeth has witnessed a broad spectrum of transformations in financial technologies. In fact, she is one of the few who can claim to have both traded a physical coupon bond in a bank branch and also bitcoins.

She witnessed in the birth of online banking while employees of financial institutions were still using an intranet and she also took part in Bank of Montreal’s attempt at creating the world’s first virtual bank.  She then migrated towards capital markets and spent five years on the sell-side of a swap and of a bond trading desk.  Then in the mid 2000’s, and for over ten years, she actively contributed to foster the market’s understanding of ETFs as a technological platform transformation for investment funds.

Her academic profile includes the CFA and the CAIA designations and also both a Bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Université du Québec à Montréal.

Biography

On September 1, 2011, Rémi Quirion, OC, CQ, PhD, 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 Economy and Innovation on research and scientific development issues. He is the president of the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA) as of September 2021.

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 750 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 a member of the Royal Society of Canada and was also inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. In 2015, he was appointed Officer in the Order of Academic Palms of the French Republic, a distinction awarded by the French government that recognizes its contribution to the development of French-Québec relations in research.

Biography

Sandrine Rastello is Montreal bureau chief for Bloomberg News. She has written about business, economics and politics for more than 15 years from Paris, Washington and Mumbai. In Montreal, she has been covering Quebec's leading companies, while chronicling the province's economic renaissance. Sandrine is a native of France and has degrees from Sciences Po and Northwestern University.

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

Víctor Rivero was born in México city in 1976. He graduated from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in 1999. After this he got a Diplôme d’Études Approfondies in the University of Paris VI and obtained his PhD in 2004 at the University of Paris VI. From 2003 to 2005 he held a position in the University of Paris X, Nanterre. During a year in 2007-2008 and a further one in 2014-2015, he realized an academic stay in the University of Bath, where he maintains a rich collaboration. He collaborates with colleagues in France, England and Mexico. He is continuously invited to give talks in the most important events in the fields of Probability and Stochastic Processes around the world. In August 2013 he obtained the price of Mathematical Congress of the Americas for outstanding results obtained in the early years of his mathematical career. Since his PhD studies he realizes researches in Lévy, self-similar Markov, branching and general Markov processes. He has been developing his career in the Centro de Investigación en Matemáticas in Guanajuato since August 2005.

Finally, in addition to his mathematical merits, Víctor Rivero has also contributed significantly to the positive environment at CIMAT. In particular, it is worth to point out his role as chair of graduate studies in probability and statistics and, currently, as General Director, as well as in the organization of several international academic events in probability and stochastic processes in Guanajuato and in Mexico overall.

Biography

Claudia Roessler is Director Agriculture in Microsoft Azure Global Engineering group. She is responsible for developing strategic partnerships around digital innovation and ag tech solutions within the agriculture ecosystem. She drives Agtech innovation that helps increase productivity in a sustainable manner leveraging technology such as AI, IoT, and blockchain. Claudia is part of the Advisory Board for Women in Food and Agriculture. Claudia Roessler joined Microsoft in 1992 in Germany. She held several international roles with focus on Business Development, Sales & Marketing, Partner and Industry.

Biography

Mr. Rostworowski graduated from Concordia University in Fine Arts in 1987 and from Université de Montréal at H.E.C. (Hautes Études Commerciales) in Marketing in 1991. In 2010 he received an Executive Certificate in Strategy and Innovation from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He has 27 years of airline/airport experience at the Management level in Operations, Marketing and Finance.

On the airline side, he worked for Canada 3000 airlines where he managed operations for Montreal and certain other regions. He later worked for at Air Canada’s Corporate Real Estate department, managing the airline’s real estate installations for different cities, as well as rates and charges at different airports. On the airport side, he joined Aéroports de Montréal’s (ADM) Business Development department in 2003, having as his main objective the identification of new types of products, services and technologies to be introduced at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport to improve passenger processes and increase revenues. He was also tasked with anticipating the evolution of the installations according to technological changes in the industry.

He joined ACI World in early 2015 to provide guidance and support to the airport community in terms of standards, recommended practices and industry collaboration to identify how to best improve airport efficiency, the passenger processes and the overall travel experience while ensuring safety and security at all touchpoints of the journey. His responsibilities at ACI World include Airport Security, Facilitation, IT, ACI Airport Service Quality (ASQ), APEX and Global Training programmes.

