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Speakers

Keynote 1: Closing the Gender Parity Gap

In today’s talent shortage, employees’ expectations of their employer or potential employer are increasing in terms of parity, diversity, and inclusion.

They want to be part of an organization that offers an inclusive culture and that is actively working to close the gender gap in the workplace.

How confident are you that your current firm, or a firm you are considering, is committed to creating a pipeline of female talent at all levels? In this session you will learn about Women in Governance’s Parity Certification (external link)  and how it contributes to concretely moving the needle by offering participating organizations insights on their position on the parity spectrum and what programs and policies they should have in place to implement best practices in terms of recruitment, training, promotions, compensation, talent management, etc.

Speakers:

Nicole Piggott, Chief Operating Officer, Women in Governance in conversation with: 
Angela Olden, Chief Financial Officer, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), Caroline Codsi, Founder Women in Governance & Parity Certification™ and Jennifer Denby, Global Head of Inclusion and Diversity, Willis Towers Watson

Caroline Codsi, Keynote guest speaker

Keynote guest speaker

Nicole Piggott
Keynote moderator
Jen Denby
Keynote guest speaker

Jen Denby

Global Head of Inclusion and Diversity, Willis Towers Watson

Angela Olden
Keynote guest speaker

Angela R. Olden 

Chief Financial Officer, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) 

Keynote 2: Lisa Raitt in conversation with Rhiannon Rosalind

Speakers:

Lisa Raitt, Vice Chair of Global Investment Banking, CIBC and Former Minister of Transport, Labour and Natural Resources in conversation with:
Rhiannon Rosalind, CEO and owner, The Economic Club of Canada.

 

Lisa Raitt
Keynote moderator

Hon. Lisa Raitt, P.C

Vice-Chair, Global Investment Banking, CIBC Capital Markets

Rhiannon Rosalind
Keynote guest speaker

Rhiannon Rosalind

CEO and owner, The Economic Club of Canada.

Speakers and judges bios

Naila Abbasova

Global Program Manager, YouTube (London, UK)

Naila Abbasova is a Global Program Manager at YouTube in London, UK. In that capacity she is responsible for creating educational experiences that help creators thrive on YouTube. As a graduate of the Ted Rogers School of Management, she started her career in Retail Management, completing Hudson's Bay Executive Development Program before moving to the UK 6 years ago, to work for Selfridges. Being a creator and visual storyteller has taken her on amazing journeys around the world, ultimately transitioning her into the world of Google and YouTube.  ProgramNetworking with Industry Professionals

Naila Abbasova

Melissa Allen

Executive Director, 
League of Innovators

Melissa Allen began her career in digital marketing first interning at Foreign Affairs Canada in Paris, France, and then working with tech companies such as Torstar Digital and Google, before pivoting to an award-winning career in financial services at Desjardins.

Combining her passions for tech and finance, Melissa became an angel investor and Limited Partner in 2019 and began lending her expertise in advisory and leadership roles at startups such as Alo Solutions and Bay Mills before joining the League of Innovators as Executive Director. ProgramNetworking with Industry Professionals

Melissa Allen

Clint Anderson

Director of Digital Engagement | Digital Banking | US Region | CIBC Bank USA

Case Competition Judge

Clint Anderson graduated from Ball State University with a degree in finance. He started his career with AMCORE Bank, where he launched their first online banking platform in 1999. In 2010, Mr. Anderson went on to join BMO Financial as VP, Online Banking Lead US. Three years ago, he joined CIBC Bank USA as Managing Director, Director of Digital Engagement where he manages the online & mobile banking and digital account origination platforms. Mr. Anderson sits on several financial payment advisory boards and CBDC / cryptocurrency working groups. He spends his time away from work camping and raising ducks.

Clint Anderson

Edgar Barbosa

Partner and Canadian Payments Leader, PwC Canada

Case Competition Judge

Edgar Barbosa leads PwC’s Canadian Payments Practice.  He brings over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry focused extensively on helping his clients modernize their payments ecosystems. 

Edgar has led large payments and credit card transformation initiatives for many clients in Canada and the US including modernization of enterprise payments and card processing platforms, enterprise payments strategy and vendor selection, operating model design, implementation of automated credit decisioning tools and product design/strategy. Edgar also held executive roles at large banks with accountability for Cards, Lending and Retail Banking Transformation.

Edgar Barbosa

Steven Boms

Executive Director of Financial Data and Technology Association of North America

Case Competition Judge

Steve Boms, Executive Director of the Financial Data and Technology Association of North America, has more than 15 years of experience working inside government, public and private companies, trade organizations, and the technology industry, and assists member companies and clients in working with policymakers in Washington, in statehouses across the United States, and internationally. Steve has spent his career focused on complex financial services public policy issues, having worked in the United States Congress on the committee with jurisdiction over banking issues. He has led advocacy efforts and public policy teams globally for equity options exchanges, large U.S.-based financial institutions, and leading fintech firms. A recognized expert in the intersection of financial technology and public policy, Steve has testified before the United States Senate, the Senate of Canada, and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development regarding financial services and technology.

