Healthcare

Dr. Michael Glogauer is a dental entrepreneur, clinician and scientist. In addition to holding patents for health devices and an being inventor of a soon-to-be-marketed diagnostic rinse for periodontal diseases, he has been an active member of scientific boards of start up companies. He is a Professor at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto where his research over the past 25 years focuses on the mechanistic contributions and interplay between the immune system and microbiome in oral and systemic health. He is the Head of Dentistry for University Health Network and Chief of Dental Oncology at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. He has received awards in recognition of his research excellence (more than 200 peer reviewed publications) and is a Fellow in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. He is experienced in conducting clinical trials, particularly in collaboration with multi-national pharma companies.

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Communication

Michael holds his PhD from Cambridge University. He worked at CIBC Wealth Management and Franklin Templeton Investments in Toronto before returning to York in 2001 to work at the York University English Language Institute (YUELI), where he is the Associate Director. Michael is lead teacher in YUELI's Business Writing Skills programs.

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Coaching and Collaboration

Michel Shah is an experienced educator, speaker, coach and consultant who has been a leader supporting the development of personal and interpersonal skills for more than 20 years. She is the author of Explorations in Career Development: Personal and Professional (2019), and UpSkill: Soft Skills and Professional Development Essentials (2021), McGraw-Hill Education. Michel is the founder of Hammersmith Prep School in Jamaica and the MAS Programme which integrates confidence building and leadership development into the K12 curriculum. She is the founder and CEO of The UpSkill Corporation Inc. where she facilitates UpSkilling conversations in organizations across Canada. From education and health care to finance and government, Michel provides strategies and readily actionable steps for soft skills development. Michel holds a MSc. from the London School of Economics and Political Science, a BA (Hons.) from the University of Toronto, and has completed the Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) with the University of Kingston, England. She is a Certified Training and Development Professional, Certified Emotional Intelligence Coach and a Project Management Professional.

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Coaching and Collaboration, Strategic Leadership

Michelle is the Program Director for the Centre of Excellence in Organization Development at Schulich ExecEd.  She is an award-winning facilitator, speaker, author and consultant and is a thought leader and senior practitioner in the Organization Development and Team Coaching field. Results oriented leaders and organizations choose to work with Michelle because she enables them to improve individual, team and organizational effectiveness and deliver unprecedented results. Clients describe her as an engaging and collaborative partner that values relationship building and developing potential. Her work with clients has resulted in improved employee communications and engagement; increased work satisfaction and performance; increased revenue; increased employee retention; decreased operating costs and enhanced capacity for individuals, teams, organizations.  Her work has contributed to organizations being amongst the top 50 in Canada. She has worked across a variety of industries including pharmaceutical, healthcare, public sector, education, telecommunications, non-profit and financial services.  Her areas of expertise include leadership development & strategy; team coaching; transformational change; strategic planning, culture change, process facilitation and customized learning.  In her last corporate role, she was responsible for Leadership Development across Telus Mobility enterprise wide.  She is a published author and has spoken at conferences including ICF; Strategic Capability Network, I4PL, HRPA, ODN, TODN, IODA, Coach at Work.  She is also a published author with contributions to CHOICE, Coach at Work, Municipal World, HRPA, Toronto Star and has been interviewed by HR Reporter, Global News and The Charles Adler Radio Show.  She is also a contributor to “Team Coaching Casebook” by McGraw Hill.  Michelle is also a senior faculty member with Team Coaching International and an ICF Prism award holder for coaching excellence in organizations. She also holds professional designations in HR, OD, Coaching & Training.

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Communication, Healthcare, Strategic Planning

Michelle Ryckman has extensive experience in the development and execution of treatment presentation protocols for dental offices. Her approach is simple, no-pressure and comfortable and has proven to yield incredibly high case acceptance. It focuses on communication with patients and building structured relationships. Ms. Ryckman has lectured extensively throughout North America and Europe on the development of an orchestrated customer journey as the cornerstone of case acceptance. Ms. Ryckman is currently responsible for helping other dentists within our community with the development and implementation of strategies for practice growth.

