Sales

Paul is an accomplished and well-respected management executive with a record of success delivering results in the Canadian telecom market in both B2B and retail sectors. He has expertise in sales, distribution and general management and is a proven problem solver with innovative negotiating skills, combined with a wealth of experience designing and executing organizational change. Paul spent 19 years with Bell Canada where he oversaw many significant changes and helped Bell Mobility become the industry leader. He retired as vice-president of Bell Dealers in 2017. Prior to his time at Bell, Paul served in multiple sales and management roles for Xerox Canada for 12 years. He earned an MBA at the Rotman School of Business, University of Toronto, and a BA in financial studies at the University of Western Ontario. He currently also teaches part time at Seneca College where he specializes in customer-relationship management, professional sales and sales management.

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.

Preet Brar is a versatile and creative product and brand leader who has made a significant impact in the fashion and design industry on a global scale. Throughout her career, she has successfully developed and executed integrated strategies across North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia, resulting in substantial top-line revenue growth across diverse market segments, including lifestyle accessories, fashion, wellness, and decor. Preet’s extensive background encompasses every aspect of strategy, design, and product launch, complemented by her remarkable ability to build highly empowered and productive teams across multinational markets. Recognized for her exceptional talent in engaging diverse stakeholders, Preet believes in the power of design to drive positive change, and she actively seeks innovative ways to reduce the industry's environmental impact. Her passion for sustainability further enhances her ability to create purposeful and responsible designs that resonate with customers and contribute to a more sustainable future. With diverse cultural exposure and a global career, Preet seamlessly operates across various functions and cultures, always maintaining a positive outlook and a sense of humor.

Quintin is a leading Facilitator and Trainer with more than 20 years of experience facilitating, training and guiding leaders and teams to enhance their performance, both individually and collectively. He teaches and facilitates a broad range of diverse topics. His highly sought-after approach focuses on developing frameworks that measure, evaluate and address performance gaps on a human level. He applies his personal philosophy of learner-led development by leveraging the knowledge in the classroom alongside providing the tools and skills for personal and professional growth. Quintin focuses on determining and refining organizational directions, missions, and strategic plans to achieve a client’s desired outcome. He believes in employing collaborative approaches with the client at the heart of decision-making and creative problem-solving to address any gaps in performance. Quintin is a recognized authority on Board governance and regularly consults on governance issues with organizations in the corporate, non-profit and public sectors. By applying leading-edge board performance measurement and director development tools, his award-winning programs have raised the performance of Boards around the world. He is currently Director of Training and Development at Gay Lea Foods Co-operative, one of the largest dairy processing co-operatives in North America with over 1400 employees and owned by over 1400 dairy farmers. He lives in Guelph, Ontario and spends part of his spare time teaching other trainers and adult educators facilitation skills.

Coaching and Collaboration, Diversity and Inclusion, People Leadership

Rachel is CEO of Lumen Consulting Group Inc. and partners with boards and corporate and non-profit organizations in bringing about transformational change. As a global senior consultant, Rachel’s areas of strategic expertise are in executive coaching, inclusive culture transformation, human capital strategy, leadership development and corporate social responsibility. Prior to founding Lumen Consulting Group Inc. Rachel had more than 20 years of experience in progressive leadership roles with Fortune 100 companies. Her most recent executive role was VP, organizational development & corporate social responsibility where she provided executive oversight of the Talent Management Center of Excellence and led the People, Product and Planet Strategy for Canada. She is also an executive leadership coach certified through International Coach Federation. Rachel is a Faculty member in the Schulich ExecEd (Schulich ExecEd) in addition to being a mentor in the University of Toronto, St. Michael’s College Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Post-Graduate Program.

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.

Change Management, People Leadership

Ray Gordezky is well known for his work facilitating strategic organizational learning, change, and action that addresses contentious issues and complex circumstances. He is principal and co-founder of Threshold Associates, where he works with business, community and public service leaders to strengthen leadership through action and reflection, as well as to create intentional spaces for organization learning by making learning an integral part of work. Ray is author of many academic articles and his published books include Dialogic Organization Development, The Change Handbook (2nd Edition) and The Handbook of Large Scale Change.

Marketing

René is a partner at Gowling Lafleur WLG with 10 years' law experience with a focus on advertising and marketing.