MEET OUR 2025 SPEAKERS
ALYSIA CARTER
FEI CANADA
Chair of the Board
Alysia, as a strategic thinker with exceptionally high energy, inspires all those around her. She supports the organizations she works with to ensure people fully develop to their potential and beyond. It has been said that Alysia is an excellent mentor and coach. As a result, Alysia has had significant success motivating teams and bringing people together to get the desired results.
Alysia’s business experience spans more than 25 years in various industries: construction and service; automotive; financial institutions; distribution; and food manufacturing. The last 16 years have been spent in construction and trade services where she transformed how the business operated by understanding and working directly with front line personnel. Alysia is enthusiastic about trade services as she wants to ensure clients maintain their uptime.
While her experience is based in finance, her functional areas of expertise include long range strategic planning, transformational change, business acquisitions and divestitures, integration, accounting and information technology.
In December of 2020 Alysia completed the acquisition of Reliable Mechanical Services Inc. based in Bolton Ontario servicing the Greater Toronto Area for HVAC needs. Since then, the company has expanded the number of technicians and expanded into plumbing.
Alysia has used her considerable teaching skills as an instructor at her alma mater, the University of Toronto, providing financial and business management training sessions for internal staff of the business organizations in which she’s been engaged. A strong team player, Alysia has unbridled enthusiasm about transferring her knowledge and experience to others, and energetically supporting their professional and personal development. Her passion is contagious as she shows them what is possible.
“I have met many people networking the past several years, and Alysia is one that truly stands out above the rest. Those who have worked for her have expressed to me that her visionary leadership and collaborative approach in managing projects and operations not only gains their respect, admiration and appreciation but also contributes to an efficient and productive workplace. Personally, I have never met anyone with the positive energy that Alysia possesses and who is so capable in bringing people together, assessing a situation and then implementing a solution.” Gil Darnley, CPA, CMA, PMP, BA
She is a board member and Chair of Financial Executives International (FEI) at the National Board level, on the Finance and Audit Committee of FEI, on the Executive Committee of FEI, a mentor in the CPA Canada program, a past Board member and President of Financial Executives International at the Toronto level and a past Co-Chair of the annual Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto Gala fundraiser.
Alysia was born and raised in the Greater Toronto area. She enjoys spending time with her husband at their cottage with their two grown children and their partners.
JAY BRYSON
WELLS FARGO
Managing Director and Chief Economist
Jay Bryson is a managing director and the Chief Economist for Wells Fargo Corporate and Investment Banking, a position he has held since August 2018. In this role, Jay leads the Economics Group, which provides analysis on economic and financial developments in the major economies of the world as well as forecasts of macroeconomic variables in these economies. He was Wells Fargo’s Global Economist between 1998 and 2018.
Before joining Wells Fargo in 1998, Jay was an economist in the Division of International Finance at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, DC. He started his career as an assistant professor of economics at the University of Alabama. Jay has also lectured on international economics and macroeconomics at the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University. He has published in academic and popular economic journals, and his comments on the economy regularly appear in The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and USA Today. He makes frequent appearances on CNBC and Bloomberg TV.
Jay is a member of the American Economic Association and the Charlotte Economics Club. He is also a member of the National Association for Business Economics and served on its board of directors from 2010 to 2013. Jay received his BA and Ph.D. degrees in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
MICHELLE CAUSTON
Communication and Education Specialist
Michelle Causton is a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) and a holder of an MBA from Laurentian University. She is a multifaceted individual whose professional journey has been marked by a relentless pursuit of excellence and a profound commitment to fostering growth and development in others. With a dynamic presence as a public speaker and educator, Michelle has left an indelible mark on the worlds of accounting, education, and professional development.
Michelle volunteered for her professional organization for many years culminating in a term as president of CGA Ontario. There she played a pivotal role in shaping the organization’s strategic direction and advocating for the interests of its members.
As a professor, she inspired her students to strive for excellence and pursue their goals with vigor and determination. Her contributions were recognized with an award for excellence in teaching and to the prestigious Lorna Harrison Mentorship Award from CGA Ontario.
A firm believer in the power of communication and ethical leadership, Michelle has dedicated herself to promoting these values throughout her career. Whether through her captivating speeches, insightful writings, or engaging online content, she strives to instill a sense of integrity and purpose in all those she encounters.
With a wealth of experience in public accounting, teaching, volunteering, and training, Michelle Causton continues to inspire, with humour and warmth.