Biography

A Québec recovery and recycling industry pioneer, Chantal Rouleau has been involved in sustainable development initiatives in Montreal’s East End for more than30 years. She founded her own recycled paper-sector company and then became plant manager with Groupe Cascades. In 2002-2008, she was active in the St. Lawrence River clean-up project in Montreal’s east end and in developing sites giving the public access to the riverbank. In recognition of the project’s success, Canadian Geographic awarded her the Canadian Environment Award in the Community Action category in 2008.
In June 2010, Chantal Rouleau became mayor of the Rivière-des-Prairies – Pointe-aux-Trembles Borough. She was re-elected in November 2013 and became a member of Ville de Montréal’s Executive Committee, where she was responsible for the water and water infrastructures file. In the fall of 2018, she entered provincial politics, was elected Member for Pointe-aux-Trembles and was appointed Minister in the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) government.
As Minister for Transport and Minister Responsible for the Metropolis and the Montréal Region, she is resolutely committed to a sustainable and innovative metropolis and makes it her duty to act concretely in this sense, particularly by taking actions to meet the important challenge of urban mobility. Similarly, as the Minister responsible for the implementation of the Québec Maritime Strategy, she wishes to develop a Québec vision of the blue economy and thus enable Québec to transform its maritime potential responsibly into collective wealth, while exercising mobilizing leadership in North America in this sense.

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

Ian Rowlands is Associate Vice-President, International at the University of Waterloo (Canada).  In this role, he leads Waterloo International, the University’s central international unit.  He is also Chair of the Global Prominence and Internationalization theme of the University’s Strategic Plan.  Dr. Rowlands is also Professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo.  He has research and teaching interests in energy management strategies, corporate sustainability, and international education.

Dr. Rowlands has previously worked at the United Nations Collaborating Centre on Energy and Environment, and the London School of Economics and Political Science; he has also held visiting positions at The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, the UK Department for International Development, and the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies.

Dr. Rowlands earned a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of London (London School of Economics and Political Science) and a Bachelor of Applied Science and Engineering degree in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto.

Biography

President and Chief Executive Officer since March 2009, Michael Sabia is responsible for the strategic direction of CDPQ and the global growth of the organization.

Before joining CDPQ, he was with BCE, holding such positions as President and Chief Executive Officer, Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Executive Officer of Bell Canada International. From 1993 to 1999, he occupied various roles with Canadian National Railway, including Chief Financial Officer. He spent the preceding decade working as senior official in the Government of Canada.

Mr. Sabia obtained a Bachelor of Arts in economics and politics from the University of Toronto and holds graduate degrees in economics and politics from Yale University.

Mr. Sabia is a member of the Canadian government’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth. He is a trustee of the Foreign Policy Association of New York and a member of the Canada-Mexico Leadership Group and the Asia Business Leaders Advisory Council.

He is committed to community involvement, including recently co-chairing the capital campaigns of Université de Montréal, Polytechnique Montréal and HEC Montréal.

Mr. Sabia is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

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

Dr. Sanga occupe présentement le poste de Directeur du Bureau Régional Multisectoriel de l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’Éducation, la Science et la Culture (UNESCO) pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest-Sahel. En cette capacité, il assure le leadership de la mise en œuvre du programme de l’Organisation dans le cadre de son mandat qui consiste à renforcer les capacités des états membres à bâtir la paix dans l’esprit des hommes et des femmes à travers l’éducation, les sciences, la culture, la communication et l’information. Avant de rejoindre l’UNESCO, il était Directeur du Bureau Sous Régional pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest de la Commission économique des Nations Unies pour l’Afrique (CEA). Ce Bureau travaille avec les communautés économiques régionales majeures dans la région ouest africaine telles que la Communauté économique des états de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (CEDEAO), l’Union économique et monétaire ouest africaine (UEMOA) ainsi que les autres organisations intergouvernementales, le secteur privé et la société civile pour appuyer le développement économique et social des états membres à travers, entre autres, le renforcement de leur capacités à formuler et mettre en œuvre les politiques adéquates et en appuyant les efforts d’intégration régionale. Il a aussi servi la même Commission comme Directeur de la Division Statistique. Avant de rejoindre le système des Nations Unies, il était Statisticien économiste principal à Statistique Canada où il a occupé plusieurs postes dans les domaines tels que les statistiques des prix, les comptes nationaux et la formulation et l’analyse des enquêtes–ménages. Il était également professeur à temps partiel d’économie, économétrie et statistiques à l’Université d’Ottawa. Il a abondamment publié dans les journaux scientifiques et contribué à la production des manuels d’économie et de matériels de référence pédagogiques avec un intérêt particulier pour la théorie et la pratique des indices. Il détient un doctorat (Ph.D.) en sciences économiques avec spécialisation en économétrie, une maîtrise en sciences économiques et un diplôme d’Ingénieur de l’Université Laval au Canada et un G2 en Sciences Chimiques de l’Université de Kinshasa en République Démocratique du Congo. Membre élu de l’Institut International Statistique, il fait actuellement partie du Conseil de rédaction du Journal statistique africain et du bulletin statistique africain.

Biography

Florian Schattenmann is Cargill’s Chief Technology Officer and Vice President for Innovation and Research & Development (R&D). He oversees a global team that is driven by the vision of relentlessly creating value for Cargill and its customers via research, application and product development, and technical service support across agriculture, food, animal feed and bio-industrial.

