Speakers 2019

Craig Alexander is the first Chief Economist at Deloitte Canada. Craig has over 20 years of experience in the private sector as a senior executive and leading economist in applied economics, forecasting and public policy. He has previously held positions as Chief Economist at TD Bank Financial Group and Vice President Economic Analysis at C.D. Howe Institute. Most recently, Craig served as Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist at The Conference Board of Canada, producing macroeconomic forecasts for the Canadian national economy as well as provinces, territories, cities and industries. Craig is a passionate public speaker on economic and public policy issues.  Craig holds a graduate degree in Economics from the University of Toronto.

The Honourable Pierre Pettigrew is Executive Advisor, International at Deloitte Canada. He was also the Government of Canada Special Envoy for the Canada-European Union Trade Agreement (CETA).

Pierre has had success in both the public and private sectors. While a consultant at the Deloitte Montreal office from 1985-1995, he emerged as a strong voice for business on international trade issues and unity matters that brought him an appointment to the Federal cabinet in 1996.

Pierre served as a Minister for 10 years, most notably as Minister of Human Resources Development, as Minister for International Trade and Foreign Minister. He represented in Parliament the Montreal district of Papineau now represented by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Pierre is on the advisory board of Forbes Manhattan, a Toronto-based private merchant bank specialized in commodities. He sits on a number of profit and non-profit boards. He is the only Canadian on the board of the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington.

Pierre regularly arbitrates international trade disputes between countries at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva.

James Padwick is a Partner at Wildeboer Dellelce LLP, one of Canada’s premier business and corporate finance transactional law firms.

James’ debt practice involves all manner of credit facilities (syndicated, non-syndicated, secured, non-secured, domestic, cross-border, revolving, term), having acted for both lenders and borrowers on transactions from the relatively small to the larger multi-jurisdiction, multi-billion dollar facilities. He has extensive experience structuring complicated transactions across a variety of asset classes – from traditional bank loans to a broad range of specialty loans.   

Recent experience includes loans with equity or royalty sweeteners, loans to finance mines to achieve production, a loan to a grain elevator, and loans backed by a wide variety of weird and wonderful collateral (wine portfolios, a book of online generated business loans, charged-off credit card receivables, cattle herds, auto leases, HVAC installations and physical gold production).  

Drawing on his MBA and business experience, James emphasizes a practical approach which is responsive to clients’ needs with a focus on getting deals done.  

Nadim Hirji is responsible for the strategic growth and leadership of Canadian Commercial Banking within BMO Bank of Montreal. Canadian Commercial Banking is a dedicated team of over 600 people committed to driving growth through best-in-class relationship management while sustaining top-tier customer loyalty. This team provides upper mid-market companies with a single point of access to financial options with an integrated suite of commercial debt products, M&A advisory, mezzanine finance & equity, treasury & payment solutions, and deposit products and services.

Nadim, who has 26 years of industry experience, began his career at BMO in 2003 and after progressing through several senior roles, received his first executive appointment as  Head, Ontario and Atlantic Canada in 2008, and then later as Head, Prairies Region, in Canadian Commercial Banking. Most recently, Nadim was the Head of Special Accounts Management Unit (SAMU) where he was responsible for developing the Enterprise’s overall strategic direction for SAMU, balancing portfolio risk/return, and maximizing the value of assets while returning capital to the organization through timely and innovative resolutions.

Within BMO Bank of Montreal, Nadim serves on the Board of BMO Life Insurance Company and BMO Life Assurance Company and is a voting member of the BMO Corporate Donations Committee.

Externally, he serves on the Board of the Canadian Business Growth Fund, a $545 million fund dedicated to support Canadian entrepreneurs and is on the Board of the Providence Healthcare Foundation, including acting as Chair of the Silver Ball Gala, which aims to raise over $1 million annually in support of the foundation.

Nadim holds an MBA from Dalhousie University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers.

