Manny Satija was appointed Global Director, Strategic Sourcing at CSA Group on November 14th 2016. As the Head of Procurement for CSA Group, Mr. Satija is focused on building a globally integrated procurement organization with responsibility for sourcing activity across 14 Countries in 37 cities covering North America, Europe and Asia. Prior to joining CSA Group, Manny spent 14 years with IBM in various procurement leadership and global transformational roles. His sourcing experience centers around indirect procurement and outsourcing. In addition, he has proven experience leading on-site and remote teams delivering sourcing savings, supplier governance and transformation for clients. Manny’s experience in procurement transformation is focused on spend analytics, technology, contract governance, alignment of sourcing strategies, stakeholder assessment and implementation of operational efficiencies. Prior to working for IBM, Manny spend a few years gaining experience in the Financial Services Industry working for RBC Financial Group. Manny holds a MBA and BBA from the Schulich School of Business(York University), and has participated in an International study abroad program with the University of Bath in England.

Christian started his career within IT Procurement and IT Asset Management at a German Bank in 1998. Since then he has remained in the IT industry and specifically, Software Asset Management. In 2004, he headed the IT purchasing department at MAN Trucks & Bus, which today belongs to the Volkswagen Group. In 2008, Christian joined COMPAREX and focused solely on Software Asset Management and Software Procurement Consulting. Today he is the Director of Software Asset Management and responsible for the worldwide business development of SAM related services at COMPAREX.

Erik Moll is an 18-year Microsoft Canada veteran. Erik has most recently worked to develop partner programs in the Office 365 and Azure spaces, brings a wealth of experience in product marketing, partner training, and program development with his tenure at Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard Canada and Compaq Canada. As Director of Digital Transformation at COMPAREX Canada, Erik Moll is an advocate for cloud-based licensing and services to support customer’s journey to be digitally-driven and connected in the cloud.

Effective July 2014, Peter assumed responsibilities as Global Head of Procurement for RBC. In this role, he leads a team of 145 procurement specialists dedicated to delivering strong financial benefits, best in class procurement practices and increased innovation from suppliers. His team manages RBC third party spend of approximately $6.7 bn/yr involving all categories with the exception of real property leases and ownership.
Prior to assuming this role, Peter held responsibility for client and business strategy for RBC’s Commercial Financial Services business in Canada from 2011 – 2014. In assuming this role, he relocated from Halifax, Nova Scotia where he was the executive sales leader for RBC’s commercial banking business in Atlantic Canada.
Peter is a graduate of both Dalhousie University (Bachelor of Commerce) and The Ivey School of Business (MBA). In 1999, he earned his Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation, earning the Province’s gold medal for academic excellence. In September 2012, he was awarded the FCMA designation in recognition of his service and contribution to the CMA profession in Canada.
Peter was born in Halifax and has spent roughly 25 of his 35 year career with RBC in a wide variety of roles, both in Halifax and Toronto. He was appointed an executive in October 2002.
Over the past ten years or so, Peter has been very active in the community, having been Chair of the YMCA of Greater Halifax Dartmouth, Chair of the Metro United Way Regatta, Vice-Chair of the Downtown Halifax Business Commission, and has been a board member of many other organizations. Currently, he chairs the Investment Committee of an Atlantic Canadian University, is vice chair of CMA Nova Scotia, is on the executive steering committee leading the unification of the accounting profession in Nova Scotia and is Board Chair of the Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Counsel.
In his personal time, Peter is an avid sailor and bicyclist, plays piano and is learning guitar.

Guillaume Desbois, is a mechanical engineer. He has been a procurement Professional for the last 20 years, with experience in Automotive, Mines & Metals, and a specific focus on Project and Category Management. Guillaume’s specialties are team development, continuous improvement and stakeholders management. He is a passionate and a committed person. His career has giving him the chance to work in international and multicultural environment (Europe, Asia America, Africa, Australia) and to live in France, British Columbia and Quebec. His current position is Atlantic Category Manager at RioTinto with a team spread in 5 countries (Canada, USA, France, Poland, India), serving industrial sites across North America and Europe. He is an happy husband and father of a boy and a girl and enjoy presently life in Montreal.

