Healthcare

Sapna Sriram is a leading Canadian chiropractor and registered acupuncturist with a focus on sports injuries, pre- and post-natal care, and chronic pain. She is also the award-winning co-founder and CEO of Integra Health Centre, Toronto’s largest and most reputable, collaborative full-service medical and health clinics. Sapna is a mentor and educator; having been a clinical and business mentor to clinic owners and clinicians across Canada. As a media personality, Sapna is Canada’s go-to injury expert and has been featured on multiple media interviews including on CityLine, The Social, Breakfast Television, Global Morning Toronto, HuffPost, CTV Morning Live, CTV News, City TV News, CP 24, CHCH Morning Live, 680 News, Rogers Daytime, The Globe & Mail, Global News, the Toronto Star and many more. In 2018 Sapna became the first Canadian featured on the cover of CEO Mom magazine.

Dr. Sarah Bay-Cheng is Dean and Professor of Theatre & Performance Studies in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design (AMPD) at York University in Toronto. Her research and writing focuses on the intersections between theatre and media including histories of film, social media, and technology in performance. She is the author or editor of 4 books, including Performance and Media: Taxonomies for a Changing Field (2015) and Mapping Intermediality in Performance (2010) as well as more than 100 academic essays, lectures and reviews. She also writes and gives talks on performance and media in popular culture, including film, social media, and sports. Prior to becoming Dean of AMPD at York, Bay-Cheng served as Chair of Theater and Dance at Bowdoin College (Maine, USA) and as the Founding Director for the Techne Institute for the Arts and Emerging Technologies at the University at Buffalo (New York, USA).

Sarah Friesen leads Friesen Concepts Inc., an independent practice specializing in healthcare procurement solutions. Areas of focus include strategic sourcing transformation, innovation procurement and professional development. Sarah has 20 years of experience in the healthcare sector, and she brings 17 years of strategic sourcing and supply chain experience from the private sector. Sarah supports healthcare organizations as they navigate the complexities of innovation procurement initiatives. She also develops and delivers professional development programs through various educational institutions and the Healthcare Supply Chain Network (HSCN). Sarah is a founding member of HSCN and a member of the Board of Directors. Most recently she was the Project Manager for the HSCN Innovation Procurement Toolkit project. Sarah participates in various innovation initiatives and served as a member of the Ontario Health Innovation Council. She is a member of Supply Chain Canada.

Retail

Leader of Shopper Outcomes, NextPX Mckesson Canada Scott has a 20-year track record working with some of North America’s largest brands, disrupting the status quo in consumer experience in retail. He is a seasoned expert at blending innovation in technology with business processes in unique ways to drive engagement and business growth in the retail industry.

Scott Hadley has more than 13 years of international experience in the area of Supply Chain Management. He brings value to participants by helping them to identify strategic and tactical opportunities in the Supply Chain. Scott will help participants learn to work with internal teams to develop practical, realistic, yet high value-added solutions. Scott’s thought leadership has been recognized worldwide through invitations to speak at industry forums sponsored by leading industry groups such as: Gartner Group, Council of Logistics Management, Supply Chain Council (Supply Chain World), and Materials Handling and Management Society. His written work has been published in a number of academic and industry publications.

Healthcare, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Sales

Scott Marcaccio is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Myodetox, a lifestyle physical therapy brand operating 13 locations across Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Toronto, supported by over 270 talented team members. Myodetox is reinventing the physical therapy category through a differentiated experience and leading consumer brand. Through the power of their industry-leading social media strategy, Scott has led Myodetox to forge ongoing partnerships with global brands including Nike, Equinox, and Lululemon. Prior to Myodetox, Scott was an International Correspondent working for the South China Morning Post, tasked with creating macroeconomic reports on key European trading partners in Asia. He later joined Baltronic Group, a Scandinavian telecommunications company, to successfully lead their business expansion into the Canadian market in a Director of Sales role. Scott graduated from Western University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, and speaks frequently on topics such as entrepreneurship, employee engagement, branding and company culture. He is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), Beverly Hills Chapter.

Sales

As one of Canada’s leading internet marketing speakers, Scott Wilson appears regularly at events and conferences as an expert on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Most recently, Scott has spoken and written about the future of Google search trends and keyword ranking for government associations, independent companies and the education sector. With more than 15 of years of experience in search engine optimization, Scott has driven the growth of over 1000 businesses worldwide. PROFIT magazine ranks Scott as an essential SEO, SEM, and internet marketing speaker and he speaks yearly to the CEOs of the PROFIT 500, 100 and PROFIT 50 fastest growing companies. He has several Google certifications including AdWords, AdWords Mobile Advertising and Google Analytics. For the past decade Scott has been a popular guest lecturer at university business schools and worked with companies such as the Canadian Olympic Association, 3M, Pepsi, Harley Davidson Motorcycles, Little Caesars Pizza and many more. Scott also runs training and workshops on SEO and international ecommerce for government organizations in Vietnam, Canada, USA, Colombia and Israel.

