Ayo Owodunni is a management consultant and facilitator who brings over 10 years of experience in coaching, training and strategic direction to the table. Originally from Lagos, Nigeria, Ayo aims to help enterprise-level clients achieve big-picture goals while focusing on diversity, inclusion and cultural understanding in the workplace. His approach combines subject matter expertise, personal stories and just the right amount of humor all intended to break barriers and facilitate better communication between people at all levels of an organization.

Ayo’s passion and natural talent for connecting with audiences shine through in everything he does. His impressive client list spans a variety of industries and includes renowned companies such as Spotify, Canada Life, Microsoft, Thomson Reuters, CIBC, TMX Group and Hydro One to name a few. He is the author of the book, “Values, Culture, Period” – Redefining the Value of Values to Drive Business Results and “Inclusive Leadership”: The Immigrant View – Helping immigrants thrive and soar in your organization. He is also the co-creator of The Ring: 4 Steps to transforming your organization through the power of your values & culture.

Upon immigrating to Canada in 2016, Ayo overcame many challenges before finding his stride-challenges he today helps others avoid. He learned something new every step along his path to success and would later incorporate these pearls into his innovative training programs. Ayo holds an MBA in entrepreneurship and a Life Coach certification. He serves on several organization boards, including immigrantnetworks.com, expedier.co, and Emergency Response Africa. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Management Consultants. 

Jamelle Lindo is an emotional intelligence executive coach and international keynote speaker with over 12 years of diverse learning and development experience. He is driven by his mission to empower leaders and professionals within organizations to realize their highest ideals, leading to healthy and diverse cultures, happy employees, and thriving businesses that make the world a better place.

Jamelle has worked with thousands of professionals across Canada to help them level up through the practical application of emotional intelligence and mindfulness strategies. Certified in the world’s leading assessment tool for measuring emotional intelligence (EQ-i 2.0), Jamelle uses this powerful tool to establish a scientific benchmark to begin his clients’ development journey.

He is an official member of the Forbes Coaches Council, an invite-only organization for successful business coaches, and an associate certified coach (ACC) through the International Coach Federation (ICF), which represents the gold standard for professional coaching worldwide. Jamelle’s thought leadership has been frequently published on Forbes.com.

As an in-demand speaker, he focuses on teaching his audiences the importance of emotionally intelligent leadership amid today’s rapidly evolving digital environment (otherwise known as industry 4.0). He is a charismatic, dynamic, and powerful presence on stage who compels his audience to critically look at how they can use emotional intelligence and mindfulness to enhance their abilities and create winning cultures within their organizations.

Jamelle is committed to giving back to his community in the greater Toronto area. Locally, he serves on the executive council for United Way and provides professional development workshops for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Canada and the Mississauga Board of Trade.

Nita Chhinzer is currently an Associate Professor of Human Resources at the Department of Management, University of Guelph. She also co-authors Canada’s best-selling post-secondary Human Resource Management textbook.

Dr. Chhinzer serves on the Advisory Board for Canadian HR Reporter and the Governance Professionals of Canada (GPC). She is a member of the Board of Directors at the Toronto Centre for Learning and Development. Dr. Chhinzer was the recipient of the 2019 Outstanding Paper Emerald Literati Award (Education +Training) and the University of Guelph Fellowship in Leadership, HRM, and Work (2012-2017). In 2016, she was recognized as one of the top 25 HR Professionals in Canada.

As President of the National Payroll Institute (the Institute), Peter Tzanetakis emphasizes that timely and accurate payroll is vital to the health of every business in Canada and the right of every working Canadian. In collaboration with members, stakeholders, subject matter experts, business partners and policymakers, he has leveraged leading-edge research, functional expertise, and a clear strategic vision to underscore payroll’s value to employers, employees, the government and the economy.

Since joining the Institute in 2018, Peter has worked to elevate the payroll profession as a champion for payroll designations — the gold standard for payroll expertise — and upholding the highest professional standards. This work includes establishing Payroll Standards Canada, a new professional body overseeing the educational and professional requirements, a public registry, and the code of conduct governing designation holders, in the spring of 2023.

Peter has over 30 years of experience in public policy and business development within government, and the private and not-for-profit sectors. He has served as Vice-President of Government and Corporate Relations at The Financial Advisors Association of Canada (Advocis); Director, Economics and Statistics with PricewaterhouseCoopers; Senior Manager, Tax Policy Services at EY; and Senior Economist and Director of Policy at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

He received his Bachelor of Arts, Honours Economics, from the University of Western Ontario in 1989, and earned his Master of Arts in Economics from Queen’s University in 1991.

Sharon Robinson is the Director of Human Resources with the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia. In this role, she provides strategic and operational leadership for talent management, total rewards, labour relations, learning & development, employee engagement and health, safety and wellness. Everyday Sharon is inspired and motivated to contribute to the safety and well-being of Nova Scotians.

