Conference Agenda

Registration Open - 11:30PM

Sponsored by:

Welcome Reception (5:30 PM - 7:30 PM)
 Opening of the conference and exhibitor hall.

GPC Annual General Meeting (8:00 AM - 8:50 AM)

Opening Remarks by Lynn Beauregard, President, GPC (8:50 AM - 9:00 AM) 
immediately followed by the Keynote session

Opening Keynote (9:00 AM - 9:50 AM)

Permanent Volatility:  How Geopolitics, Trade, and Technology Are Rewriting Board Risk

Boards keep waiting for stability, but governance now requires fluency in instability. This session will take a comprehensive look at how to optimize Board oversight models for disruption and at what boards must do differently.

As the list of risks just keeps expanding:

• Geopolitical & Sovereignty Risk
• Trade, tariffs, wars
• Industrial policy, national security
• Technology, AI & Data Risk
  
• Supply Chain & Operational Risk
• Regulatory & Legal Risk
• Reputational & Stakeholder Risk
• Social legitimacy pressure
• Climate and supply chain instability

This marks the end of assumptions boards used to rely on:

• Stable trade regimes
• Predictable allies
• Clear regulatory trajectories

What’s replacing them:

• Economic nationalism & trade weaponization
• Sanctions, tariffs, and supply-chain coercion
• Political risk spilling directly into corporate risk

Why boards are under-tooled for this moment and how governance professionals act as the translation layer between geopolitics and board decisions.

Gitane De Silva, ICD.D,  
Strategist | Keynote Speaker | Diplomat | Former CEO, Canada Energy Regulator | Former Deputy Minister

Gitane De Silva is a public policy leader with experience at the provincial, national and international levels. In addition to her advisory work, Gitane is an engaging speaker with expert knowledge of the energy ecosystem, Canada-U.S. relations, how Canada works, and leadership in challenging times.

Moderated by:
Judith Athaide, Corporate Director, Entrepreneur, Governance Educator
Judith is a Board director with more than three decades of board and executive experience across energy, infrastructure, utilities, financial services, technology, and clean innovation. She currently serve on the board of Canada Powered by Women and contributes to advancing governance practice nationally as National Academic Director and Instructor for the Institute of Corporate Directors HR & Compensation Effectiveness program, and as Director-in-Residence for Enterprise Risk Management.

Track A: Effective Governance Professionals

Session 1A: The Rise of the Governance Architect: A New Professional Identity for a New Governance Era

Governance is evolving faster than the roles designed to support it. Today’s governance professionals are expected to influence without authority, navigate complex personalities and power structures, manage the emotional labour of board dynamics and ever increasing expectations, all while supporting the integrity of the organization and its governance. 

This session introduces a new professional identity: the Governance Architect—a practitioner who plans, designs, builds, and oversees the systems, structures, and cultural conditions that enable an effective board. Drawing on three complementary perspectives, the session reframes governance as a strategic discipline.

Participants will explore how to become intentional architects of board effectiveness.

Three Perspectives

1. The Real Governance Superpower
Governance professionals often sit at the centre of critical decisions without formal authority. 

• Building influence through trust, timing, and strategic framing
• Navigating power dynamics and raising uncomfortable issues constructively
• Positioning governance advice so it is heard, respected, and acted upon

2. The Governance Career Nobody Prepared You For
Tanya surfaces the unspoken realities of governance work—the emotional labour, professional identity challenges, and invisible expectations that shape the profession. She explores:

• The emotional load of managing personalities, politics, and competing loyalties
• Burnout, imposter syndrome, and the myth of “neutrality”
• The need for community, validation, and shared language for the lived experience of governance roles

3. Designing and Building the Board Systems
Sylvia sees the Board as an interconnected system of people, processes, information flows, and cultural norms. She will introduce the architectural mindset:

• Designing and building governance frameworks that are intentional, scalable, and deeply aligned with organizational purpose
• Creating structures that support strategic focus and accountability at the board level
• Tools to make governance visible, coherent, and actionable

Participants will leave with:

