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CONFERENCE SPEAKERS
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· Jeff Rubin |
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Since becoming Chief Economist at CIBC World Markets in 1992, Jeff Rubin has been Canada's most followed economist. He wrote a widely followed national column in The Globe and Mail called "Ahead of the Curve" for over four years, and he has been a fixture on network coverage on the federal budget and other key economic events for almost two decades. Rubin first caught the attention of financial markets in 1989 with his now-famous call for a 25 per cent decline in Toronto real estate prices. Since then Rubin's work has often been the subject of national headlines and has been instrumental in raising key issues to the national spotlight. His call for the federal government to set the rate on the Goods and Services Tax at 7 per cent instead of the originally targeted 10 per cent was, in the end, accepted by the federal government even though the suggestion was not warmly received by the Finance Minister of the day. His many calls on the economy and financial markets, particularly with regard to interest rates and the Canadian dollar, earned him no less than 10 number one rankings in either the Brendan Woods annual survey of institutional equity or fixed income investors. More recently Jeff Rubin has been an outspoken advocate of putting a price on carbon emissions in our economy. Abroad, Rubin is best known for his work on global energy markets and has become internationally recognized for his prescient calls on oil prices and their economic impacts. He was one of the first economists to recognize the full implications of depletion for future oil supply growth. In 2000, Rubin predicted that oil prices would average $50 per barrel by the middle of the decade. And in 2005 he predicted that we would see $100 per barrel oil prices within two years. He is now predicting even higher oil prices in the future, including the advent of $26 per litre in North America. Not only does Rubin hold an impressive track record at predicting oil prices, but his research on emerging trends in energy markets and their impact on the global economy has been noted around the world. His analysis of how OPEC oil subsidies have triggered explosive growth in oil consumption among major oil producing economies has appeared on the front page of The New York Times. Similarly, his research on how soaring transport costs will soon reverse the mass exodus of North American manufacturing jobs to cheap but distant labour markets in Asia made world headlines including one in the Wall Street Journal and appeared in Business Week, Newsweek and the Economist. In April 2008 Jeff Rubin resigned from his two decade career on Bay Street to pursue the publication of his path-breaking book on how oil prices will reverse globalization entitled WHY YOUR WORLD IS ABOUT TO GET A WHOLE LOT SMALLER. In the new world of triple digit oil prices around the corner, distance will cost money and Rubin predicts a marked shift in economic geography that will see the re-emergence of long lost local economies. His book is now a Number 1 national bestseller. Jeff Rubin holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto, where he graduated with distinction, and a graduate degree in economics from McGill University. He lives in Toronto with his wife and children. | |||
George Smitherman is Deputy Premier of Ontario and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure. He was first elected in downtown Toronto in 1999, but his interest in politics was sown 20 years earlier. Inspired by Pierre Trudeau, he gained experience at all three levels of government, working with several senior political leaders. From his home base in Toronto's gay community, where he owned a small business for nearly a decade, Smitherman launched his campaign for public office. He is Ontario's first openly gay MPP and cabinet minister. In the community, Smitherman is well known for his advocacy in areas such as housing, community economic development, protection of pension rights, efforts to combat guns and drugs, and human rights issues. Prior to his current portfolio, Smitherman acted as Ontario's longest serving Minister of Health and Long-Term Care in the past quarter century. | |||
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Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran is a global correspondent for The Economist. He joined the magazine’s staff as the London-based Latin America Correspondent in 1992. Two years later, he opened its first bureau in that region in Mexico City. He wrote about political, financial and cultural developments in that part of the world until 1997, when he returned to the editorial headquarters in London. As the newspaper’s Global Environment & Energy Correspondent, he covered the politics, economics, business and technology involved in those topics from 1998 to 2006. Vijay is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He has lectured at Stanford, Yale and Oxford, and is an adjunct faculty member at New York University. He is a commentator on NPR and Marketplace radio, and a regular guest on the BBC, PBS’s NewsHour, ABC’s Nightline and other television programs. He is also the author of a book on the future of energy, “POWER TO THE PEOPLE: How the Coming Energy Revolution will Transform an Industry, Change our Lives, and Maybe Even Save the Planet” (www.vijaytothepeople.com). Harvard’s John Holdren, reviewing the book in Scientific American, called it “by far the most helpful, entertaining, up-to-date and accessible treatment of the energy-economy-environment problematique available.” Vijay holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He lives in New York. | |||
