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May
16 (EDT)
Toronto
Alexandra Kindbom
Chief Client Officer at Marsh Canada Limited
Alexandra is a leading advisor on risk and insurance to companies and senior executives across Canada and is a nationally-recognized expert in the field of director and officer liability, risk and insurance.
Sessions
Julia McGillis
Managing Director of Marsh McLennan UK & Canada
Julia McGillis is Marsh McLennan’s Managing Director for the UK and Canada, leading efforts across four businesses (Marsh, Mercer, Guy Carpenter and Oliver Wyman) to address our client’s most pressing issues across risk, strategy and people.
With more than 20 years of experience in the professional and financial services sectors, Julia formerly led the digital and data practice of Spencer Stuart before returning to Marsh McLennan in 2021. Prior to this, Julia was the Global Head of Industries for Marsh & McLennan Companies.
Julia’s leadership has spanned solution innovation, business
development, and client relationship management across multiple global clients. Julia's early career was spent at Oliver Wyman, where she led corporate strategy assignments across industry sectors.
Julia earned her MBA from Harvard Business School and her Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University.
Sessions
Mary is a Partner in MNP Consulting and leads the Firm’s National Organizational Renewal Practice. Having played global strategic leadership roles as a senior executive for leading international companies and as a partner in top-tier consulting firms, Mary has built a broad set of skills around strategy, sustainability and organizational culture.
Mary serves as a trusted advisor to CEOs and senior executives in the US, Canada and Europe on strategy, culture, governance, and leadership, and has led culture and organization transformation initiatives in multi-billion-dollar companies and crown corporations.
She has held senior executive positions with McDonald’s Corporation in the U.S. and Alcan in Canada. She started her career with the Boston Consulting Group in the U.S. and worked in Canada for McKinsey and Co., Oliver Wyman, and A.T. Kearney.
Her commitment to sustainability over two decades has led to a national leadership role in ESG (Environment, Social and Governance). She currently serves on the Advisory Board for Stanford University’s Clayman Institute for Gender Research and is the Chair of the Advisory Board of McGill University’s School of Continuing Studies.
She earned an AB from Princeton University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Sessions
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.
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Sharon Castelino
Corporate Director, President at Key Homeownership Inc., Executive-in-Residence at Women Get On Board
A trusted and award-winning leader, advisor and mentor, Sharon Castelino has an exemplary track record as a Financial Services Executive and Corporate Director developed over the last 25+ years. From a start-up fintech that went public in 2017 to senior executive roles at Tier 1 banks, Sharon’s accountability has included billion-dollar P&Ls, complex strategies and stakeholders, and multi-disciplinary teams across global jurisdictions.
Often described as a trailblazer, Sharon has been the first or only woman on leadership teams and at boardroom tables. She is President of Key Homeownership Inc. – the largest public-private initiative tackling housing attainability – and serves as a Director at two private companies and Executive-in-Residence at Women Get on Board.
A lifelong learner and dynamic speaker, Sharon has delivered numerous keynotes on various topics, including leadership, risk, governance, the Canadian economy and the housing sector.
Sharon completed her Master of Law from Osgoode Hall Law School and her Master of Business Administration with Distinction, earning the prestigious Ivey Scholar from the Richard Ivey School of Business, Western University. She identifies as BIPOC and resides in Toronto with her husband and three sons.
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Lori-Ann Beausoleil
Board Director & Strategic Business Advisor of Wildeboer Dellelce LLP
As a retired partner from PwC Canada, she brings over 36 years of governance, finance, risk, audit, compliance and ethics experience to the Board Diversity Network Inc., a company that she co-owns. Board Diversity Network is an organization that helps diverse executives become sought after board members through a board readiness education program and network.
Lori-Ann is also a Board Director in both Canada and the US and currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Apartment Properties REIT, Brookfield Real Estate Income Trust Inc., Metro Inc., and Slate Office REIT. She is also a Director and Chair of the Financial Advisory Committee for the NEO Exchange.
Her governance expertise was recently recognized by Directors & Boards where she was one of the top 20 “Directors to Watch in 2022.”
Lori-Ann is a strategic advisor at Wildeboer Dellelce LLP, a member of the Dean’s Council at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University and is the Chair of the Accounting Program at George Brown College. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants (FCPA) of Ontario. She received this designation in recognition of her exceptional service to the accounting profession and community.
Sessions
Cathy Logue
Managing Director & Global Practice Leader of Stanton Chase
Cathy is a founding Managing Director of the Toronto office of Stanton Chase, a Top 10 global retained executive search firm with over 70 offices worldwide. With over 30 years of varied business experience, Cathy leverages her finance and governance expertise as Global Leader of the Stanton Chase CFO Practice, specializing in Financial Executives and Board appointments across North America.
A trusted partner to many long-standing clients, Cathy advises companies ranging from start-ups to publicly traded global corporations across all industry sectors, helping them attract top talent and build diverse and inclusive executive leadership teams and boards that will drive growth and transformational change.
As a passionate advocate for diversity, Cathy is an engaged mentor and sponsor of high-potential women leaders, supporting women professionals as they develop their careers and prepare for leadership roles and board service. She is a frequent speaker and panelist on the intersect of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), human capital and governance.
Prior to her career in executive search, Cathy started her career with Ernst & Young, followed by finance roles within the real estate, retail, and healthcare sectors. She was awarded the CPA Fellow designation in 2017, and in 2021, was honored to be recognized as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) for her efforts in advancing women in leadership.
Cathy’s board roles include the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC), as Treasurer as well as Chair of the Nominating & Governance Committee (Americas), and previously as Vice Chair, Finance for Stanton Chase.