• A New Professional Identity and a clear understanding of what it means to be a Governance Architect
• Practical influence tools and techniques for shaping decisions and guiding board behaviour without relying on positional authority
• Sustainability Strategies, including language, validation, and perspectives for navigating the unspoken realities of governance work and their impacts on practitioners
• A Governance Architecture Plan – a practical model for planning, designing, building, and overseeing the systems that make boards effective
• A Call to Action – for governance professionals to step into a more intentional, strategic, and empowered identity

Speakers:  Sylvia Groves, President, Governance Studio;  Tanya Laschuk, Manager, Board Governance Administration, Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). ; Ese Nkadi, Corporate Governance Director, Alberta Dental Association

Track B: Resilient Boards and Organizations

Session 1B: Next Generation Governance – Future Proofing Boards: Managing Succession Planning & Skills Architecture for Boards and Governance Professionals

It's often said that failing to plan is planning to fail. This is as true for boards as for any other institution. Board are ultimately made up of people, and with the last cohort of baby-boomers set to turn 65 by 2030 an estimated 5.2 million Canadians will soon be leaving the labour market. Many of them will depart their organizations with years or even decades of institutional memory, risk management, and
governance expertise that cannot easily be replaced. 

This significant turnover presents governance professionals with a once in a generation challenge but also an incredible opportunity to manage succession in a thoughtful way to mitigate risk.

With care, attention, and a thoughtful approach, organizations can position themselves to thrive by ensuring essential critical knowledge is passed on to the next generation of board members and governance professionals.

• An understanding of how critical proper succession planning is to mitigating organizational risk
• An understanding of what can go wrong when
• Succession planning isn't given the time and attention it deserves
• The benefits of proper succession planning
• Practical and actionable advice for developing a succession planning process for boards 
• What expertise must directors now have? Ie. AI literacy; geopolitical literacy; cyber expertise

Drawing on extensive experience in public and private boards and agencies, this session will provide practical, actionable advice for developing and implementing a succession planning process for boards to ensure they are well placed to thrive in a changing world.

Speaker:  Paul Osbaldeston, Director, Legal Affairs, Alberta Innovates; Amy McCallion JD, ICD.D, CEO, Boardroom 44 Consulting Inc.

Track C: Key Trends in Governance

Session 1C: Governance & wellbeing: why the next frontier of governance is human

Shona McGlashan will explore the overlooked but essential connection between governance excellence and personal wellbeing. Drawing on recent data and lived experience in governance roles, she highlights how pressures in the boardroom—intense workloads, role ambiguity, cultural expectations, and persistent visibility—create real challenges for both directors and governance professionals. 

The session will consider: 

•  What we know about wellbeing in board environments 
• The unique challenges faced by governance professionals 
• Personal resilience and care: 
  • Understanding burnout and stress 
  • Creating a personal toolkit for prevention and recovery o How joy, meaning & purpose fuel resilience over time 

The session will call on boards and governance leaders to take responsibility for wellbeing by shaping culture, understanding how work interacts with wellbeing, and grounding organizations in purpose. 

The goal is to empower governance professionals and directors to embed wellbeing into the very fabric of good governance. 

• Better understanding of the interactions between work and wellbeing 
• Insights into the unique challenges of the governance professional 
• Personal toolkit to manage their own wellbeing 
• Prompts and suggestions for embedding wellbeing (both personal and organizational) into governance practices.

Speakers:  Shona McGlashan; Founder McGlashan Consulting

Track A: Effective Governance Professionals

Session 2A: Transformation Through the Eyes of the Board Chair, CEO, and Corporate Secretary

Three Voices, One Journey What happens when the old playbook no longer applies? You write a new one — together. Transformation Through the Eyes of the Board Chair, CEO, and Corporate Secretary In this unfiltered session, a Board Chair, a CEO, and a Corporate Secretary come together to share the story of their transformation journey. 

This is not a case study. It’s a story still unfolding. They will reflect on the shared realization that their traditional organizational model couldn’t carry them forward. Through vulnerability, experimentation, and commitment to purpose, they began to co-author a new playbook — one rooted in adaptability, empathy, and courage. 

