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Keynote Speaker:
Lieutenant General the Honourable Roméo A. Dallaire (Retired), Senator
Lieutenant General the Honourable Roméo A. Dallaire, (Ret’d), Senator, has had a distinguished career in the Canadian military, achieving the rank of Lieutenant General and becoming Assistant Deputy Minister (Human Resources) in the Department of National Defence in 1998. In 1994, General Dallaire commanded the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). His book on his experiences in Rwanda, entitled Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, was awarded the Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction in 2004. It has garnered numerous international literary awards.
Since his retirement from the military, Senator Dallaire has worked to bring an understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder to the general public. He has also been a visiting lecturer at several Canadian and American universities, and has written several articles and chapters in publications on conflict resolution, humanitarian assistance and human rights. As a Fellow of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, he pursued research on conflict resolution and the use of child soldiers.
Senator Dallaire has received numerous honours and awards, including Officer of the Order of Canada in 2002, Grand Officer of the National Order of Québec in 2005, and the Aegis Award for Genocide Prevention from the Aegis Trust (United Kingdom). He has also been named a Fellow of the Ryerson Polytechnic University and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and has received honorary doctorates from a large number of Canadian and American universities. Canada’s Governor General, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, presented him with the United Nations Association of Canada’s Pearson Peace Medal in 2005.
LGen. Dallaire (Ret’d) was appointed to the Senate effective March 24, 2005 and sits in the Senate as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. He is also a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights.
Keynote Speaker:
John Furlong
Chief Executive Officer
Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
When John Furlong arrived in Canada more than thirty years ago from Ireland, a customs officer at the airport offered a warm but specific greeting: “Welcome to Canada - make us better.” Furlong took those inspired words to heart and within days, he was volunteering, making a contribution, doing what he felt we should all do – giving a little.
Helping to improve the fabric of Canadian society remains one of Furlong’s steadfast personal goals. As Chief Executive Officer for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Furlong believes the event can be a real nation builder. “All Canadians must feel these Games are theirs,” says Furlong. “This is not about a few of us but about all of us.”
A resolute believer in teamwork, he credits his leadership style to the lessons he learned as a young athlete: “Leadership is about finding a way to contribute to the success of your team mates and it’s never easy. I’ve tried to take the lessons of athletics – fair play, integrity and real teamwork – and incorporate them into the culture of this organization.”
Prior to his appointment at VANOC in 2004, Furlong was the President and Chief Operating Officer for the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation. He helped lead the organization through numerous phases. In his role, he became the Bid’s international face and key spokesperson, tirelessly clocking more than 1.2 million miles in his travels to promote the Bid.
Furlong has been involved with athletics all his life, having competed at the international level in three sports. He captained Gaelic Football Teams, as well as national basketball and handball teams in his native Ireland. The Olympic Games first captivated him in 1964, when he watched the Tokyo Olympic Summer Games on television: “Being involved with the Olympic Games was all I could think of.”
A long time member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, he has also served as chair of the BC Summer and Winter Games and Sport BC. He founded the Northern BC Winter Games Society, and served British Columbia at seven Canada Games and two Western Canada Games.
Furlong’s service to sport has landed him with numerous community awards, among them the Darrel Thompson and Kaizan Awards for services to sport in British Columbia over a lifetime. He was voted Canada’s Sport Executive of the Year for his contribution to the Vancouver 2010 Bid, and named Vancouver’s Executive of the Year by the Vancouver Executive Association. He was acclaimed as the 2004 Canadian Sport Awards’ Sport Leadership Winner for his service to sport in Canada over a lifetime. He has won Vancouver’s most prestigious tourism award for the promotion of Vancouver around the world and was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame as the 2004 W.A.C. Bennett Award winner.
A former Canadian squash champion, Furlong continues to play and work out when he can. When not consumed by Olympic Games business he enjoys good books, movies, live theatre, his daughter’s soccer games and the Vancouver Canucks. Born in Tipperary, Ireland, Furlong is a resident of Richmond, BC. He has five children and six grandchildren.
