Speakers

Rich has been successfully delivering change for over 25 years. He has consulted, coached and educated with organizations across all parts of the globe and regularly reflect on his legacy in developing the change delivery model for UK government, He is a founding member of the Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP) and was founding president of the Toronto Chapter for 6 years. He has also founded the Toronto Change Days conference, based on the highly successful Berlin Change Days, a hands-on weekend of fun learning about change unlike any other change conference in North America! He has a masters in change management and is certified in Project Management, Process improvement, Facilitation, HR, Coaching, Counseling and Psychotherapy. He is also a Certified Lego® Serious Play® Facilitator & Workshop Designer, Certified in facilitating organizations through uncertainty and complexity and an accredited emotional culture deck “elephant rider” ! His presentation delivery is known for its passion and direct challenges to the audience. He enjoys the opportunity to disrupt traditional thinking, bring humour to the learning space and enable curiosity to take control of the change space for everyone.

To be posted

Passionate, a word used often when describing Natalie. Whether she is helping you go after the life and dreams you were always meant to be living or showing organizations and leaders that there is a different way to lead, work and connect together, she brings enthusiasm, boldness, and kindness with her every time. As a professional leadership coach, speaker, facilitator, and contributor to Brene Brown's latest best-selling book, Dare to Lead, Natalie focuses on authentic and connected leadership development. Working in partnership with leaders she inspires and helps build their capacity for courage, candor, connection, vulnerability and trust in the workplace. Natalie has over 15 years of experience in human resources management, organizational development and employee and leader coaching in the technology and manufacturing industries. Along with coaching credentials through the Coaching Training Institute and the International Coaching Federation, she holds a BA (Hons) degree in sociology, a degree in Human Resources Management and a certification as a facilitator in Dare to Lead™.

One of the industry’s most prominent evangelists for frontline employee experience, Jordan Ekers is a mobile technology entrepreneur and co-founder of Nudge Rewards. He’s worked with many of North America’s leading retail, foodservice, and hospitality brands to design new, transformative approaches for executing on brand promise by empowering frontline teams. With extensive experience in customer loyalty, rewards strategy, and mobile innovation, he previously co-founded one of Canada’s most popular loyalty programs, Carrot Rewards, a wellness app which motivates over 1 million users to make better everyday lifestyle choices. Jordan has been a speaker and conference chair at major industry events, such as NRF Big Show, Future Stores, and Future Guest Experiences.

Tanja Fratangeli is Head of People & Culture for IKEA Canada, leading all aspects of IKEA People and Culture practices, policies, processes, linked to all co-workers in the country. IKEA is known for hiring on values, which builds on being inclusive, open and honest culture; Tanja embodies this in her day-to-day role. Tanja brings a wealth of knowledge from her 25 years in the Human Resource industry, where she has led significant change management, organizational and compensation initiatives. She is well known for her curious, collaborative and pragmatic leadership approach, with a passion for home furnishing.

Kevin Graff is the President of Graff Retail, based in Toronto, Ontario. Since 1988, Graff Retail has specialized in working with retailers around the globe to increase their revenue through improved staff performance. Kevin is widely respected as one of North America’s best retail speakers and trainers and was recently chosen as one of the Top 50 Retail Influencers. His principle belief is that retailers are losing too many sales each day in their stores that they should be capturing. Kevin’s approach to store operations and his intense focus on real, bottom-line issues continually produce outstanding results. Kevin is also the creator of Graff Retail TV, the retail community’s leading source of online sales and management training. Since being launched in 2008, Graff Retail TV has provided thousands of sales associates and store management teams with the skills they need to succeed.

Frank Monteleone joined Rexall Pharmacy Group in 2008 and is the Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Relations at Rexall. As a member of the Executive Operating Committee, Frank oversees a diverse portfolio of strategic HR initiatives for Rexall, Claimsecure and Medicentres. He is responsible for all aspects of Employee & Labour Relations, Total Rewards (including Benefits), Talent Strategy and Acquisition, Organization Effectiveness, Learning and Development, and HR Shared Services for both the corporate office and over 400 retail locations. Frank also oversees the Communications and Corporate Relations functions for the organization. In his nearly 20 years of human resources experience, Frank has distinguished himself as a trusted advisor, a change champion, and a devoted employee advocate – leadership qualities that help to unlock the potential of Rexall employees and strengthen the brand. Prior to joining Rexall, Frank worked for Indigo Books and Music Inc. and RONA in a variety of progressive HR positions. Frank has been involved with supporting key priorities critical to the success of the business, such as employee engagement, cultural transformation, leadership talent planning, and strategic total rewards. Under Frank’s leadership, his team is currently stewarding diversity and inclusion efforts to advance diversity and women in business. Frank has completed his certified human resources executive designation (CHRE) from the Human Resources Professional Association, as well as being Prosci ADKAR certified in change management. He also has a Masters Certificate in Adult Training and Development from the Schulich Executive Education Centre. Frank holds a Bachelors of Arts, Mathematics for Commerce from York University in Toronto and also has a diploma in Human Resources Management from Humber College. Frank is proud to be the President & Chair of the Board for the Rexall Foundation. Since 2002, the Foundation has been helping build strong and vibrant communities by supporting numerous charitable organizations.

With over 15 years of experience as co-founder of the leading recruiting agency serving Canada's other large scale service industry - Retail - Jackie is an invaluable advisor and resource for JRoss Hospitality Recruiters. Her success has come from focusing on customer service, managing large teams of people across broad geographical areas, and navigating in a fast paced environment. Extensive hands on experience in those areas, combined with years of successful recruiting, has given Jackie the ideal background to guide JRoss Hospitality Recruiters to become Canada’s leading Hospitality-focused recruiting firm. After studying at the University of Western Ontario, Jackie began a retail management career spanning the full range of store operations. Her first positions were managing high volume locations for Tristan & America and Club Monaco. After relocating to Vancouver in 1993, Jackie joined the prestigious Holt Renfrew management team. Here she worked with several distinctly different business profiles, thriving in this high-end environment known for its excellent training, high standards of sales competence, and exceptional customer service policies. Joining Dumont & Associates recruiters in 1999, Jackie headed up the fashion division, successfully placing over 150 candidates with prominent retailers across Western Canada. Combining her understanding of both the search and hands on customer service professions, Jackie co-founded JRoss Retail Recruiters in 2002, and she and her team of Retail recruiters have successfully filled hundreds of positions from the executive suite to customer-service roles. Co-launching JRoss Hospitality Recruiters in 2005 was a logical extension of her track record of success in recruiting – and she hasn’t looked back since.

To be posted.