She is a graduate of Dalhousie University and holds an Advanced Diploma in Human Resources Management and a certificate in Strategic Human Resources Management. Sharon is a long-time volunteer with CPHR-NS, currently as the Chair of the Board of Directors, the professional and credentialing association for Human Resources Professionals in Nova Scotia.

Timothy Lang is President & CEO of YES – Canada’s leading youth employment service provider, who annually counsel, trains, empower and inspire tens of thousands of youth to become contributing members of society through employment placement. YES has a close to 90% success rate and focuses on our most vulnerable youth, helping create safer, stronger communities and change lives.

Timothy Lang is an accomplished leader in the private and not-for-profit sector with a record of inspiring organizations to achieve record results and growth. Previously Tim held senior management and executive positions with Xerox, Bell, Energy Savings Income Fund, and St. Francis Xavier University. As Vice President at Energy Savings Income fund, Tim drove its growth and expansion across Canada and into the U.S. and increased the customer base by hundreds of thousands and up 300%, leading to a $2 billion market cap. As VP External at StFX University, he helped raise $120 million for the Brian Mulroney Institute for Government and the Frank McKenna Leadership Centre and developed innovative branding and communications to enhance the reputation of the university. Tim has a B.A. from StFX University and a Master’s degree from the University of Manitoba. Tim was born in Saskatoon, is bilingual, and has lived and worked across Canada, the U.S., and Great Britain. He sits on several not-for-profit Boards and received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for outstanding contributions to the community in 2012.

Timothy is passionate about the intersection of organizational culture and coaching. With vast experience in marketing, sales and HR at large organizations such as Procter & Gamble, Intel and Index Group, he has coached C-level leaders and taught at Bogazici University Lifelong Learning Center, Global Knowledge Canada, and Simon Fraser University. He holds five coaching certificates, is trained in multiple coaching styles and is a PhD. candidate on building a culture of coaching for 21st century organizations. Timothy has four nationally published books in Turkish, including one on coaching, and he has worked with clients such as MEC, Telus, Aviso Wealth, Doctors of BC, and Suncor.

Vicki Bradley, Founder and CEO of WIL Empowered (Women in Leadership Empowered) and Chief Executive Coach at Vicki Bradley and Company, Vicki is an Executive Coach, PCC, and Energy Leadership Index Assessment Master Practitioner (ELI-MP), in addition, she is certified in Conversational Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence.

A seasoned executive with 25+ years’ experience in leading high performing teams in the retail industry across North America. She has held progressive roles with iconic retailers including President of the Bombay Furniture Company in Canada while simultaneously leading the store organization as VP Sales and Operations for Bombay US, SVP of Sales and Operations with Marks and Spencer’s, VP of Sales and Operations with Holt Renfrew (Hr2), and progressive roles within the Woolworth Organization across North America. Vicki sat on the Board of Directors for the Retail Council of Canada, Party Packagers, OSI Tile, and is an advisor for Ellington Partners.

Today, Vicki is the Founder and executive coach at Vicki Bradley and Company, where she works with a variety of individuals, teams, and organizations to advance their leadership journey, she works one on one with each client or with teams focused on awakening their conscious leadership, navigating their professional lives, and recharging confidence. She is also the Founder and CEO of WIL Empowered, (Women in Leadership Empowered). As a mentor and coach, she discovered that most women are struggling to advance their careers due to under-developed soft skills and a lack of support. So, she created the WIL Empowered program to provide all the tools and training necessary for women to become effective at accelerating as leaders. WIL Empowered is an online women’s leadership program– utilizing all four aspects of leadership development: Coaching, networking, peer to peer mentoring and skills training. Her passion is to support individuals in reaching their full potential while being the catalyst for change as one reaches key decision points in their life and career.

She is the single mother of 2 young adults and in her free time…she might be off traveling the world, walking a beach, playing golf, paddle boarding, or reading a good book.

Surranna Sandy is an award-winning nonprofit executive, currently CEO of Skills for Change, a multiservice social services charity that helps 16,000+ Immigrants and Refugees resettle in Canada annually. Surranna has an MA in Leadership and Management, (Anglia Ruskin), an MBA in Human Resources Management (Wales), and a Hons B. A in Leadership and Management (Northumbria); Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration (Western University), Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management Certificate (Harvard) and a Certificate in Human Resources Management (Ryerson) and a Diploma in HR Management.  

Surranna is currently completing a Master of Liberal Arts degree at Harvard University in Global Development Practice, concentration on Environmental Policy and International Development focused on understanding how policy instruments, social complexities, human health risks, ecological system dynamics, technological innovations, and financial models can advance sustainable development. 