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CPIR, VP, Communications @ Cineplex

  Michelle is a trusted advisor and business leader with over 20 years of experience working with Canadian and global companies, including Cineplex, Loblaw Companies, Arterra Wines Canada, Constellation Brands, PepsiCo, Beam Global, the Wine Marketing Association of Ontario (WMAO), Wine Growers Ontario, and Food Network Canada. She has exceptional thought leadership in all streams of communication, including corporate reputation, issues and crisis management, public/media relations, and internal and executive communications. As a Certified Investor Relations Professional (CPIR), she understands the complexities of publicly held companies and private equity investments, as well as the varying stakeholder demands and regulatory considerations. With a PROSCI certification in Change Management, she helps organizations navigate divestitures, acquisitions, technology and process restructuring, and people changes. Leading with an enterprise mindset, Michelle creates strategies that support organizations through growth ambitions and transformational change. As a brilliant storyteller, she builds interest and engagement across an organization’s internal and external ecosystems. Her strength in fostering relationships with stakeholders forges strong alliances and trusted partnerships.

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Healthcare

Mike Nader is a healthcare executive and consultant with more than 30 years of healthcare operations experience. Most recently, he served as the Chief Transformation Officer at Ontario Health, with responsibility for leading the transition of 20 provincial agencies and local health integration networks into a single provincial agency. He was on secondment from the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, Ontario where he served as the executive vice-president, clinical support and performance. In this role, he had operational responsibility for the diagnostic and pharmaceutical portfolios, facility operations, capital redevelopment, business development and commercialization, and performance of the organization. Prior to this role, he served at the Chief Operating Officer at UHN with responsibility for the clinical operations at the Toronto General and Toronto Western Hospitals, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Prior to joining UHN, Mike was Chief Operating Officer at Vancouver Coastal Health for the Coastal Community of Care from 2014 to 2016. He also served as the Chief Operating Officer in Richmond, British Columbia and the executive lead for the Clinical and Systems Transformation project from 2012 to 2014. With 25 years of experience in British Columbia, Mike has held numerous leadership positions within the Lower Mainland of Vancouver. Mike holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Business Administration from the University of British Columbia. In 2005, he obtained a Master of Arts in Health Care Leadership and Training from Royal Roads University. Mike has also completed his Executive Lean Leader and Executive Lean Director designation in 2008 and 2010, respectively. Mike has been a surveyor with Accreditation Canada since 2009 and has participated in surveys across Canada and internationally. His greatest strength is his understanding of the continuum of health services across primary, acute, and community programs. He is regarded for his sound knowledge of the health care system. Mike currently serves on the Health Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC) board and has served as a Board member on numerous other boards including Plexxus, the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation, the Richmond Hospital Foundation, Renfrew-Collingwood Seniors’ Society, Canadian Hemochromatosis Society, and Canadian Crossroads International.

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Moyra Rodger is a trailblazer in the media landscape, blending entrepreneurial grit with digital innovation to reshape how creators and media companies connect with their audiences. As the founder and CEO of Magnify Digital, Moyra has made it her mission to empower producers, platforms and media organizations with cutting-edge strategies and tools to build large, engaged followings online. From live-streaming video in the late '90s to launching ScreenMiner™, a revolutionary app that decodes audience data into actionable insights, Moyra has always been ahead of the curve. Through Magnify Digital's services, academy, and software ventures, she thrives on pushing the boundaries of audience development.

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Big Data and Analytics, Marketing

Murat Kristal is an associate professor of operations management at Schulich School of Business at York University. He teaches in the areas of business operations strategy, channel management and customer modeling. Dr. Kristal received his PhD from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests focus on the areas of supply chain, operations and service management strategy. He has helped diverse companies including Johnson & Johnson, Moneris Solutions, and Global Payments Inc. manage their customer relationships using predictive analysis techniques.

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Myles is a graduate of Cambridge University, with a degree in Geography that made brand management and advertising a natural choice, according to the Gradscope computer in the careers department. He subsequently learned the marketing ropes at P&G in advertising and innovation before stints as a Fundraising Director for the National Trust and a Global Marketing Director at Reckitt. These positions prepared him to launch his own ventures. In his career, he has worked on more than 250 brands in 70 categories and 45 countries, leading insight, innovation and positioning projects for brands like CIBC and Coors Light across categories from injectable skincare to online gambling. He has a deep passion for brands and for GT motor racing, which he spends most of his time and money on.