In addition to working directly with FDATA North America’s members, he is a frequent conference panelist and his perspective is solicited by reporters on the technology, financial services, and regulatory beats.

Steve is also the President and founder of Allon Advocacy, LLC, a public policy firm that helps technology, fintech and financial services firms navigate complex public policy and public affairs environments around the world.

Steve Boms

Brandi Chastain 

U.S. Olympic soccer medalist and two-time FIFA World Champion

Brandi Chastain dropped to her knees and ripped off her jersey as she celebrated her goal that helped her team win the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup final, against Team China. That image would then be the talk of media outlets and fans around the globe, it also got Brandi on the cover of Newsweek, Sports Illustrated and Time Magazine - with the headlines Girls Rule! Yes! What a Kick!

Brandi Chastain is a two-time U.S. Olympic soccer medalist, two-time FIFA World Champion, national player of the year and Soccer Hall of Fame inductee. Since retiring, Brandi has transitioned to becoming an investor in multiple business opportunities, including working on establishing an NWSL Team in California, and starting up a female lead and Run eports franchise.  Brandi uses her experiences to focus on becoming a women empowerment leader/activist. She coaches youth soccer and views FeSports (Female esports) as another avenue to reach/empower young girls and women all over the world. Brandi graduated from Santa Clara University with a Bachelors Degree in Communications.

Brandi Chastain

Coco Chen

Underwriter, AIG Canada

Coco Chen holds a Bachelor in Music Performance and a JD/MBA from the University of Toronto. She is currently an underwriter at AIG Canada where she underwrites reps and warranties insurance for domestic and cross-border M&A transactions. Prior to joining the insurer, Coco was in private practice as a corporate lawyer at an international law firm. She is passionate about music and serves on the board of directors of Soundstreams. ProgramNetworking with Industry Professionals

Coco Chen

Caroline Codsi

Founder Women in Governance (external link) 
Co-Founder Synclusiv

Keynote 1 guest speaker

A passionate and strategic leader, Caroline Codsi has had a stellar career in the corporate world including VP and SVP roles within major organizations.

Caroline is the Founder & Chief Equity Officer at Women in Governance (WiG), Canada’s prominent non-profit created in 2010 with mission to help women access decision-making bodies and male dominated fields through advocacy, major events, mentoring programs and governance training.

In 2017 WiG developed the first North American Parity Certification with the probono support of McKinsey&Company to close the gender gap in the workplace in corporate Canada and America. Accenture, Mercer and Willis Towers Watson support WiG’s team in the evaluation process and reporting that positively impacted more than 700,00 employees. Adding an intersectionality lens further supports the increase of diversity and inclusion within organizations and recognizes added obstacles for women from under-represented groups (BIPOC, LGBTQ, etc). The organization is also well known for the important role men are given as allies of the cause.

In 2020, WiG signed a historic partnership with the Girl Scouts of the USA to power their Fair Play, Equal Pay® initiative aimed to encourage American organizations on the path to parity.

In 2021, Caroline co-founded Synclusiv, an organization that focuses on increasing the presence of women and men from all under-represented groups (visible minorities, LGBTQ2S+, indigenous, with disabilities, etc.) in every sector and at every level in the corporate world.

A Citizen of the world, fluent in four languages and having lived on three continents, Caroline was born in Beirut and grew up through the civil war. A graduate in Human Resources from HEC Montréal as well as in languages and foreign civilizations from l’Université de Paris (Diderot), Caroline earned a scholarship and was valedictorian, ambassador, and examiner for the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD)’s Program at McGill University.

A highly sought-after speaker, Caroline has addressed audiences across the globe, including two TEDx (100K views). Widely quoted in national and international media, she is the recipient of numerous awards from prestigious organizations such as the United Nations’ Women’s Committee, the Quebec Business Women Network, The Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Femmessor or the New Delhi Women’s Economic Forum, to name a few.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominated Caroline on Canada’s National Gender Equality Committee and Mayor Valérie Plante on the City of Montreal’s Business Committee. She was also recognized as a Top 20 Diversity Leading Figure in Quebec, Top 75 Canadian Immigrant, Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, and Top 100 Entrepreneurs changing the world.

Caroline Codsi

Liane Davey

Liane Davey is a New York Times Bestselling author of three books, including The Good Fight: Use Productive Conflict to Get Your Team and Your Organization Back on Track and You First: Inspire Your Team to Grow Up, Get Along, and Get Stuff Done. 

Known as the Water Cooler Psychologist, she is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review and frequently called on by media outlets for her experience on leadership, team effectiveness, and productivity. 

As the co-founder of 3COze Inc., she advises companies such as Amazon, TD Bank, Walmart, UNICEF, 3M, and SONY. 

Liane has a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology. 

Liane Davey

Jen Denby

Keynote 1 guest speaker

Jen Denby MCIPD, sits on Willis Towers Watson’s (WTW) global HR senior leadership team, reporting to the CHRO, as their Global Head of Inclusion and Diversity. 

