Speakers

Deb Craven is a seasoned executive with decades of progressive experience. She has built an incredible career grounded in hard work, supportive managers, curiosity, and having the confidence to speak her mind with strong humility.

Deb is the President at Longo’s. She joined the organization in 2019 as the Chief Financial Officer and later became the Chief Operating Officer. During her tenure at Longo’s, she has successfully delivered exceptional growth while architecting the extraordinary expansion of the company, including supporting the partnership with Empire. Previous to Longo’s, she has held progressive financial management positions at Purolator, Nike, and Canadian Tire (Mark’s and Sportchek).

She achieved her Chartered Accountant designation (ICAO) and an Honours BBA (Co-Op) from Wilfrid Laurier University. She also received the Star Women in Grocery award.

Deb is married with 2 adult children and enjoys the gym, cycling and is learning to play tennis (and trying to love golf).

She gives back to the community with her support of charitable organizations. Over the years she has proudly served on the Board of Directors for The Learning Partnership, Sagesse, and Kids Help Phone.

CTDP, MA, MCATD

With over a decade of experience in talent management, leadership development, and organizational learning, Farheen has established herself as a dedicated professional in fostering growth and engagement across various industries including healthcare, retail, consumer analytics, and not-for-profit sectors.

Currently serving as the Director of Talent & Training at Pet Valu, Farheen leads strategic initiatives in succession planning, change management, and talent development, ensuring alignment with organizational goals while fostering a culture of inclusivity and enrichment.

In previous roles such as Faculty at the Schulich Executive Education Centre (SEEC) and Director of Talent Management at Sienna Senior Living, Farheen spearheaded talent initiatives, leadership development & learning programs, and performance enablement strategies in complex environments.

Farheen’s expertise extends to designing and implementing innovative learning solutions, leveraging adult learning principles to enhance employee performance and drive organizational success. Recognized for leadership contributions, including leading teams to national HR industry award nominations, Farheen holds certifications in coaching and employee engagement.

Farheen is a Certified Training and Development Professional (CTDP), with a Masters Certificate in Adult Training and Development from Schulich ExecEd, and a Masters in Education from the University of Toronto.  She is committed to continuous learning and professional development. Passionate about leveraging her skills and experience to create impactful change, Farheen is dedicated to driving organizational excellence.

Outside of her professional pursuits, Farheen is a devoted mom of four (two kids, two dogs), a passionate foodie, and a yoga enthusiast.

Celina Kerves launched her career in retail early on and with over 30 years in the industry, she has loved every moment of her journey.

She navigated her way through various roles across renowned brands including luxury and big box organizations.

For the past five years, she has thrived as a Regional Manager at La Vie en Rose and is excited for this chapter working with such a great Canadian brand.

As a leader, she has been responsible for overseeing the sales teams across Ontario while strategizing and implementing sales initiatives and staffing requirements.

With the constant evolution of the sales landscape and increasing reliance on technology, it is crucial to stay updated with the latest trends and best practices in sales management and she has been fortunate to implement new initiatives to improve many organizations.

Celina has a stellar track record, consistently driving revenue growth, expanding market share, and enhancing customer satisfaction. She has a strong ability to develop and execute effective sales strategies and to lead and motivate a team of exceptional managers.

Pina, a multifaceted entrepreneur and advocate, navigates life with a disability while championing accessibility and inclusion. Despite losing her sight at 36, she embraced challenges with humility, inspired by her family’s struggles. Through her lived experiences, Pina became an internationally recognized expert, bridging organizational perspectives to promote systemic and cultural change that can be sustained. With over 29 years in finance and a master’s in Inclusive Design, she amplifies underrepresented voices. Her journey led her to mentorship and advocacy, shaping the next generation of accessibility specialists. Pina’s extensive contributions include strategic  advice to Executives and organizations, co-chairing initiatives, and establishing key accessibility frameworks, driven by her commitment to fostering an inclusive world. In 2020 she was appointed as  co-Senior Accessibility   advisor working with Minister  Carla Qualtrough  to establish  the first Canadian Disability Inclusion Business Network.

Kris Siddiqi is a comedian, actor and writer from the great city of Toronto!
Recipient of the 2015 Canadian Comedy Award for Best Male Improviser and the 2014 “Best Of” Now Magazine Awards. Trained in sketch and improvisation since a young age, Kris studied with the world renowned Second City, joined the Mainstage cast in 2009 and wrote 3 revues with them. From there he went to voice work, becoming the Network Voice of Country Music Television, principal roles on cartoons like Let’s Go Luna, Totally Spies! and My Little Pony, and more, as well as becoming a series regular on the Comedy Panel Show on CBC Because News.

