ICD National Director Conference 2022

Dominic Barton

Dominic recently completed his role as the Ambassador of Canada to the People’s Republic of the China. He was appointed by the Right Honourable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2019 until 2021.

Dominic was a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company and served as Global Managing Partner from 2009 to 2018.

He served as Chairman of Teck Resources and as Non-Executive Director at the Singtel Group (Singapore) and Investor AB (Sweden). He was also an Advisory  Board Member of the Olayan Group, a private family-owned company. He is also the Chancellor of the University of Waterloo, was the Chair of Standard Chartered Bank’s International Advisory Council, was the Chair of the Canadian Minister of Finance’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth and was Chair of the Seoul International Business Advisory Council for the past six years.

He was a Senior Trustee of the Brookings Institution, a member of the Singapore Economic Development Board’s International Advisory Council, and a member of the boards of Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York City and the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. 

He is one of the founders of FCLT Global (Focusing Capital on the Long Term), has co-authored four books, including Talent Wins, published in 2018 and is also an Adjunct Professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing. He is the recipient of 8 honorary doctorates from the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia and the University of Edinburgh, among others.

He graduated from the University of British Columbia with a BA Honours in economics and has a M.Phil in Economics from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.

Linda A. Hill

Ph.D.

Linda Hill is regarded as one of the top experts on leadership. She was named by Thinkers50 as one of the top ten management thinkers in the world in 2013 and 2021 and received the Thinkers50 Innovation Award in 2015.

Linda’s Hill’s research and consulting focuses on leadership development, leading change and innovation, and implementing global strategies. In 2014, she co-founded Paradox Strategies—an advisory and research firm that advises organizations and boards on leadership, innovation, and diversity and inclusion.

Linda has written award-winning articles and books, including Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives of Becoming a Great Leader and Collective Genius: The Art and Practice of Leading Innovation, and been at the forefront of developing innovative multimedia development programs for managers. She has served on numerous public, private and not-for-profit boards. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Relay Therapeutics, a member of the Team8, Fintech Strategic Committee, and on the Board of Trustees of the ArtCenter College of Design and Brigham Health.

David Frum

Whether it is the latest foreign policy debate or the inner workings of the White House, David Frum offers refreshing and clear insights of complicated issues of the day. He is currently a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of multiple New York Times Bestsellers.  David also appears often on MSNBC, BBC, CBC, and CNN. 

As a speaker, David has the rare ability to engage audiences at a deeper level: that of their belief systems. Even if you do not agree with his views, David’s encyclopedic knowledge of hot topic issues is unmatched.

Audiences appreciate his thought-provoking style and ability to boil complex subjects into digestible bites. David’s deeply researched and thoughtful talks are also laugh-out-loud funny. In his quest for the truth, David has been a long-time advocate for shaking up the polarized U.S. political system. He provides fascinating insight into what political outcomes mean for specific audiences around the world in addressing geo-political issues or global and international affairs.

With a line of sight to both Ottawa and Washington, Frum’s attention in 2022 has been on topics such as The Food War, No Time for Protectionism, Disturbances in the Global Energy Market, the impact of Financial and Economic Sanctions especially during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  Frum notes: The outlook is for shocks and disturbances in the global energy market. United States has become the world’s largest producer of both oil and natural gas. And though ethanol may have some small environmental advantages over gasoline, those arguable benefits are nullified by ethanol’s terrible toll on world food output. Food for people and energy for machines need to be joined together in a broad strategy that enhances national and climate security.

His most recent book, TRUMPOCALYPSE: Restoring American Democracy looks at the causes of America’s tragic national fragmentation and lays out a plan to restore democracy —and renew American leadership abroad.

David Frum has been active in Republican politics since the first Reagan campaign of 1980. From 2014 through 2017, Frum served as chairman of the board of trustees of the leading UK center-right think tank, Policy Exchange. In 2001-2002, he served as speechwriter and special assistant to President George W. Bush.

David holds a BA and MA in History from Yale and a Law degree from Harvard, where he served as President of the Federalist Society. He and his wife Danielle Crittenden Frum live in Washington DC and Wellington, Ontario. They have three adult children.

