2016 Speakers
The Honourable Christy Clark, Premier, Province of B.C.
Christy Clark was sworn in for her second term as British Columbia’s 35th Premier on June 10, 2013 and has become Canada’s longest serving female Premier.
Her plan starts by controlling spending today. Her proven commitment has led B.C. back to an era of balanced budgets.
Her plan also includes working to continue growing BC’s diverse economy and markets, fighting for economic development in every corner of our province, expanding international trade, and strengthening skills training to continue putting British Columbians first.
Dr. Miklós Dietz
Managing Partner, McKinsey & Company (Vancouver)
Dr. Miklós Dietz is the Managing Partner of McKinsey & Company’s Vancouver office and leads the company`s Global Banking Strategy and Corporate Finance group. A recognized expert in banking strategy, corporate finance, marketing, sales, and digital transformation, since joining the company in 2001, he had led more than 300 projects in 40 countries.
As one of the leaders of McKinsey’s work on digital innovation in banking, Dr. Dietz also leads Panorama, a McKinsey Solution Centre that generates insights on the best strategic and investment opportunities in global banking markets.
Dr. Dietz’s experience includes:
- designing the retail strategy of banks, insurers and telecoms in Europe, Asia and Middle East;
- developing the long-term digital strategy, new technology infrastructure and national e-commerce platform for the financial and retail sectors of an Asian country; and,
- helping major global companies develop innovation strategies and roll out pragmatic, high-impact projects and revolutionary, multi-country sales and distribution models.
Dr. Dietz is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds degrees from the University of Cambridge, ELTE University and the Budapest University of Economic Sciences. Prior to joining McKinsey, he worked as a software specialist for Reuters Inc., and as a technology analyst and investment manager for Merrill Lynch in London, Los Angeles and New York.
Jill Earthy
Chief Growth Officer, FrontFundr
Jill Earthy is passionate about the economic advancement of women, and small business. She is currently the Chief Growth Officer of FrontFundr, an online investment platform connecting entrepreneurs and investors.
She is a Co-Founder of the WEB Alliance, a collective of over 25 Women’s Business networks in the lower mainland of BC, and was recently recognized as one of 35 Most Influential Women in BC by BC Business Magazine.
Elisabeth Finch
Partner, Tax Services, PwC
Elisabeth is a passionate and creative leader who relishes opportunities to bring alternative perspectives to PwC’s business, and to her clients.
Elisabeth provides leadership in Diversity and Inclusion for PwC in BC, serves on the Board of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. She aims to be a role model in taking care of her mental and physical health, by singing with the internationally renowned Elektra Women’s Choir, running and cycling.
Nanon de Gaspé Beaubien-Mattrick
Founder, Beehive Holdings
Prior to founding Beehive, Nanon worked in sales and marketing for Playtex International before moving on to become Sr. Vice President of Telemedia Corporation for 10 years.
Chris Hatton
Chief Operating Officer, Head of Diversity & Inclusion Council, HSBC Bank Canada
Chris Hatton was appointed Chief Operating Officer for HSBC Bank Canada in July 2015. Mr. Hatton joined HSBC in 1996, and has held senior management roles across the bank in both the UK and the US.
Janet Kennedy
President, Microsoft Canada
Janet Kennedy is the President of Microsoft Canada. With over 20 years of experience in sales and marketing of business solutions, she is focused on Microsoft’s mission of helping people and businesses realize their full potential.
Prior to Microsoft, she had a long career at IBM in numerous roles. From an educational perspective, Janet first earned a degree in Industrial Management/Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and then went on to achieve her MBA from McColl School of Business, Queens University in Charlotte, N.C.
Originally from Chicago, Janet and her family now live in Toronto. When she isn’t working, the self-proclaimed “device geek” enjoys playing with apps, trying the latest exercise trend, and enjoying movies – both box office and obscure!
Jill Krop
News Director and Station Manager, Global BC
One of Vancouver’s best known news anchors and sought after MCs, Jill is now the Station Manager/News Director at Global BC. She took on the role after 29 years of reporting and anchoring news right across Canada, from Prince George, to Regina, and Halifax and then back home to Victoria, before arriving at Global (then BCTV).