Working with both WTW’s business led global and regional Inclusion and Diversity councils she is responsible for the design and implementation of WTW’s global diversity and inclusion strategies and initiatives, including embedding I&D into the talent life cycle, dedicated to increase overall diversity, enhance engagement and foster a more inclusive culture.

She previously held a number of HR Business Partner roles in both Willis Towers Watson and BBC Worldwide including a period working in the US, before specialising in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion six years ago.

Jen lives in Surrey with her husband and two daughters. She likes to run, ski and escape to the family’s second home in Spain.

Jen Denby

Deidra Dionne

Senior Director, Talent Strategy and Business Relations, Rogers Sport & Media

As Senior Director, Talent Strategy and Business Relations at Rogers Sport & Media, Deidra is a member of Sportsnet’s senior leadership team and is responsible for building, implementing, and facilitating its media personality strategy. With a focus on audience engagement, content creation, pipeline development and influencer/athlete relations, Deidra works cross-functionally with its programming, live production, revenue, marketing, and original content teams to foster Sportsnet’s success. 

Prior to working in sport, Deidra represented Canada at both the 2006 and 2002 Olympics, where she won the 2002 Olympic bronze medal in freestyle skiing. She spent 11 years on the Canadian National Freestyle Ski Team and won 11 world medals, including 2 World Championship bronze medals, and a member of the Alberta Hall of Fame. Deidra graduated from the University of Ottawa with a JD in law, articled at Goodmans LLP and has contributed to Canada’s Olympic coverage. 

Deidra believes strongly in the value of sport and contributing to the next generation of athletes. She is a proud board member with Canadian Women & Sport and a former board member of the 2019 Canada Winter Games Organizing Committee, Freestyle Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee Athlete Commission. ProgramNetworking with Industry Professionals

Deidra Dionne

Lisa Durnford

Senior Manager of Regulatory R&D, Wealthsimple

Case Competition Judge

Lisa is the Senior Manager of Regulatory R&D at Wealthsimple, working closely with product teams to ensure compliance is designed into new products early on, with a particular focus on Wealthsimple Crypto. Prior to Wealthsimple, Lisa was the Regulatory Compliance Management Lead for BMO Capital Markets’ AML Office. She’s a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School and University of Western Ontario, and a founding board member of Gradient Spaces, a non-profit advocating for 2SLGBTQA+ inclusion and representation in the tech sector. Lisa loves talking about startups, financial inclusion, and penguins.

Lisa Durnford

Laura Hammond

Laura is the VP, People at Tia - a women's health care technology Company on a mission to help every woman achieve optimal health as defined by themselves. Tia has IRL/URL clinics in New York, LA, Phoenix and soon San Francisco. Laura is passionate about creating workplaces where employees feel seen, heard, included and have the ability to reach their professional and personal goals.  Laura has 18 years of experience as an HR professional across the public and private sectors.  Under Laura’s leadership H&M became recognized as an employer of choice in the retail industry. In 2015 and 2016 H&M Canada was recognized as one of only two retailers GPTW Canada’s Best Workplaces list, and in 2016 one of the country’s Best Workplaces for Women. In 2017 H&M USA was recognized as one of the best places to work in retail by Business of Fashion Magazine and Forbes Top Employers list. By leading with a focus on leadership development, diversity, inclusion and equity, employee recognition and employer branding Laura and her colleagues were recognized with nominations and awards from the Retail Council of Canada and the HR Excellence Awards. More recently, Laura was Senior Director of Talent Management for Aritzia, where she supported the Company's expansion efforts across the US from 22 to 35 stores, almost doubling the number of employees in less than 3 years. At both H&M and Aritzia Laura has led diversity, inclusion and equity efforts including the appointment of H&M's first head of Diversity and Inclusion for North America, diversity, inclusion and equity training for leadership and advocating for mental health support and safe spaces for BIPOC within the organization. ProgramNetworking with Industry Professionals

Laura Hammond

Scott Hendry

Senior Special Director, Bank of Canada

Case Competition Judge

Scott Hendry was appointed Senior Special Director of Financial Technology (FinTech) in the Banking and Payments Department of the Bank of Canada in June 2016. In this role, he oversees the Bank’s efforts to monitor and research developments and implications of new technologies affecting the financial sector. This includes serving as the business lead on the Bank’s central bank digital currency research program. He previously held the role of Director of Research in the Funds Management and Banking Department and, before that, for the Financial Markets Department. 

Mr. Hendry’s personal research has focused on central bank digital currency, electronic money, price discovery in the Canadian government bond market, and central bank communication. He has a BA in Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University and MA and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Western Ontario.