Maryse Bertrand

Ad. E., MSc (RM)

Ms. Bertrand is an advisor in corporate governance and risk management and a corporate director. She is a member of a number of public and private company boards including the Board of Directors of National Bank of Canada, PSP Investments, Metro Inc. and Gildan Activewear Inc. She is also the Past Chair of the board of directors of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD)(Quebec Chapter) and Vice-Chair of the Board of Governors of McGill University. From 2016 to 2017, she was Strategic Advisor and Counsel at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and, prior to that she was Vice-President, Real Estate Services, Legal Services and General Counsel at CBC/Radio-Canada, where she also chaired the National Crisis Management Committee and the board of directors of ARTV, a specialty channel. Until 2009, she was a partner of Davies Ward Philips & Vineberg LLP, where she specialized in mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance, and served on the firm’s National Management Committee. She was named as Advocatus emeritus (Ad. E.) in 2007 by the Québec Bar in recognition for her exceptional contribution to the legal profession. Ms. Bertrand holds a Law degree (B.C.L.) with high distinction from McGill University and a Master’s degree in Risk Management from New York University (Stern School of Business).
 

Charles Brindamour

 Charles Brindamour is Chief Executive Officer of Intact Financial Corporation. IFC is the largest provider of property and casualty insurance in Canada, a leading provider of global specialty insurance, and, with RSA, a leader in the UK and Ireland. 

Mr. Brindamour began his career with IFC in 1992, and was appointed President and CEO in 2008. Under his leadership, IFC became an independent and widely-held Canadian company in 2009. In 2011 IFC acquired AXA Canada, and in 2017, Mr. Brindamour grew the company’s presence further into the United States with the acquisition of OneBeacon Insurance Group, Ltd. In 2021, Mr. Brindamour successfully completed the acquisition of RSA Insurance plc, growing premiums from CAD $12 to $20 billion. 

Mr. Brindamour holds an honorary PhD from HEC Montréal. He is a board member of Intact Financial Corporation, the Geneva Association, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, and the Business Council of Canada.

Dawn Farrell

Dawn Farrell was appointed Chancellor of Mount Royal University in July 2020 and was formally installed during convocation in November 2020. An accomplished leader with more than 35 years of experience in the electricity industry, Mrs. Farrell was the President and Chief Executive Officer of TransAlta Corporation from January 2012 until her retirement in March 2021.

Mrs. Farrell is currently the chair of the board for The Chemours Company, a member of the board of Canadian Natural Resources Limited, and Portland General Electric. She is also a member of the Trilateral Commission, a non-governmental, policy-oriented international forum, as well as Community Champion for Momentum. Her past board involvement includes the Business Council of Canada, Alberta Business Council, Calgary Stampede, Conference Board of Canada, Mount Royal College/University Board of Governors and Foundation Board of Directors, Fording Coal Income Fund, New Relationship Trust Fund, and Vision Quest Windelectric. She also co-chaired the Calgary United Way Campaign in 2013.

Mrs. Farrell holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) and Master of Arts (Economics) from the University of Calgary. She also attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University. In 2019, she received an honorary doctorate of law from Mount Royal University.

Maria Ghazal

Maria Ghazal is Senior Vice President & Counsel for Business Roundtable, where she plays a leadership role in the public policy work of the organization and directs membership outreach, recruitment, and retention. In addition, she oversees policy development and advocacy for the Business Roundtable Corporate Governance Committee including the work of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Working Group.  

Ghazal serves as the chief advocate on corporate governance issues before Congress and federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission. Most recently, the Corporate Governance Committee led the Roundtable’s work on a new Purpose of a Corporation statement which sparked a worldwide dialogue on the role of corporations in society.   Ghazal earned a law degree from American University, master’s degree from Georgetown University and bachelor’s degree from Bates College. In addition, Maria serves on the Inova Fair Oaks Hospital Quality Board and Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s Advisory Board.
 
Maria Ghazal is Senior Vice President & Counsel for Business Roundtable, where she plays a leadership role in public policy work and directs membership outreach, recruitment, and retention. She oversees policy development and advocacy for the Corporate Governance Committee that led the work on the Purpose of a Corporation statement.  

Jennifer Grancio

Jennifer is known for scaling businesses across asset management and financial services that have a positive impact for investors.  She is now CEO at Engine No. 1.  Engine No. 1 is an impact investing group purpose-built to create long-term value by driving positive impact.  Engine No. 1 believes companies that provide a positive net benefit to society achieve value over time.
 
