In order to empower women, power must first be given to them. Join us for our 9th Annual Women in Leadership Forum where our panel of thought leaders discuss how we can go beyond simply acknowledging the movement of empowering women and focus on an action plan to propel them into leadership roles. Our discussion strives to set a new career playbook for women – to rewrite the rules, play to our strengths, and build on the power we already have.
Event Overview:
Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Venue: Lennox Hall, Toronto Region Board of Trade, First Canadian Place, 77 Adelaide Street West, Toronto
Agenda:
- 5:30 to 6 p.m.: Registration & Networking
- 6 to 7:30 p.m.: Panel Discussion & Q&A
- 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.: Networking
Moderator:
Alexa Nick, MBA '95, Partner, Deloitte Private Consulting
Alexa Nick is Lead of Consulting Advisory Services for Deloitte Private Consulting and brings over 25 years of experience, expertise and thought leadership in corporate and business-unit strategy, M&A, organizational performance, enterprise transformation, and learning and enablement. Alexa began her career as a management consultant, first with Braxton Associates (Deloitte’s Strategy division at the time) and then with A.T. Kearney’s strategy and organization practice, where she focused her efforts on building the firm’s mergers and acquisitions capabilities. During her 10 years with A.T. Kearney, she assisted numerous international clients across a number of industries in achieving their merger goals. In 2007, she pursued her goals of entrepreneurship by founding and launching myPractice, a virtual learning platform supporting global organizations. In 2010, Alexa successfully sold myPractice to BottomLine Group, a boutique management consultancy where she continued as a Partner to build and grow the business. In 2017, BottomLine Group merged with Optimus|SBR, where Alexa was a Partner and Practice Lead for the Diversified Industries Group and capability lead for strategy, organization and learning and enablement. Alexa has a passion for entrepreneurship and is involved with the Western/ Ivey Entrepreneurship Council to enable entrepreneurship as the future growth engine of Canada. She’s excited to bring her consulting experience and entrepreneurial spirit to build and grow Deloitte Private. When not working, Alexa can be found with her 17-year old daughter and her family enjoying all that the outdoors has to offer, in particular skiing, cycling, tennis, camping, canoeing and hiking – activities supported by a regular regime of yoga, pilates and cross-training.
Speakers:
Kirsten Gauthier, Chief Marketing Officer of 48North
Kirsten Gauthier is an entrepreneur and creative leader with more than 21 years of award-winning experience. Kirsten’s ability to deliver brand strategy, creative concepts and full market execution has earned her a reputation for providing innovative solutions and problem-solving skills.Kirsten has founded multiple successful businesses, including Good Foot Delivery, a social enterprise courier service offering employment opportunities to people with disabilities. Her dedication to design coupled with her commitment to quality execution and social responsibility has been at the heart of her success, earning her numerous awards and nominations including being named one of Canada’s 50 Most Influential People in Graphic Design by Print Magazine. As the Chief Marketing Officer of 48North, Kirsten brings a breadth of knowledge in design, social issues and consumer behaviour.
Samra Zafar, award-winning international speaker, community leader, scholar, author and social entrepreneur.
Samra Zafar is an award-winning international speaker, bestselling author, consultant, educator, and social entrepreneur who advocates for equity, inclusion, and human rights. She has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, and a Top 25 Canadian Immigrant in 2019. She is one of the youngest Alumni Governors at the University of Toronto, and a Celebrated Ambassador for Plan International. She also serves as a board member for Women's College Hospital Foundation. Samra's book, A Good Wife: Escaping The Life I Never Chose, is a national bestseller and named as CBC book of the year for Canadian Nonfiction (2019). The book is now being published internationally by Penguin Random House, and also being adapted to a TV series. After arriving in Canada as a child bride and escaping a decade of abuse, Samra pursued her education as a single mother working multiple jobs and graduated as a top student with several awards and scholarships. She was the first mature student to win the prestigious John Moss Scholarship, awarded to the most outstanding graduate annually at the University of Toronto. She began sharing her story to raise awareness about gender inequality and violence against women, and has since become a globally recognized expert, speaker and consultant on human rights, equity and inclusion. Her speaking portfolio includes three TEDx Talks, and speeches to Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada, UNICEF, Women's Executive Network, Yale University, Amnesty International, Art of Leadership, and many leading NGOs, corporations and universities around the world. Her work has been extensively featured in both Canadian and International media, including Washington Post, Huffington Post, National Post, Globe and Mail, CBC, CTV, Yahoo, and more. To find out more, please visit www.samrazafar.com
Adam Dean, MBA 2005, President & Founder of Dean Executive Search (DES).
Adam is President of DES, a boutique search firm that he founded in 2017 after a career in investment banking & search. DES has grown to become the only boutique retained executive-search firm in Canada focused on senior-level financial services mandates. The firm partners closely with clients to identify & attract exceptional leadership talent in investment banking, trading products, family offices, investment management and private equity firms. Prior to founding DES, Adam was a member of Egon Zehnder’s global financial services team, leading mandates in capital markets, investment management, private equity, digital commerce and retail. This includes searches across a range of functional roles, comprising Presidents & CEOs, CFOs, COOs, Investment Bankers, Portfolio Managers and marketing executives. Adam’s career prior to search includes a decade in investment banking, primarily with CIBC Capital Markets, in addition to five years in Chicago where he worked as a management consultant and merger-arbitrage trader. Adam holds an MBA from Ivey Business School (Dean’s List), an M.S. from Northwestern University in Chicago and a B.A. from Western University (With Distinction). Adam is actively involved in cancer fundraising and awareness efforts, in addition to playing a significant role in numerous community and charitable organizations. These have included the Terry Fox Foundation, Northwestern Alumni Association and various children’s schools. Adam is a citizen of Canada and the UK, fluent in French and an avid long-distance runner. DES’s best practices have been featured in Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review and Barron’s, among other top publications.
Andrea Poptsis, HBA '94, Fractional / Interim Executive
Andrea is an accomplished executive with 25 years of experience working in and with high-growth businesses, ranging from start-ups to new divisions within established corporations, at all stages of the business life cycle. Andrea is presently working as a fractional/interim CFO and COO and advisor. Recently, Andrea was Chief Financial Officer of the Invictus Games Toronto 2017 organizing committee where her financial stewardship resulted in the games being delivered significantly under budget. Some of the organizations she has worked for include Virgin, Bell Canada, Pink Tartan and the Ontario Public Service where she was involved in delivering the 2015 Pan and Parapan Am Games. Andrea's breadth of experience across functions, industries and geographies has given her a unique perspective which has shaped her management style and has led her on a non-traditional career path. Andrea has an HBA from Ivey Business School, an MBA from INSEAD and is very engaged in both alumni networks. As a keen networker, she derives great pleasure from connecting people and finding ways to help them to stay connected. Andrea is passionate about community engagement and has been an active board member for her downtown residents' association for 4 years where she is committed to helping to find solutions to the some of the challenges facing a growing city like Toronto. Andrea is a reluctant hockey mom to an 11 year old boy who also plays baseball in the off season. She tries to find time to play tennis in what little spare time remains.
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