Main Schedule
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Session One: Keynote Speaker - The Future of the Boardroom
Tuesday Oct. 29 - 12:45 PM - 1:30 PM (45 min)
Session Four: The Purpose of Governance
Tuesday Oct. 29 - 3:45 PM - 4:30 PM (45 min)
Session Five: Navigating Shareholder Activism: Strategies for Corporate Resilience (Interactive Session)
Tuesday Oct. 29 - 4:45 PM - 5:30 PM (45 min)
In this interactive session, we will explore what makes a company appealing to activists and how to proactively address vulnerabilities to build shareholder confidence. Understanding " who owns you" before it's too late can be a game-changer for corporate leadership.
We will delve into real-world experiences, from M&A to advocating for board changes and beyond. The fireside chat will bring insights and strategies to help your company navigate the complexities of shareholder activism and emerge stronger and more resilient.
Board members and executives in over 55 countries hold the Global Competent Boards Designation (GCB.D) and Certification in Sustainability, ESG, Climate and Biodiversity thanks to Helle’s visionary online and bespoke education programs. Her vision is that board members, investors, and those advising them need to be informed about sustainability and other material issues that shape the business of today and tomorrow - How can you make informed business decisions if you aren’t informed? Helle founded Competent Boards with the support of a handful of business leaders, including Paul Polman, Jim Snabe, Annette Vershuren and Torben Möger Pedersen.
Helle is an internationally recognized expert on sustainable business practices, with a 30-year record of turning environmental, social, and governance risks into innovative and profitable business opportunities. She works with many global Fortune 500 board members and executives, as well as smaller companies and investors.
In addition to Competent Boards, Helle has a few other brainchildren, including the world's first green account, the first integrated report, the first holistic supply chain program and many innovative business solutions, and latest The Future Boardroom.
Helle is a business lawyer and accountant by training. She was a partner at PwC for many years based in Europe and later the US. She serves at the Nasdaq Center for Board Excellence, the World Economic Forum (WEF) Expert Network, and Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) established by HM King Charles III, among other roles.
Originally from Denmark, she now lives in Canada, where she was recognized in 2023 as a Global Changemaker by The Globe and Mail and one of the Top 50 Influencers to Follow by Onalytica. In 2022 she was named one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network and received the SustainabilityX® Magazine’s Global 50 Women in Sustainability Award, among other recognitions.
Her Amazon bestseller, Stewards of the Future: A Guide for Competent Boards, was published in 2022, and she’s currently working on her next book.
https://twitter.com/HelleBankJorgen
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hellebank/
https://competentboards.com/
Sessions
Tuesday Oct. 29 - 12:45pm - 01:30pm (45 min)
Main Schedule
Coro Strandberg
President at Strandberg Consulting
Coro Strandberg, President of Strandberg Consulting, is an influential social purpose and sustainability / ESG strategist and thought leader. Coro is a Canadian trailblazer and visionary in marketplace innovation to advance social, environmental, and financial progress and has contributed to the evolving field of social purpose and sustainability for more than 35 years. She works with boards, businesses, governments, and industry associations to create strategies and pursue business models to solve society’s problems and address social and environmental risks and opportunities that propel society towards a sustainable future. She is a Cofounder and current Chair of the Canadian Purpose Economy Project, and a Cofounder of the United Way BC Social Purpose Institute.
Coro has a tri-sector background in business, government and non-profit leadership working in social, environmental, and financial roles. She has 25 years of experience as a Corporate Director and six years of industry association experience. Coro was a director of Vancity Credit Union - three as Board Chair - where during the 1990s she helped position the credit union as an international leader in sustainable banking. She is a Director of BC Lottery Corporation, a provincial crown corporation that has a social purpose as the reason it exists. She is a faculty member for Governance Professionals of Canada and Director’s College, training governance professionals and directors on purpose and sustainability governance oversight respectively. She is a member of the Canadian Standards Association’s sustainability advisory committee and a member of the Canadian Office of the Auditor General’s Commissioner of Environment and Sustainability’s advisory committee.
Coro specializes in helping organizations become leaders in transformational sustainability. This includes advising on social purpose, sustainability and ESG leadership and innovation strategies, social purpose business models and social purpose and sustainability governance, management, implementation, and integration. She works with industry associations to help their members and sector become purpose-driven and sustainable. Coro supports governments to harness the power of business to advance sustainability solutions. She is an expert in integrating social purpose and sustainability in finance, human resources, risk management and procurement.
She publishes her thought leadership at www.corostrandberg.com. Coro was named the top sustainability consultant by the 2015 Clean50 for her leadership and impact in sustainability consulting in Canada.
Coro works with organizations that aspire to accelerate, lead, and transform to a sustainable world.
Sessions
Alyssa Barry
Principal & Co-Founder of irlabs
Alyssa is a Principal and Co-Founder at irlabs. She has over 15-years of investor relations, capital markets and corporate communications experience. An activist by nature, she has raised over $1 billion of capital, led some of Canada’s most successful activism campaigns, managed M&A transactions and enhanced board governance frameworks. She was formerly Head of Strategy – Operations and Communications at Artis REIT, Vice-President of Capital Markets and Communications at Sandpiper Group and Manager, Investor Relations at Amica Mature Lifestyles Inc. She is known for her agility, creative prose and relentless pursuit of success for her clients.
Sessions
Tuesday Oct. 29 - 04:45pm - 05:30pm (45 min)
Main Schedule
Natascha Kiernan
Vice-Chair/Founder & Principal/Independent Director of InBC Investment Corp./ BC Energy Regulator/ Bellevue Strategic Advisory/ Green Impact Partners
Natascha Kiernan, J.D.; ICD.D, is a corporate director, lawyer, and strategic advisor. She received her J.D. from Columbia University and has held senior positions with several prominent international law firms. Ms. Kiernan has 20 years experience advising governments, financial institutions, and corporations on complex, multibillion dollar M&A and finance transactions and was previously selected as a "Top 40 Under 40" rising legal star by the UK's Financial News. Ms. Kiernan serves as Vice Chair of the BC Energy Regulator and as an independent director of InBC Investment Corp and several public companies. Ms Kiernan is a frequent panel speaker and ‹ presenter on Popics including M&A, corporate governance, and the energy transition.
Sessions
Tuesday Oct. 29 - 04:45pm - 05:30pm (45 min)
Main Schedule