Municipal Sector

As part of the Chief Executive Office at Wellington City Council focussing on Smart Cities, Sean Audain is a national expert in cross-organisation priorities and municipal leadership. He has a particular interest in city problems - especially those that span across organisations and jurisdictions, but which make the lives of citizens better. Sean’s major specialities include open data, the Internet of Things, data visualisation, GIS and helping grow CivicTech and Hackathon communities.

People Leadership

Sean is an instructional designer and e-learning developer with Benchmark, focused on helping organizations learn, perform and transform. Always the go-to person for training new hires, he started with e-learning in 1999 as an online mentor for IT certification and moved formally into the world of instructional design in 2009. Sean has a wide variety of skills accumulated from a diverse background including work in IT, financial services, film & television, government, retail and non-profit.

Technology

Dr. Shane Saunderson is an expert in the design and psychology of interactions with social machines. Shane also lectures on digital transformation and emerging technologies with Schulich Executive Education at York University. He has spent over a decade consulting for Fortune 500 clients on digital strategy, disruptive innovation, and technology projects. Shane has helped found several startups, has chaired numerous industry boards, is a prolific technology writer, and frequently gives talks on robotics, AI, design thinking, and the future of technology in society. He is a former Vanier scholar who holds a Ph.D. in Robotics with a specialization in psychology from the University of Toronto, an MBA in Technology and Innovation from the Ted Rogers School of Management, and a B. Eng. from McGill University.

People Leadership

Sharlene Fernandes is a client-centric learning and development manager and instructional design consultant, working in the fields of professional sales, consumer packaged goods, and data analytics. She led the client-learning and professional-certification teams at the Canadian Professional Sales Association (CPSA), and the technical and analytical Canadian client-training programs at Nielsen. Currently, as part of Nielsen’s Global L&D organization, she designs and manages enterprise-wide, global-learning and certification paths for both Nielsen associates and clients across the world. She has supported the learning and development needs of hundreds of leading global CPG brands such as Coca-Cola, Nestle, P&G, and Mars. She specializes in designing and facilitating engaging in-person, virtual, and digital learning experiences based on performance needs in changing environments. She has a passion for combining technology, brain science and learning principles to help clients apply and embody new skills, especially as it pertains to technology adoption and change management. Sharlene Fernandes is a graduate of the Advanced Masters Certificate in Adult Training and Development (aMCATD) program from Schulich ExecEd and achieved her Certified Training and Development Professional (CTDP) designation through the Institute for Performance and Learning (I4PL). She holds an Honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto in psychology and human biology.

Coaching and Collaboration

Sharone is President of Bar-David Consulting Inc., a company dedicated to building respectful work environments through training sessions, consulting, and specialized services for revitalizing the effectiveness of abrasive leaders. She brings to her work a unique synthesizing perspective gained through 20+ years’ experience as a lawyer, trainer, speaker, consultant and family therapist. Sharone’s insights into workplace-related matters are featured regularly in a commentary column she writes for the Canadian HR Reporter magazine. Her expertise in workplace change is featured in a book she has co-authored, Awakening the Workplace. Her tips-packed blog had become a destination for readers wishing to create respectful and engaged work environments.

People Leadership

Shawn is senior manager, learning design, with Royal Bank of Canada. For the past 20 years he has successfully merged his passions for technology, project management and adult learning into an intriguing career. Shawn graduated with a BSc in Computer Science from the University of the West Indies. He also earned certifications from the American Management Association and Prosci as a Certified Trainer and Change Management Professional. Shawn was often called upon to lead training teams on large transformational technology-based projects. He has also lectured to college classes on information management, project management and educational technology. Shawn successfully completed the Masters Certificate in Adult Training and Development (MCATD), became a Certified Training and Development Professional with The Institute for Performance and Learning and a Project Management Professional with the Project Management Institute. Shawn is currently the Learning Portfolio Lead for Retail Operations within RBC’s Personal & Commercial Banking segment, a learner base of approx. 9000 RBCers.

Municipal Sector, Public Sector

As one of Canada's most knowledgeable public service leaders, Shirley's 30-year career includes serving as Assistant Deputy Minister in three ministries: Ontario Women's Directorate, Ministry of Community & Social Services, and joint ADM of Operation and CEO of the Ontario Housing Corporation. Between 2001 and 2008, Shirley served the vital role as City Manager for the City of Toronto, advising the Mayor and City Council on major fiscal, organizational and service strategies. In 2014, Shirley completed a five-year term with Toronto Lands Corporation, where she helped oversee a $340-million revenue contribution.