Keynote Speaker:
Margaret Bloodworth
National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister and Associate Secretary to the Cabinet
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Margaret Bloodworth received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Winnipeg and a Bachelor of Law from the University of Ottawa. She was called to the Bar in 1979.
Mrs. Bloodworth began her professional career in 1979 with the former Canadian Transport Commission, now the Canadian Transportation Agency. During her time there, she served as General Counsel and Director General of the Dispute Resolution Branch.
In 1989, Mrs. Bloodworth was appointed to the Privy Council Office as Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet (Legislation and House Planning, and Counsel). In 1994, she was promoted to Deputy Clerk (Security and Intelligence, and Counsel).
Mrs Bloodworth left the Privy Council Office in October 1996 to accept an Order-in-Council appointment as Associate Deputy Minister of Transport. In January 1997, she was appointed Deputy Minister of Transport, then Deputy Minister of National Defence in May 2002.
When Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada was created on December 12, 2003, Mrs. Bloodworth became the Department’s first Deputy Minister.
In May 2006, Mrs. Bloodworth was appointed to the position of Associate Secretary to the Cabinet, Privy Council Office and on October 10, 2006, she assumed responsibilities as National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister.
Keynote Speaker:
Jean-René Halde
President and Chief Executive Officer
Président et chef de la direction
Jean-René Halde has more than 30 years of management experience in the private sector. Since 1979, he has held CEO positions in leading companies, including Métro-Richelieu Inc., Culinar Inc. and Livingston Group Inc.
Mr. Halde has acquired a solid understanding of the challenges involved in managing businesses, as well as thorough expertise in corporate governance matters. He is a graduate of the Corporate Governance College of the Institute of Corporate Directors and has acted as Academic Director of the same program in Montréal.
Throughout his career, Mr. Halde has been a Board member or Chair of several businesses and organizations, including CCL Industries Inc., Groupe Vidéotron Ltée, Gaz Métropolitain Inc., the Institute of Corporate Directors and the Montréal Heart Institute.
Mr. Halde obtained a B.A. from Collège Sainte-Marie, a M.A. in Economics from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Jean-René Halde possède plus de 30 ans d'expérience en gestion dans le secteur privé. Depuis 1979, il a occupé plusieurs postes de chef de la direction pour des entreprises de premier plan, notamment Métro-Richelieu Inc., Culinar Inc. et Livingston Group Inc.
M. Halde a acquis une solide connaissance de la gestion d'entreprise de même qu'une expertise approfondie en matière de régie d'entreprise. Il est diplômé de l'École supérieure de régie d'entreprise de l'Institut des administrateurs de sociétés et a exercé le rôle de Directeur académique à Montréal pour ce même programme de perfectionnement des administrateurs.
Durant sa carrière, M. Halde a agi comme membre ou président du conseil pour un nombre important d'entreprises et d'organisations, y compris CCL Industries Inc., Groupe Vidéotron Ltée, Gaz Métropolitain Inc., l'Institut des administrateurs de sociétés et l'Institut de cardiologie de Montréal.
M. Halde détient un B.A. du Collège Sainte-Marie, un M.A. en économie de l'Université of Western Ontario ainsi qu'un MBA du Harvard Business School.
Plenary Speaker:
Carol Stephenson
Dean, Ivey School of Business
University of Western Ontario
Originally from Petrolia, Ontario, Ms. Stephenson spent many years in the Canadian telecom industry before joining Ivey. As a widely respected CEO, she brings more than 30 years of progressive experience in marketing, operations, strategic planning, technology development and financial management to Canada’s premier business school. Ms. Stephenson began her career at Bell Canada in 1973, advancing through a series of management positions to join the executive ranks in 1988. From 1995 to 1998, as President and CEO of Stentor Resource Centre Inc, she led the national marketing and technology development centre for Canada’s nine telecommunications companies. Then as President and CEO of Lucent Technologies Canada from 1999 to 2003, she spearheaded the team that succeeded in tripling Lucent’s market share in Canada despite an industry downturn.