Joseph Souaid is the Director of Procurement and Logistics for Keurig Canada. In this role he looks after strategic sourcing, contracts and vendor management as well as the strategy and execution of the distribution activities across Canada. Previously he worked in a variety Procurement and Supply Chain roles in the airline and aerospace industries. Joseph has an MBA and a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University.

Munish Dhanker is the Director of Category Management for Corporate & Professional Services, Travel and Marketing at OpenText, the leading Canadian software products company. With over 15 years of experience in IT, Telecom and Consulting organizations, he is currently spearheading a Procurement Transformation initiative to establish a results driven Strategic sourcing and Category Management organization. He is a returning speaker at ProcureCon Canada and is passionate about elevating the role of Sourcing and Procurement to a strategic business partner that delivers real value to the organization.

Paul heads Shaw Communications Strategic Sourcing Team responsible for networks, satellite and business infrastructure. He has an extensive background in international negotiation, vendor management, supply chain auditing and change management. His current focus is the development of high performance teams centered on strong stakeholder engagement and maximizing value to the organization.

Arianne Reza joined the Acquisitions Program as Assistant Deputy Minister of the Procurement Branch on December 5, 2016. In this role, she works with the Assistant Deputy Minister of Defence and Marine Procurement in managing a team of over 1,300 employees and delivering and average of more than $18 billion in acquisitions for over 100 government departments and agencies. Ms. Reza oversees the provision of comprehensive services for acquiring complex commercial goods and services. She also leads procurement projects and initiatives to support Public Services and Procurement Canada's (PSPC) mission to deliver high-quality services and programs that meet the needs of federal organizations while ensuring sound stewardship on behalf of Canadians. In addition, Ms. Reza directs the development and implementation of the Acquisitions Program Transformation. Ms. Reza has 20 years of experience in the federal public service. She joined PSPC from the Canada Border Services Agency, where she held various senior management roles in regional and international operations and national border programs. In her most recent role as DG of the Traveller Program Directorate, she oversaw the modernization of the Agency's suite of 25 traveller programs. Throughout her career, Arianne has held many interesting positions including Special Advisor to the Associate Secretary of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and Special Advisor to the President of the Canada School of Public Service. Ms. Reza holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Carleton University and a KPMG Business School certificate in management for women.

Kim specializes in strategic supply chain transformation. Her 20-year experience is notable for rapidly transforming under-performing procurement and distribution networks and developing competitive advantage, driving growth and customer loyalty. As a leader within B-2-C channels, she’s occupied several senior level roles, most recently leading the design and roll-out of the new warehouse for a Canadian jewelry retailer. Kim holds a MBA from McMaster University. She has harnessed invaluable experience in both operations and supply chain roles for organizations in retail, telecommunications, food & beverage as well as hospitality. Kim also advises various retail businesses on business strategy and the use of data.

Eugene Fernandez is President, EF and Associates. He has over 30 years experience in Supply Chain, Procurement, and Operations in US, Canada, India and Middle East. His best practices experience includes from top 25 global supply chain organizations like IBM and Dell. Eugene has proven record in five companies of increasing Net Profit 25% in six months with no investment, through Transformation, and over 15% cost reductions through ‘Out of the Box Thinking’. Eugene has extensive Strategic Sourcing experience in both Direct and Indirect Categories and is an Expert in IT Software Category.

Michael Johnson is a certified supply chain professional in both Canada and the U.S. with over 17 years of experience leading multi-national organizations in the oil & gas and aerospace industry. His diverse experience includes coordination of logistics operations as well as contracting and procurement activities in the U.S., Canada, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. He is currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area and is the head of the Contracting and Procurement Department at Shell Martinez Refinery in California.  In his current role, he leads a team responsible for strategic sourcing and supplier management supporting both manufacturing operations and capital projects at one of largest refineries on the west coast of the U.S.

Azam Dawoodis the Head of Technology Procurement for the BMO Financial Group and has beenin the procurement space in North America for over 15 years.  Having builtStrategic Sourcing organizations at multiple large institutions and also havingnegotiated over 150 procurement, outsourcing and M&A agreements, Azam iswell versed in the opportunities and challenges facing the procurement worldtoday.  His articles have appeared in numerous publications, includingOutsource Magazine and the Huffington Post.  Azam holds a Chemistry andChemical Engineering degree from McGill University and an MBA in strategy fromWarwick Business School.