Prior to joining Cargill in November 2018, Florian spent eight years at The Dow Chemical Company. His most recent role was Vice President for Performance Materials & Coatings R&D, where he led innovation across a diverse set of specialty businesses leveraging unique chemistries and advanced technology to drive market-focused product development. Florian has also held leadership roles at SulphCo Inc., GE-Bayer Silicones, a joint venture of General Electric and Bayer AG based in Leverkusen, Germany, and globally for the Silicone Elastomers Business. Earlier in his career, Florian managed several research laboratories at GE’s Global Research Center.

Florian is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt, holds seven U.S. patents and has numerous publications. He serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards for the Department of Chemistry at University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Minnesota. He earned his Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA and his Diplom Chemiker degree from the Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany. Together with his wife and two teenage children he is in the process of relocating to Minneapolis.  Besides spending time with the family, he loves playing the bass, road cycling and working out.

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

Ms. Southern was appointed Chair of ATCO and Canadian Utilities effective December 1, 2012 and has been Chief Executive Officer of ATCO since January 1, 2003, and President of ATCO from January 1, 2003 until February 28, 2018. Ms. Southern has also been Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Utilities since January 1, 2003 and was President of Canadian Utilities from 2003 to 2015. Previously, she was Deputy Chair of each of ATCO and Canadian Utilities from 2008 until 2012, Co-Chair and Co-Chief Executive Officer of each company from 2000 until 2002, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of each company from 1998 to 1999, and Deputy Chair of each company from 1996 to 1999. Ms. Southern has full responsibility for the strategic direction and the operations of ATCO and reports to the Board of Directors. Ms. Southern is a founding director and is a member of the Board of Directors of AKITA Drilling Ltd. She is also a director of Sentgraf Enterprises Ltd. and an Honorary Director of the Bank of Montreal.

Ms. Southern is a member of The U.S. Business Council, a member of the American Society of Corporate Executives, and a Canadian member of The Trilateral Commission. She is also a member of the Business Council of Canada and the Rideau Hall Foundation Board of Directors.

Biography

Bernard Spitz is the President of the French Insurance Federation (FFA) which gathers the French Federation of Insurance Companies (FFSA) and the Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (GEMA) since 8 July 2016. Mr Spitz was the chairman of FFSA since 2008. He also chairs the Club des Juristes Commission on Cyber Risks launched in September 2016.

A Board member of MEDEF, the French employer’s organization, Bernard Spitz has chaired International and Europe since July 2013. In charge by MEDEF of the Social Agenda of the B20, the international business leaders and employers summit which coincided with the G20 held under French Presidency at Cannes in 2011, Mr Spitz coordinated the ever first joint declaration of employers and workers represented by the B20 and the L20, the international Unions summit. He remains an active member of the B20 representing France and working on the Task Forces related to employment and the financing of growth.

Bernard Spitz is a graduate of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and the École supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (ESSEC), as well as of École nationale d’administration (ENA) from 1984 to 1986. He was an adviser to Prime Minister Michel Rocard from 1988 to 1991 ; a Maître des Requêtes at the Council of State ; and an executive Director at the head of Canal+ from 1992 to 1996. From 2000 to 2004, he was Chief Strategy Officer of Vivendi Universal.

Bernard Spitz has served as a rapporteur to the French Competition Council, a member of the French Economic and Social Council and of the Security Council. He has overseen a number of public reports and efforts, among which President of the Diversity In Media Committee (2010); Coordinator of the Estates General of the Print Media, commissioned by President Nicolas Sarkozy (2009); and in charge of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for Prime Minister Lionel Jospin (1998).

Bernard Spitz is a member of the boards of Air France and Ecole Alsacienne (Paris), the President of think tank Les Gracques and the Vice-President of the association Michelrocard.org. He also sits on the Policy Board of the Aspen Institute (France), and is a member of several leading European think tanks, including Astrid (Italy), The Lisbon Council (Belgium) and En temps Réel (France).

He wrote several books on how to reform the State, including Notre Etat (In Our State), with Roger Fauroux, published by Robert Laffont in 2001; C’est possible ! Voici comment... (It’s possible : Here’s How), with Michel Pébereau, published by Robert Laffont in 2007 ; Le Papy Krach (The Grandfather Krach), published by Grasset in 2006 and On achève bien les jeunes (Our children betrayed) published by Grasset  in 2015.

Biography

Robin St-Arnaud joined Esterline CMC Electronics Inc. in November 2016 as Vice President, Legal, Contracts and Supply Chain, and was appointed President of CMC Electronics in October 2018.
Robin comes to CMC Electronics from St-Arnaud, Richer, Avocats s.a. (SARL), a legal practice that he co-founded in Montreal to provide innovative, cost-effective legal solutions.
Prior to SARL, Robin served as Vice President Legal, Contracts, Security and Compliance, Strategic Sourcing and Procurement at L-3 Communications MAS (Canada) Inc., a leading provider of aircraft support services to government agencies and to commercial clients in the aerospace and defence sector. His role included responsibility for all legal and regulatory matters in support of commercial dealings in Canada, the U.S.A., Australia, Finland, Greece, Spain, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. He was also responsible for all strategic sourcing activities and actively participated in the proposal process for public and private tenders.
Robin has more than 25 years of experience in various industries, including the medical, gaming as well as aerospace and defence. He holds a law degree from the University of Ottawa, is a member of the Quebec Bar since 1992 and has privately practiced litigation for twelve years. He has also served as General Counsel for more than a decade.
About CMC Electronics
CMC Electronics was recently acquired by TransDigm Group Inc., a leading global designer, producer and supplier of highly engineered aircraft components for use on nearly all commercial and military aircraft in service today.
CMC Electronics (www.cmcelectronics.ca) has achieved an international reputation for innovation and excellence in the design and manufacture of cutting-edge cockpit systems integration, avionics and display solutions for the military and commercial aviation markets. Based in Montreal, Canada, the company has facilities in Canada and in the USA serving its customers worldwide.