Michael Rubenstein, Chief Growth and Innovation Officer, Alcan Packaging, leads a team dedicated to help deliver the organization's strategy to create sustainable value through innovation, customer partnerships and new growth platforms. Under his umbrella are four main growth drivers: Sustainability, Marketing and Customer Partnership Development, Innovation and Marketing Communications. Alcan Packaging is a $6.5 billion world leader in specialty packaging, delivering innovative solutions to customers around the world with 131 facilities and 29,000 employees in 31 countries. Michael has held several other senior management positions in the packaging industry. Prior to his present role, he was President of Alcan's Global Pharmaceutical Packaging sector, a $1 billion global organization, with 31 plants and 4,500 employees. His 30 years experience are complemented with studies in Printing Technology at the Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY) and an immersion in World Class Partnerships at Duke University (Durham, NC). He holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Concordia University (Montreal, Canada). In 2008, he has been named by PrintAction Magazine as one of Canada's 50 Most Influential People in Graphic Communications. Michael serves as the Vice-Chairman of Supersibs!, a non-profit organization which supports and honours siblings of children with cancer, based in Chicago | |||
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Jay Dietrich is a Senior Technical Staff Member on the IBM Corporate Environmental Affairs Staff, with global responsibilities for Climate Stewardship and Energy Management. He has been with the company for 27 years. He develops corporate policies and strategies and serves as an IBM representative to groups such as EPA's Climate Leaders and ENERGY STAR® programs, Green Grid, the Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition Environmental Working Group, and the Information Technology Industry Council on the subjects of product energy efficiency attributes and energy and climate change programs. He works with IBM business divisions to promote energy efficiency in IBM's operations, products and services, and translate those efforts into business and environmental value for our clients. | |||
Craig is Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist for TD Bank Financial Group. In this role, he travels across Canada, speaking to TD clients and various business groups about economic trends and prospects. He is frequently quoted by the media on economic issues and writes reports on a wide array of economic and financial subjects. In addition to his role at TD Bank, Craig is also the current President of the Canadian Association for Business Economics. Craig Alexander holds a Master's degree in economics from the University of Toronto. He has thirteen years of experience in conducting economic analysis in the financial industry. Prior to joining the private sector, Craig spent four years as an economist at Statistics Canada. | |||
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Pat Koval practises corporate and securities law, with emphasis on corporate finance (including investment funds), carbon finance and mergers and acquisitions. Pat regularly acts for issuers and investment dealers in structuring international, cross-border and domestic public and private financings and in the design of enhanced or new financial products and services. She has extensive experience in acting for sponsors, managers and distributors of listed closed-end funds, ETFs, REITS, income trusts, mutual funds, pooled funds, hedge funds, carbon funds and other structured products. Pat also regularly acts for issuers, financial advisors and potential acquirors in structuring acquisitions, dispositions and reorganizations, including takeover bids, arrangements, privately negotiated acquisitions and going private transactions. With her integrated expertise, Pat is also active in all corporate law, securities law, infrastructure and M&A aspects of the developing area of climate change. Pat co-founded and is co-chair of the firm’s inter-disciplinary Climate Change Practice Group and she also co-chairs the Managed Assets Practice Group. Pat frequently participates in domestic and international business conferences and legal education programs focused on corporate finance, investment funds, derivatives, mergers and acquisitions and directors’ responsibilities, carbon finance and climate change. She is the author of numerous articles in these areas. Pat is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto Law School where she teaches a course on takeover bids and proxy contests, and she teaches regularly in Carbon Finance programmes sponsored by U of T's Centre for the Environment. She is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of World Wildlife Fund (Canada) and a member of its Climate Change and Audit Committees. Pat graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School and York University with a joint LLB/M.B.A. in 1981 and she has an Honours B.A. in Economics. | |||