She is an Advisor for Canadian Centre for Nonprofit Digital Resilience; Member Stakeholder Committee LMIC / CIMT; Chair of Communications Committee for International Women’s Forum- Canada Toronto Chapter; Chair Board of Directors of the Black Human Resources Professionals of Canada; Deputy Director of Communications and Global Engagement Harvard University Extension Student International Relations Club; Co-Chair of the Global Task Force on Environmental Action for Masters in Development Practice Student and Alumni Advisory Committee (Global MDP SAAC).  She is a former inaugural member of the City of Toronto’s Partnership & Accountability Circle (“PAC”) for The Toronto Action Plan to Confront Anti-black Racism, completing a 2.5-year term in Spring 2021.   

She sits on various boards and committees related to sustainability and the environment, anti-oppression & anti-racism, immigrant and refugee services, women leadership & empowerment, decent work, and digital equity & literacy. She has received multiple awards for her nonprofit leadership and community development work including from the Federal Government of Canada and 100 Accomplished Black Women. 

Sydney Elaine Butler is the founder of Accessible Creates, where they also remotely speak and consult about Accessibility, Neurodiversity primarily with other areas of Diversity and Inclusion for companies in various industries so that companies know how to be more accessible and inclusive in the workplace and to their employees.

Dr. Robin Yap is a textbook author, researcher, and professor with over 30 years of interdisciplinary experience in human learning journeys, performance management, social data analytics, ethics of augmented intelligence systems, and applied technology in business and entrepreneurial practices. Robin is the Canadian Head and Chair of Delegation for the International Standards Organisation (ISO) Learning Services standards in Switzerland. He is on the Ontario Research Ethics expert panel, have been an invited expert with the Canadian Press, been a featured guest on CNN-Asia and Toronto/Kitchener/Waterloo’s Metro-Morning shows, and been an invited lecturer and speaker at Columbia University (USA), New York University (USA), Oxford Brookes University (UK), Aalborg University (Netherlands), Christian University (Japan) and University of Navarra (Spain). You can find Robin’s work on YouTube @Yap with Dr. Yap, Instagram @robinyap and at robinyap.ca.

Kris Tierney is the Vice-President of Human Resources and Learning at the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA – www.hrpa.ca) where she provides strategic leadership to the Association’s internal human resources practices, as well as leading professional development and learning programming for the HRPA’s more than 24,000 students and members.

Kris is a passionate HR and business executive who believes that outstanding businesses run on outstanding workplaces where people and culture are strategic priorities. Kris spent more than 15 years’ leading HR and strategic talent programs in high growth, hi-tech companies in automotive and financial services where she served as a trusted people and culture strategist, advisor and business partner to the C-Suite.

Known for her easy and approachable style, she thrives when helping others live their lives with purpose, belonging and value. Kris holds the CHRP and CHRL designations awarded by the Human Resources Professionals Association.

Edward is the Founder and CEO of Point North, an augmented Intelligence learning journeys consulting firm.  He has an interdisciplinary background of Organizational Behaviour, Sales and Marketing, eCommerce, and Advanced Convergences of Technology. Edward held various executive roles in global organizations like Best Western’s Worldhotels Luxury Collection, USA and HRS Group, Germany.    

Edward has three academic degrees and currently on his doctoral program studying the impact of Social Media to Pedagogy. Edward has spoken at over seven dozen global conferences, executive board member at international professional associations, a regular columnist for EyeonTravel, guest writer for Reuters, Hotel News Resource, Digital Travel and more. He was a featured guest at CNN-Asia and has authored multiple textbooks and compendia, published by Pearson publications. You can find more about Edward’s work at https://www.edwardaperry.com/ 

Justin Tetreault is a Senior Associate lawyer with Grosman Gale Fletcher Hopkins LLP representing both employers and employees in all aspects of labour and employment law, including hiring and dismissal, employment contracts, performance management and discipline, employment policies, and human rights issues.

Justin has a strong advocacy background and has acted or assisted in matters before labour arbitrators, the Ontario Labour Relations Board, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Divisional Court, the Ontario Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Justin has made conference presentations on a variety of employment law issues. He is a regular contributor to the Firm’s Employment Bulletin. Justin’s articles on employment law have also appeared online for websites such as Canadian Lawyer Magazine and Huffington Post Canada and he has been quoted in the Lawyer’s Daily.

During law school, Justin summered with the National Hockey League Players’ Association, where he was responsible for assisting with salary arbitration cases between NHL players and their clubs.

Actively involved in politics, Justin has worked on Parliament Hill and at Queen’s Park, including a summer spent at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, where he became closely acquainted with Ontario’s human rights system.

A leader in the employment law community, Justin is a past Chair of the Ontario Bar Association’s Labour and Employment section.