 

Rosa Mauro’s main areas of expertise are procurement, construction, and infrastructure law as well as public-private partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, commercial real estate, leasing, secured financing and mortgage lending, corporate/commercial law, and surety and bonds. The focus of Rosa’s practice is the development and drafting of procurement and construction documents, including tender documents, RFx documents for different procurement models, and related contracts. Rosa has in-depth knowledge of procurement law and the Construction Lien Act. She represents owners, contractors, suppliers, and vendors from a wide variety of industry sectors including all levels of government, healthcare, information technology, transit, and commercial development. She helps her clients to establish goals and achieve them cost-effectively while minimizing their risk exposure. Prior to joining the Firm, Rosa was in-house procurement counsel to a provincial agency and responsible for managing its procurement risk and bidder/vendor disputes as well as developing its procurement policy, guidelines, and template documents, among other things.Rosa has also practised as a solicitor at other prominent Canadian law firms.Rosa has completed the Osgoode Advanced Course in Public Procurement Law, the Osgoode Certificate in Public Procurement Law and Practice, and the Osgoode Certificate in Public-Private Partnerships, as well as Certificates of Completion from the Toronto Construction Association for Courses on LEED and Green Buildings and Bidding and Tendering. She is currently undertaking a certificate program to be conferred an Associateship in Canadian Surety Bonding by the Surety Association of Canada.

Since Sep 2014, Vitold is the North America Chief Procurement Officer, responsible for all categories: IT and Telco, External Resources, Training, Professional services, Travel and meetings. Previously, Vitold was the Capgemini Travel Director hosted within the Global Procurement organization. In this role, Vitold was responsible for the travel and meeting strategy and its implementation globally. Before, amongst other roles at HP, he has managed the worldwide hotel and card programs. In 1999, he joined HP in Belgium, working for the Finance department after his national service at the French Embassy in Rome. Vitold has a true passion for the sustainable growth issues and start working on Corporate Social Responsibility to help companies been better in a close global world. Vitold holds a master degree in Applied Economics, with a major in Banking and Finance, and a master degree in Economics Modeling. He is based in Montreal.

Rainer is the EVP for SynerTrade. Since 15+ years he drives procurement and controlling digitalization for SynerTrade clients. Rainer is an expert on the issues and processes of companies and is publisher & co-author of the book „Social Buying“. Rainer’s previous role was a self-employed Sales Consultant supporting companies in go-to-market-strategies.

Nick was born and grew up in the multinational executive and diplomatic community of Geneva, Switzerland. He studied at the International School with over 50 other nationalities. He graduated with honours in biochemistry from the University of Sussex, obtained his MBA from the European campus of the Pacific States University, achieved P.Log. (professional logistician) certification, and more recently, SRME and CCME (international Expert in Supplier Relationship and Commercial Contract Supply Chain is the enduring theme in his career, from consulting very early on to European IT marketing while embedded in the French operations of Digital Equipment on a corporate funded position to drive greater sales force integration. There he built out the partner offering suite of software and services with leaders such as ADP/GSI, Accenture, and CSC Ouroumoff. He formalized the “Digital Story” strategy of using the company’s own global supply chain operations to showcase the capabilities of their systems, with a customer showcase centre inside the French logistics operatons, senior client symposia and industry events, training sessions, print and video collateral. He emigrated to Canada about 20 years ago when he joined KPMG, which then became BearingPoint. He then returned to KPMG to rebuild the supply chain consulting practice. He now helps private and public sector organizations improve their capabilities, tools and skills to secure and deliver the right deals with the right trading partners. He has served dozens of clients and reduced millions of dollars of assets and operating costs across Europe and the Americas: •Procurement Transformations at the government of Ontario, Pearson Airport, Ontario Lottery & Gaming, Co-Steel mini-mills (now Gerdau Ameristeel) •Competitive procurement initiatives, from spend analysis, strategy formulation and alignment, bidding, and negotiating through contracting, delivering millions of real savings. •Cost-to-Serve Models, Network Designs, Inventory Strategies, Facilities Layout & Organization across all industries and geographies •Advised on the supply chain aspects of post merger Integration of several deals across most industries: Prisunic/Monoprix, Highliner Foods, Cyro/Degussa, Forrest/ForceEnergy, Air Canada/Jazz… •New Product Development & Introduction re-engineering (stage/gate): Royal Canadian Mint, Cognos, Canadian Iinternet Registration Agency. •Systems Implementations: Weekly commissions payments at Loewen funeral homes & cemetaries, full scope eProcurement at Co-Steel. He then served as the Corporate Supply Chain Manager for the Americas at KGHM, the 8th largest Copper miner. He built a centre-led supply chain organization while delivering $55M hard savings across site, regional and corporate purchases. He championed the global item naming and the integrated asset management initiatives, as he built a strong and competent team at the sites. Nick has built an enviable reputation of rock solid reliable project management, delivering projects on time, on budget, and on spec.He his very active in the professional community as a contributor and in leadership roles. Nick is an intelligent, talented, loyal, hardworking, creative change agent who delivers across all parts of the Supply Chain.