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Nancie is a leadership and culture expert with over 35 years’ experience working with organizations navigating tough operating and competitive challenges and large-scale changes. She has had the privilege of partnering with senior leaders and HR/OD teams to achieve culture change within a wide range of companies including Turner Broadcasting, Warner Brothers, TOMS Shoes, and WestJet. Nancie holds a Doctorate in Organization Behavior from Lancaster University in the UK and a Masters degree in Organization Development from the University of Toronto. Her professional certifications include the Leadership Circle Profile (360 assessment), as well as Decision Dynamic’s suite of psychometric assessments, the EQi 2.0 (emotional intelligence), and the DiSC Workplace Everything Profile. She has published numerous papers on culture and culture change and is currently working on a book titled ‘Culture Change: 30 Years of Lessons Learned’.

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Naomi Freeman is recognized as a global leader in business and emerging technology for her innovative applications of emerging technologies in new contexts. She currently serves as Chair of the Strategy and Technology Committee and as an Advisor to the Women Who Code board. Freeman is thrilled to share with business leaders new ways to engage with technology, level up their expertise and discover new ways to support their teams. She is on a mission to ensure every exec and leader feels confident walking into any technology meeting or team, no matter the complexity of the topic. Freeman has worked as a CTO in edtech, pivoting in-person classes and communities online during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has co-founded two AI companies that went to Valley accelerators and has served as a Blockchain and Data Science/AI Fellow at Women Who Code from 2020-2022. Freeman was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in 2022 and has earned Executive Masters diplomas at BI Norwegian Business School (FT #1 ranking in Norway, top 20 in EU) as well as her MBA at Quantic School of Business and Technology. Freeman's expertise has been recognized in many ways. She has been nominated for the Global Cartier Women’s Achievement Award, as well as by the Royal Bank of Canada’s Women Entrepreneur Awards list as a Woman of Influence. She was one of the Women Who Code’s “Engineers to Watch” in 2021 and brings a strong technical background and experience to her leadership perspective. In 2023 was nominated as a Nordic Women in Tech - Advocate of the Year and was awarded a Role Model for 2023. Freeman speaks and teaches globally, both virtually and in person.

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Neel is a passionate leader in the development and adoption of digital health technologies, dedicated to bridging the gap between technology and healthcare professionals. As the Founder of HealthTechX Academy, he empowers individuals to continuously educate themselves in the digital health domain, fostering the creation of intuitive, compassionate, and impactful tools for both patients and healthcare providers. In his role as an Adjunct Faculty member at the University of Toronto, Neel inspires the next generation of health informatics professionals by integrating classroom theory with real-world applications. His teaching approach ensures that students gain both technical expertise and practical experience, preparing them to navigate the evolving landscape of digital healthcare. With over 14 years of experience in digital health, Neel has played a key role in developing leading digital health solutions for some of the world’s most recognized healthcare organizations, including Stanford University Medical Center, University Health Network, and Sidra Medical and Research Center.

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Nicola has extensive experience in human resources strategy within the dental industry and has lead teams focused on the attraction, retention and development of dental industry talent. Nicola’s career in People has included leading teams in Human Resources, Recruitment, Talent Management, HR Technology and Learning. Nicola is a proven business leader with experience in start up, high-growth and large-scale businesses across banking, financial services and media sectors. She holds a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology Sydney.

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Niloofer [Niloo] Balsara is a senior Human Resources Professional with experience across roles in Canada, Asia Pacific, and London, UK. She excels at designing and deploying talent and people strategies, optimizing people's potential. Expertise across HR includes talent management, succession planning, performance management, learning and development, recruitment, HR systems, leadership development and equity diversity and inclusion [EDI]. Niloofer integrates progressive and innovative people practices across people and cultures. A talent architect and a change agent, she is passionate about leading and modernizing HR through a data-led approach. She employs a skills-based framework and a future-focus lens to organizational change, structure and design. A certified executive coach (CEC, PCC], she is an accredited member of the International Coaching Federation (ICS). She has her CPHR and is also certified in various leadership and team assessments and psychometric instruments. Niloofer is a long-standing thought- partner and a member of the employer working group at the immigration employment Council of BC [IEC-BC], where she works with provincial and federal colleagues to support the integration of skilled immigrants into Canada. She has led roles across various industries, including healthcare, finance and insurance, in unionized and non-unionized environments. Her lived experiences across various continents and countries have provided her with a human and culture-sensitive approach that enables her to build people and grow relationships. Niloofer has a passion for corporate and environmental sustainability. She has volunteered for environmental projects worldwide including the Amazon, Oxford UK and at the Smithsonian in Maryland, US. Contributing to the wider HR community, she has participated in and contributed to Canada’s global pluralism project.

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