Jill has a young son, two step kids, who are almost adults and a Fire Chief for a husband. She’s an avid traveller, who is ridiculously curious about the world around her and she’s known by her travel mates as someone, who will talk to anyone!
Karina LeBlanc
Retired Canadian Goalkeeper, UNICEF Ambassador
Karina LeBlanc is a recently retired Olympic and professional athlete who has had the honour of being the longest serving soccer player for Canada, playing for nearly 18 years. She has been a part of 5 World Cups and two Olympics, winning a Bronze Medal in London in 2012.
Raven Lacerte
Co-Founder, Moose Hide Campaign
Raven Lacerte is a proud member of the Carrier First Nation in northern BC and belongs to the Grizzly Bear Clan. She is the co-founder and Youth Ambassador for the Moosehide Campaign, a national grass-roots effort to end violence towards Indigenous and non-Indigenous women and children.
Fiona Macfarlane
Managing Partner, British Columbia, EY
Fiona Macfarlane is currently EY’s Managing Partner of the British Columbia practice and the firm’s Chief Inclusiveness Officer. Prior to her current role, Fiona was the Canadian Managing Partner, People and Ernst & Young’s Americas Chief Operating Officer, Tax. Before joining Ernst & Young’s South African firm in 1983, Fiona trained as a lawyer in Cape Town, where she was admitted to the bar. Fiona was on the cabinet of Pathways to Education, an organization that provides access to education for youth in disadvantaged areas. Fiona was previously a Director on the Canadian Board of the International Women’s Forum.
Fiona’s efforts in the immigrant community have been recognized with two awards: the TRIEC CBC Business Leader Award in 2008 and York University’s makeMORE Ontario Connections Award for Immigrants in 2010. In 2011, Fiona was awarded an Honorary CA. Fiona holds a Bachelor of Arts, commerce and law degree from the University of Cape Town. She also earned a Master of Law degree from Cambridge University.
Ann Makosinski
Serial Inventor, Google Science Fair Award Winner
UBC student Ann Makosinski is an internationally acclaimed inventor whose creations include the Hollow Flashlight, which runs off the heat of the human hand. Ann has appeared twice on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, has given five TEDx Talks, and was named one of TIME Magazines 30 Under 30
Her inspiration for the Hollow Flashlight came in Grade 10, when her friend in the Philippines failed her grade because she had no electricity or light to study with at night. Her invention won awards at the Canada-Wide Science Fair, the Intel Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and the 2013 Google Science Fair. She is currently in talks to manufacture and globally distribute her flashlight.
Ann’s next invention also won several awards at ISEF. Recognizing that young students were often waiting too long for their hot coffee to cool down and had phones that were running out of power, she created the eDrink, a cup that converts excess heat from a beverage into electricity that charges a device via a cable.
Her numerous awards and honours include a Quest Climate Change Grant from Shell Canada and Canadian Geographic, selection as one of Teen Vogue’s Global Earth Angels, being names Popular Science’s “Breakout Young Inventor of the Year”, and winning the 2015 Sustainable Entrepreneurship Award Award in Vienna.
Ann is currently a global brand ambassador for Uniqlo fleece and the AAT Project, which provides a platform for young scientists, researchers and inventors to help bring their visions to life.
Dr. Lois Nahirney
President and CEO of dnaPower Inc. and SkinDNA Canada
Dr. Lois Nahirney is President and CEO of dnaPower Inc. and SkinDNA Canada, DNA testing companies that help people make better diet, fitness and health decisions based on their unique genetic makeup.
For her work, Lois has been recognized with the BIV Influential Women in Business and YWCA Women of Distinction Awards.
Emily Naing
Co-Founder, Swave
At eighteen years old, Emily is already an accomplished entrepreneur as the co-founder of the startup, Swave. Swave is a device that uses the technology behind a lullaby to transition the user from an awakened state to a stage of restorative sleep. She is also the recipient of the Scrymgeour Scholarships in Entrepreneurial Management from the University of Toronto.