Michael Shelton is Senior Supply ChainExpert.  He has over 25 years of rich experience in Procurement and SupplyChain within Order Processing, Master Scheduling, Production Planning,InventoryManagement, Logistics including DC’s and reverse Logistics, Procurement,Commodity Management and Supplier Relationship Management at a seniormanagement level where he has developed vision and strategies for theorganizations' supply chain.

He has a BA in Business Administration and iscertified in Project Management and Master Manager.

He is a speaker at various Supply Chain Conferencesand certified instructor for APICS and SCMA

He has worked in Energy Storage, Wind Power,Turbines, Oil and Gas, Transmission, Power Transformer, Telecom, Automotive andConsumer Goods industry sectors.

Dimitrios is a Senior Director, Strategic Sourcing & IT at The National Bank of Canada with over 15 years in the telecom, banking and financial services industries. He is an effective change agent in building and executing blue prints to centralize and transform procurement organizations. Dimitrios holds a Bachelor degree in Economics and Masters in Business Administration from Concordia University. He also has a designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors where he is a board member for a Not For Profit organization assisting the community and underprivileged.

With over 20 yearsexperience in purchasing and the hospitality industry, Priscilla brings to BestWestern Supply international purchasing experience. She joined Best Western in1998, and leads the Canadian team in supporting BWI Members in their purchasingneeds. She is responsible for the direction and implementation of nationalpurchasing and supply initiatives for the independently owned and operatedCanadian Best Western hotels. Priscilla negotiates contracts on behalf of theMembers to ensure best pricing for the right product and service, and hasestablished programs to make purchasing easier, creating Design room packages,Design washroom packages, Fitness packages and Food and Beverage packages. Sheis a Member of PMAC (Purchasing Managers Association of Canada) and iscurrently pursuing her CPP. Priscilla completed her MHS (master Hotel Supplier)in 2006. She also represents Best Western International as a proud Member ofNEWH (The Hospitality Industry Network), where she was one of the founding membersin Canada and the first Canadian President in 2004/5.  Priscilla wasappointed to the International Board of Directors for NEWH and held theposition of Vice President Finance in 2006 and Vice President InternationalRelations in 2007/8. Priscilla is a Member of the Children’s Aid Society ofHalton and President and an Advocate of the Halton Foster Parent Associationsince 2005.

Prior to joining BestWestern International Priscilla was the Purchasing Manager for a large Hotelchain in Southern Africa and was responsible for the Procurement for their 5star Indian Ocean Resort Hotels.

JosephRichardson is an International Supply Chain Management Executive withdemonstrated leadership in designing, developing and implementing effectivesourcing, supply chain and procurement strategies (direct and indirect) thataddress global business issues.  Hisinternational experience, with a variety of companies, helped him to recognizethe political, cultural and technical challenges that affect business relationships,internally, externally and internationally. He is a visionary who integratestheory and practice in creating and executing innovative approaches and methodsto accomplish complex business objectives.  He is considered an International Subject Matter Expert (SME) in SupplyChain and Organizational Behavior. Joseph has received numerous awards for his professional services andserves on several Boards.