Michael Gallagher, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, has been a member of Westport's board since July of 2007 and was appointed Westport's President in October 2004 in addition to his role as Westport's Chief Operating Officer, which he has held since January 6, 2003. He is also a member of the board of directors of Cummins Westport Inc. (Chairman) and BTIC Westport Inc. (Vice Chairman), both private companies in which Westport has a 50% investment. Prior to joining Westport, Dr. Gallagher was Senior Vice-President, Operations, Americas, for Fluor Corp., an international engineering company headquartered in California. He also held senior executive positions with the London-based multinational engineering firm Kvaerner Group, as well as with the Bechtel Group in San Francisco, where he became the first Vice President of Marketing for Bechtel Environmental Inc. Dr. Gallagher is also on the board of several non-profit organizations, including the California Natural Gas Vehicle Partnership (Vice Chairman), WestStart-CALSTART, Montreux Energy, and the Canadian Centre for Policy Ingenuity (Chairman). | |||
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Tom Heintzman brings a distinguished record of service to environmental causes along with proven executive leadership experience to his role as president of Bullfrog Power Inc. Tom co-founded Bullfrog Power in 2004 and it now has operations in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia with almost 10,000 customers. In 2008, Tom was named the Ontario Electricity Association's Leader of the Year. Prior to founding Bullfrog Power, Tom spent more than 13 years in the private and NGO sectors, most recently with Zenon Environmental where he led their global M&A initiatives as director of corporate development. Earlier in his career, as Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company, Tom provided consulting services to many of the world's largest corporations in the energy, manufacturing, financial services and telecommunications sectors. From 1996 to 1998, Tom was instrumental in establishing the Sierra Legal Defence Fund's Ontario office, where he led several precedent-setting litigation, public advocacy and lobbying campaigns associated with the environmental consequences of the oil refining, mining, forestry, fishing and automobile industries. Tom began his career practicing law with Goodmans, a leading Canadian law firm. | |||
Mr. Jacob is President & CEO of Jacob Securities Inc. an independent investment bank focused on the renewable power, cleantech and energy sectors. Jacob Securities' principals have managed more renewable financings than any other Canadian investment bank. The firm is also the adviser to the largest renewable fund in Canada. Mr. Jacob brings more than a decade of experience in the power sector, including founding and leading the power sector practice at a leading Canadian investment bank, as well as several years in senior political positions as Special Assistant to the Ontario Minister of Energy during the Province's electricity deregulation efforts. He has managed and structured over 35 transactions in the renewable sector in the last four years, and has participated in renewable financings valued at more than $1.8 billion. Mr. Jacob was recognized by Institutional Investor as one of the "5 Most Influential Emerging Players in Renewable Energy". | |||
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Dennis Canavan is the Senior Director of Global Energy at Johnson & Johnson. In this role, he is responsible for developing a sustainable energy strategy for J&J facilities worldwide, implementing projects and programs to improve energy efficiency and assure supply, promoting the use of renewable energy resources and reducing the emission of green house gases at J&J facilities. He has 33 years of experience at Johnson & Johnson in a variety of Engineering and Supply Chain roles, including Director of Engineering, Plant Manager, and Distribution Director. In his most recent assignment in Worldwide Engineering and Real Estate, he was responsible for directing the design and construction of manufacturing facilities, labs, and offices in the Pharmaceutical, Chemical and Biotech areas of the business. Dennis is a graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology, with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and holds an MBA in Pharmaceutical Marketing from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of New Jersey, and a member of several organizations, including the World Resources Institute, the Association of Energy Engineers, and the World Wildlife Fund. Dennis is a member of the Steering Committee of the US Climate Action Partnership. | |||