Scott Hendry

Roberta Houle

Technology Account Executive, Google

Roberta has been working at Google for the past five years as a Technology Account Executive. In her role she consults major clients on MarTech strategies and digital privacy concerns. Within her role at Google she's able to spend time as a co-lead on the Women@ group where they focus on inclusive, career development, and giving back to the community. ProgramNetworking with Industry Professionals

Roberta Houle

Poonam Jassi

Vice-president of Operation, FunctionAbility Rehabilitation Services 

Poonam Jassi is currently the Vice-president of Operations at FunctionAbility Rehabilitation Services where she launched the organization's business in the West. Prior to this, Poonam was the youngest provincial leader at CBI Health Group, and led the company’s growth in B.C. As senior director of operations, Poonam oversaw 1,000 staff in the field who provided a variety of community health-care services. Poonam completed her MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto in 2011 and her Doctorate in Business Administration from IE University in Madrid, Spain in 2021. ProgramNetworking with Industry Professionals

Poonam Jassi

Jayme A. Johnson

Partner, IBM Consulting
Communications, Industrial, Distribution Markets

Jayme Johnson is a Partner at IBM with twenty years experience enabling clients to drive change into business with technology. She helps clients transform into resilient, virtual enterprises fueled by data, powered by intelligent workflows, enabled by digital technologies and activated by inspired talent. She is a passionate leader focused on diversity, equity and inclusion - and nurturing the next generation of leaders. She was born and raised in the US, is a proud Babson College alum, and had short stints in New York City and Washington, D.C. before calling Toronto, Canada home. ProgramNetworking with Industry Professionals

Jayme A. Johnson

Carolyn Plater MSW, RSW and Stephanie Kersta MSc, RP

Carolyn and Stephanie are master’s level mental health clinicians with over a decade each of experience in emergency medicine, community crisis, and private clinical practices. Both academics and researchers, they hold teaching appointments at a number of universities and colleges, namely Wilfrid Laurier University, McMaster University, Humber College, and Durham College. Both have published research in a number of peer- reviewed scientific journals.

Over the years Carolyn and Stephanie became increasingly concerned by the growing mental health crisis plaguing society. They also realized that much of what they were seeing clinically was a direct result of today’s modern stress-filled lifestyle. Their desire to combat this epidemic led them to the study of mindfulness and meditation. They obtained the relevant certifications and started weaving these powerful philosophies and teachings into their personal and professional lives.

In 2018, Carolyn and Stephanie opened Hoame, North America’s largest modern meditation studio. Hoame represents a shift away from the traditional reactionary approaches to health and wellness and a movement towards a modern and preventative approach to wellbeing. Hoame created a splash when it opened, garnering over 150 million media impressions and the attention of top Fortune 500 companies. Hoame regularly works with leading global and Toronto based corporations to provide innovative wellness based solutions, disrupting the status quo of corporate mental health.

In a unique and ground-breaking partnership, Hoame has partnered with McMaster University to present Mindfulness in Modern Society, an online certificate of completion program in mindfulness. This program is one of the first online offering through a post-secondary institution.

Carolyn Plater and Stephanie Kersta

Navpreet Komal

Navpreet joined CIBC Commercial Banking in August 2016, she is located in Toronto and covers the GTA market for Commercial Banking, dealing exclusively with public sector entities as well as not-for-profit organizations. Her previous experience includes working in an international non-for-profit organization in a Finance role. Navpreet has her Bachelor of Commerce (Specialization in Accounting with Minor in Economics) from University of Toronto and her MBA specializing in Strategy and Leadership from Queen’s University. She has also completed the Certificate of Corporate Social Impact from Queen’s University with a focus on the integration of social impact approaches into core business strategies and business models. ProgramNetworking with Industry Professionals

Navpreet Komal

Jeremy M. Kronick, PhD

Associate Director, Research
C.D. Howe Institute

Case Competition Judge

Jeremy is Associate Director, Research at the C.D. Howe Institute, where he is in charge of the financial services and monetary policy research programs. He has written on a range of topics including the link between demographics and monetary policy, Canada’s housing markets, and the future of central bank digital currencies.

Prior to joining the C.D. Howe Institute in early 2015, Jeremy worked in the international tax department at Deloitte & Touche LLP, in both the financial stability and international departments of the Bank of Canada, and as a lecturer at Brandeis University where he taught both macroeconomics and microeconomics while completing his PhD studies.

He holds an Undergraduate Degree in Economics and Mathematics from Queen’s University, a Master’s in Financial Economics from the University of Toronto, and a PhD in International Economics and Finance from Brandeis University.  His PhD research areas focused on the international transmission of monetary policy shocks from the developed to the developing world, as well as the Canadian housing market and the effects of macroprudential regulation.

Jeremy M. Kronick

Stephanie Leheta

AVP, Customer Experience and Engagement, Canadian Tire Bank

Case Competition Judge

Stephanie is an accomplished practitioner in organizational Project and Change Management and a Customer Experience professional. She has spent the last 25 years leading large scale customer experience and technology initiatives within the Financial Services industry. In her current role as AVP, Customer Experience and Engagement for Canadian Tire Bank, Stephanie is responsible for driving the optimal customer experience throughout their lifecycle and across digital channels. As Senior’s Code Champion and lead on Digital Accessibility, Stephanie oversees governance and compliance in this space.