Before Engine No. 1, Jennifer founded an advisory firm where she worked closely with CEOs to accelerate business growth. She previously served as a founding member of BlackRock’s iShares business, where she led European, US and global distribution and drove the growth of both the global ETF industry and iShares’ leadership role. During her tenure at BlackRock, she also led teams across wealth, personal investing, technology and related venture investing. She started her career as a consultant at PwC.

Amanda Lang

Award-winning business journalist Amanda Lang has been covering business in North America for 25 years. Lang is the host of Taking Stock, a weekly national television program airing across multiple Bell Media networks including BNN Bloomberg, CP24 and CTV News Channel. Taking Stock also airs as a weekly podcast and on the iHeart radio network. She was previously host of Bloomberg Markets, a global program airing in Canada on BNN Bloomberg and on the Bloomberg Television network globally. Prior to that, Lang was CBC’s senior business correspondent, reporting for its flagship nightly news program, The National, and host of The Exchange with Amanda Lang, a daily business program airing on CBC News Network. For five years before that Lang hosted The Lang and O’Leary Exchange, with Kevin O’Leary. And prior to that the pair co-hosted SqueezePlay, on BNN, for 6 years.

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

Thomas Watson

Thomas Watson is a journalist who currently serves as a Financial Post Magazine columnist and editor of Ivey Business Journal, one of Canada’s oldest business publications. He also promotes best practices in management and governance by developing custom case studies and executive development programs. As a case author, Watson focuses on critical leadership issues such as whether the marketplace should support a recent call by management guru Tom Peters to cancel the legendary culture at McKinsey & Co. over its controversial role as an advisor to opioid manufacturers. As a lecturer, he shares his experience as a venture capital executive who risked his reputation to expose an international stock manipulation scheme aimed at Canada’s Open Text in 1999. A published account of this experience led to an award-winning investigative reporting career at Canadian Business magazine. Highlights include: “Shell Games,” an exposé of criminal boiler rooms that financed the Canadian expansion of Ben & Jerry’s during the 2008 financial crisis; “ABCP: Hunter and the Hunted,” a profile of the retail market rebellion sparked by Bay Street’s unethical marketing of high-risk asset-backed commercial paper; “The Trials and Tribulations of Brian Hunter,” an inside account of the 2006 implosion of the Amaranth Advisers hedge fund; and “An Apology for Eleanor Clitheroe,” an exclusive profile of the sexism and hypocrisy that derailed Hydro One’s attempt to go public with a female CEO in 2002.

Kim Baird

ICD.D

Kim Baird is an accomplished leader advising Indigenous communities, governments, businesses and other organizations on Indigenous matters. She is the Chancellor for Kwantlen Polytechnic University and is the owner of Kim Baird Strategic Consulting. Her continued goal is to improve the quality of life for Indigenous people through her services in relation to First Nation policy, governance, and economic development; as well as First Nation consultation, communication, and engagement issues. Kim also helps with reconciliation planning for companies and organizations. Kim is recognized for her communication, negotiation, and facilitation skills, and has extensive public speaking experience. She is on several boards including Recipes Unlimited, Canada Infrastructure Bank, Vancouver Board of Trade, and Canada Public Policy Forum. Kim is a member of both the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada and holds an Institute of Corporate Director’s designation.

Alicia Dubois

ICD.D

Alicia is a proud Indigenous professional who earned a B.Sc., with Distinction from the University of Lethbridge and a Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto and is currently enrolled in the ICD.D and CFA Institute’s ESG Investing certification courses.   In 2021, Alicia launched Nish Synergies Advisory Group to advance Indigenous prosperity and Canada’s economic success through active Indigenous engagement in the economy and meaningful business partnerships.  Prior to Nish Synergies, Alicia held high-impact leadership roles including CEO of Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation and VP, Indigenous Markets at CIBC.  Alicia is co-Chair of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and director of Green Impact Partners, Inc..   In 2019, Alicia was honoured with the National Aboriginal Trust Officers Association’s inaugural Award of Distinction for her commitment to Indigenous self-determination. Prior to her career in Indigenous business and finance, Alicia practiced law at Alberta Justice, ENMAX Corp and Native Child and Family Services of Toronto.