Lloyd Bryant is the Vice President and General Manager, Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) for HP Canada. Mr. Bryant has overall responsibility for all aspects of HP's Imaging and Printing business in Canada including sales, marketing, operations, supply chain and customer support. IPG offers the broadest and most compelling range of products, services and solutions for the Consumer and Business Market, ranging from Consumer Photosmart and multifunctional printers to high end digital presses and full print outsourcing services. Mr. Bryant also manages HP Canada's environmental portfolio including end-of-life compliance, strategy and sponsorships. Mr. Bryant serves on the Executive committee and is Vice Chair of the board of directors of Electronics Products Stewardship Canada (EPSC). EPSC is a not-for-profit organization working to design, promote and implement sustainable solutions for Canada's electronic waste problem. Mr. Bryant also serves on the board of directors of Ontario Electronic Stewardship (OES), the not-for-profit organization formed by leading retail, information technology and consumer electronic companies to implement the Electrical and Electronic Waste Diversion Program in Ontario. | |||
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As Chief Impact Officer, Andrew Souvaliotis leads the development of new strategic partnerships to further expand the scope and impact of the AIR MILES Reward Program. He was the original founder of Green Rewards, an innovative business that sought to create a green shift in Canadians' shopping patterns by harnessing the potential of loyalty marketing. Green Rewards was acquired by LoyaltyOne in 2008 and has been integrated into the AIR MILES Reward Program, adding a new dimension to the power of the unique reward miles currency to influence consumer behaviour across Canada. Andrew has been involved in the management of consumer and channel loyalty programs throughout his career, in Canada and overseas. He is the Canadian Membership Chair for the Young Presidents' Organization and also chairs a carbon measurement initiative for all 12,000 member companies of YPO worldwide. He participates on several corporate, academic and charitable boards and speaks frequently across the country on the new green economy. Andrew holds an MBA from McMaster University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Brandon University. He has been trained by former US Vice President and Nobel laureate Al Gore to help raise public awareness of the impact of climate change. | |||
Lynda Harvey, is a Senior Manager, at FleetSmart in the Transportation Energy Use Division of Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency, located in Ottawa, Ontario. Lynda is responsible for strategic planning, program expansion, industry awareness and partnership development for the commercial and institutional fleet sector. In addition to strong relationships within the transportation sector, Lynda brings to FleetSmart over 30 years of business and program development as well as marketing experience in transportation in Canada and internationally working with many premier organizations. One of her significant achievements is the development of the Memorandum of Understanding between NRCan's FleetSmart and the US Environmental Protection Agency's SmartWay Transportation Partnership. The objective of this partnership is to work together to improve the energy efficiency of North America's on-road freight sector to reduce greenhouse gasses and smog forming emissions. Lynda is a graduate of Carleton University, has received several awards from both Natural Resources Canada and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, located in London, UK. | |||
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Keith Neuman is Group Vice President - Public Affairs with the Environics Research Group, Canada's leading public opinion and social research firm. He leads the company's Public Affairs and Environment-Energy research practice areas, which provide leading-edge public opinion research for public, private and non-profit sector clients in such areas as energy and environment, natural resources, health care, municipal services, justice, transportation and social policy. Since the 1980s, Keith has held senior roles with leading public opinion research organizations in Canada, with a particular focus on the social dimensions of environmental, energy and resource issues. He has conducted more than 200 research projects on such topics as air quality, water quality, waste management, climate change, environmental assessment, social impact assessment, energy conservation, and consumer behaviour. In 1987, he co-founded The Environmental Monitor, Canada's first ongoing syndicated public opinion survey on environmental issues. In 2007, he founded and currently directs The Canadian Environmental Barometer, a monthly national service which provides clients with ongoing public opinion intelligence on climate change and the environment. Keith holds a Ph.D. in Social Ecology from the University of California, and holds the credential of Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP). He is a frequent media commentator on social trends and public opinion, including a regular guest column in the Canadian publication Green Business. | |||