The recipient of a number of prestigious awards for her achievements, she currently serves on the boards of directors of several top Canadian companies and on important government committees. Ms. Stephenson is a director of ING Canada, a past trustee of Union Energy Waterheater Operating Trust and a member of the General Motors of Canada Advisory Board. She was recently appointed Chair of the Ontario Research Fund Advisory Board and is a past member of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on Science and Technology. She is also Chair of the Federal Government’s Advisory Committee on Senior Level Retention and Compensation. In November 2006, she was appointed by the federal government to serve on the board of directors of the Vancouver Olympic Games Organizing Committee (VANOC).
Carol Stephenson has earned significant recognition for her community work and industry involvement. The Canadian Women in Communications association named her Woman of the Year in 1995. In 2000, Ryerson University awarded her with an honorary doctorate in engineering. In 2001, she received the acclaimed Woman of Distinction designation from the YWCA, and in 2005, Ms. Stephenson was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Canadian Information Productivity Awards for her contribution in building a competitive telecommunications industry in Canada. Ms. Stephenson has also been named one of Canada’s Top 100 Women.
Carol Stephenson is a graduate of the University of Toronto and successfully completed the Executive Program at the Graduate School of Business Administration, University of California at Berkeley, as well as the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Ms. Stephenson’s goal as Dean of Ivey is to dramatically advance the practice of business management and leadership and to create business leaders who think globally, act strategically and contribute to the societies in which they operate.
Session Presenter:
Françoise Morissette
Co-Author of Made in Canada Leadership
Faculty and Fellow, Industrial Relations Centre
Queen's University
A bilingual human resource consultant, Françoise Morissette is a major contributor to the field of organization development in Canada. She has been a faculty member at the Industrial Relations Centre (IRC) of Queen’s University since 1992 and has played a key role in developing the new certificates in organizational development. In 2006, she was made a Fellow of the IRC.
Françoise has worked in the private, public, and para-public sectors across North America and in Europe, namely in Finland, Sweden, the UK, and France.
Her field of expertise is leadership development, and since 2004 she has conducted, with colleague Amal Henein, the largest research in Canada in leadership development. The results form the basis of their book, Made in Canada Leadership (Jossey-Bass, 2007). To learn more about this initiative, go to: www.leadership-canada.com.
Françoise holds an undergraduate degree in human sciences from the University of Ottawa and a graduate degree (adult education) from l'Université de Montréal. She is also certified as a professional coach by the International Coach Federation.
Besides teaching on a number of Queen's IRC programs - including Organization Development Foundations and Leadership Development - Françoise is part of the core faculty at the Adler School of Professional Coaching. She is associated with the Centre for Leadership Studies at the University of Guelph and a guest faculty member at Sherbrooke University. She is also a popular speaker, and has made presentations to a wide variety of associations.
Session Presenter:
Neil Hetherington
Chief Executive Officer
Habitat for Humanity – Toronto Chapter
Recipient of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 Award in 2006, for his contribution to the community, Neil Hetherington is the youngest CEO of a Habitat for Humanity affiliate in the world. Since joining Habitat for Humanity – Toronto in 2000, Neil has accelerated its building program from an average of ½ a house per year to 55 under construction in 2007. The Habitat ReStore operations have also expanded with the addition of a third store in August 2007. Revenues from the ReStore operations have grown from $250,000 in 2000 to over $1.5 million in 2006.
After graduating from University, Neil volunteered for Habitat for Humanity building homes internationally in Hungary, Poland and Uganda where he saw the dramatic difference that a simple, decent Habitat home could make in the life of a family and a community. Upon his return, Neil began his career in project management at Tridel Construction, Canada’s largest condominium developer. While working there, he continued his volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity.
Even today, Neil continues to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity internationally and has worked on projects in Ghana, Mexico, Louisiana (Hurricane Katrina rebuilding), and on Jimmy Carter Work Projects in Georgina, South Korea and India.
Neil is the recipient of many awards and honours for his contribution to the community including the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Toronto Grace Hospital and Camp Kwasind. He is also an active volunteer at Out of the Cold, the Ontario Prayer Breakfast, is a member of the Rotary Club of Toronto and a Deacon at Yorkminster Park.