For the past 20 years, Stephanie has had a deep commitment to supporting the needs within her community. Armed with an MBA in Strategic Planning she has supported several organizations in the development of Vision and Mission statements and Strategic and Business Plans that resulted in improved services and support for the most at-risk and under-served within the community.

As the 2021 Women of Inspiration award recipient for Authentic Leadership from the Universal Women’s Network, she is committed to life-long learning. Her passion and continued focus is on creating an environment of collaboration in her community and network. She is dedicated to the ongoing evolution of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging and is an active mentor and ally in support of women and of her teams reaching great heights of performance and success.

Stephanie Leheta

Katherine Macklem

Senior Policy Advisor, CBDC Stakeholder Relations

Case Competition Judge

Katherine Macklem is a Senior Policy Advisor at the Bank of Canada and leads the stakeholder relations strategy for the Bank’s central bank digital currency initiative. She is a member of the Steering Committee that oversees the CBDC initiative and has been an active member of the CBDC team since 2019. 

Katherine joined the Bank of Canada in 2009 and, prior to her current role, led the planning and development of public speeches for the Bank’s Governing Council members and oversaw the development of strategic external stakeholder engagement, including Governing Council’s external consultations program. 

Prior to joining the Bank, Katherine worked as a financial journalist, in both broadcast and print. She served at leading national media organizations, including Maclean's, the Financial Post and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 

Katherine has a BA, First Class Honours, in Canadian History, from McGill University and an MA in Communications -- Journalism and Public Affairs from American University.

Katherine Macklem

Kristen Markle

Kristen Markle is a Vice President of Finance and Accounting at RockCreek. Before joining RockCreek, she was a Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP in the financial services assurance practice. In that capacity she was responsible for planning, executing and managing financial statement audit engagements for a variety of clients within the asset management industry, focusing primarily on alternative investment funds of all sizes and strategies.

Kristen holds a B.S. and M.S. in Accounting from Wake Forest University. She is a Certified Public Accountant in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

ProgramNetworking with Industry Professionals 

Kristen Markle

Izabela Nanushi

Sr. Manager, Strategy & Innovation at Interac

Izabela has over 10 years of experience in digital product management, marketing, and strategy, within financial services and media in Toronto and Paris. In her current role on Interac’s Innovation Labs & New Ventures team, Izabela has full-cycle responsibility on innovation initiatives that future-proof the business, including identifying emerging trends, business case development, rapid prototyping, project delivery and go to market strategy. Izabela is a graduate of York University’s Schulich School of Business, has studied at the Paris Dauphine University in France, and is a mentor of York’s Advancing Women Mentorship Program. ProgramNetworking with Industry Professionals

Izabela Nanushi

Angela R. Olden

Chief Financial Officer, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA)

Keynote 1 Speaker

Angela R. Olden joined Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) as chief financial officer in September 2013. In her role, she oversees the financial management of the organization, including the Controller, Treasury, and Financial Planning and Analysis teams.

Before joining GSUSA, Angela served as CFO of Federation Employment and Guidance Service, Inc. (FEGS), one of the largest and most diversified not-for-profit health and human services organizations. At FEGS, Angela managed a budget of $280 million―with funding from more than 100 discrete sources―and had financial oversight of 14 for-profit and not-for-profit subsidiary corporations.

Prior to that role, Angela served for nine years as vice president and chief financial officer with the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, which provides funding for a diverse array of education and health and human services organizations. She also served 11 years as a financial executive in both the United States and Europe for FMC Corporation, a $4 billion, publicly traded industrial chemical and equipment manufacturer, where, in her last position, she was responsible for the financial operations of a $200 million division serving the pharmaceutical industry. Within the financial arena, Angela began her career as a staff auditor with Deloitte, Haskins and Sells.

Angela received her MBA in economics and marketing from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, and a bachelor's degree in accounting and finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She is also a certified public accountant in New York and Pennsylvania. Angela is a proud Girl Scout alum who once co-led her daughter’s Girl Scout troop.

Angela Olden

Nicole Piggott

COO Women in Governance (external link) 
Co-Founder Synclusiv

Keynote 1 Speaker

Nicole Piggott has spent her career promoting inclusive workplaces. Before being appointed Chief Operating Officer at Women in Governance (WiG) and Co-Founder, Synclusiv, Nicole held leadership positions at Bombardier Aerospace, RioTinto, Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOCC) and FedEx Canada. Nicole has implemented and overseen all aspects of Human Resources, from policies, programs and practices aimed at fostering more inclusive and motivating work environments. She had the privilege of negotiating the first partnership agreements between IOCC and various Indigenous communities in Labrador.

In 2017, Nicole co-led the development of the Gender Parity Certification at WiG; she has since led the expansion into the United States. This innovative certification assesses the parity at the decision-making level of organizations, as well as the organization's commitment to putting in place mechanisms that allow women at all levels of its hierarchy to obtain career progression, thus creating a pipeline of female talent.