Maureen Jensen

ICD.D

Maureen Jensen was the Chair and CEO of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) from 2016-2020 and prior to this was Executive Director and Chief Administrative Officer from 2011 – 2016.

Before joining the OSC, Ms. Jensen was SVP, Surveillance and Compliance at the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC 2008-2011) and President and CEO and VP regulation Eastern Region(2002-2007) for Market Regulation Services Inc., the independent market regulator for all Canadian equity markets.

Prior to her work as a regulator, Ms. Jensen held senior positions at the Toronto Stock Exchange and had an earlier 20-year career in the mining exploration industry. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Board of the Toronto Centre, a director of Franco Nevada Corporation, a director of OBSI, a public governor of FINRA and is Chair of The Prosperity Project.
 
Ms. Jensen has a BSc. Geology, is a Registered Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo), holds an ICD.D and a Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa).

Hon. Vim Kochhar

From January 29, 2010 to September 21, 2011, Vim Kochhar served in the Senate of Canada, where he was a member of the Committees on Banking, Trade and Commerce and Human Rights. He was an inaugural Trustee, Chair of the Content Committee, and team member helping to raise 167 million dollars for Winnipeg’s Canadian Museum for Human Rights which opened in 2014.
 
In retirement, he continues his life’s work of removing barriers, empowering and helping disabled adults to achieve equality as the full-time volunteer Chair & CEO of the Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons, an organization he founded and directs with the aid of a board. In the last 38 years, Vim has raised over $35 million to assist those with disabilities while working tirelessly to increase public awareness about the achievements and capabilities of physically disabled Canadians. He was an early pioneer and driving force behind the growth of the Canadian Paralympics. His ground-breaking work in Canada on behalf of people who are deaf-blind includes advocacy, funding and development of the Rotary-Cheshire/Canadian Helen Keller Centre, the first residence of its kind in Canada equipped for independent, barrier free living for deaf-blind adults.
 
The Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons mounts annual fundraisers that include the Great Valentine Gala and the Rolling Rampage on Parliament Hill for elite wheelchair athletes. Other CFPDP initiatives include the Terry Fox Hall of Fame, Canadian Disability Hall of Fame and the 1996 cross-Canada WhyNot Marathon for the Paralympics.
 
Vim’s work for disabled adults is solely on a non-paid, volunteer basis as his way of returning something to Canada, the country that gave him the opportunity to succeed. Born in India and educated in the United States, Vim graduated in engineering from the University of Texas and became a successful businessman and entrepreneur building structures around the world for Intercontinental Hotels. He immigrated to Canada in 1967 and became a Canadian citizen in 1974. For Bechtel, he project managed the construction of medical science buildings at the University of Toronto and at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He was also responsible for moving the historic 300-tonne Campbell House on a trolley at 500 feet per hour through Toronto streets to its
present location at Queen and University.
 
In 1972 he launched a business manufacturing custom-made furniture and selling it through his own chain of Early Canadian Furniture stores, which developed into a multimillion-dollar enterprise.
 
In addition to his work for disabled adults, Vim has long been involved with Scouts Canada, serving in various capacities and as President from 1992-1994, and with Rotary Club of Canada and Variety Village. He continues to contribute to the Senate as a director of the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians and the CAFP Educational Foundation.
 
Among his distinctions, Vim was chosen by India Abroad as one of the 30 most influential Canadians of Indian origin. CARP has listed him as one of the top 25 Canadians over 45 who have contributed to the quality of life for others and made a difference in Canada. He has been awarded the Order of Ontario; Honourary Doctor of Laws degree from York University; Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship; The Gardiner Award for Citizen of the Year, Metropolitan Toronto; the Order of Honour, Association of Professional Engineers; the Queen’s Jubilee Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame.

Helena Morrissey

DBE

Helena has worked in financial services for over three decades. She was CEO of Newton Investment Management for 15 years and is now Chair at FTSE250 firm AJ Bell, whose purpose is to help people invest. Helena is lead non-executive director at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, a trustee of the Lady Garden Foundation (a gynaecological cancer charity) and a Fellow (Governor) at Eton College.
 