Session Jazz Players:
“Jazz and Leading an Improvising Organization” http://www.gettinginthegroove.com
Jazz is an in-the-moment, improvised, art - so is the work of leadership. Going with the flow, listening to the voices of others and contributing one’s own voice, paying attention to and collaborating with others, learning to lead and to follow, breaking out of non-creative routines. These are the conditions essential for the making of jazz music - just as they are for making a work of art of leading our shared work experiences.
“Getting in the Groove” has spent the last five years working with a broad range of private and public sector organizations discovering what jazz can teach us, individually and collectively, about leadership in organizations. The dynamic nature of our organizational environments means that the primary role of the leader is to create and make the “rules of the game” that govern improvising understood. Come and learn with some outstanding jazz players and leaders who will make music and talk about the nature of their passion and how it conveys improvised leadership.
Session Panelist:
Lise Mathieu
Retired Major-General
Lise Mathieu is a retired Major-General who served 31 years with the Canadian Forces. At the time of her retirement, she was the Commander of the Canadian Forces Health System.
Ms. Mathieu is a seasoned, fluently bilingual executive with an impressive breadth of leadership experience. Her dynamic and confident style of leadership inspired and motivated the healthcare and support team during an extremely stressful deployment in the Gulf War. She was involved at the most senior level in a key period of transition for one of our largest and most complex national institutions - the Canadian Forces. She also led the large-scale transformation of the Canadian Forces Health System, building leadership capacity, moving towards a learning organization that espouses a culture of service, overseeing the revision of processes, infrastructure, and professional relationships while re-building morale and improving the provision of care. A key attribute is her ability to instill in others her own passion for success and excellence.
Leading “under fire” has provided her with a perspective on what is “urgent”, and allows her to make measured decisions in fast-moving, high pressure situations. Her ambition is to bring the benefits of this learning to other leaders and leadership teams in order to improve both individual and organizational results. Her experience as a consultant and teacher has shown that she has the ability to be frank, without being judgmental, and to give guidance without undermining accountability. Ms. Mathieu’s professional life spans all organizational levels and a broad range of professions and personal styles. Consequently, her experience is relevant in almost any size or type of organization. As a consultant in strategic leadership and leadership development, Lise brings creativity mixed with determination to the issues and challenges facing her clients.
Session Presenter:
Maureen O'Leary-Pickard
Leadership Challenge Facilitators
Maureen O’Leary-Pickard is the Senior Consultant of The Performance Group, a management services firm specializing in the Human Resources field in small to mid-sized companies and not for profit agencies.
Maureen is a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) and has over 25 years of progressive experience in positions in Human Resources. These include Manager of a provincial youth employment program; a Human Resources generalist at Canada Post Corporation; Director of Human Resources for the London Public Library; directing the Human Resources function for the London Free Press Printing Company and its various corporate holdings; and HR Director for a group of automotive parts divisions for Magna International.
Through The Performance Group, she has provided a broad variety of Human Resources services and facilitated workshops in Strategic Planning, Team Building, Leadership, Management Coaching, Performance Management, Labour Relations, Compensation, Training Needs Analysis, and Executive Recruitment. Clients consistently have described Maureen as enthusiastic, knowledgeable, insightful, and responsive. Maureen has taught at Fanshawe Community College and in a Master-level program at the University of Western Ontario.
During her professional career, Maureen has been invited to serve on provincial advisory committees on youth employment and the marketing of Ontario Libraries. She has held leadership positions with the Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario and the Human Resources Program Development Committee for Fanshawe College. Maureen served as President of the UWO Alumni Association, was appointed to the UWO Senate and was the founding Chair of the Council of Trustees for Brescia University College, an affiliate of UWO. She was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 for community service.
Session Presenter:
Kelly Ann McKnight
Leadership Challenge Facilitator
Kelly Ann McKnight is a personnel development professional who focuses on bringing innovative tools to her clients. Her business thrives because of her ability to assess the development needs of clients, and design customized programs to develop appropriate skills and abilities. Driven by customer needs, Kelly Ann has developed training and coaching tools in many different subject areas. Her programs have included leadership development, sales and sales management, communication skills, time management, behavioural profiling, and team building.
Kelly Ann’s business acumen was developed in various sales and marketing roles, including strategic marketing, market research and database marketing with firms such as Dow AgroSciences, Cyanamid, and the University of Guelph. She is a certified trainer with Langevin and holds an M.B.A. from York University and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Guelph.