Nicole is Board Chair of Impact (formerly Partnership Africa Canada), the Vice-Chair of Black Academic Scholarship Fund which her mother founded in 1994 and a member of the Board of the National Safety Council. She is co-lead for the McGill University Goodman Cancer Research Center Public Lecture Series. Nicole is also an advisor to Global Affairs Canada and the CN-Paul Tellier chair of the University of Ottawa on gender and diversity issues.

Nicole Piggott

Hon. Lisa Raitt, P.C

Vice-Chair
Global Investment Banking
CIBC Capital Markets

The Honourable Lisa Raitt joined CIBC Capital Markets in January 2020, having previously worked in both the public and private sectors. Ms. Raitt’s current focus is on senior client coverage and business development with clients in the energy, infrastructure and industrial sectors, which align closely with her deep expertise.

Prior to her current role, Ms. Raitt was the President and CEO of the Toronto Port Authority. She was elected into the House of Commons in 2008, where she went on to hold three senior portfolios serving as Minister of Natural Resources, Minister of Labour, and Minister of Transport. Most recently, Ms. Raitt was the Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition and the Conservative Party of Canada.

Ms. Raitt holds a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Francis Xavier University and a master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Guelph. She possesses an LL.B from Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the Ontario bar in 1998. In 2020 Ms. Raitt was named a Woodrow Wilson Center Global Fellow of the Canada Institute.

Lisa Raitt

Oscar Roque

VP, Strategy, Trends & Emerging Solutions

Case Competition Judge

Oscar leads the Strategy, Trends & Emerging Solutions group at Interac Corp. He leads enterprise strategy, innovation partnerships, and is responsible for identifying and exploring new technologies and opportunities in areas including consumer-directed finance, digital payments and value exchange, blockchain and fintech. He has over 15 years of experience in bringing to market new innovations and leading strategy, product management and delivery teams across multiple industries such as financial services, banking, telecommunications and technology services. Oscar has spoken at numerous high-profile international conferences including Collision, Elevate, IBM Think and SIBOS. He is also a contributor and frequent participant on various industry panels and thought leadership platforms. He can speak to Interac’s forward-thinking approach to research and development as it relates to social innovation, as well as provide deep knowledge of existing digital payment and financial technology infrastructure.

 About Interac Corp.

Interac is Canada’s payments and digital information exchange and is chosen an average of 18 million times daily to pay and exchange money. We operate an economical, world-class debit payments system with secure, broad-based acceptance, reliable technical infrastructure, and a history of bringing the ecosystem together. For more than 35 years, Interac has been one of Canada’s most trusted financial services brands with one of the lowest rates of fraud globally.

Oscar Roque

Rhiannon is the CEO, and owner of The Economic Club of Canada and Founder of The Jr. Economic Club of Canada. Rhiannon is redefining what it means to be a corporate leader in this country. She is passionate about highlighting the most important issues our nation is grappling with – from Truth and Reconciliation to racism and exclusion on Bay Street, Rhiannon is challenging corporate Canada to see its role in creating a more prosperous and equal future for everyone. Rhiannon has hosted countless thought leaders and changemakers at The Economic Club through the years including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Former First Lady Michelle Obama, and human rights advocate, Amal Clooney. A go-to for Bay Street, tech, healthcare, domestic, and international political leaders, The Economic Club is a public policy platform for the 21st century, where the leaders of today and tomorrow connect.

Rhiannon has been a tireless advocate for youth, developing seven national programs under The Jr. Economic Club banner that have impacted over 50,000 young Canadians and provided over $150,000 in academic scholarships. Rhiannon may mingle and do business with the C-suite crowd, but she definitely shouldn’t be confused with the establishment. Inspired by her own lived experience with child poverty as the daughter of a single mother, Rhiannon has become a warrior for women and youth facing barriers.

Rhiannon is the proud mother of two young boys, Luke and Bennett, and enjoys exploring Toronto with them in her spare time.

Awards:

  • Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Business (2013, 2015, 2017)
  • Change Agents, Canadian Business Magazine (2016)
  • Bay Street’s “Power 50”, Bay Street Bull Magazine (2018)
Rhiannon Rosalind

Dr. Neil Rothenberg, DBA

For the past 20 years Dr. Neil Rothenberg has been an educational transformer in the Ted Rogers B. COMM and MBA program. He has made a huge impact on students’ careers and lives with his popular Negotiation and Conflict courses. His negotiation experience includes labour relations, collective bargaining, business contracts, salary, and project management. Dr. Rothenberg also has an extensive background in the public service sector having worked as a Senior Manager and Management Consultant in the public sector with an emphasis on Organizational Change. Neil has a DBA from Cranfield University, MBA from the Schulich School of Business, York University, and a BA in Social Science from the University of Guelph. His current research agenda includes distributed and shared leadership, student project teams, and mindfulness training for university students. He is currently a board member of the Abrahamic Reunion, an organization working on grassroots peace-making in the Middle East.