Emily Naing is a recent graduate from Pinetree Secondary School in Coquitlam, B.C. where she was first exposed to and involved with entrepreneurship. Emily was a part of the Young Entrepreneurship Leadership Launchpad (YELL Canada) program in Coquitlam, where she began working on her first startup, finishing as a finalist in YELL Canada’s Annual Venture Challenge. Since then, she has worked extensively to continue her development as a young entrepreneur.
Professor Santa Ono
President and Vice-Chancellor, UBC
Professor Santa Ono officially stepped into his role as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of British Columbia on August 15, 2016. As a professor of medicine and biology, Professor Ono has worked at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, University College London, and Emory universities.
As a university administrator, Ono is also known for his vision beyond the laboratory. He was the first Asian-American president of the University of Cincinnati when he was appointed in 2012. Previously, he served as the University Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Ono is deeply committed to diversity and his achievements were recently recognized by the American Council on Education with an award that honours individuals who have demonstrated leadership and commitment on a national level to the advancement of racial and ethnic minorities in higher education. Inside Higher Education named him America’s most notable university president in 2015.
Sue Paish
Chief Executive Officer, LifeLabs
As CEO, Sue leads LifeLabs approximately 5,400 professionally trained employees who deliver over 100 million laboratory tests and results, serving 19 million patient visits annually.
Sue received a Queen’s Counsel designation in 2000 and was awarded the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Law Distinguished Alumni Award in 2003. She has also been recognized as one of Canada’s “Top 25 Women Lawyers” and one of B.C.’s “Most Influential Women in Business”. In 2012, Sue was inducted into the “Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Hall of Fame”—one of only 88 women in Canada to have this honour bestowed on them by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN).
Sue is also a recognized community and business leader. She sits on a number of corporate and community boards including: Director and Human Resources Committee Chair, CORIX group of companies; Board Member, Ivey Centre for Health Innovation and Leadership; Director of the Faculty Advisory Board, Sauder School of Business; Chair of the MLA Compensation Task Force; BC Council of British Columbia, member of the Board of Governors and Executive Council; the United Way of the Lower Mainland in BC, Board Member; and member of the B.C. Pharmaceutical Task Force. She is also past Chair of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research; past Chair and Governor of the Vancouver Board of Trade.
Sue’s family and her love of the outdoors are her prime motivators. With husband Brad and three daughters sometimes in tow, Sue can often been found camping, fishing or hiking the Grouse Grind.
Ravi Saligram
Chief Executive Officer and director of the board, Ritchie Bros.
Ravi Saligram is the Chief Executive Officer of Ritchie Bros., a global leader in asset management and disposition, and the world’s largest industrial auctioneer with gross auction proceeds of US$4.25 billion in 2015. He was appointed CEO of Ritchie Bros. in July 2014 due to his proven ability to grow businesses, build brands and drive shareholder value.
Prior to joining Ritchie Bros., Ravi was President and CEO of OfficeMax, where he transformed the company from an office products distributor to an omnichannel provider of workplace products, services and solutions. To accelerate the transformation, he led a historic true merger of equals with Office Depot in November 2013. Under his leadership, OfficeMax was the only office supply company to be named to Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies list for two consecutive years. The company was also awarded “Private Sector Business of the Year” in 2013; by the US Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation for its commitment to employing people with disabilities, including veterans.
Ravi also has more than 20 years of senior management experience at ARAMARK, InterContinental Hotels Group, and SC Johnson. He has lived in six countries and worked in many more across five continents. His passion for building diverse, customer-focused teams has followed him everywhere he goes.
Ravi earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Bangalore University, India and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan. Ravi has been on the Board of Church & Dwight Co. Inc. for the last 10 years and sits on its Governance Committee
Nicole Verkindt
Founder, OMX | “Dragon”, Next Gen Den
A graduate of the Richard Ivey School of Business, Nicole Verkindt is one of the Dragons on CBC’s online show Next Gen Den and the founder of OMX (Offset Market Exchange), the only online platform in the world to manage obligations government contractors have to invest in local economies through offsets.