MICHAEL ‘PINBALL’ CLEMONS
TORONTO ARGONAUTS
General Manager • Canadian Football Hall-of-Famer
Michael “Pinball” Clemons
Canadian Football Hall-of-Famer | General Manager, CFL’s Toronto Argonauts
Few people exemplify the qualities of personal excellence, teamwork, community leadership,
and overcoming the odds better than CFL legend Michael “Pinball” Clemons. With boundless energy, Clemon’s talks centre on the potential for each of us to achieve anything we set our minds to. Unabashedly emotional and impactful, he shows audiences how to put heart into everything they do.
Clemons joined the National Football League in 1987, and CFL’s Toronto Argonauts in 1989. He
was nicknamed “Pinball” because of his running style — his diminutive size and extraordinary
balance allowed him to “bounce” between defensive players, drawing comparisons to a pinball
machine.
Clemons won the Grey Cup in 1991, 1996, and 1997 with the Argonauts, and was honoured
with the CFL’s “most outstanding player” award in 1990, after setting the single-season record
for all-purpose yards. He played his last game as an Argonaut in 2000, before becoming head
coach of the team in the same year. He led the football club to six consecutive East Division
Finals, including the 2004 championship, concluding his coaching tenure with 68 wins — the
second highest in the team history.
In 2007, Clemons stepped down as head coach to become the chief executive officer, and in
2009, he was appointed as the vice-chair of the team. In 2019, Clemons was named the 20 th
general manager of the Toronto Argonauts.
Clemons is also the founder of the Pinball Clemons Foundation, a non-profit organization that
empowers youth through education. Since it’s founding in 2007, it’s been responsible for the
construction of a hospital in Uganda, over 200 schools in developing countries, two orphanages
in Haiti, and locally awarded more than 200 scholarships.
In recognition of his work, Clemons received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the
Meritorious Service Cross, and is a member of the Order of Ontario. He has also been inducted
into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, and Canada’s Sports Hall
of Fame.
MARK FREY
CORPAY
Group President, Cross-Border Solutions
As President of Corpay Cross-Border Solutions, Mark has played a key role in growing the Corpay Cross-Border business and firmly establishing the company as a market leader in areas of cross-border payments and currency risk management over the course of the last 10+ years.
A proven leader with over 20 years’ experience in trading and treasury operations,
Mark is responsible for leading all aspects of operations, risk management, dealing, and finance, and has been instrumental in driving the organizations revenue and EBITDA growth,
leading up to the successful acquisition by Corpay, Inc. (formerly FLEETCOR). He is well known in the industry and frequently provides insight to financial and business industry news services such as The Globe & Mail, BNN, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal.
MICHAEL KRAVSHIK, CPA, CA, HBA, MA
LUMIQ
Co-Founder and CEO
Michael Kravshik is the founder and CEO of LumiQ, a modern podcast platform that provides designated accountants with verified professional development through engaging conversations with business leaders. Guests on the platform include the CEO of Nike, founder of Blackberry, inventor of Amazon Alexa, the CFOs of Google, Yelp, Yahoo!, Shopify, and more.
LumiQ’s mission is to make professional education enjoyable and currently delivers industry-certified learnings through its web and mobile app to over 1,000 corporate and accounting firms across North America. Most recently, LumiQ has received strategic investment from Vertu Capital, a private equity firm specializing in global enterprise software and software-enabled companies.
Prior to founding LumiQ, Michael began his entrepreneurial career as the CFO/COO of wearable technology startup, GestureLogic. Michael graduated from the Richard Ivey School of Business and began his career in audit at Ernst and Young, earning his CPA designation, before moving into risk management consulting at Protiviti. Michael also completed an MA in International Affairs specializing in counter-terrorism, while working at Scotiabank in that capacity.
STEPHEN MILL
ROBERT HALF CANADA
Executive Search • President
Based in Toronto, Stephen Mill is the President for Executive Search (Canada). He brings over 25 years of experience in human capital advisory to his role, where he serves as a trusted leader overseeing a diversified operational recruitment consulting team.
He has personally conducted hundreds of complex senior-level assignments—specializing in finance, technology, and operations leadership advisory work with investment management, private equity, banking, and technology organizations.
Stephen began his career at Robert Half in 1996, serving as the Senior Regional Vice President for Canadian and Northeastern US staffing operations. He left Robert Half to assume a national leadership role for Korn Ferry’s recruitment process outsourcing business, developing and rapidly scaling their Canadian operations as a member of the executive and global strategic account teams.