Biography

Doug Stephens is one of the world’s foremost retail industry futurists. His intellectual work and thinking has influenced many of the most widely known international retailers, agencies and brands including Walmart, Google, L'Oreal, BMW and LVMH.

Prior to founding the consultancy Retail Prophet, Doug spent over 20 years in the retail industry, holding senior international leadership roles.

Doug is the author of two books - the International bestseller Reengineering Retail: The Future of Selling in a Post-Digital World and The Retail Revival: Re-Imagining Business for the New Age of Consumerism. Doug is also the nationally syndicated retail columnist for CBC Radio and sits on multiple corporate and academic advisory boards.

His unique perspectives on retailing, business and consumer behavior have been featured in many of the world’s leading publications and media outlets including The New York Times, The BBC, Bloomberg Business News, TechCrunch, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal and Fast Company.

Doug speaks regularly to major brands and organizations across North and South America, Europe, Asia, The Middle East and Australia.

Biography

The Honorable Kristine Svinicki was designated Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission by President Donald J. Trump on January 23, 2017.  She is currently serving her third term, ending June 30, 2022.  She began her service on the Commission in 2008.

Chairman Svinicki has a distinguished career as a nuclear engineer and policy advisor, working at the state and federal levels of government, and in both the legislative and executive branches.  Before joining the NRC, Svinicki spent over a decade as a staff member in the United States Senate advancing a wide range of policies and initiatives related to national security, science and technology, and energy and the environment.  She also served as a professional staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee where she was responsible for the Committee’s portfolio of defense science and technology programs and policies, and for the atomic energy defense activities of the U.S. Department of Energy, including nuclear weapons, nuclear security, and environmental programs.

Previously, Svinicki worked as a nuclear engineer in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Washington, D.C. Offices of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology, and of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, as well as its Idaho Operations Office, in Idaho Falls, Idaho.  Before that, she was an energy engineer with the State of Wisconsin at the Wisconsin Public Service Commission in Madison, Wisconsin.

Born and raised in Michigan, Svinicki earned a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan in 1988.  She is a longstanding member of the American Nuclear Society and the Society has twice honored her with its Presidential Citation in recognition of her contributions to the nuclear energy policies of the United States.  Chairman Svinicki was named Woman of the Year by the Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment in 2013.  She was selected as a Stennis Congressional Fellow of the 108th Congress and as a Brookings Institution Legis Congressional Fellow in 1997.   She has been honored by the University of Michigan College of Engineering as its 2009 Alumni Merit Award recipient for Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences and, in 2017, was awarded the College’s Alumni Medal.

Biography

After several years of twisting letters as well as ideas by studying philosophy, literature and Death Metal, Hugues Sweeney became interested in stories as much as the opportunities that technology offers to tell them. First in new media at Radio Canada, then head of Bande à Part and Espace Musique, he joined the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) in 2009 as executive producer dedicated to interactive works. Continuing experimentation both in the grammar of interaction, in web creation or in immersive art, projects from the interactive studio of the NFB has received more than 150 awards and honors all around the globe including Webby, SXSW, Japan Media Arts and the Gémeaux. Deeply involved in his community, Hugues is vice-chair of the Board of Directors of the Montreal Arts Council and co-chair of the Digital Commission of Culture Montréal. He also contributes to the strategic thinking of the Montréal Symphonic Orchestra and Quartier des spectacles.

Biography

Karl Tabbakh is the Regional Managing Partner for Québec, Co-Leader of the Firm’s International & Business Strategy and a member of McCarthy Tétrault’s Senior Leadership Team. A professional with deep business acumen, extensive global experience, and exceptional relationship-building skills, Karl is committed to delivering business solutions and results for clients.

Focussed on providing clients with an understanding of both legal and business implications during major decisions, Karl is often brought in at the outset of transactions by the senior management of both strategic acquirers and financial sponsors to assist in the initial structuring and strategy around transactions and capital deployment.

In addition to his legal expertise, Karl brings a unique investor and business experience to our clients. In 2012, he co-founded a venture capital and private equity firm in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Prior to that, Karl was a partner within the world’s largest law firm which he joined in 2008 to start up their Abu Dhabi office and head its corporate practice.