 

Jeanette Nyden empowers sales, purchasing, and contracting professionals to optimize key customer relationships by providing tactical, customized contract negotiation coaching from the planning phase through to execution..
Ms. Nyden is a recognized expert in the field having co-authored Getting to We: Negotiating Agreement’s for Highly Collaborative Relationships, written Negotiation Rules! A Practical Approach to Big Deal Negotiations and co-authored The Vested Outsourcing Manual: A Guide for Creating Successful Business and Outsourcing Relationships.
Ms. Nyden has worked with organizations such as PG&E, TD Bank, CIBC Bank, Brookfield Johnson Controls, CH2MHill, T-Mobile, Jones Lang LaSalle, Microsoft, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Ms. Nyden is an adjunct professor at Seattle University and has taught negotiation skills courses at the University of Tennessee’s Center for Executive Education.
Ms. Nyden earned her B.A. and Juris Doctorate from Southern Illinois University. Between 2002 and 2007, Ms. Nyden donated hundreds of hours mediating disputes for the Pierce County Center for Dispute Resolution, a non-profit organization.

Zdravko Dimitrov is a Senior Analyst, Enterprise Procurement Group at Loblaw. He delivers rigorous spend and cost analytics for strategic Goods Not For Resale (GNFR) projects spanning various Loblaw divisions and companies, including Shoppers Drug Mart, PC Financial, and Joe Fresh, among others. He supports the development and execution of category management strategies and events for the Marketing, Corporate Services and IT sourcing categories. Additionally, he has successfully led process improvements initiatives within the Enterprise Procurement Group, acting as an internal consultant to the organization.
His previous work experience includes roles in strategic sourcing, heavy equipment sales analytics and uniforms production support in leading organizations in Canada. He has a strong track record in cost base optimization, business problem solving, vendor negotiation and process improvement.
Zdravko has graduated with honors from the MBA program at McMaster University, specializing in Supply Chain and Procurement, and with honors from the BBA program at University of Toronto Mississauga. He holds a Lean Six Sigma Green belt certification.

Lori Wensley brings over 20 yearsof experience in Information Technology, Program Management, and GlobalProcurement, and is a 14 year veteran of Xerox Corporation in Rochester, NY.Lori serves as a procurement commodity manager, with expertise in sourcing ITapplication development and maintenance, telecom, and labor for the enterprise.Lori’s Lean Six Sigma and PMP certifications have given her the edge innegotiating several large-scale, global outsourcing initiatives, as well as managingXerox’s contingent labor program for the US and Canada.

Jack Bradley, B.A., CCLP, P.MM is the Vice President, Supply Chain for Strongco Corporation. Strongco is a major multiline mobile equipment dealer with 27 branch operations across Canada.

Previously Jack worked in senior logistics and supply chain management positions with a number of large Canadian corporations.  He was also partner in a supply chain consulting firm and has significant multi-modal, international transportation procurement experience across a number of industries involved in the manufacturing, infrastructure and construction sectors.
 
Jack has provided course facilitation and development support for supply chain programs and has written and appeared in dozens of leading trade magazines.  He has served on the Executive Board of Directors for SCL Canada and a number of magazine and college advisory committees.

Maya Walker, part of the Canada Post Executive team as Director of Sourcing Management, has been growing her procurement experiences over the last 17 years. At Canada Post, Maya has lead highly visible and complex procurement programs including IT Infrastructure and Support for the Group of Companies, and all goods and services for Canada Post’s recent Community Mailbox conversion program. Prior to joining Canada Post in 2006, Maya started her supply chain career working in the international development space managing complex supply projects in the developing world; sourcing, kitting, and delivering voter registration and election kits for elections worldwide. Her career progressed to the IT community, managing key procurement outsourcing accounts, including Nortel and Bombardier Transportation, across Canada, US, Brazil and Mexico. Maya has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Ottawa and is a certified Supply Chain Management Professional (SCMP).

Melinda Mui
Vice President Supply Chain, BC Clinical and Support Services Society

Melinda Mui is the Vice President, Supply Chain at BC Clinical and Support Services (BCCSS). BCCSS is a not-for-profit society created by the Ministry of Health to promote health in British Columbia by coordinating, managing and/or providing clinical, diagnostic and support services to British Columbia’s health care system for the benefit of all users of British Columbia’s health
care system.

BCCSS is responsible for managing two divisions: Support Services and Clinical Services. BCCSS’s Support Services Division currently includes Supply Chain, Accounts Payable, Technology Services, Payroll, Employee Records and Benefits and Accounts Receivable. BCCSS’s Clinical Services Division includes BC’s Agency for Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and the Provincial Blood Coordinating Office.