Helena is well known for her work on inclusion and diversity. In 2010, she founded the 30% Club, a campaign for better gender-balanced boards. Since then, the representation of women on FTSE350 boards has risen from less than 10% to 35%.  There are now twenty 30% Clubs throughout the world. Helena chairs the Diversity Project, aimed at improving diversity across all dimensions in the investment industry.
 
Helena entered the House of Lords in September 2020 and was appointed a Dame in 2017 for her work on improving diversity in financial services. She was named one of the 25 most influential City figures over the past quarter of a century by Financial News (2022).
 
Helena has written two books: A Good Time to be a Girl (William Collins, 2018) and Style and Substance, a guide for women who want to win at work (Little, Brown Books, 2021). She is married with nine children.

Poonam Puri

LSM, ICD.D

Poonam Puri is a tenured full professor of business law and former Associate Dean at Osgoode Hall Law School. She is an experienced corporate director, a practising corporate/securities lawyer, and one of Canada’s most respected experts in corporate governance, business strategy and ESG.

Poonam serves on public and private company boards in a broad range of industries spanning real estate, infrastructure, engineering, mining and fintech.  She currently serves as a director of Colliers, CAPREIT, Propel Holdings and the Canada Infrastructure Bank. Poonam is a former Ontario Securities Commission commissioner and a former director of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, Arizona Mining and Cole Engineering. She is also former director of Women’s College Hospital and currently serves as Vice-Chair of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto.   

In 2021, Poonam was awarded the Law Society Medal, the David Walter Mundell Medal and the Royal Society of Canada’s Yvan Allaire Medal for excellence in contributions to the governance of public and private organizations in Canada. Poonam has been previously recognized as one of Canada’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers, one of Canada's 100 Most Powerful Women and one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40 leaders. Poonam is a graduate of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law (LL.B., 1995, Silver Medalist) and Harvard Law School (LL.M., 1997).

Turid Elisabeth Solvang

Turid Elisabeth Solvang is an international corporate governance expert, and a seasoned speaker and writer on corporate governance issues, including women on boards. She has held non-executive directorships in the financial and service sectors and membership organizations. In 2016, Ms Solvang founded FutureBoards AS, a project-driven company and a global network of experts and practitioners committed to building better boards that support sustainable value creation. She is co-founder and former CEO of the Norwegian Institute of Directors. She has held the position as chair of the European Confederation of Directors’ Associations, representing ecoDa on the board of the Global Network of Director Institutes.  Ms. Solvang is co-founder and former vice-chair of European Women on Boards and she is currently a member of the EWOB Advisory Board, as well as member of the Expert Advisory Board of Boards Impact Forum. In 2021 she co-founded Women in Finance Charter in Norway.
 Turid Elisabeth Solvang is founder and CEO of FutureBoards, and a global corporate governance expert. She is former Chair of European Confederation of Directors Associations, co-founder of European Women on Boards, member of Board Impact Forum’s Expert Advisory Board , and co-founder and former CEO of Norwegian Institute of Directors.

Sean Willy

After a 20-year career in the resource industry with an extensive history in executive leadership, community development, corporate responsibility and human resources, Sean Willy was appointed President & Chief Executive Officer of Des Nedhe Group in August 2017.

With roots in the Denesuline and Metis communities, Sean, a member of the North Slave Metis Alliance, brings an understanding of the expectations and needs of Indigenous people. Growing up in a mining household, he experienced life in communities across the Canadian Shield – from the Northwest Territories to Nunavut to Alberta to Saskatchewan.

In his career Sean has developed and implemented some of the most innovative Indigenous Inclusion and value added CSR strategies for companies such as Rio Tinto and Cameco Corporation.  He has always strived to ensure Indigenous peoples are seen as a full partner in long-term relationships.   This led to Sean building partnerships in Australia, the United States, and throughout Canada.

Sean is a board member for TELUS Corporation, and the Ronald McDonald House Charities Saskatchewan. 

He also currently sits as a member of the Canadian government’s Indigenous Innovation Housing Committee.  Sean has served as past co-chair of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.  

Sean has two children and lives with his wife Melissa in Saskatoon.