Karl spent seven years in the Middle East and was Chairman of the Canadian Business Council in Abu Dhabi where he developed strong understanding of the Middle East markets and solid connections in the UAE business community. Previous to that, he was a partner in McCarthy Tétrault’s Business Law Group, where he had started his career in 1995. He worked in the Montréal, Toronto and London, UK offices until 2008 and, upon his return to Canada in 2016, he rejoined the firm.

Karl is a regular speaker and commentator in the financial press. He is Chair of the Board of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Board of the Canada Arab Business Council.

Karl is active in the philanthropic world and supports many non-profit and community service organisations, including as member of the Centraide/United Way campaign, director of the National Circus School and Foundation and co-president of the Filleactive Father/Daughter Charity Bal..

Born in Syria, Karl immigrated with his parents to Canada at age 10 where he learned to speak English and French, in addition to his Arabic mother tongue. He received his LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto, in 1997 after completing his BCL at the Université de Montréal in 1996. He also obtained a B.Comm. from Université Laval in Québec City.

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

Louis is chairman and CEO of Coveo, a leading provider of AI SaaS platforms and applications for digital business personalization. Prior to Coveo, Louis co-founded Taleo, the leading international provider of cloud software for talent and human capital management, acquired by Oracle for $2B in 2012. Taleo was recognized as the 11^thfastest-growing technology company in the U.S. by Deloitte Technology Fast 500 in 2004, prior to its NASDAQ IPO in 2005. Involved in private equity for technology and infrastructure projects, he is also chairman of the board of PetalMD, the leading cloud platform in the Canadian medical sector, and a board member of Industrial Alliance Financial Group and the Quebec City airport authority.

Biography

Geneviève Thouin is the Project Director of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program (MCIP), a $75 million program from the Government of Canada created to drive climate innovation in the municipal sector.

Ms. Thouin is responsible for developing and executing MCIP’s vision and strategy, supporting municipal projects that advance innovative solutions to climate challenges. She oversees a talented and multi-disciplinary team who develops new ideas and solutions to help cities and communities across Canada transition to a low carbon economy and become more resilient to climate change.

Prior to joining MCIP, Ms. Thouin was the Director of Projects at Sustainable Development Technology Canada. She has worked in the cleantech and environmental sectors for over 15 years with roles in research and development, emergency response, project management, investment due diligence, business development and corporate performance. Ms. Thouin has reviewed and managed hundreds of cleantech and climate related investment opportunities across all sectors, ranging from renewable energy, to green mining solutions, to electrification of transportation. She is passionate about finding solutions and making a difference.

Biography

The Hon. Brian Tobin was named as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2013 for his contribution to Canadian public policy as a federal and provincial politician, and for supporting economic development in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Brian served as the Federal Minister of Industry from October 2000-January 2002, prior to which he served as the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador from 1996-2000. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1980-1996, and as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in the federal cabinet from 1993-1996.

Brian is Vice Chair, BMO Financial Group. He serves as chairman and director of New Flyer Group Inc. He previously served as Executive Chairman, President & CEO of Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Ltd. He led the negotiating team that sold CLM to Cliffs Natural Resources for $4.9 billion, which was one of the biggest global mining deals in 2011.

Brian is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and a graduate of the Directors Education Program. He has been awarded honorary degrees by both St. Francis Xavier University and Brock University.

Biography

Jean-François has nearly 20 years of experience in the transportation sector. Before joining Jalon, he held various positions of international stature with the Global Automotive and Transportation Centre at EY. Most notably, he accompanied government officials, city delegates and corporate leaders all around the world to identify opportunities related to smart electric vehicles. He now brings his knowledge to the stakeholders of the Montreal ecosystem to help develop a more integrated approach to mobility. He also works hard to support them in their efforts to transform the automotive and transportation sector.

Biography

Carolien van Brunschot is Manager in the Circular Economy team of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Since joining in September 2018, she has helped the WBCSD member companies develop inclusive and sustainable business solutions through the circular economy. Within the team she leads the work on circular metrics development and a circular deep-dive into the electronics sector.

Prior to her role at WBCSD, Carolien has had a career in product design and brand licensing with Philips and she holds an MBA in Sustainable Business.

Biography

Dr. Hilligje van’t Land is Secretary General of the International Association of Universities (IAU)

Educated in France, the Netherlands and Canada, Dr. van’t Land obtained her PhD in comparative francophone literature from Groningen University, NL, and completed a post doc research project at Laval University, in Québec.  She taught at Universities in the Netherlands, Canada and France. She is pleased to serve the global higher education community as Secretary General of IAU, only global association of the kind.

Over the past two decades she has worked on membership development and retention, the coordination of the preparation of IAU international events and the overall management of the IAU thematic priorities linked to Intercultural Learning and Dialogue, Innovative Approaches to Doctoral Education in Africa, and in particular Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD). She published on a number of issues relating to Higher Education; is Editor of the magazine ‘IAU Horizons’ ; sits on various working groups and expert Committees including at UNESCO, the UN and the Council of Europe.

www.iau-aiu.net  Twitter @VantlandH @iau-aiu @iau-hesd

Biography

Rumina Velshi was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for a five-year term beginning August 22, 2018.