John Caggianiello, CPA, CA, is a Managing Director with MNP’s Corporate Finance group in Toronto. With many years of experience, John specializes in assisting mid-sized entrepreneurial private and public companies and institutional investors with their due diligence and transaction advisory requirements.

Drawing on his investigative and advisory expertise working with private equity firms, alternative lenders, lawyers and bankers, John provides comprehensive due diligence solutions to help his clients accurately assess risks associated with their investment decisions. He also works closely with his clients in Canada, the U.S. and abroad to improve clarity on both financial and operational aspects of target acquisitions. He has extensive

experience assisting his corporate clients with business consulting, assurance engagements and tax preparation. John works with clients in various industries, including health care, agri-food, technology, construction, retail, consumer packaged goods, manufacturing, distribution and services. His expertise and insights have been shared through many published articles and speaking engagements at various events focused on transaction best practices and trends.

John is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA). He earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree (BComm) from Ryerson University and also completed his Canadian Securities Course (CSC) and Exempt Market Products Course (EMP). He is member of CPA Ontario and has presented at numerous professional development seminars. John volunteers his time and expertise as an active member on committees of the Canadian Venture Capital Association (CVCA) and is on the Board of Directors of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG).

Amar has over fourteen years of consulting experience delivering revenue uplift, cost reduction and risk avoidance engagements to clients across industries by leveraging process improvement and data analytics. Amar has experience serving clients in telecommunications, utilities, government, banking, and transportation sectors, among others.

He has a unique mix of IT and performance improvement experience, which allows him to drive operational efficiencies through the use of technology, process improvement techniques, and the application of benchmarking and best practices.  Prior to joining RSM Canada, he worked for a global management consulting firm and a Big Four firm in their consulting practice. With a sound understanding of the challenges and risks in performance management and transformational projects, Amar is sought after for his communication and analytical skills and his ability to manage relationships at senior levels within organizations.

Pascal de Guise is a partner and a member of BLG’s Private Equity, Corporate Finance and M&A Steering Committees. He is recognized for his extensive expertise in M&A, venture capital and private equity, public offerings, going-private transactions, and corporate governance and compliance. Pascal acts for reporting issuers on the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange as well as private companies, promising start-ups, underwriters and investors.

Kathy Le is an Associate in the Toronto office of Dickinson Wright. Her practise includes a variety of corporate and commercial matters with a focus on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, corporate structuring and restructuring, commercial agreements and corporate governance.

Kathy articled with the firm prior to becoming an associate.

Simon’s practice concentrates on technology outsourcing, other complex services arrangements and procurement. He advises enterprises whose businesses rely on technology and complex services. He also advises technology suppliers ranging from large established software providers to early stage technology companies. Simon has been lead counsel on projects in the banking, pension, investment, healthcare, energy and other sectors. His practice includes FinTech, data agreements, outsourcing arrangements, software licensing, government contracting, e-commerce and payment systems. Simon is a member of the FinTech Working Group for the Ontario Ministry of Finance, a team comprised of leading financial services and technology experts appointed by the Ministry to shape Ontario’s FinTech strategy. Simon writes and lectures on various areas of technology law, both in public forums and client education venues.

Simon is a past President of the Canadian Information Technology Law Association (IT.Can).

Stewart Sutcliffe is Head of the Private Equity and Private Mergers & Acquisitions Groups in the Toronto office. He has a diversified corporate practice, focusing on domestic and cross border private and public mergers and acquisitions and private equity investments, including PIPE transactions. Stewart is recognized for his expertise by numerous directories, including Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business, International Financial Law Review’s IFLR1000: The Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms and The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, among others.

Sean joined Persistence Capital Partners in 2010 and is currently responsible for all aspects of the investment process from sourcing, evaluating and executing on investment opportunities to managing existing investments.