Nicole launched OMX in 2012, when she was only 27 years old. Today, OMX is a powerful online marketplace that serves thousands of companies around the world, including many in the defence, aerospace and shipbuilding sectors. The platform`s analytics also help governments understand the economic impacts of procurement decisions.
Prior to founding OMX, Nicole launched Tiburon, an offshore manufacturing business, which sold shelter components to government contractors during the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. When Haiti experienced its devastating earthquake, Nicole founded the non-profit organization GlassFrog, which provided aid to the torn nation. She eventually integrated Tiburon into a family business, became President and CEO of GMA, and then sold both companies to a private equity firm in 2011.
Ms. Verkindt is a Board member of the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a sister organization to BDC and EDC. She is also the technology columnist for Vanguard magazine and a regular commentator on CBC’s The Exchange.
Leigh Wall
Truck & Transport Mechanic Apprentice, Student Recruitment Specialist
A drastic career change from legal administrator to truck and transport mechanic has empowered Leigh and created a passion for encouraging other women to break through barriers in non-traditional roles. Leigh, a female ambassador for the trades, speaks regularly on the importance of diversity in the workplace.
As a natural progression and a love for where she trained, Leigh became a student recruitment specialist with Vancouver Community College where she shares her enthusiasm with others every day. A dedicated volunteer, Leigh enjoys spending time with her senior dog on a therapy team with St. John Ambulance and finding forever homes for rescue cats and kittens as an Adoption Counselor with VOKRA.
Philippa Wilshaw
Partner, Mining Industry Leader, GVA, KPMG LLP
Philippa Wilshaw is the Mining Industry Leader for KPMG’s practice in the Greater Vancouver Area. She began her career in 1993 with KPMG UK, moving first to Toronto for two years and then to Vancouver in 2005. She is a member of KPMG’s GVA Management Committee in the role of Strategic Markets Leader, where she plays a lead role in revenue growth initiatives and works closely with industry teams to drive KPMG’s success in the market.
Formerly, Philippa was the Develop Leader for KPMG’s GVA Audit Practice where she was responsible for driving the firm’s people strategy. She is a mentor within the firm for managers and senior managers in the resource sector though KPMG Vancouver’s Women in Mining program and initiatives in support of the advancement of women.
Philippa participates in a number of charitable and community bodies. Currently, she is a member of the Board of Resource Works, a non-profit society that helps bring information to the public about the role of the resources sector in British Columbia.
Miyo Yamashita
Managing Partner, Talent, Deloitte
Miyo Yamashita is the Managing Partner of Talent at Deloitte in Toronto and a member of the Deloitte’s global Board of Directors. Prior to joining Deloitte, Ms. Yamashita led TD Bank’s Corporate Women in Leadership program, which supports the advancement of women in the bank’s leadership positions.
Her nearly two decades of experience in the financial services sector includes serving as the former Global Chief Privacy Officer and Head of Social and Digital Media Compliance for TD Bank Group. At TD, Miyo led a global team of 100+ compliance and regulatory risk professionals worldwide. She was responsible for designing the enterprise-wide compliance programs in privacy, online channels and social and digital media, including interacting with regulators at all levels, managing compliance and regulatory risk. Miyo also worked extensively on the development of the bank’s compliance programs on new legislative and regulatory requirements.
Ms. Yamashita is known for developing practical, business-friendly solutions that also meet the highest compliance and regulatory standards, as well as the changing preferences of customers for the management of their personal information. Her education includes a Ph.D. in Communications from McGill University.
Philip Grosch
Dinal Limbachia
Ann Makosinski
Leigh Wall
Nanon de Gaspé Beaubien-Mattrick
Sue Paish
Ravi Saligram
Jan Grude
Pamela Jeffery
Kory Wilson
Lori Mathison
Karina LeBlanc
Georgiy Sekretaryuk
Siri Uotila
The Honourable Janet Austin, OBC
Adina Williams
The Honourable Patricia Hajdu
Gary Agnew
Kevin Brennan
Jake Stika
Wyle Baoween
Tanya van Biesen
Liz Lougheed Green
Helena Gottschling
The Honourable Mary Ng
