Stefania Gargaro is the Program Account Manager at Schulich ExecEd, overseeing custom learning programs. She partners with clients across sectors to design and deliver impactful experiences, ensuring service excellence, client satisfaction, and successful program execution from start to finish.

As Director of the Wealth Learning team for BMO Wealth Management, Stephanie Tavitian-Guthrie is responsible for leading learning that enables BMO’s wealth professionals to be successful in their new and existing roles. Guiding a team of design, development and delivery professionals with a focus on learner experience first is evident in her approach – consultative leadership, human centered design and a commitment to elevate learning. She has over 27 years’ experience in the financial industry in various functions and roles ranging from sales leadership through to client experience and for the last 15 years she has led learning delivery, design and development teams within the company. Her personal passion for coaching is deeply entrenched in how she lives, works and volunteers as a certified Co-Active coach. When not working, you are certain to find her volunteering with her daughter’s swim club and cheering loudly so her daughter can hear her from the water!

Financial Acumen

Steve Weiss is an international negotiation specialist. For more than 30 years, he has delivered high-level negotiation training in academic and corporate settings. Steve is an award winning instructor, and his popular Schulich international negotiation program features “mega-simulations” to reinforce key negotiation techniques. Steve will be facilitating the dynamic Canada-China negotiation simulation at this special event. Steve's extensive clients to-date include American Express Canada, AT&T, Babcock & Wilcox, Celestica, Dassault Aviation, and Purolator.

General Management

Stephen specializes in teaching leaders and management professionals about various aspects of interpersonal communication, management skills and leadership development in the workplace. His extensive education experience includes online and live education. He is an award winning, Adjunct Professor of Organizational Studies at the Schulich School of Business at York University since 2000, where he teaches Organizational Behaviour, Team Development, Human Resource Management and Leadership in the BBA, MBA, Masters of Marketing, Masters of Management and Masters of Artificial Intelligence programs. Stephen has worked with groups and individuals across a broad range of industries Stephen’s casual and affable delivery style immediately puts his participants at ease and sets a unique interactive and engaging tone which has made him a sought after and repeat speaker, educator and coach for numerous organizations across Canada. His style is authentic, provocative, humorous and fun. He holds an M.A. and an Honours B.A. in Psychology. Additionally, Stephen Friedman is a skilled and recognized executive coach, facilitator and educator of leadership and management skills development, team development, organizational learning and human resource management for numerous organizations and individuals. His experience with in this area spans over 25 years.

Healthcare

Dr. Steven Bongard obtained his DDS degree from the University of Toronto Faculty of Dentistry in 1986. His professional interest has been concentrated on all aspects of implant dentistry since 1995. He has extensive experience in implant placement, bone grafting procedures, and the prosthetic component of implant restoration. He has published and lectured nationally and internationally on implant placement, full arch rehabilitation and non-grafted immediate approaches to implant surgery. He presently maintains a dental practice in Toronto, Ontario, that is exclusive to the placement and restoration of dental implants. His recent focus has been on developing a community resource and training centre that can provide access to innovation, technology and advanced infrastructure, as well as support and mentoring, to the dental implant community.

Sales

Steven Rosen is President of STAR Results. Steven coaches sales executives and managers to lead with passion and ignite their teams to achieve outstanding results. Steven has more than 10 years of senior sales leadership experience in the healthcare industry.

Coaching and Collaboration

Sue Austin is a certified professional coach who specializes in leadership and team coaching within both for profit and not-for-profit organizations. Sue is a brand and marketing expert as well. In 2003, she decided to pursue her passion of leadership coaching where the impact and satisfaction of collaborating with others to increase their sense of professional and personal fulfillment became her ultimate goal. The return on investment in coaching is significant for Sue in terms of both bottom line results and individual client fulfillment; this fusion of working with people on the personal and professional ‘self’ is what drives her.