Sean is an accomplished investor and healthcare entrepreneur. Prior to joining PCP, he was with Monitor Group, working with global leaders in healthcare service, hospital operations, pharmaceuticals, healthcare policy and biotechnology. He also worked with Monitor Clipper, where he helped develop a MENA focused Healthcare fund. Sean founded, developed and commercialized a company focused on insulin digital injection delivery systems, which he sold in 2011.

Andrew Willis is a business columnist for the Report on Business at The Globe and Mail, based in Toronto.

He has been in business communications and journalism for three decades. From 2010 to 2016, he was senior vice president of communications for Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative asset management company.

Andrew’s career in journalism included stints at a number of publications, including writing the Streetwise column at the Globe and Mail from 1995 to 2010. He also worked at The Financial Post, The Financial Times of Canada, Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal, and Maclean’s magazine.

Andrew co-wrote a book, The Bre-X Fraud, with Report on Business colleague Douglas Goold.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from University of King’s College, Halifax.

A serial entrepreneur Elaine has successfully built teams and realigned business strategies for over 15 years. She recently launched Disruption Ventures, a Venture Capital fund that invests in female founded and managed companies. This was a natural progression for Elaine as she has spent the past 6 years consulting and advising start-ups and early stage companies, helping them reach their goals and access financing. Prior to consulting, she was CEO of B5Media. The company was sold to Alloy Digital in April 2012. Elaine was also the CEO of Ziplocal which was sold to Canpages in 2009.

George Rossolatos has over 20 years’ experience as an investor, entrepreneur, and leader. At CBGF, he is responsible for the strategic direction and management of the Fund.

George joined the CBGF as its founding CEO in 2018, bringing a passion to help entrepreneurs across Canada grow their companies and ‘think bigger’. Before joining the Fund, George was CEO of Avante Logixx Inc. (TSXV:XX) from 2010 -2017. As an investor and operator at Avante, his mandate was to determine the company’s strategic direction and vision and execute the go forward plan which included an operational turnaround.

Prior to Avante, George worked in the private equity industry for 10 years. He was a partner and co-founder of TorQuest Partners Inc. a mid-market Canadian private equity fund from its inception in early 2002 until 2010. George’s previous roles included experience as an investment principal at Harrowston Inc., a publicly traded merchant bank, and five years with Ernst & Young LLP managing a group focused on middle market companies.

As a Chartered Public Accountant (CPA – Ontario), George holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and a B.Com. (Honours) from Queen’s University. He was recognized in 2007 as one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40 and is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization.

Rich leads the TELUS Ventures team to source, structure and optimize strategic growth platform investments. TELUS Ventures is Canada’s most active corporate venture capital fund over last 5 years and Rich was named one of the Top 100 Corporate Venture Capital Investors in the world by Global Corporate Venture Magazine in 2018 and 2019.  

His board responsibilities include AlayaCare, Beacon, Fortius, Integrate.AI, League, Moj.io, Right Health/Akira and Vision Critical.

Before joining TELUS Ventures in 2016, Rich was the founder and Managing Partner of RecapHealth a leading venture investor in North American health care companies. Previously he was a Partner in both a mid-market Private Equity fund and a Canadian VC fund investing in US and Canada. He started his career as an entrepreneur in the enterprise software sector.

Rich is a strong believer in using financial tools to effect positive social change. He is the founder of one of Canada’s first social impact funds, BC Social Venture Partners and was an investor in Canada’s first health focused social impact bond. He is an LP and advisor to a number of venture and private equity funds, an Associate at CDL, a Board Member at LifeSciences BC and Age-Well and an angel investor in over 20 companies across Canada, the US and the UK.

Rich earned degrees at UBC and Queen’s University and has completed Executive Leadership courses at Harvard.

Aly joined ONCAP in 2012. Previously, he worked at Callisto Capital in Toronto, which is known as Clearspring Capital. Aly focuses on ONCAP’s origination, due diligence and portfolio company development efforts in Healthcare and Environmental and Engineering. Aly holds an undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Waterloo and MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

Charles Brown is President and CEO of LifeLabs, Canada’s largest medical laboratory and leading diagnostics and health technology provider. Since joining LifeLabs in 2018, Charles has worked to evolve LifeLabs into a commercially driven organization that brings customer-centred value to market that will improve health outcomes for Canadians.