Kelly Ann farms with her husband and four children, near Fergus, Ontario.
Session Presenter:
Bonnie Adamson
President and CEO
North York General Hospital
Bonnie Adamson has been the President and CEO at North York General Hospital since August, 2002. Prior to this appointment, she was President & CEO in the Huron Perth Hospitals Partnership, an eight hospital network in southwestern Ontario. For many years prior, she held several senior leadership positions at the Victoria Hospital and London Health Sciences Centre in London, Ontario.
Mrs. Adamson is a Fellow of the Canadian College of Health Service Executives and Diplomate of the American College of Healthcare Executives. She serves as Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Studies (ICES) in Toronto and is incoming Chair of the National Board of the Canadian College of Health Service Executives after serving for five years on the Board.
She is active on many Ontario Hospital Association and Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care committees and has authored numerous articles in health care leadership.
Session Presenter:
J. David Livingston
President and Chief Executive Officer
Infrastructure Ontario
As President and Chief Executive Officer of Infrastructure Ontario, David Livingston oversees the crown corporation responsible for executing large-scale public infrastructure projects for the Government of Ontario. Mr. Livingston has 30 years of financial industry experience, where he ultimately rose to Executive Vice President Corporate Development at TD Bank Financial Group. At Infrastructure Ontario he has created a team of private and public experts that use innovative tools to deliver complex projects on time and on budget.
Mr. Livingston obtained his B.Sc. from the University of Western Ontario in 1973 and his MBA from Queen’s University in 1976. He is a director of Ovarian Cancer Canada and The Children’s Aid Society of Toronto. He is also a member of the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto Real Estate Committtee and the Children’s Aid Foundation Scholarship Award Committee. He and his wife have two grown children.
Session Presenter:
Michael Fenn
Chief Executive Officer
Greater Toronto Transportation Authority
Michael Fenn was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority in February 2007. He was previously CEO of Mississauga Halton Local Health Integration Network (an Ontario regional health authority serving over a million residents) after serving as Deputy Minister of the Ontario Ministries of Municipal Affairs & Housing, and Community Safety, for eight years. His municipal career includes being city manager of the City of Burlington and then Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth, for a total of eleven years. In both the latter positions, he had overall managerial responsibility for transportation and public transit, environmental services, corporate budgeting and economic development, among other functions. Throughout his career, Michael Fenn has been known for bringing customer-focus, productivity and innovation to the delivery of public services, as well as pioneering work with public-sector strategic plans.
Formerly Vice-Chair of the multi-billion dollar Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), Mr. Fenn has been President of the Ontario Municipal Administrators Association (OMAA) and Chair of the Ontario Public Service United Way Campaign. He has served on the Ontario Civil Service Commission, the Public Sector Accounting Board of Canada (PSAB), the Board of the Burlington Hamilton United Way, and the Ontario Realty Corporation (ORC), the Ontario Government’s real estate authority (serving as Chair of ORC during 2004 and 2005). He remains a Director on the Boards of the Canadian Urban Institute and the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (as Chair of Research & Professional Practices and a member of the National Executive). As a community member, he also serves on the Board of the innovative “brownfields” project, the Imperial Cotton Centre for the Arts, in north Hamilton and as a member of the Burlington Performing Arts Centre fundraising cabinet.
In addition to two degrees from York University, Mr. Fenn holds an MA and a Diploma in Urban/Regional Public Administration, both from the University of Western Ontario. He has also completed the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government from the Kennedy School at Harvard University. His articles on public policy and public administration have appeared in a number of journals and books.
Mr. Fenn has received the highest awards for career achievement from both of Ontario’s major municipal management organizations (from the AMCTO in 2000 and the OMAA’s Robert Baldwin Award in 2006). His contributions to environmental preservation projects have twice been recognized by awards from the Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner. He has also received the Award for Program Excellence in Citizen Involvement, from the International City/County Management Association and the “Canada 125 Medal” for community service to Burlington. In 1997, he was awarded Lieutenant-Governor’s Medal of Distinction in Public Administration for Ontario.