Neil Rothenberg

Sean Sedlezky

Interim Director, Graduate Program Administration
Ted Rogers School of Management

Co-Chair, Reimagining Women in Leadership Conference

Sean Sedlezky is the Interim Director of Graduate Program Administration at the Ted Rogers School of Management.  With degrees in Broadcast Media and a Master of Science in Management, his experience in the higher education sector includes developing and managing internal and external relationships, creating experiential and online programs, conducting curriculum and program reviews as well as launching innovative pilot projects and events for students, alumni, and industry partners. In 2018, Sean co-authored and edited an eTextbook titled, "Pop-up Retail Strategies in an Omnichannel Context" that has since been viewed by readers in 170 countries.

Sean Sedlezky

Kashmera Self

AVP, Strategy & Emerging Solutions Delivery 

Case Competition Judge

Kashmera Self helps determine the role Interac plays within the Canadian innovation ecosystem. She leads the evaluation of opportunities on emerging trends and technologies and through enterprise strategy development determines what that could mean for Interac. Her focus today is on future-looking initiatives, specifically digital commerce, open banking (aka consumer-directed finance), data exchange, blockchain, connected cities and social commerce. She has twenty years of experience in product management and leading go-to-market strategies within the payments, financial services, and travel industries with her career concentration on the digital economy. Kashmera was the recipient of the Women in Payments Rising Star Award and is often called upon to speak at industry conferences where she has contributed to the dialogue on innovation and transformation both within Canada and abroad.

Kashmera can speak to various topics including: emerging trends and payments innovation within digital commerce, open banking (aka consumer-directed finance), blockchain, connected cities and using technology for social good.

About Interac Corp.

Interac is Canada’s payments and digital information exchange and is chosen an average of 18 million times daily to pay and exchange money. We operate an economical, world-class debit payments system with secure, broad-based acceptance, reliable technical infrastructure, and a history of bringing the ecosystem together. For more than 35 years, Interac has been one of Canada’s most trusted financial services brands with one of the lowest rates of fraud globally.

Kashmera Self

Sihan Shi

Product Consultant
Sr. Director, Client Services at TWG, A Deloitte Business

Case Competition Judge

A strategic and people-focused leader, Sihan has built a career in marketing, partnership and product management. She is the Sr. Director of Client Services at TWG, A Deloitte Business, leading cross-functional teams to deliver product strategy, research and development of technology products for leading enterprise and scale-up Canadian and US companies.

In her work, Sihan strives to gain a deep understanding of customers, operations, product and people in order to develop solutions to intersectional challenges that optimize for efficiency, effectiveness and engagement.

Sihan Shi

Galen Simmons

Service Offering Portfolio Manager, FSI Blockchain & Digital Assets, Deloitte Consulting

Case Competition Judge

Galen Simmons is the Service Offering Portfolio Manager for FSI Blockchain & Digital Assets at Deloitte Consulting.  He is leading up development of Deloitte’s signature blockchain financial services industry impact survey and is currently working with banks on implementing solutions to offer buy/hold/sell crypto asset services, tokenized payments, and asset-backed lending solutions. Galen received his MBA from Columbia Business School.

Galen Simmons

Dr. Donna Smith

Director, Ted Rogers MBA

Co-Chair, Reimagining Women in Leadership Conference

Dr. Donna Smith is the Director of the Ted Rogers MBA program and a Professor in the School of Retail Management at Toronto Metropolitan University. She teaches Managing Customer Value and the International Experience Capstone in the Ted Rogers MBA program. From a research perspective Professor Smith examines social media from B2C and B2B perspectives. Her most recent research, Employees as Influencers: Measuring Employee Brand Equity in a Social Media Age, in the Journal of Product & Brand Management, develops a method to measure employee brand equity on Instagram and tests the method on a US-based fitness company, SoulCycle.

Donna Smith

Chenell Stern

Account Manager, Nestle, Zenith Media

Graduated from Toronto Metropolitan University in Retail management with a marketing minor. After graduating I explored the retail industry further working as an assistant manager at Nordstrom in California. Since my visa was for only 1 year I came back to Toronto and got a position at DSW head office as a buyers assistant and progressed to an assistant buyer. Whilst the shoe industry was very fun and broke the bank! I decided to take a different turn and develop my skills in product development, working as a product coordinator at Umbra- focusing on home décor, bathroom accessories and drapery-working with retailers from across the world. While I learned a lot from these roles, I was seeking more of a leadership position and wanted to develop my skills more. I decided to enroll and take my MBA. After visiting London, I fell in love with the city and thought what better place to do my MBA! I enrolled in Brunel University and 1 year later completed my MBA. After school, I decided to pivot in my career and get into Marketing. I got offered a Job at Zenith Media (apart of Publicis Groupe) and the rest is history! I currently work as an Account Manager, on Nestle. Specifically; Purina, Cereal Partners, Waters & Dairy products. Looking forward to further discussions and answering any questions! ProgramNetworking with Industry Professionals

Chenell Stern

Professor Laurel Walzak

Laurel is a senior strategic and innovative professional, and published author, with over twenty years of experience serving the sport industry. Walzak is an Associate Professor, RTA School of Media, The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University, and lectures in both The Creative School as well as at the Ted Rogers School of Management MBA program. Walzak joined Toronto Met in 2016 and in 2017 she founded the first ever sport media research lab, the Global Experiential Sport Lab, GXSLab, which serves as the connection between scholarly research and industry practice. Her work in the lab focuses on three key pillars: Sports Fans/Audiences, Emerging Sport & their Technologies, such as esports, and Gender Equity and Diversity in Sport and Sport Media.