As part of his leadership at LifeLabs, Charles has been developing a transformational growth strategy to reshape the company’s culture and focus while ensuring that LifeLabs continues to play a pivotal role in the health eco system. Charles has introduced new discipline and rigor to LifeLabs’ business processes, resulting in an improved patient experience, strengthened operations, and higher value innovation.

Before joining LifeLabs, Charles served as President of The Source, Canada’s largest consumer electronics and mobile retailer. Charles led The Source to impressive results and growth by building an exceptional customer experience.

Prior to leading the Source, Charles served as Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Bell, where he led the delivery of Bell’s telecommunications at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. He brings more than 25 years of experience as an innovative technology leader, from entrepreneurial start-ups to large corporate entities, including serving as President and CEO of Wave Wireless and Chief Information Officer of Clearnet.

Charles’ passion for community service extends to various roles on Boards and Executive Committees. Currently, he serves as the Chair of Kids Help Phone, Canada’s only national 24-hour, bilingual and anonymous counseling service for youth. He is also a past member and long-time supporter of the United Way of Toronto and York Region’s Campaign Cabinet. Charles holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and a Master of Business Administration from the Ivey School of Business at Western University.

Lisa Melchior, founder of VERTU Capital, a technology private equity fund targeting high potential Canadian businesses, is a 20+ year private equity professional.

Over the course of her career, she has invested nearly $1.4B in over 20 companies across various sectors through multiple cycles. Her technology sector experience spans application software, HCIT, cleantech, tech-enabled services and industrial technology.

Prior to founding VERTU, Lisa was a Managing Director at OMERS Private Equity, where she led the North American Technology group. She started her career at CIBC World Markets.

Lisa holds an MBA from York University’s Schulich School of Business and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Western Ontario.

Since joining Onex, Seth has led a number of private equity acquisitions, including the acquisition and subsequent realizations of BC Sugar, Spirit AeroSystems, Allison Transmission and Tomkins. Currently he is Chair of the Onex Partners Investment Committee and oversees Onex’ institutional capital raising, wealth management division, Gluskin, Sheff + Associates, and Onex Credit Partners. Seth has served on numerous portfolio company boards during his career at Onex. He also serves on the board of Village Community Schools. Prior to joining Onex, Seth was Senior Vice-President, Corporate Banking, at Bank of Nova Scotia. Seth holds a B.S. in Accounting and Philosophy from the University of Delaware.

Former Managing Director at OTPP and head of the firm’s private equity investing efforts in the Financial Services vertical; joined OTPP in 2005.

Started his career at Bain & Company and held numerous operating roles at Delano Technology Corporation.

B. Comm (1st Class Honours) from Queen’s University and MBA (High Distinction) from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Avid endurance athlete (multiple Ironman, Ironman 70.3, marathon, and half marathon finisher).

Terry Power is the Chief Executive Officer of Medisys Health Group, Canada’s largest provider of preventive health services to corporations and individuals across the country. Medisys Health Group is Canada’s leader in executive health services, virtual care, occupational health, employee health & wellness, and individual preventive health services. In July of 2018 the Medisys Health Group proudly joined the TELUS Health family.

Terry builds on two decades of leadership experience across diverse industries. He led the creation of Canada’s largest HR solutions and staffing company and was instrumental in the formation of Medisys Health Group as the former CEO Horizon Occupational Health Solutions, a division of Medisys Health Group. Terry has held a number of not-for-profit leadership roles, with specific focus on furthering Canada’s technology industries as well as enhancing the lives of under resourced children.  Terry is a graduate of the College of the North Atlantic and the Richard Ivey School of Business Leadership Program.