Susan Crawford is a leadership coach, facilitator, and founder of Meraki Inspired Coaching & Consultation Inc., dedicated to bringing humanity back to leadership and the workplace. With over 20 years of experience across non-profit, government, academic, and corporate sectors, she partners with leaders and organizations to build emotionally intelligent, resilient, values-driven leadership. Known for her dynamic, engaging approach, Susan blends emotional intelligence and transformational coaching to help leaders show up with grounded presence, sustainable capacity, and impact that actually matters. Susan creates inclusive, psychologically brave spaces where individuals and teams grow, connect, and create lasting change.

Coaching and Collaboration, Healthcare

Dr Susan Lieff is a Professor Emeritus, ICF-certified leadership coach and consultant and former Vice-Chair of Education of the Dept of Psychiatry of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is currently the founding Director of the New and Evolving Academic Leaders Program (NEAL) at the Centre for Faculty Development, Faculty of Medicine and St Michael’s Hospital, an international program that supports the development of leaders in the academic health sciences.  She completed her Masters of Education in higher education of health professionals at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education / UT in 2002 and her International Masters in Health Leadership at McGill University in 2008. Dr. Lieff’s scholarship focuses on studying the practices, networks and perspectives of academic leaders in the health sciences as well as the design and evaluation of academic leadership development programs in the health sciences. She has been recognized for her excellence in teaching and educational innovation by the University of Toronto, UT Faculty of Medicine, the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the Canadian Association of Medical Education, the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, the Association of Academic Psychiatry and the American and Canadian Psychiatric Associations.

Susan Lindner is the Founder and CEO of Innovation Storytellers, a leading innovation storytelling consulting firm. She is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, workshop leader, messaging strategist, storytelling coach, and the world’s leading expert on innovation storytelling. Susan draws from her initial experiences as an anthropologist and international aid worker in rural Thailand in the 1990s, where she shared stories that helped at-risk populations disproportionately affected by AIDS to slow the virus’s spread. Today, as a 20-year communications expert, she is committed to using those same storytelling skills to inspire innovation leaders everywhere to become incredible storytellers and ensure that their innovations get the resources, runway, and recognition they deserve. Susan is the host of Innovation Storytellers, a weekly podcast that takes the mystery out of how to communicate breakthrough ideas to the people who matter most. Every week, Susan interviews top global innovation leaders from companies like Amazon, Bloomberg, Cisco, Corning, and Tesla about the stories that moved their innovations past the boardroom, lab, and production line and into our everyday lives. Susan speaks at global conferences, consulates, and trade organizations. She has worked with C-level leaders and teams from over 60 countries at Fortune 100 companies like GE, Corning, Citi, AT&T, and Arm & Hammer on their innovation storytelling strategies. The result? Those innovation leaders become incredible storytellers who go on to change the world. Susan is driven to ensure every breakthrough idea reaches its finish line through powerful stories that connect to every listener and power that brilliant idea forward.

Suzanne Knight, MBA, MA, is an award-winning expert, keynote, and TEDx speaker renowned for her practical insights on transformational change and the future of work. With a distinguished career as a global consultant and corporate executive, Suzanne has guided over 50 companies in 14 countries, helping them anticipate and adapt to change so they can thrive, rather than just survive. In 2023, Suzanne co-founded Be Uninterrupted, a social impact organization that uses AI and human connection to help professional women navigate potential career interruptions. She is also a dedicated philanthropist, angel investor, and board member. Over her career, Suzanne has held significant and influential leadership roles, including Vice President of Transformational Services at Walmart Canada, Head of Organizational Effectiveness and Change at Philip Morris International (Canada), Deputy Head of Deloitte’s Transformational Change consulting practice, and leader of the Ontario government’s Modernizing Services portfolio. Suzanne holds an MA in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and an MBA in Finance and Strategy. Her contributions and impact have been widely recognized, with accolades such as being named on The Peak’s Emerging Leaders List (under age 40) and Digital Media Zone’s 2023 Women of the Year.