After Korn Ferry, Stephen led a specialized technology recruitment and contract consulting business based in Canada. He returned to Robert Half in 2014, where he has since developed, curated, and expanded the Canadian executive search usiness and supported the development of best practices across the global organization.
Stephen is an advisor to and nomination committee member of FEI Canada’s CFO of the Year program, jointly sponsored by Robert Half and PwC. He is a board member and strategic advisor for Northern Green Canada, a licensed cannabis producer.
Stephen has been interviewed and quoted in The Globe and Mail, IT World Canada, and other industry and mainstream media publications. He has spoken and served as a panelist for many professional membership organizations and industry events, including for FEI Canada and CPA Canada. Throughout his career, Stephen has completed multiple leadership courses with Harvard Business School and the Richard Ivey School of Business.
GORD NELSON
CINEPLEX ENTERTAINMENT INC.
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Nelson is the Chief Financial Officer of Cineplex, a role he has held since 2004. He oversees the finance, purchasing, risk management, legal, investor relations and corporate development areas of the Corporation. He also serves as a Director of Scene+ and Vice-Chair of Baycrest Hospital and The Baycrest Day Care Centre where he is a member of the Executive Committee and serves as Chair of its Finance Committee.
He graduated from the University of Toronto with a B.Comm and an MBA and holds the accounting designations of Fellow Chartered Professional Accountants (FCPA), Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA) and the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. Mr. Nelson was named Canada’s CFO of the Year for 2016 by Financial Executives Institute Canada, PwC and Robert Half.
HARI PANDAY
Board Chairman; President & CEO; Corporate Governance expert; Faculty member; Author and Speaker
Hari Panday is a financial executive and an independent corporate director. He has spent over 40 years in the financial services sector in Canada and USA, along with being an external auditor with PwC, as well as internal and IT auditor roles. He founded ICICI Bank Canada as its first President & CEO and a first director. He also served with HSBC Bank Canada and Bank of Montreal.
He has served on multiple corporate boards as a Board and Committee Chair covering Audit and Finance, Governance, Regulatory and Nominations, HR, Risk, and special committees setup for CEO recruitment, M&A and director offboarding.
Presently, Mr. Panday advises corporate boards on governance matters and designs and delivers customized board education programs.
He is currently serving on the boards of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and Meridian Credit Union (second largest in Canada – $30 Bn assets). On both these boards he is the Chair, Audit & Finance Committees. At the OSC he additionally serves on OSC’s Risk and Governance & Nominations committees. At Meridian Hari also serves on its Nominations Committees. His directorship roles have encompassed a bank, securities firm, a stock exchange, insurance company, mining exploration company, an Ontario administrative authority and several prominent not-for-profit boards, e.g., the ROM, Roy Thomson and Massey Hall, the Harbourfront Centre and Canadian Forces College Foundation.
Hari teaches corporate governance in a graduate program at York University. and has authored on Cross-border Corporate Governance. He is currently an Honorary Colonel in the Canadian Army. Hari has a Fellowship from CPA Canada (FCPA, FCGA), and a certified director in Canada ( ICD.D ) and in the USA ( NACD.DC ). He is a recipient of the Canadian Military Decoration (CD) and for his volunteer service he was recognized with The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
STEPHEN POLOZ
OSLER
Special Advisor • Former Governor of the Bank of Canada
Stephen Poloz is Special Advisor at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. As the former Governor of the Bank of Canada, Stephen is a widely recognized economist with 40 years experience in financial markets, forecasting and economic policy.
An Officer of the Order of Canada, Stephen has made significant contributions to the country throughout his career and continues to do so. In April 2024, he was named as Chair of a new economic working group created by the federal government. The group is being tasked to find more opportunities for Canada’s largest pension funds to drive economic growth here at home.
Stephen joined Osler after seven years at the helm of the central bank. His experience in having guided Canada’s monetary response, particularly during the first half of 2020, demonstrated his ability to translate complex market information into the business context.
Prior to joining the Bank of Canada, Stephen spent 14 years at Export Development Canada as Chief Economist (1999-2008), and Head of Lending (2008-2011) and then as President and CEO of EDC (2011-2013).
In 2023, Stephen won the National Business Book Award for The Next Age of Uncertainty: How the World Can Adapt to a Riskier Future, which is also a national bestseller.