Melinda has extensive background in the BC health system, and uses this knowledge in order to drive continuous improvement. Prior to joining BCCSS, Melinda led the Provincial Health Services Authority’s efforts required to centralize Purchasing services, integrate inventories to one warehouse, and implement the new PeopleSoft system for Supply Chain. Since joining BCCSS in 2009, Melinda has been a member of the leadership team that has implemented an
integrated provincial supply chain model that leverages the buying power of the health authorities while recognizing the needs of individual regions. This approach is estimated to have created millions of dollars in savings for the health authorities.

A Strategic Business Management Leader with extensive global experience and successful track record in Supply Chain/ Sourcing/Procurement, Operations and Program Management. 
 
Expertise includes planning, creation, execution and management of Corporate Supply Chain, Global Procurement and Sourcing Strategies. Highly experienced in working as global key interface in both Vendor/Supplier Management (at Tier1 ODM, OEM, EMS and System Integrators) as well as Customer Relationship Management, managing C+ level business relationship, including negotiating high value contracts with the key decision makers.
 
Specialized in identifying and executing cost reductions opportunities for the organizations within quantified/ measurable timeline. Prior working experience in Process and Manufacturing Engineering, Business Development and Program Management, has enhanced my knowledge of each and every aspect of the cost elements and respective attributors, thus facilitating effective and successful business negotiations & cost reductions throughout my career.
 
Highly experienced in managing and executing supplier compression /consolidation, supplier assessment, RFI/RFP/RFQ, cost effective and complex project tech transfers, analysis and execution of reverse sourcing, New Product Introduction inventory management, Demand Planning, Reverse Logistics, 3PL, Forecasting improvement, Transportation and Warehousing (hub).
 

Marina Chin is a Manager of Supplier Delivery Assurance at Volvo Buses with over 11 years’ experience in the manufacturing industry, including the aerospace and automotive sectors. She has extensive experience and knowledge in Supplier Quality and Capacity Management. She has lead expert teams working with strategic suppliers in establishing common scorecards as well as tools and methods that achieved improved supplier quality. In her current role, she continues to use her strength and leadership in supplier relationships in creating strategies with her teams in securing the capacity and flexibility of the supply chain in addition to ensuring first time right quality.   Marina holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics and Statistics from Concordia University.  She is also a certified Lean Project Leader from McGill University – Faculty Desautel and has a strong aptitude for problem solving and continuous improvement. 

Sanja Cancar-Todorovic is a Director – Outsourcing and Vendor Management at TELUS. Over the last 16 years of her career in the telecommunications industry, Sanja had exposure to a number of different roles. Since 2008, she has been leading different Procurement and Vendor Management strategies, from IT Professional, Managed and Infrastructure Services, to Media Content, M2M, Corporate Real-estate, Photography Commodities & Services, and Mobile Handsets & Accessories.
In her current role Sanja manages the integrated BPO and ITO solutions, with different third-party service providers and TELUS International. She is responsible for Contact Centre Outsourcing, Vendor Management, site strategy, geo-centric resourcing strategy, negotiating full range of commercial contracts, leading operationalization of overall vendor governance and contractual compliance.Sanja’s has received the highest forms of recognition from her current employer. Amongst many internal nominations and awards for outstanding leadership, Sanja has also received Two Darren Entwistle’s TELUS Commemorative Coin Awards, for her astonishing contributions to the organization and the community 
In 2015 Sanja was nominated for the “JoAnna Townsend Excellence Award” - recognizing an outstanding woman who acts as a trade advocate and mentor for women, fostering opportunities that actively support women professionals to achieve success in international business. In 2011, she was nominated for a “Women’s Executive Network – Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100” and in 2009 received a “Top 30 under 30 Award” from the WBC- RTI (Western Balkan Countries – Research Technology Innovation)

Jean-François Perrault joined Scotiabank on December 31, 2015 as Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist. Prior to joining Scotiabank, Jean-François held prominent roles with the federal government, the Bank of Canada, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In his new role he will be responsible for providing Scotiabank's senior executives, partners and customers with economic perspectives, insights and forecasts. Jean-François’ educational background includes Master's and Bachelor's Degrees in Economics from the University of Ottawa.

