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.

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.

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’.

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.

Change Management, General Management

Ori is the high-energy owner of pmKonnectors.com, a consulting, training and placement practice. With 23 years’ experience in driving organizational change, operational improvements, software implementations, Agile adaptations, project recoveries and PMO’s, his scope of expertise includes value creation, outstanding results and high customer satisfaction. Ori brings an international, diverse and cross-industry experience, delivering specialized engagements to organizations, including the UN, US and Canadian financial institutions, Government branches, and leading IT, Telecoms, Energy, Food Manufacturers and Pharmaceuticals.

Business Analysis, Project Management

Patrick van Abbema is an accomplished senior project executive and AI strategist recognized for his extensive expertise in leading large-scale digital and business-driven transformations across government and the private sector. With over 30 years of professional experience, Patrick excels at aligning artificial intelligence initiatives with strategic business goals, ensuring measurable and sustainable outcomes. His distinguished career includes successfully steering complex, high-stakes projects and organizational change initiatives. Patrick specializes in integrating AI strategies with robust governance frameworks, effectively managing risks, optimizing operational processes, and mentoring executive teams through transformational change. As a recognized thought leader, Patrick bridges the gap between technical innovation and strategic business imperatives. He is exceptionally skilled at translating AI complexities into practical leadership insights, empowering executives and organizations to leverage AI responsibly and effectively. Patrick holds an MBA with a specialization in Management Consulting, along with advanced certifications as a Certified Management Consultant (CMC), Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP), and Certified Scrum Professional (CSP). His unique blend of technical acumen, strategic leadership, and practical industry experience provides students with relevant, real-world insights to successfully lead and manage AI-driven projects and organizational transformations.

Paul Hartley, PhD,   CEO of Human Futures Studio    Paul Hartley is an anthropologist, foresight practitioner, and innovation specialist. As an applied researcher, Paul has worked with hundreds of innovation, R&D, and strategy teams and contributed to many of the products and services we all now take for granted. He has been a strong advocate for pushing the boundaries of what is possible in business research, with an emphasis on the benefits of being rigorously human-centric. As a consultant, he has helped companies, governments, and NGOs all over the world solve knotty problems, create better products, services, and experiences, and build research teams capable of meeting the demands of an increasingly complicated business landscape.      When not in field doing ethnography, Paul is the CEO of Human Futures Studio, a global applied research consultancy HQed in Toronto Canada. He is also an author, speaker, and educator. His most recent book, Radical Human Centricity: Fulfilling the Promises of Innovation Research, provides practical advice to avoid the weaknesses in both market research and traditional innovation research, and unlock the potential of meeting your customers where they live.   

Public Sector

Peter is one of Canada’s leading practitioner-academics in the area of public policy and administration. He has worked as a senior civil servant, chief of staff to a cabinet minister, lobbyist and international consultant. As a professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration, his research focuses on political acuity, stakeholder engagement, public management and government relations.

Prashant Matta is a Partner at Panache Ventures, one of the most active seed-stage venture funds in Canada. In late 2022, Panache announced the closing of their $100M Fund II, continuing their stated goal of becoming “the most active and best-performing fund of its kind in the country.” With over $150M in funds under management, Panache has invested in over 100 early-stage companies thus far, including Certn, Nolk, Relay Financial, and Dooly. Prior to joining Panache, Prashant worked at OMERS Ventures, where he was responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing on investment opportunities as well as providing strategic and operational support to the firm's portfolio companies. He also worked in Samsung’s Global Strategy Group based in South Korea, where he advised on product strategy, acquisitions, and investments. Prashant holds a BBA from the Schulich School of Business, an MBA from INSEAD, and was previously a CPA, CA through CPA Canada.

Technology

Ramy is the founder of 1000 Days Out and author of the upcoming "AI Product Design Handbook". As the former managing director of Design & Strategy for Architech and head of innovation for Mattel, he has led diverse teams in the creation of disruptive new digital products, services & platforms. Ramy teaches Design Thinking at McMaster University and in the Master’s of Engineering, Innovation & Entrepreneurship program at Ryerson University.

Rick Matthews is the Director of Digital, Social & Apps, Rogers Sports & Media where he leads the strategy for social content, websites, and digital audio performance for 50+ media brands including key media properties 98.1 CHFI and KiSS 92.5. Matthews is also responsible for the development and launch of Seekr, Roger’s newest digital audio platform for live radio, podcasts, news and sports. Previous to joining Rogers, Rick was Vice President, International, at Kin Community, a global digital media company and creator community. Under his leadership, Kin expanded to key international markets, including Canada, Australia and Europe. He also led the strategy and development of numerous award-winning, multi-platform social marketing campaigns with Kin’s roster of industry-leading lifestyle creators, now some of the biggest names on YouTube.

Rob Adams is a passionate and innovative leader who uses outside-the-box thinking to leverage success. He is a unique leader, having served as both a multi-term Mayor and Warden on the political side and as a Chief Administrative Officer leading some of Canada’s fastest-growing municipalities. Rob is also a proven business executive as he ran the operations of several technology software companies and inspired his team to achieve the Profit 100 Canada's Fastest Growing Companies rankings 2 years in a row. Rob is the founder and CEO of a private consulting firm, specializing in strategic plans, service delivery reviews, council-staff relations and high-performance team training. 

General Management

Rob LaJoie is the Managing Partner and leader of the consulting and implementation practices for Ideaction Inc. He is an experienced business leader, manager and practical innovator who applies the process of innovating to solve real business problems. Rob’s expertise lies in the areas of team building, team deployment and team leadership in a wide variety of business environments. For 24 years, he has worked to frame, solve and deploy solutions to complex problems that impact individual, team and organizational performance in the service sector. This work has taken him around the world working on initiatives for banks, insurance companies, retailers, logistics companies, technology firms. Recently, he has been the acting director of innovation for the Business Development Bank of Canada, helping them build a culture of innovation while shaping and implementing multiple applied-innovation initiatives. Rob holds undergraduate degrees in Science and Management Economics, both from the University of Guelph, an MBA from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and Executive Program certificates from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Risk Management

Rob Quail holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto. Rob is a widely respected author, facilitator and lecturer on Enterprise Risk Management. He has participated as a lecturer in the program since 2011. Rob established the pioneering Enterprise Risk Management processes, tools and methodologies at Hydro One Networks Inc. that are today widely regarded as best-practice. The practices developed by Rob in collaboration with the management team at Hydro One became the subject of many studies and papers, including a major “leading practice” case study by Harvard Business School. While at Hydro One, Rob also held key leadership roles in the areas of technology transformation and outsourcing. Later, Rob was appointed Vice President of Customer Service at Hydro One in the wake of a difficult billing system implementation, and during this time he applied Enterprise Risk Management principles to lead dramatic improvements in all areas of customer service, including call centre operations, billing, electricity conservation, and collections. Today, Rob provides independent consulting services in enterprise risk management, business process and technology outsourcing, and customer care to clients in a variety of industry sectors. Rob is a contributing author to both of the Wiley textbooks used in the program: Enterprise Risk Management: Today’s Leading Research and Best Practices for Tomorrow’s Executives,” and “Implementing Enterprise Risk Management.”

Disruption & Transformation, Strategic Leadership, Technology

Ron Babin, DBA, is a professor of Technology Management and Innovation, and an award-winning instructor with many decades of IT professional experience. As a management consulting partner at KPMG and Accenture, he has provided strategic guidance to CIO clients across all industries.