Alex Wood is Senior Director, Policy and Markets at Sustainable Prosperity (SP). SP is a research and policy network dedicated to the development of a green economy in Canada. Alex has spent the last 18 years working on environment/economy issues, in the private, non-profit, and public sectors. He started his career with WWF in Washington, DC, before moving back to Canada to run the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy's work on Ecological Fiscal Reform, and eventually acting as the NRTEE's President and CEO. Before starting with SP, Alex advised TD Bank Financial Group on the development and implementation of its environmental strategy. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. | |||
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Mr. Carter has held various executive positions within CSL since joining the company as Director of Information Systems in February 1991. He subsequently held the positions of Director, Labor Relations and Communications (October 1992) and Director, Human Resources and Administration (August 1995) until his promotion to Vice-President, Administration in October 1996. Mr. Carter was appointed Vice President Finance and Administration of the CSL Group in August 1997, to then take over as Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of Canada Steamship Lines in January 2001. He has held the position of President, Canada Steamship Lines, since April 2002. Mr. Carter currently serves as Co President of Green Marine. | |||
Michael joined Accenture's Canadian leadership team as Managing Director, Management Consulting Services in December of 2007. He has geographic responsibility for the development of the company's management consulting capabilities, which include the Customer Relationship Management, Finance & Performance Management, Talent & Organizational Performance, Strategy, and Supply Chain Management service lines. Accenture Management Consulting Services helps clients develop into high-performance businesses through strategic insight, functional expertise and change management excellence Prior to joining Accenture, Michael served as President of a business process outsourcing company, which provides services to the insurance, banking, government and manufacturing sectors. In this capacity he had responsibility for a $550 million business unit composed of seven business units and 3,500 employees in Canada and in the United States. Before this, Michael spent four years at Bombardier as Senior Vice-President Strategy where he had responsibility for Mergers and Acquisitions, Global Partnerships, Corporate Strategy and Information Technology (CIO). He was deeply involved in the turnaround of Bombardier from 2002 to 2005. Michael spent almost 15 years at McKinsey and Company's international management consulting firm as Leader of North American Manufacturing Practice; Partner, Canadian Practice; and Associate - Toronto, Mexico and Brussels. Michael attended Princeton University where he received his Associate in Business from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1986, and graduated from the London School of Economics where he received his Masters of Science (Economics) with Distinction in 1987. Michael is active in Community leadership and he has been on the Board of Directors for Bach Académie and Selwyn House School in Montreal since 2006 and, prior to moving to Montreal in 2001, was the Vice Chair for the Toronto Community Foundation. | |||
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Avrim Lazar is President & CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada, since Jan. 1, 2002.He also chaired the National Business Association Roundtable and is the Past-President of the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA). Mr. Lazar has held senior policy positions in the government of Canada in the Ministries of Justice, Agriculture, Environment and Human Resource Development.During this period he was responsible for national policy in areas as diverse as climate change, biodiversity, child poverty, employment insurance and labor force training. Mr. Lazar was Chair of the Committee of the Whole of the Second UN Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1995. Mr. Lazar taught high school in Vancouver and Zambia from 1969 to 1973. Over the years, Mr. Lazar has given many courses in the graduate studies programs at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. Mr. Lazar holds degrees in science and education, including a B.Sc (1968) from McGill University, a B.Ed (1970) and a PhEd in Ed (1976) from the University of Ottawa. | |||
Leveraging his 18 years of experience in both the automotive and logistics services industries, Tony utilizes his experience involving lean supply chain design strategies to manage a cross-functional team that oversees environmental sustainability work-streams in Exel's Americas operations. Tony is a well-respected thought leader regarding automated material handling and order fulfillment systems, international RFID standards development, facility design and obtaining maximum value from supply chain technology investments, among others. He is a frequent speaker at global supply chain events and with government agencies, Fortune 100 companies and leading academic institutions.
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