Shauna Gamble joined the Danby Group as the VP, Global Operations in 2015. Shauna’s key responsibilities include, developing and managing the Company’s Product Management Team, Research & Development Teams, Consumer Service and Reverse Logistics, the Supply Chain Organization and the Danby Asia Group. 
Shauna’s previous role was at Ciena Corporation, as the Vice President, Global Supply Chain Operations & the Executive sponsor for Corporate Social Responsibility. She was responsible for the procurement (direct and indirect), manufacturing, distribution, planning, contracts and product support and services of Ciena products to customers.  This role required often interaction with Sr. Executives of both Ciena’s customer and supplier base.  Ciena’s annual revenue was 2.4 Billion.
Ms. Gamble was previously the Executive co-leader of Nortel’s Global Women’s Business Council.  Shauna contributes her time to lectures at the University of Ottawa fourth year Business Majors. She has been invited to speak at MSCO in Shanghai China, the TIA Conference with the President of Operations and Fleet Mgmt ATT in Washington, SCM World in San Francisco and WeConnect as a Corporate Sponsor, Toronto.

Kathy Cheng is President of WS & Co., one of Canada's leading full-service apparel manufacturers, and the founder of its in-stock promotional apparel line, Redwood Classics Apparel. In addition to producing past Olympic apparel programs, Cheng’s high-quality apparel can be found at upscale, internationally renowned retailers across North America. With a growing presence in Japan and Europe, WS & Co. has combated offshore competition, putting Canada on the map as a leading destination for premium apparel manufacturing. A longtime champion of North American manufacturing, in 2016 Cheng received two honours that recognized and celebrated this fact: she was selected as a Supplier Woman of Distinction by the Advertising Specialty Institute® (ASI) and named to the MBE’s Who Rock list by Minority Business Entrepreneur Magazine. The recipient of CAMSC’s 2015 Supplier of the year award, Cheng was also one of three Canadians inducted into the 2014 EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women program. In 2013, she was named as one of Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award winners. Finally, Cheng focuses on paying it forward to the next generation of Canadian designers with her role as a mentor and member of the Board of Directors for Toronto Fashion Incubator (TFI).

Michael van Keulen is the Global Procurement Director at lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ: LULU), a $2B+ designer, distributor and retailer of technical athletic apparel. Previously Michael served as the Procurement Director at VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC), a $12B+ lifestyle apparel and footwear company. At both companies Michael transformed procurement from a tactical/operational function into strategic resulting in significant value creation and shareholder return. With a background in Finance & Accounting Michael has been in procurement for the past 8+ years with specialties in Change Management, S2P, CLM and Analytics. Born in Amsterdam (NL) he is a happy husband, father of 2 girls and 1 boy and thoroughly enjoying everything British Columbia has to offer.

Implementing a payment strategy that is secure, efficient, visible and respects corporate policies and bylaws is a challenging feat. Streamlining and/or eliminating paperwork and implementing various tools are some of the initiatives, documented in the PCard Program Strategy Plan, that the City of Toronto is looking at for 2016-2017 while continuing to maintain its high level of compliance.

Janet Buck authored the City of Toronto's PCard Program Strategy Plan and collaborated with city staff and the city's PCard service provider to implement the plan. In 2016-2017 Janet's focus will be on the streamlining and/or elimination of paper as well as implementation of various tools (virtual cards, paperless cardholder workflow, mobile app processing, online cardholder testing and online receipt depository) while continuing to maintain the high level of compliance within the program.

Janet designed and implemented a robust PCard Program for the City of Toronto in 2005 and continues to sustain it as its Program Administrator. The program's portfolio currently consists of 1,600+ PCard & Fuel Cards with an average yearly spend of $12.4M.  

Join Janet as she shares her experiences as she actively pursues all viable PCard payment avenues through the city's Accounts Payable Transformation project.

