Innovation and Entrepreneurship

A highly rated professor of entrepreneurial engineering at the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University, Andrew brings to bear a unique understanding of the challenges of technology innovation and entrepreneurship developed from his direct experiences in working with client companies.

General Management

Andrew is the author of Redefining Operational Excellence: New Strategies for Maximizing Performance and Profits Across the Organization. During the course, he will be teaching key operational excellence fundamentals, allowing participants to pinpoint new operational improvement opportunities in their organizations – in areas where most leaders don't normally look. Andrew does extensive training in the areas of innovation and collaboration, profitability, customer acquisition and retention, speed optimization, and strategy execution. His research has been published in Entrepreneur, Industry Week, PROFIT, Purchasing, Canadian Healthcare Manager, The Globe and Mail, and many other publications. Andrew also works with leading organizations focused on achieving performance boosts including 3M, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, McKesson and The Bank of Nova Scotia.

People Leadership

Andrew Soren is part of the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania’s internationally renowned Masters of Applied Positive Psychology Program. For the past 20 years, Andrew has worked with some of the most recognized brands, nonprofits and public sector teams to co-create values-based cultures, develop positive leadership, and design systems that empower people. He is on the board of the International Positive Psychology Association.

Municipal Sector

Ann Cavoukian is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts in privacy. Appointed as the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario in 1997, Cavoukian served an unprecedented three terms as commissioner. During that time, she elevated the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner from a novice regulatory body to a first-class agency, known around the world for its cutting-edge innovation and leadership. Cavoukian’s expertise has been recognized in many ways. She was ranked among the top external 25 Women of Influence, recognizing her contribution to the Canadian and global economy and named one of the top 100 City Innovators Worldwide by UBM Future Cities for her passionate advocacy of Privacy by Design. She was chosen as one of the external, ‘Power 50’ by Canadian Business magazine for her tireless efforts as a privacy champion and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Guelph. She was selected for external, Maclean’s magazine’s ‘Power List’ of the top 50 Canadians and picked as one of the “top 10 women in data security, compliance and privacy you should follow on Twitter”. Cavoukian was also recognized as a Founder of Canada’s Digital Economy at IdentityNORTH 2016, named as one of the Top 100 Leaders in Identity, 2017 and most recently she was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal for her outstanding work on creating Privacy by Design and taking it global in May 2017.

Anne Genge has been a tech innovator and educator working closely with practice owners, dental/medical teams, and IT providers to protect patient and practice data and enable compliance with privacy regulations for more than 20 years in Canada.  She is a multi-certified cybersecurity expert with global awards for her work in cyber risk management, ransomware prevention, as well as cybersecurity education for healthcare providers. Her motto, “no geek speak,” coupled with her humour and great story-telling, has made Anne one of Canada’s leading cybersecurity and privacy educators.  Today, she’s on a mission to help everyone understand online threats and be able to defend themselves at home and at work when using technology. Anne is a trusted source for dental practices and is an author and contributor to many associations and publications across North America.  Certifications: Certified Information Privacy Professional, Certified Healthcare Cybersecurity Professional, Certified Healthcare Security Risk Assessment Specialist

Municipal Sector

Antoine is a seasoned senior executive with experience in successfully leading high-profile transformations across organizational boundaries. As a change champion with sound judgment, political acuity and strong business skills, he successfully demonstrated senior executive-level achievement as a strategic, innovative and results-oriented leader. A strong team builder, Antoine is passionate about providing the best customer experience.

Healthcare

April Stewart is the head of Clinical Services at Akira by TELUS Health, where she oversees all clinical services across Canada for virtual care. In this role April has had the opportunity to combine her clinical knowledge with business development. Her experience working in a start-up and being involved in multiple acquisitions has provided her with a unique experience in health, tech and business. April Stewart is a nurse practitioner trained in primary care. She attended the University of Toronto where she received bachelor's degrees with honours in both Physical Education and Health as well as Nursing. April spent several years working as a charge nurse in Toronto taking care of critically ill patients. April then went on to complete her Masters of Nursing at the University of British Columbia where she graduated with honours as a nurse practitioner. Since graduating, April has spent her career working with marginalized populations in the downtown east side of Vancouver. She has also spent a large amount of time working in rural and remote communities in Northern BC, ON and Guatemala. She is also a nurse practitioner trained in Oncology and is passionate about health screening and health promotion.