Emmanuel Faber

Emmanuel Faber was in December 2021 appointed as Chair of the newly created International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) within the IFRS Foundation’s governance structure. He is well-known for his passion for sustainability and as the former CEO and Chair of the Board of Danone, a company he worked for from 1997 to 2021. He has lived and held senior leadership positions in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe, and he has founded and chaired several international organisations and initiatives, including the One Planet Business for Biodiversity coalition and the G7 Business for Inclusive Growth coalition―co-chaired with the OECD Secretary General. In October 2021, he became a partner at Astanor Ventures. Before he joined Danone, Mr Faber held roles as Chief Financial Officer and later Managing Director at Legris Industries. He also has experience from investment banking at Baring Brothers and as a consultant at Bain & Company.   

Emmanuel Faber was in December 2021 appointed as Chair of the newly created International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) within the IFRS Foundation’s governance structure. He is well-known for his passion for sustainability and as the former CEO and Chair of the Board of Danone, a company he worked for from 1997 to 2021. 

Sarah Keyes

CPA, CA

Sarah leads ESG Global Advisors and she is a climate change expert. She has over a decade of work experience as a thought leader, consultant, and auditor. Sarah conducts climate change materiality assessments, conducts climate change scenario analysis, and works with her clients to set ambitious and achievable climate change goals and targets and develops implementation roadmaps. She regularly presents to boards of directors on climate change and ESG factors and implications for corporate governance and oversight, and the link with financial and operational performance and long-term value.

Prior to joining ESG Global Advisors, Sarah was a Principal at CPA Canada where she produced research, thought leadership and guidance for companies to integrate climate change considerations into business strategy, risk management, governance, and reporting. Prior to CPA Canada, Sarah held senior roles at PwC and MNP working with the energy and mining sectors.

She is a member of the Institute for Corporate Directors Climate Strategy Advisory Board for the Canadian Chapter of the WEF Climate Governance Initiative. Sarah sits on the Board of Directors of Leading Change and Sustainable Buildings Canada. She has a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University, ISO 14064-3 Certification for Greenhouse Gas Verifications, and received the 2018 Emerging Leader Award from CPA Ontario.

Dr. Dan Wicklum

Dan has 25 years of experience managing research, driving innovation, and fostering collaboration in and among industry, government, academia and civil society. He is currently CEO of the Transition Accelerator, has been CEO of Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance, and Executive Director of the Canadian Forest Innovation Council, as well as a senior manager at Environment and Climate Change Canada and Natural Resources Canada. He was a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Montana, has a PhD in Aquatic Ecology from the University of Montana, an M.Sc. in Toxicology from the University of Calgary, and a BSc. in Ecology from the University of Guelph. He is currently co-chair of Canada’s Net-zero Advisory Body.  His initial career was football as a linebacker for the Calgary Stampeders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Andrew Winston

Andrew Winston is a globally-recognized expert on megatrends and how to build companies that thrive by serving the world. Named to Thinkers50 list of the top management thinkers in the world, his views on strategy have been sought after by leading companies, including 3M, DuPont, J&J, Kimberly-Clark, Marriott, PepsiCo, and Unilever. Andrew is the author of the bestsellers Green to Gold and The Big Pivot. His latest book, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More than They Take (co-authored with renowned CEO Paul Polman), is one of Financial Times’ Best Business Books of the Year. Net Positive has been called an “electrifying strategy for business success and unlike any other book you’ve read” by Merck Chairman Ken Frazier, a “wonderful rallying call” by Sir Richard Branson, and “pure heresy” by Arianna Huffington. Andrew is also a respected and dynamic speaker, reaching audiences of thousands at executive meetings around the planet. He received degrees in economics, business, and environmental management from Princeton, Columbia, and Yale.  

Rahul K. Bhardwaj

LLB, ICD.D

As President and CEO of the Institute of Corporate Directors, Rahul Bhardwaj leads a Canadian not-for-profit association of more than 16,000 members committed to improving national outcomes by growing the board leadership and governance capacities within Canadian businesses, agencies and not-for-profits. 

Mr. Bhardwaj currently serves on the boards of Waterfront Toronto, the Institute of Corporate Directors, the Canadian Foundation for Governance Research as well as the Leader Council at the Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership at Ivey Business School. He is also Chair, Global Network of Director Institutes and Director Emeritus at the Rideau Hall Foundation.

His corporate governance vision has made Mr. Bhardwaj a sought-after presenter, speaker and media commentator, in Canada and across the globe.