Walzak is a published author and co-editor of Sport Media Vectors: Digitization, Expanding Audiences, and the Globalization of Live Sport, and Sport Media Vectors: Gender and Diversity, Reconstructing the Field.  Both books bring leading scholars from around the globe to explore the topics of: esports; live streaming; diversity in sport media, including racialized sports women and media inequities in women's sports. Walzak in the process of authoring and co-editing her third book, Sport Media Vectors: Sport Technology, Esport Ecosystems, and the Global Future Outlook, set to publish Fall 2022.

Early in her career, Walzak distinguished herself by carving out a unique position in the sport industry, where she positively impacted her organizations’ economic growth in both start-ups and large established multi-level organizations. Her experience included roles at Fitneff Inc., the National Hockey League, Molson Coors Canada and as an intern at the National Football League.

Walzak’s previous governance experience includes Appointment by the Government of Ontario Public Appointments Secretariat of the Ministry: Training, Colleges and Universities, to the Board of Governors of George Brown College; Fitneff Inc.; The Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL), and served as Chair of the Board; and appointment by the City Council of Toronto to serve as a public member of the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre Board (TPASC), ending 2018, where she served as Chair, Finance and HR Committee. Walzak currently serves on the Advisory Board for Sport and Society, Common Ground Research Network and as a Mentor for Hype Sports Innovation.

Walzak is a graduate of Western University with a Bachelor of Arts, has a Post-Graduate Diploma in Sport and Event Marketing from George Brown College, a Master of Business Administration from Queen’s Smith School of Business and holds a Certification of Achievement in the Chinese Global Business Economy from China European International Business School (CEIBS), Shanghai, China.

Laurel Walzak

Tanya Woods

Technology Lawyer, Hut 8 Mining

Case Competition Judge

Sustainable fintech evangelist, Tanya Woods was an early promoter of Bitcoin and blockchain’s tenants of agency and equality for all. For Woods, a technology lawyer, lobbyist, and former trade negotiator, her role at Hut 8 Mining leverages her dynamism as she strategically executes on a bold vision to put Hut 8, and Canada, at the forefront of business and regulatory leadership on ESG, digital assets and Web 3.0 expansion.

Woods has shepherded Hut 8 through a period of rapid growth as the first Canadian digital asset miner listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, while supporting the company’s capital markets activities and recent acquisition of TeraGo’s cloud and colocation business. She played a central role in developing Hut 8’s industry leading ESG program and continues to build a coalition of notable Canadian companies and leaders urging the government to adopt competitive innovation policies to support digital assets and Web 3.0 expansion. Beyond Hut 8’s borders, Woods is a passionate driver of future forward policies and systems that support diversity and inclusion.  She entered the crypto space in 2014 when she began building and prototyping large scale social impact projects, including a decentralized humanitarian aid platform supporting non-cash donations. Woods subsequently launched Canada’s first Chamber of Digital Commerce, wrote the first national election strategy for blockchain policy, and published the country’s first “blockchain ecosystem report” benchmarking the economic potential for policymakers. Her work has been recognized by the CBC, Obama Foundation, Toastmaster’s International, Government of Canada, and she is a Top 40 Under 40.

Tanya Woods

Danielle Young

AVP & Assistant Chief Counsel, Privacy, Data and Cybersecurity,  Manulife

Case Competition Judge

Danielle is a seasoned legal professional with nearly 20 years of experience providing strategic and pragmatic advice. In her current role as part of Manulife’s Global Privacy team, Danielle advises on privacy, data and cybersecurity matters to all of Manulife’s lines of business operating in Canada.

Danielle is the current Chair of the Privacy Committee at the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) an industry association that represents 99% of Canada’s life and health insurance companies. A firm believer in the benefit and importance of a growth mindset, at the office and at home, Danielle is excited to be practicing this area of the law at a time of tremendous change.

Before joining Manulife, Danielle spent the first decade of her career at a boutique insurance defence and international law firm. She obtained her LL.B from the University of Windsor and was called to the Bar in the Province of Ontario in 2003.

Danielle Young
Black Innovation Fellowship at Ryerson’s DMZ

In recognition of our speakers, the Ted Rogers MBA program has supported the Black Innovation Fellowship at Toronto Met’s DMZ in appreciation of their contribution to the educational experience of our students.