Tanner Behrend is a Certified Energy Manager with a background spanning engineering, energy management, and sustainability technology, focused on policy, funding, and business development. As VP, Strategic Growth at Edgecom Energy, he works at the intersection of energy markets, distributed energy resources, AI-enabled software, and grid-interactive buildings, helping organizations make smarter, data-driven energy decisions that reduce costs, improve reliability, and accelerate decarbonization. His experience includes leading strategic growth initiatives in energy management, demand response, and DER optimization, developing and securing government grants and R&D funding for clean energy programs, and navigating policy, regulatory, and utility frameworks across North American markets. He brings a rare combination of technical depth, policy fluency, and commercial execution to translate complex energy challenges into scalable, market-ready solutions.

Taoufik Mounib is a seasoned Project Management professional with over 38 years of experience leading complex engineering, infrastructure, and construction projects across multiple countries. Throughout his distinguished career, he has successfully delivered more than a dozen major capital projects, including railways, power generation facilities, and large-scale building developments. A recognized leader in the field, Taoufik combines extensive practical experience with strong academic credentials. He holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Europe, a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from an American university, and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) through the Project Management Institute (PMI). In addition to his work as a practitioner, Taoufik is a respected speaker who is always eager to share his expertise on campuses, professional forums, and industry events. His presentations draw on decades of hands-on experience in project delivery. Taoufik is also deeply committed to education and community service. For nearly 30 years, he has taught and mentored young people at a faith-based school, helping shape future generations through character development, learning, and community engagement. Currently, Taoufik operates as an independent engineering and project management consultant, providing advisory services to corporate organizations undertaking complex projects. Fully trilingual and experienced in multicultural environments, he brings a global perspective and a collaborative approach to every engagement.

Big Data and Analytics

Tarun Rihal, MBA, MSc, SSBB is a data science manager in Ontario's public service with more than 10 years of experience growing capacity for data science, management and analytics. He specializes in helping organizations develop data-science strategies that maximize return on investment by targeting high-value insight generation. Tarun has received extensive recognition for his work in the development and deployment of novel machine-learning approaches to solving critical business problems in the public service. Most recently, his team at the Ministry of the Attorney General received the National Centre for State Courts’ 2019 G. Thomas Munsterman Award for building key spatial prediction algorithms used to transform Ontario's jury rolls to be more representative of Ontarians. He has also developed enterprise-wide policy for data and analytics for Ontario's and Canada's Treasury Board Secretariats. Tarun also has a deep personal interest in data science and the open source community and is a heavy contributor to R library codebases and Stack Overflow/Cross Validated. When not using analytics to improve public services, he enjoys competing in Kaggle competitions, where he is ranked as a Master.

Coaching and Collaboration, Sales, Strategic Leadership

Dr. Tatiana Astray is a sought-after facilitator and executive coach who specializes in negotiations, sales, leadership, persuasion, stakeholder management, and body language. With over a decade of experience, she has partnered with leading organizations in finance, technology, aerospace, mining, government, and education to deliver transformative, evidence-based training programs that drive measurable results. Her workshops consistently receive a satisfaction rate of over 90%, reflecting her ability to create engaging and impactful learning experiences. Tatiana’s psychology-driven methodology equips professionals with the tools to enhance leadership, negotiation, and communication skills while fostering trust and collaboration. Her interactive sessions encourage practical application, constructive feedback, and meaningful growth, earning her praise for combining strategic insights with real-world relevance. An award-winning educator, Tatiana has taught at the Executive, MBA, and undergraduate levels at top Canadian universities. She holds a Ph.D. in Organization Studies, an M.Sc. in Marketing and Consumer Studies, and a B.Sc. in Psychology. Beyond her work with executives, Tatiana serves on the board of Jumpstart, an NGO empowering Canadian refugees, and leads workshops to help female immigrant entrepreneurs master negotiation strategies. Her dedication to fostering resilience, confidence, and practical skills makes her a trusted partner for organizations and professionals alike.