His most recent creation was the multi-award winning miniseries BIT PLAYAS, a story of 2 nerds figuring out their own identities and strength of friendship. Conceived and originated by Kris, the show would go on to win 2 Canadian Screen Awards for Best Writing and Best Series, Best Representation of Communities Of Color from the Minnesota WebFest 2020, Best Actor in the Toronto WebFest awards, as well as multiple other awards from festivals all over the world. 

Kris’ recent film & tv credits include HBOMax’s TITANS, Aaron Sorkin’s MOLLY’S GAME, Amazon’s THE BOYS, AppleTV’s IMPROBABLE VALENTINE and a recurring face on IFC/CBC’s BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW. 

And if he wasn’t enough of a huge nerd, Kris is also the sound editor, sound designer and main character for his fantasy radio-drama DWARVEN MOSS, which recently won Best Leisure Podcast from the Canadian Podcast Awards. 

Robert Laufer is the Chief Financial Officer of Brown Shoes. He joined Browns in 2009. His areas of responsibility include Accounting & Finance, Human Resources, Loss Prevention, Legal and Treasury.  In addition, he is a member of Browns’ Executive Committee which provides the ongoing strategic direction for the Company.

Prior to joining Browns, Robert was a business advisory partner at Richter LLP, serving a client base mainly comprised of large privately held Canadian companies.

Rochele Padiachy and her family left Johannesburg, South Africa during the apartheid regime to Canada as refugees. Rochele’s formative years were supported by the wisdom teaching of Ubuntu which anchors a deep connection between self and community. Nurtured by both formal and ancestral teachers, Rochele’s lived experiences have greatly inspired her a lifelong commitment to transformative social justice and human rights education. Rochele has a BA in Multicultural and Indigenous studies with a focus on race, ethnicity, and indigeneity from York University, a master’s degree in Human Security and Peacebuilding from Royal Roads University and an executive certificate in public policy analysis from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Rochele is currently a manager of learning and knowledge solutions at the Canadian Center for Diversity and Inclusion. She is also the director of programming and events with the Council of African Professionals and serves on the City of Markham’s Race Relations Advisory Committee.

Sara Bibb is a certified HR Leader and our Director at Bee Happy HR Co.  She is a professional and certified Human Resources Professional.  You will think she is part of your team because she takes pride in serving her clients and getting the best solution to the HR issues they are experiencing in their business.

She excels in her superior communication skills and relationship-building skills with everyone she works with.  She completed her post-graduate program in HR Management at Seneca College and obtained her Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) designation in 2009. 

Sara discovered that smaller companies have the same HR issues as larger ones, but without the professional HR resources to handle them.  What else was there to do? 

With her 16+ years in HR, she started her own HR Consulting firm and became the HR Department for small business.  Sara is also the HR Mentor for Women in Biz Network.

Justin Lessard-Wajcer, PhDc, is a neuroscientist and entrepreneur whose mission is to redefine the retail industry. As founder and CEO of Nurau, he is pioneering the use of AI and emotional intelligence to transform the frontline retail experience. Hailed by Forbes and CBC News as one of Canada’s Trop Innovators, Justin’s mission with Nurau is bold: empowering leaders from the ground up – offering retail managers a dynamic support system. This innovative approach boosts operational efficiency and sales while dramatically reducing turnover, setting a new paradigm for the retail industry.

Leigh Mitchell is an inclusive, innovative DEI & Marketing Consultant and Marketing Professor at the University of Guelph Humber and York University. Leigh is committed to equity and belonging in workplaces and founded Bee Happy HR & Marketing Co. to improve diversity and inclusion results within organizations committed to making a difference but unsure where to start. Bee Happy HR is a full-service brand management and diversity-driven HR company.

She supports professionals, entrepreneurs, busy recruiters & HR departments to provide DEI coaching, HR, and business branding services with a certified team of experts in her Bee Happy HR Hive. Leigh is proud to be building Canada’s leading diverse Human Resource and Brand Management Organization focused on employer and business branding, position promotion, recruiting, and retaining diverse talent for your workplace. Leigh has recently been recognized as a DEI Expert by Statistics Canada.

Leigh is also the founder of Women in Biz Network; curates mentorship initiatives, promotes Women in Biz Network’s diversity-driven career board, and delivers personalized DEI training and marketing training.

Connect with Leigh on Linkedin and across social media channels via @hireherjobboard.

John Mortimer is the leading expert in Canada on the rights and responsibilities of employees who may not want to become or remain unionized.  He works with Counsel and their Client’s in taking an employee centered approach to union drives and when employees are exercising their statutory rights to decertify a union.

John ran Human Resources departments for companies with employees in Canada and the U.S. for 15 years such as Future Shop, Wendy’s and Colorization (high-tech industry).