Michael was born and educated in downtown Toronto, where he also lived for many years – taking public transit every day. He and his wife, Carolyn, have two adult children and they live in Burlington. He enjoys opera and blues, graphic arts, cycling, canoeing, and international travel, having visited over 40 countries.
Session Presenter:
Ratna Omidvar
Executive Director
The Maytree Foundation
Ratna Omidvar is the Executive Director of The Maytree Foundation, a private charitable foundation dedicated to reducing poverty and inequality and to building strong civic communities in Canada. Maytree supports the development of alternative social policy perspectives, and accelerating the settlement of refugees and immigrants in large urban centres. Maytree provides grants to leaders and leading organizations and invests in the capacity of individuals to lead change.
Currently, Ratna serves as a director of Toronto City Summit Alliance (TCSA).One of the recommendations put forward by the TCSA was to establish a Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) to improve access to employment for immigrants in the region. TRIEC was established in September 2003, and Ratna acted as its first executive director. She is currently its founding chair.
In 2003 Ontario's Premier-designate Dalton McGuinty appointed Ratna as a member of the Transition Advisory Board. In 2004 Prime Minister Paul Martin appointed Ratna to his External Advisory Committee on Cities and Communities. Ratna currently serves as a board member of Tamarack - An Institute for Community Engagement. In 1995, Ratna received the YWCA "Women of Distinction" award. She was granted the honorary title of Fellow of Centennial College in 2003 and in 2006 she was awarded an honorary diploma in community work from George Brown College. In 2006 Ratna was appointed to the Order of Ontario.
Session Moderator:
James Ridge
Deputy City Manager
City of Vancouver
James Ridge is a Deputy City Manager with the City of Vancouver. He has also served as the Chief Administrative Officer of the District of North Vancouver, and held several executive positions with the City of Toronto including Chief Information Officer and Executive Director of Municipal Licensing and Standards.
Before joining municipal government, Mr. Ridge held senior management positions in the Province of Ontario leading policy and regulatory organizations. He also served for nine years as a commissioned officer in the Canadian Armed Forces Security Branch, serving in leadership roles in various command and staff positions across Canada. Most of Mr. Ridge’s career has involved leading the start-up of new organizations, turning around troubled organizations, and leading substantial organizational change.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University, a Master of Arts from the University of Manitoba, and a Master of Public Administration from Queens University.
Session Presenter:
Sheldon Levy
President and Vice-Chancellor
Ryerson University
Sheldon Levy has been President and Vice-Chancellor of Ryerson University since August 1, 2005.
For more than thirty years, Sheldon has been active in the Ontario postsecondary sector as a senior administrator and professor of Computer Science and Mathematics. He served as Vice-President Institutional Affairs at York University, President of Sheridan College (now the Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning), Vice-President Government and Institutional Relations at the University of Toronto, and Vice-President Finance and Strategy at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.
Sheldon earned his BSc (Honours, First Class) and MA degrees from York University, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by York University in June 1999.
He serves as Chair of the Council of Ontario Universities Government and Community Relations Committee, and sits on the COU Executive Committee. He is a member of the Innovation Institute of Ontario Board of Directors, and a member of the Honorary Board of Directors for the Greater Toronto Marketing Authority.
Chosen by The Toronto Star as one of “10 to Watch in 2007,” Sheldon is recognized for his impassioned and proactive commitment to students and scholarship. His continuing impact reflects his record of progressive change as a builder in the service of academic quality, research, and student success. He is acknowledged for his expertise on postsecondary issues, and known for his strong belief in the value of partners and engaged communities whose aspirations are high. He has consulted across Canada and internationally.
Session Presenter:
Vince Molinaro
Principal and National Practice Lead –
Organizational Solutions
Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions
Dr. Vince Molinaro, is Principal and National Practice Lead – Organizational Solutions with Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions. He is responsible for leading the organizational consulting arm of Knightsbridge which specializes in providing strategic facilitation, team effectiveness, leadership capacity and talent management solutions to clients.