Ms. Velshi has had a long association with the CNSC. She was appointed as a permanent, part-time Commission member in 2011 and re-appointed for a second five-year term in March 2018.

Ms. Velshi has extensive technical, regulatory and adjudication expertise in the area of energy. Throughout her career, she has worked in various capacities at Ontario Hydro and Ontario Power Generation. Ms. Velshi also previously served as a part-time Board member on the Ontario Energy Board, the economic regulator of the province of Ontario’s electricity and natural gas sectors.

Ms. Velshi is very active in the promotion of careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), especially for young women. Since joining the CNSC as President and CEO, she has launched a women in STEM initiative, with the aim of considering ways to support women in STEM careers at the CNSC and elsewhere, and to further STEM education by working with interested partners. She has delivered several international keynote addresses about breaking down barriers for women in STEM, at venues that have included the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna and to audiences such as the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Federal Women’s Program Advisory Committee.

Ms. Velshi was one of the founding members of Canada’s Women in Science and Engineering and served as Vice Chair on the Board of Directors of Scientists in School – a non-profit organization that provides STEM-focused workshops to more than 700,000 students each year. She is the recipient of the 2011 Women in Nuclear (WiN) Canada Leadership Award.

Ms. Velshi was one of 150 Canadian women to have their stories compiled in "Your Turn", a book to mark Canada’s 150th anniversary and inspire the next generation of women leaders.

Biography

For 12 years already, Miguel Vielfaure, a young Manitoban entrepreneur and USB alumnus, has run a Métis clothing factory . . . located in Peru! An innovative way to help Quechua women while providing his community and fellow Métis with high-quality ceintures fléchées sashes.

Born in La Broquerie to a Francophone father and a Francophone Métis mother, Miguel Vielfaure attended École Saint-Joachim elementary school and Steinbach Regional Secondary School. Before he even started his postsecondary studies, he already had his own computer company!

A true jack-of-all-trades, he continues to have his hands in various activities. He co-manages a construction company with a partner, a business of design and logistics for online stores with his brother, in addition to co-managing his father’s companies. It should be noted that, since he was 21, Michael has had to throw himself into the businesses of his father, who was sick. “The situation – which was very sad for my family – had the advantage of allowing me to try out a lot of different things.”

Étchiboy, the beginning

In 2006, in a market in Peru, Miguel came across sashes similar to the ceinture fléchée, which has become a symbol of Métis identity. He had an idea: why not start a company to make and sell Métis products? “I was a storyteller and found it sad that I had a factory-made polyester sash.” The company Étchiboy ("Hey, lil’ guy!" in the Michif language) was born of the desire to provide Métis people with higher quality sashes.

Laura Lussier, his girlfriend at the time who later became his wife, pointed out that, with Miguel, ideas quickly come to life. “When you want something, you just need to get started and put in the effort needed; there is no reason for it to fail!”

Since then, Miguel has formed a relationship with El Telar ("the loom"), an association of single Quechua mothers who live in villages near Cuzco, some of which are 4,400 meters in altitude. Using the loom is a part of Quechua culture. The request: to make traditional Métis products able to be sold in North America. In exchange, Étchiboy improves the quality of life of these Peruvian aboriginals, abandoned by the governnment in rural areas that tourists do not visit, by paying them nearly 40% more than the local market (and later, 100% more). In the beginning, the 20 women from El Telar were using two old manual looms and dedicated 20% of their time for Étchiboy. "The initial idea is still the same: help these women to improve their self-esteem, develop independence and take control of their own future.”

Steady momentum

As of 2009, the 20 Quechua women dedicate 100% of their time to Étchiboy, which also employs a Peruvian manager, Santos Cutipa Suclle, and a managing director, Ghyslyn Vielfaure (Miguel’s brother). “I don’t have a title at Étchiboy. I’m ‘the guy who does what needs to get done,’” Miguel said, modestly. To his great pleasure, his activities include physical labor and groundwork, as well as administration and logistics. “Every day is different. I can be travelling thousands of kilometers to meet small Métis communities, spending hours in from of my computer or negociating with bankers. I love the variety.”

In 2012, a major loan (80% of which is already repaid) allowed the SME (small or medium-size enterprise) to hire five more Peruvians. Since then, the team now has 11 looms to use. So, not every woman has a loom? “Some of the women knit shirts, others do embroidery or make jewellery.”

Étchiboy today

Sashes, slippers, tuques, ties and fire bags . . . Today, Étchiboy sells more than 600 different products, through nearly 100 partners: festivals, organisations, boutiques (including those of the Saint-Boniface Museum, the Manitoba Museum and the Manitoba Legislative Building) and Métis associations. “My largest market is from British Columbia to Ontario, but I also have clients in the United States and in Europe. It’s always growing. In the beginning, I had 0% of the market. Today, I have 60% of it, and I’m proud to say that 40% of our sales take place in French.”