Project Management

Ariel Deluy’s experience spans more than 15 years during which he implemented enterprise project management systems, building and managing multidisciplinary and highly effective project teams to deliver complex solution for clients, and providing strategic planning services for a number of Fortune 1000 organizations. Ariel's leadership philosophy and professional experience is based on combining strategy with technology to deliver enduring results to clients.  In the public sector, Ariel has worked with CATSA, TSA, and airport authorities throughout Canada and the United States on several successful airport security projects and baggage systems automation. Ariel received his Bachelor of Science degree in physics from Concordia University, and his Bachelor of Applied Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Windsor.

Marketing

Ashley Konson's passion is helping clients and students discover and apply cutting-edge thinking and the best practices of brand leaders from around the globe for growing brands and businesses. Ashley has worked in senior and executive-level marketing positions in the United States, Canada and South Africa, with Nestle, The Walt Disney Company, Imax Ltd. and Holt Renfrew. He is the author and instructor for the Kellogg-Schulich EMBA Designing Brand Experiences program, and program director for the MBA & MMKG Brand Management programs at the Schulich School of Business at York University. He is also visiting faculty at the S. P. Jain School of Global Management based in Dubai, Singapore and Sydney, Australia. Ashley has been recognized frequently for “teaching excellence” and is a two-time winner of the prestigious Seymour Schulich MBA Teaching Excellence Award for which he has been nominated nine times.

Big Data and Analytics

Ash serves as managing director for the mining practice at Uptake, a leading industrial-AI and enterprise software company. At Uptake, his team guides mining companies towards excellence across the value chain by leveraging data from various sources within operations. Over the past few years, Ash has advised dozens of Mining and Manufacturing CIOs and CTOs on the best practices in the Digital Transformation of their organizations, thanks to his extensive experience in operations, strategy, start-ups, and Digital technologies. He also has more than 12 years of experience in the mining industry in both operations and as an OEM supplier. Ash holds a master’s degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he mentored several start-ups on business planning, product-market fit and public speaking. Ash can be found talking to CIOs, CTOs, and CEO’s of mining and tech companies on his podcast, Core Insights.

Big Data and Analytics, General Management, Marketing

Ashwin is director of the MBA Program and co-director of the York Consulting Group at the Schulich School of Business, York University, where he is also a professor of marketing. Ashwin teaches in the BBA, MBA, PhD and Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA programs, in addition to teaching in certificate programs for the Schulich Executive Education Center. Ashwin holds the exclusive distinction of having received the Seymour Schulich Excellence in Teaching Award at both the BBA and MBA levels at the Schulich School of Business. Ashwin’s passion is in the area of developing analytical, decision-making and presentation skills. His TURNING POINT methodology helps managers to clearly identify the key issues that demand their attention, develop a systematic approach to developing solutions to these issues, and present their ideas in a compelling manner. He has conducted a number of seminars on this methodology both in-house at the Schulich ExecEd and for organizations such as CIBC, Rogers, Schneider Electric and Telus, among others.

Financial Acumen

Atipol is a highly rated professor at the Shulich School of Business at York University. He specializes in alternative financial arrangements, international technology transfer, multinational corporations as well as economic development of South East Asia.

Big Data and Analytics

Audrey is a senior manager at Omnia, Deloitte's Artificial Intelligence practice focused on AI literacy and adoption. She leads Deloitte Canada’s Analytics & AI Academy offering. Leveraging her experience as a human capital and process improvement adviser, she has assisted many organizations in designing and delivering upskilling programs that enhance the analytics IQ of executives, sharpen the technical skills of quantitative professionals and encourage al to apply AI and analytics to solve business problems. Audrey has deep expertise in bridging the gap between AI and analytics strategy formulation and execution through executive team decision-making facilitation, team effectiveness advisory services and organization alignment services. Prior to joining the Analytics practice at Deloitte in 2015, Audrey was a consultant for nine years. She has led many large transformation projects from a process re-engineering and change management perspective. Audrey holds a BA from McGill University and an MBA from the Solvay Business School, Belgium.