Sessions
Connie Carras, CPA, CA, GCB.D, CCB.D
Board Chair, Director, Retired PwC Partner, Founder & CEO of CEC Enterprises Consulting
Connie E. Carras, CPA, CA, GCB.D, CCB.D, is an Independent Board Chair and Director, Entrepreneur, and Innovator. She is a trusted, purpose driven Leader who focuses on shaping and leading “Innovation for Good”.
Connie chairs the EnerQuality Corporation Board, serves as Director and Risk Committee Chair on the Canlan Sports Inc. (TSX:ICE) Board, serves as finance expert on the ZenniHome Holdings Inc. (US) Board. She is the Founder & CEO of CEC Enterprises Consulting, providing strategic innovation and start up advisory in Canada and the US and she is the former partner and Canadian national leader for PwC and IBM’s Institutional Investor consulting practices.
Experienced working across Canada, the US, and the UK in Real Estate, Banking, Insurance, and Institutional Investment and leading strategic change using the levers of technology and ESG, Connie is known for bringing together ideas, partnerships, and capital that strategically accelerate industry innovation and its impact.
Passionate about climate and the environment, the future of housing and DE&I at the governance level, she speaks regularly and consults on how businesses can better address ESG, AI, and transformative technologies in their strategy and governance agendas—especially to see beyond compliance and risk management and to target opportunity.
Sessions
Sandra Porteous
Senior Manager and Leader, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Practice at MNP
Sandra Porteous, B.Ed, M.Ed is a Sr Manager, Consulting Services with MNP’s Consulting Group in Toronto. Sandra has created multi-year Diversity, Equity and Inclusion & Accessibility Strategies for Crown Corporations, Federal and Provincial Government Agencies.
Her lifelong passion for equity work started as a journalist in male dominated news organizations and most recently saw her becoming the first Director of Inclusion and Engagement for both CBC and the Ontario transit agency – Metrolinx.
Sandra has worked on a long list of Culture Change projects including the merger of Radio News with TV News in 10 key CBC Stations. She was a member of the CBC’s Joint Union - Management Employment Equity Committee working on the Code of Conduct and Respect in the Workplace training.
She has conducted Focus Groups with members of Equity Deserving groups that led to key actions and substantive changes to policies and processes – including unbiased hiring practices, meeting culture and demographics with a Cultural Census implementation plan, KPIs for Diversity and Inclusion and Employee Resource Groups.
Sandra has experience with Affirmative Inquiry, Growth Mindset (vs Fixed Mindset) training, identification of DEI Goals and Metrics and in designing training around Bias, How to Be an Ally, Microaggressions, Building an Anti-Racist organization and Sponsorship of Equity Seeking groups.
She has worked with a variety of teams to ensure they are culturally competent and has created several internal Leadership Programs including the Developing Diverse Employees Leadership program to fast track current employees into Leadership roles.
She is passionate about the work of creating a thriving, inclusive community by fostering a customized approach to the work of equity, diversity and inclusion where all employees and members experience the powerful sense of belonging.
Sessions
Tracy Primeau, ICD.D
Board Member & Founder and Principal of Agile Bear
Tracy is one of the few women to become a CNSC licensed operator at Bruce Power and was the first to do so at Bruce A. She is the only woman to ever work her way up to Shift Manager from the shop floor where she started as a nuclear operator in training in 1990. She worked shift for most of her career and before retiring last year led multiple teams in operations and maintenance. She is a current member of the Women in Nuclear Canada Board, the United College Board of Governors and the Ontario Power Generation Board.
Raising her two boys with her husband Dave, Tracy has always been active in her community. She has years of volunteer and board experience both in the energy industry and in various other organizations.
She is a proud member of the Nipissing First Nation and strives to use the Seven Grandfather Teachings in her leadership.
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Erik Sloane
Chief Revenue Officer at NEO Exchange
Erik is the Chief Revenue Officer at NEO, responsible for driving growth by working closely with capital-raising companies, asset managers, sell-side firms, buy-side firms and other industry stakeholders. With NEO since inception, Erik helped define and implement the foundational NEO stock exchange and fund distribution platforms and has held several senior roles including Head of Funds & Trading and Head of Product Management. Erik also chaired several industry advisory groups instrumental in guiding NEO’s approach to meeting the needs of an evolving industry and currently sits on the Canadian ETF Association (CETFA) Operations Committee.
Prior to joining NEO, Erik was with the Alpha Exchange where he led product management, after helping to oversee the delivery of the exchange’s core technology platform. Erik started his career at a global business and technology consultancy firm. Erik holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Economics from Queen’s University.
Sessions
Kim Stangeby
Partner and Head of Strategy Consulting at Odgers Berndtson
Kim Stangeby has spent twenty years as an applied strategist in C-suite and advisory roles. Her area of specialization is strategic transformation and change, with a focus on board effectiveness and CEO-board strategic engagement. As Partner and Head of Strategy Consulting, she helps clients implement high-impact organization transformation solutions, including Board advisory, strategic development and planning, and talent strategy.
A decade at McKinsey equipped Kim with a set of robust strategy tools, which she has honed through application across diverse real-world contexts. Her most recent in-house role was as the Chief Strategy Officer and interim Chief Human Resources Officer at the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, and she currently serves as the Chair of Governance and Human Resources for several boards of a top Canadian private equity firm.
Kim holds a PhD in Biomechanical Engineering and an Honours Bachelors of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering, both from the University of Toronto. She speaks regularly at events and writes articles under the banner “Strategic Decluttering”, to improve the strategic dialogue between CEOs and boards.