Over the years, Étchiboy has received media recognition, but it was on October 22, 2016, that the real payoff came: after ten years of growth, the Métis company won first prize in the Business Run by a Young Entrepreneur category at the Lauriers SME awards put on by Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité (RDÉE) Canada.

The women behind the sashes

Currently, Étchiboy employs 38 Quechua people, many of whom are mothers. Between these mothers, they have 54 children (who do not work for Étchiboy). “Today, the children go to school and some of them even act as Spanish/Quechuan interpreters for Miguel and their mothers! All of the school-aged children are attending school: it’s mandatory if someone wants to work with us.” The original mothers are still there, ten years later. “We have only made additions: more women, for the most part, with the exception of a few ‘satellite’ men who make blankets or do embroidery.”

Have the Étchiboy women evolved? Absolutely! “We don’t pay them the going, insufficient wage. They are paid similarly to a police officer or a teacher. In ten years, the difference is phenomenal! Some of them have a house, a piece of land; they grow vegetables, wheat, and raise guinea pigs. Some of them have a washing machine, or a mortgage! They can wash themselves (before, they didn’t have water), others have electricity, or even a computer with the Internet. The most valuable treasure they have received is their independence.”

Biography

Ms. Walsh joined Guggenheim in 2007, and in her role as Chief Investment Officer - Fixed Income is head of the Portfolio Construction Group and Portfolio Management. She oversees more than $185 billion in fixed income investments including Agencies, Credit, Municipals, and Structured Securities. She is responsible for portfolio design, strategy, sector allocation and risk management, as well as conveying Guggenheim’s macroeconomic outlook to Portfolio Managers and fixed income Sector Specialists. Ms. Walsh specializes in liability-driven portfolio management. With more than 30 years in the investment management industry, Ms. Walsh is well suited to understanding and addressing the needs of clients. Prior to joining Guggenheim, Ms. Walsh served as Chief Investment Officer at Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated, a recognized leader in the global life reinsurance industry. Prior to joining RGA in 2000, Ms. Walsh served as Vice President and Senior Investment Consultant for Zurich Scudder Investments. Earlier, she held roles at Lincoln Investment Management and American Bankers Insurance Group. Ms. Walsh holds a B.S.B.A. and M.B.A. from Auburn University and a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law. She has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation and is a member of the CFA Institute.

Biography

Josephine Wapakabulo is an electrical engineer and business executive. She served as the founding Chief Executive Officer of Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC). She was appointed in June 2016, being the first person to serve in that position., She resigned as UNOC CEO with effect from 13 August 2019, “to focus on her family and new opportunities”.

From 2000 until 2002 Wapakabulo worked as a Leadership Trainee & Community Organizer in Coventry, United Kingdom. From 2002 until 2006, she worked as a Research Associate at LSC Group Consulting in Lichfield, United Kingdom. In 2006, she joined Rolls-Royce in Derby, United Kingdom as a Business Process & Information Engineering Specialist, serving in that capacity until 2011. From 2011 until 2014, she served as a Quality Executive and Engineering Chief of Quality and Continuous Improvement at Rolls-Royce in the Berlin Area, in Germany.

Between 2014 and 2015, she served as the Chief Operating Officer at The Walk Free Foundation in Perth, Australia. In 2015, she returned to her native Uganda and worked as a Business Consultant in Kampala, until 2016. She was named CEO by the Board of UNOC, in June 2016.

Josephine, holds a PhD and book published on the adoption of data-exchange standards and knowledge management technologies in Defence and Oil & Gas companies. Focusing on integrating life cycle data for oil and gas production facilities.

Biography

Gregg Wassmansdorf is a Senior Managing Director in Newmark Knight Frank’s Global Corporate Services division, market leader for Global Corporate Services in Canada, and shares responsibility for sales, platform development, and client service delivery at NKF Global Strategy, the company’s corporate consulting practice.

As a corporate real estate outsourcing advisor, Mr. Wassmansdorf helps mid-sized and large corporations evaluate the best means to access and implement service solutions for their global facilities. He facilitates engagements for CRE technology and data management, account and transaction management, workplace strategies & change implementation, facilities services, and project management.

In his management consulting capacity, he works with his corporate clients across all functional areas of the enterprise to address challenges related to global portfolio strategy, business location strategy and site selection, supply chain planning, facility footprint optimization, economic incentive negotiation and procurement, workplace strategy, property transaction execution, and capital project implementation. His experience spans the asset mix found within most large companies: head offices, shared services hubs, call centers, data centers, manufacturing plants, and distribution facilities.

Mr. Wassmansdorf is a trusted advisor to corporate clients in a wide variety of industries. He takes pride in his ability to help clients conceive and implement logical and defensible real estate solutions, reduce decision-risk, and proudly points to hundreds of millions of dollars in capital and operating cost reductions on past projects. His clients have included both private and public companies with diverse global interests.

His location and site selection consulting experience has also been utilized to support senior and lower levels of government with economic development strategy, investment attraction initiatives, and regional & community competitiveness assessments. He is regularly called upon by investment promotion and economic development agencies for his expert opinions.