John has been a self-employed management   consultant since 1999,  specializing in  transitions and turn-arounds.  John   has   worked with many organizations who had union drives or employees who  wanted  to  decertify  a  union.

Since 2000, John has served part-time as President of the non-profit Canadian LabourWatch Association. Its mandate is to help employees make informed choices about unionization and access Labour Board process and forms when they do not wish to become or remain unionized.

He has advised Governments, elected officials and Ministry staff on both labour law and the Income Tax Act of Canada regarding union financial disclosure.  He has appeared before Canada’s House of Commons and Senate Committees as an expert witness many times.

John is currently a member of an Advisory Committee of the Board of a US based positive employee relations training organization (CUE – previously known as the Council for Union-Free Environments).

Shelly M. Patel graduated from the University of British Columbia’s law school in 2000 and worked as a management side Labour and Employment lawyer until 2006, eventually leaving practice to start a family.  She then returned to the workforce acting as a Senior Labour Relations Advisor for a public broadcaster before beginning an independent consulting practice, helping companies improve their employee relations through focus group work. Shelly is also an avid CrossFitter, and in 2015, opened a 7200 sq ft gym in Toronto.

Jackie is Lead Recruiter and one of the founding partners at JRoss Retail Recruiters, Canada’s leading recruiting agency specializing exclusively in retail, with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal.

Jackie first built a highly successful career as a hands on operator with leading retailers across Canada. She then leveraged that experience to personally recruit hundreds of retail professionals. Since starting JRoss Retail Recruiters in 2002 with Rob Fisher, she’s led a cross country team to successfully recruit thousands more, from the Store Manager to the CEO level.

With her hands on experience as both a retailer, and as a recruiter leading a team of top performing retail recruiters working with leading brands from the executive to field operations levels, Jackie is uniquely positioned to understand the challenges and opportunities involved in recruiting in our “new normal”.

Bay Ryley is an employment and human rights lawyer and the President of Ryley Learning – a digital workplace learning company. Ryley Learning’s animated, engaging course on workplace sexual harassment is the training program of choice for a range of organizations across all sectors. Bay has been nominated for a 2019 RBC Women’s Entrepreneur award.

Bay provides strategic advice and litigation support to both employers and employees in respect of a range of workplace law matters, and draws on many years of advocacy and policy work in human rights and employment law, professional regulation, and public inquiries.

Bay is the founder of Ryley Law, prior to which she was counsel to: Human Rights Legal Support Centre; Ontario Human Rights Commission‎; Constitutional Law Branch (MAG) MFP/Computer Leasing Inquiry; Walkerton (Tainted Water) Inquiry. She articled at Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG).

Carlo is a Director of Business Development, and Partnerships at the Schulich Executive Education (Schulich ExecEd). Carlo has designed and delivered over 250 programs throughout his career. He oversees Schulich ExecEd’s Centres of Excellence, home to the Master’s Certificate in Municipal Leadership and Public Sector Leadership. He has over 13 years of experience in the organizational education sector, specializing in leadership and management training, organizational learning systems and strategies and executive education. Carlo has worked in designing education programs for organizations in financial services, government agencies, pharmaceuticals, hospitals, manufacturing, and retail.

Diane J. Brisebois, CAE, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Retail Council of Canada (RCC). She oversees the largest retail association in Canada serving over 45,000 retail establishments including independent merchants, chain stores, mass merchants, big box and online retailers. RCC’s membership covers all segments of the retail market including general merchandise, grocery and pharmacy.

Diane joined RCC as its President and CEO in January 1995. Diane has held CEO positions in the not-for-profit sector representing various industries for the past 35 years.

Diane has and continues to serve on a variety of Boards across North America.

Ms. Brisebois is Immediate Past Chair of the Fair Factory Clearinghouse (FFC), an organization established to enable collaboration between vendors and retailers in assessing and improving workplace conditions globally.

Ms. Brisebois is also the Immediate Past Chair and a member of the Executive Committee of the Forum of International Retail Association Executives (FIRAE) which represents retail associations from more than 30 countries brought together to collaborate on issues affecting the retail sector globally.

Ms. Brisebois also served for many years on the Board of Covenant House Toronto, on the Board and as Chairman of the Traffic Injury Research Foundation and on the Board and as Chairman of the Canadian Society of Association Executives.

She currently serves on:

• The Ted Rogers School of Retail Management Advisory Council
• The Advisory Board of the University of Alberta’s School of Retailing
• The Board of the Toronto Region Board of Trade, and
• The Board of Stewardship Ontario (Ontario Blue Box Program)

Ms. Brisebois is a native of Montreal, Quebec and now resides in Toronto, Ontario.

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.