DR. DEBORAH ROSATI
WOMEN GET ON BOARD
Founder and CEO
Deborah Rosati, an award-winning entrepreneur and corporate director, has been defined in three interconnected ways throughout her 35-year career – as a corporate governance champion, catalyst for change and community builder.
As the founder and CEO of Women Get On Board Inc. (WGOB), a 950-member social-purpose company, Deborah is building a community of the next generation of women corporate directors. WGOB amplifies the voices of women leaders, board members and professionals across Canada through education, mentorship and allyship. It’s been called The Power of Three – one woman in the boardroom is a token, two is a presence, and three is a voice.
Deborah is a leading and serving corporate director, currently chairing the board of Profound Impact Corporation and has chaired many public company audit committees and nominating & corporate governance committees. In addition, Deborah has led and served on numerous special committees with various mandates (including going public, going private, M&A, restructuring and special investigations).
Deborah’s passion for good governance and board diversity is rooted in her board journey when she was often the only woman in the boardroom. These first-hand experiences cemented Deborah’s conviction that having more women on boards makes better business sense.
Never satisfied with the status quo, Deborah always seeks ways to challenge expectations and drive change. She brings an environmental, social and governance (ESG) lens to every board she serves on, as she believes in the power and responsibility of business to change our world for the better.
As a visionary leader, Deborah recently launched Women Funding Women Inc. (WFW) with her co-founders, Sherry Shannon Vanstone and Lara Zink, to bridge the funding gap for female founders.
Deborah’s commitment to sustainable change and empowerment, deep governance knowledge, financial expertise and dynamic personality have made her a sought-after thought leader and speaker. Deborah’s thought leadership on corporate governance, sustainability, EDI and social impact is profiled on her website, deborahrosati.ca.
KARL SCHAMOTTA
CORPAY
Chief Market Strategist
Karl leads Corpay’s currency research group, focused on analyzing shifts in the world economy and creating strategies that help businesses harness market volatility. He has built risk management and trading programmes for hundreds of major corporations, and is a regular contributor to a number of international finance publications. He regularly appears in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters, BNN, CNN and CNBC. You can follow him on LinkedIn or at @Karl_Schamotta on Twitter.
VLADLEN XAVIER STARK
NGL SUPPLY CO. LTD.
Director of Finance
Vladlen Xavier is a Chartered Accountant and Director of Finance at the industry-leading natural gas liquids wholesale marketing company NGL Supply Co. Ltd. His expertise spans finance, technology, and operations, with a strong focus on integrating artificial intelligence and advanced analytics into complex industries to drive transformative outcomes.
Throughout his career, Xavier has audited and advised organizations in energy, automotive, manufacturing, and financial sectors across Canada and New Zealand. These roles provided him with a comprehensive understanding of operational and financial complexities, which he has consistently leveraged to deliver impactful solutions. He has led cross-functional teams, developed enterprise-wide compliance frameworks, and streamlined reporting processes in highly regulated environments.
As an ICD.D-certified director and CPA, CA, Xavier brings a unique combination of governance, strategic planning, and operational expertise. His entrepreneurial ventures in Canada and Central America highlight his ability to apply these capabilities across industries, fostering innovation and growth in diverse markets.
Xavier’s ability to integrate advanced technologies with strategic growth initiatives is demonstrated through his contributions to AI adoption, data analytics, and cybersecurity. His leadership extends to creating industry-wide frameworks, including cybersecurity guidelines for Financial Executives International, where he has guided organizations in adopting best practices for risk mitigation and technological resilience.
A graduate of Western University with an Honors Double Major in Accounting and Economics, Xavier lives in Calgary with his wife, son, and daughter enjoying the natural beauty of the Rockies. He is passionate about travel, fitness, and continuously seeking ways to blend innovation with meaningful societal impact.
JO MARK ZUREL
Corporate Director and Investor
Jo Mark Zurel is corporate director and investor. He serves on the boards of Fortis Inc., Major Drilling Group International Group Inc., Sustainable Development Technology Canada, and the Institute of Corporate Directors. He recently completed a 9-year term on the board of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. From 1998 to 2006, Mr. Zurel was senior vice-president and chief financial officer of CHC Helicopter Corporation. Mr. Zurel has a bachelor of commerce from Dalhousie University, is a Fellow of the Association of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Newfoundland and Labrador and has been granted the ICD.D designation by the Institute of Corporate Directors.