Vince has dedicated his career to helping leaders and their organizations build strong leadership capacity for competitive advantage. An insightful practitioner, Vince is uniquely able to turn innovative ideas into practical solutions—he is known for taking the complex and making it simple and actionable. He has designed and implemented award winning programs that have transformed leadership cultures for his clients.
Through his extensive consulting and leadership experience, pioneering research and writing, Vince has established himself as an advisor to senior executives. He is called upon by the media for his innovative opinions on leadership, creating high-performance organizations and executive team development. An engaging speaker, Vince conducts keynote presentations within corporations, international conferences and business schools.
He received his Doctorate from the University of Toronto and has degrees from Brock University and McMaster University.
Vince has also published extensively in journals and business magazines. He is the author of two books. Leadership Solutions (co-authored, Jossey-Bass, 2007) and The Leadership Gap (co-authored, Wiley 2005). Vince can be contacted at vmolinaro@knightsbridge.ca or see the website at www.knightsbridge.ca.
Keynote Speaker
Patrick O'Neill
President
Extraordinary Conversations Inc.
Patrick O’Neill leads Extraordinary Conversations Inc., a Toronto-based management consulting firm specializing in change management, leadership development, team dynamics and conflict resolution.
An expert in human and organizational dynamics, Patrick’s work has taken him to global corporations in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific; to the townships of South Africa; and to the peace process in the Middle East.
A gifted teacher, consultant, mediator and mentor, Patrick has worked with thousands of people, and hundreds of teams and organizations over twenty years. He has made a contribution to the practices of leadership and collective work through the development of leading edge educational programs that are practical, pragmatic and applicable to the workplace.
His corporate clients include AstraZeneca, The Boeing Company, Novopharm, The Ontario Pension Board, ORTHO BIOTECH, Disney, Kraft, City of Toronto, Nestlé, Pearson, Revlon, SOLCORP, TELUS and BMG Music Canada as well as mid-size and smaller organizations.
Patrick leads Extraordinary Conversations for Breakthrough Results a three day seminar on leadership and collective work. With Dr. Angeles Arrien he co-facilitates Thresholds of Collective Wisdom, a five day program on group dynamics and Triumph of the Imagination, a four weekend program on leadership, creativity and change.
A sought-after speaker, Patrick is the author of the forth-coming book “The Visionmaker.” He is on the board of the Angeles Arrien Foundation for Cross Cultural Education and Research, San Francisco. He is a past President of the Ontario Association for Children with Learning Disabilities.
Patrick lives in Toronto with his wife Lynne and his three daughters, Alannah, April and Ariana.
Session Presenter
Shelly Jamieson
Deputy Minister of Transportation
Shelly Jamieson, Deputy Minister of Transportation, was appointed effective January 3, 2006. Former president of a publicly traded health care company with $545 million in annual revenues, Ms. Jamieson has served in numerous executive positions including Executive Director of the Ontario Nursing Home Association (now the Ontario Long-Term Care Association).
From 1996 to 2000, Ms. Jamieson served as a commissioner on the Health Services Restructuring Commission, an independent body of experts and professionals whose mandate was to make decisions about hospital restructuring and to recommend changes to other aspects of the health-care system. Ms Jamieson until recently was a member of the Board of Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.
Ms. Jamieson has a B.A. Honours in Urban Studies from the University of Toronto and is a graduate of the Executive Management Program at the Ivey School of Business.
Session Moderator
Syd Baxter
City Clerk
City of Vancouver
Syd Baxter has had a long career in municipal administration formerly in the City of Toronto and now the City of Vancouver. He has been the City Clerk of the City of Vancouver since 2001 where he is responsible for a variety of legislative, administrative and support services to the public, the Mayor, City Council, and the corporation.
Mr Baxter recently led the development and approval of a 311 proposal for Vancouver, which is now in implementation. 311, a public service window to City services for citizens, will transform how services may be obtained from the municipality. He is leading 2010 Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games planning for the City in communications, protocol and external relations management and post-Olympics archival collections.
Mr. Baxter moved to British Columbia in 1998 to become the administrator of the Delta School District. Prior to that he had a long and varied career with the City of Toronto where laterally he was the Deputy City Clerk and then City Clerk. Formerly he was Business Administrator in the Public Health Department. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto in Political Science.