Gregg is a Canadian and U.S. citizen, a corporate real estate specialist, a LEED accredited professional in sustainability, a cross-border FDI business expert and regular columnist for fDi Magazine (a Financial Times publication), and is a member of the Site Selectors Guild, an association of the world’s top corporate site selection professionals, for which he is also a member of the Board of Directors.

Education

Mr. Wassmansdorf graduated from Queen’s University with his B.A. (Honours) in Urban and Economic Geography. He then secured a national fellowship and relocated to Los Angeles to earn his Masters degree in Geography from the University of Southern California (USC).  He further pursued doctoral studies in urban geography, regional economics, industrial location theory, and urban planning with time spent at USC, UCLA, and the University of British Columbia. Mr. Wassmansdorf has continued his professional development with real estate organizations like SIOR and CCIM; the Canadian Institute of Management Consultants; and he is a candidate of CoreNet Global’s “Master of Corporate Real Estate”.

Biography

Nobel Peace Prize nominee Sheila Watt-Cloutier is in the business of transforming public opinion into public policy. Experienced in working with global decision-makers for more than a decade, Watt-Cloutier offers a new model for 21st century leadership. She speaks with passion and urgency on the issues of today — the environment, the economy, foreign policy, global health, and sustainability — not as separate concerns, but as a deeply interconnected whole. At a time when people are seeking solutions, direction, and a sense of hope, this global leader provides a big picture of where we are and where we're headed.

In 2007, Watt-Cloutier was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy work in showing the impact of global climate change on human rights — especially in the Arctic, where it is felt more immediately, and more dramatically, than anywhere else in the world. Watt-Cloutier is an Officer of the Order of Canada; the recipient of the Aboriginal Achievement Award; the UN Champion of the Earth Award; the Norwegian Sophie Prize; and the Right Livelihood Award, which she won in November, 2015 and is widely considered the "Nobel Alternative".

From 1995-2002, Watt-Cloutier was elected the Canadian President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC). She was later elected in 2002 to become the International Chair of the ICC, representing the 155,000 Inuit from Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and Russia — she held this post until 2006.

Widely recognized for her influential work, Watt-Cloutier gave a TEDx Talk in 2016 titled “Human Trauma and Climate Trauma as One”. She is also the author of the memoir, The Right to Be Cold: One Woman's Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic and the Whole Planet, which was nominated for the 2016 BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction and the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. In 2017, the book was shortlisted for CBC Canada Reads, defended by Chantal Kreviazuk. Watt-Cloutier was also shortlisted for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize.

Biography

Steve leads Aviva Investors' Global Responsible Investment team, which is responsible for integrating environmental social and corporate governance (ESG) issues across all asset classes and regions of c£350bn of assets under management. The team has achieved an A+ ranking in governance and strategy from the UN Principles for Responsible Investment; a Tier 1 assessment for Stewardship from the UK Financial Reporting Council; and won the Responsible Investment Thought Leader and Innovator of the Year global award in 2017.
Steve was appointed to the European Commission High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance, and the UK Green Finance Taskforce, and is also a member of the Financial Stability Board Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD).
Steve co-founded and now Chairs the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark and the World Benchmarking Alliance. He also co-founded the Sustainable Stock Exchange initiative and is an Ambassador for the International Integrated Reporting Council.
His work became a case study in the Harvard Business School MBA in 2012. Steve has received the Leadership in Sustainability award from the Corporation of London and the British Chamber of Commerce. In 2011 he received the Yale Rising Star in Corporate Governance Award, and he was among the Financial News Top 100 Rising Stars in 2009.
Steve was on the board of the UK Sustainable Investment & Finance association (UKSIF) from 2003 to 2010, serving as its Chairman from 2006. He was also part of the expert group that wrote the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment.
Steve is a member of the Chartered Financial Analyst institute, with a degree in Economics and a PhD in sustainable finance. He is a faculty member at the International Corporate Governance Network and the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. He is also a Visiting Professor of Sustainable Finance at Cass Business School.

Biography

Steve Wretling is the Chief Technology and Innovation Officer for HIMSS: a global voice, advisor and thought leader of health transformation through health information and technology with a unique breadth and depth of expertise and capabilities to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of health, healthcare and care outcomes.

As Chief Technology and Innovation Officer for HIMSS, Wretling strategically guides enterprise-wide initiatives around digital innovations and technology. Before joining HIMSS in 2018, Wretling served concurrently as the global chief technology officer for DaVita, Inc. and chief information officer for DaVita Integrated Kidney Care. Wretling delivered key capabilities for DaVita initiatives including a flagship mobile app for chronic patients, a telehealth platform, a health information exchange (HIE) platform, a new electronic medical record system for in-center kidney care, and various physician and clinical team tools. Wretling also served in a number of progressive roles for nearly 10 years at Kaiser Permanente, most recently as vice president of information services for care delivery. Wretling earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Kansas.