Christine Young PMP is an accomplished procurement professional and is presently working with FRHI Hotels & Resorts leading Audio Visual Programs and Business Analytics (now part of AccorHotels Group). Christine has several years of procurement experience ranging from purchasing OS&E (Operational Supplies & Equipment’s) and FF&E (Furniture Fixtures and Equipment) within Americas and has been instrumental in providing Project Oversight Management for new builds and renovations to project globally. She is also well experienced in planning and executing several internal conferences, developing standard operating procedures for the organization, acting as a Hotel Purchasing Director on a task force, analyze purchasing procedures to identify areas of improvement, eProcurement system deployment project management and training etc. For the past two years, her main focus has been on an America’s Audio Visual contract, overseeing other Technology related contracts and expanding this initiative globally. Christine recently obtained her PMP designation and holds a certificate in Supply Chain Management through SCMP.

Stephanie Fontaine is Vice President of Business Development for WBE Canada, an organization whose mandate is to be the bridge between corporate and public procurement and Canadian women enterprises. In her role, Stephanie is responsible for corporate membership and engagement. She leverages the WBE Canada technology, tools and processes to support procurement and supplier diversity program objectives for some of Canada’s largest firms.  

Stephanie has a wealth of business and non-profit experience. During her career, she has held roles in operations, project management and procurement departments. Prior to joining WBE Canada, Stephanie worked as a Supply Manager where her responsibilities included administering the supplier diversity program. 

Stephanie holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Guelph, works with several community organizations and is committed to empowering entrepreneurs and business leaders through sharing of knowledge and connections.

Jason Mackay is the General Manager for COMPAREX Canada. He brought in a high profile born in the cloud solution provider COMPAREX to Canada. He is also responsibe for establishing and growing COMPAREX’s presence in Canada capitalizing on the global success of COMPAREX across 37 countries. Prior to joining, Jason worked for Microsoft Canada where he was accountable for managing Canada’s largest partner. Previous to his career at Microsoft, he led high performing sales organizations with CompuCom and SAP Canada. Jason is based in Toronto, which is Canada’s largest city with over 6 million people and is recognized as the economic hub for the country.

Jeff Seaman is a polished supply chain, business development and vendor management professional specialized in implementing and managing logistics, corporate operations and diverse teams. Jeff’s experience and expertise spans more than 15 years within the highly-competitive technology and distribution markets; including with SCI Group Inc. (SCI), the largest Canadian-owned third-party logistics provider.
A senior supply chain design, logistics and relationship expert with sought after negotiator and presenter skills, Jeff is renowned within the supply chain and logistics communities for architecting advanced supply chain solutions and driving business growth and profitability through the implementation of advanced product, vendor, distribution and transportation strategies for cross-industry clients. Part of this experience entailed overseeing the implementation of an advanced contract management solution tailored to simplify, automate and control the end-to-end contracting lifecycle for SCI’s extensive national distribution and transportation network (e.g., client and vendor contracts, change orders, MSAs, NDAs, LOIs, lease agreements and asset acquisition forms, etc.).

Sherry is responsible for overseeing all of Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s Canadian operations including the company’s overall management, client and supplier relationships, marketing, branding and strategic partnerships. In addition Sherry oversees our client relationships for our US West client base along with Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s North American Leisure strategy which is focused on consumer offerings including loyalty partnerships and leisure integration for corporate and meetings & events clients. With more than 28 years of management experience in corporate travel, Sherry has a proven track record in providing clients with superior service by building strong teams capable of the highest degree of strategic service fulfillment combined with a hands-on approach to meeting customer needs. In her previous role at CWT as Vice President, Traveler & Transaction Services, Sherry was responsible for the overall operational strategy and execution within Canada. She managed all elements of operational fulfillment, including branch operations, operational segmentation, online fulfillment, operational automation and centralized functions, corporate training, after hours emergency and online fulfillment. Sherry is based in Ottawa, Canada and reports directly to Barb Barnard, Sr. Vice President Americas.

Alexander is a Senior Solution Consultant at SAP’s Procurement Line of Business (Ariba Cloud Solutions). He has 21 years of experience in Procurement and Sourcing, having worked Pre-Sales roles as a Sourcing Program Manager, Ariba Implementation lead, and Solution Education delivery and coordination.

Jennifer has an extensive background as a Reality TV Producer, Writer and Director. Looking for a new challenge, she’s now brought her experience to the content creation and crafting of WBR’s ProcureCon Events, where the elements of event management, talent casting, audience engagement and great storytelling are just as significant – but don’t judge based on her background. She promises there will be no crying, fighting, drinks thrown, or tables flipped. At least, not until the first cocktail reception.