Join them for a conversation about what it means to lead when the path ahead isn’t clear, but the commitment to evolve is unwavering. Expect candid reflections, hard-earned lessons, and a behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to lead through change — together.

The discussion will examine:

• Coming to the realization that drastic change was needed
• Moving from anxiety to action
• Collaborating on solutions
• Establishing resiliency and willingness to continue to adapt

Speakers: Darlene Hyde, Board Chair, Stabilization Central Credit Union of B.C.; Bill Corbett, CEO, Stabilization Central Credit Union of BC; Paola Wilford, Corporate Secretary & Governance Officer, Stabilization Central Credit Union of BC

Track B: Resilient Boards and Organizations

Session 2B: Beyond Compensation: Evolving CEO Performance Management.

Boards across Canada are working to improve how they provide CEOs with meaningful feedback. The challenge is often aligning the Board around a single, coherent narrative. Scorecards and KPIs are great tools to assess business outcomes but fall short in addressing leadership effectiveness and CEO behaviours. As the Board’s one-and-only employee, Board’s are recognizing the need to level up this capability across Canada. 

This session will: 

• Examine common challenges Boards face in setting, assessing, and documenting CEO performance 
• Explore how to create clarity in CEO goal setting and align performance expectations with strategy, risk, and organizational priorities 
• Share best practices for facilitating constructive performance discussions and delivering meaningful feedback 
• Highlight the governance professional’s role in designing, enabling, and supporting effective CEO performance management frameworks 
• Consider Board/CEO dynamics, confidentiality, and the governance professional’s role in supporting a unified Board voice 
• Provide practical insights governance professionals can apply immediately to support Boards, Board Chairs, and CEOs.

Key takeaways include: 

1. Practical approaches to CEO goal setting; how to define success measures that are realistic, strategic, and defensible. 
2. Best practices for effective CEO performance management that enable constructive and ongoing feedback.
3. Insight into how governance professionals can support the Board, HR, and the CEO in the CEO Performance Management Process

Speakers:  Ciara Wakita, Partner, Hugessen Consulting Inc; Ella Chilton, Manager, Hugessen Consulting Inc.; Tolulope Oghenevwapo, Director, Governance & Corporate Secretary, TTC Pension Plan; Mary Solimine, Corporate Secretary, CAA Club Group 

Sponsored By:

Track C: Key Trends in Governance

Session 2C: Always Audit Ready: Embedding Governance into Global Trade Operations – A Case Study at lululemon

Key insights will be shared on how to build governance capability within Global Trade, with accountability for designing and implementing the policy frameworks, controls, and oversight mechanisms that now support audit readiness and regulatory compliance across regions. The function, while independent, requires close partnership with senior leaders, Vice Presidents, and Directors across Global Trade in North America, Mexico, Asia Pacific, Europe, and China, as well as collaboration with Global Fulfillment and enterprise risk partners.

In global customs and trade, the standard is not reactive compliance. It is constant audit readiness.

This session will examine how formal governance frameworks can be embedded within large or small organizations, specifically in supply chain operations to create a sustainable control environment that supports internal audits, enterprise assurance testing, and external regulatory reviews conducted by customs authorities and supply chain security programs.

As the sole governance lead within the Customs and Trade business unit at Lululemon Athletica, the speaker established policy architecture, standardized global operating procedures, implemented third party monitoring controls, and deployed policy management systems to align with requirements under programs such as Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT), Partners in Protection (PIP), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

The session will reflect direct, firsthand experience building governance from the ground up within a global retail environment. You will hear about practical implementation examples, real scenarios from policy management system deployment, and measurable impact achieved through executive alignment. The aim is to demonstrate how governance, when operationalized with defined ownership, structured controls, and measurable oversight, elevates customs compliance from a regulatory obligation to an enterprise level of good governance, risk, and compliance capability.

Attendees will:

• Understand how to design governance frameworks that support continuous audit readiness in high-risk operational environments
• Learn practical methods for implementing policy management systems that align procedures, controls, and accountability
• Gain insight into translating regulatory requirements such as CTPAT, PIP, and customs authority audits into operational controls
• Identify strategies for driving governance adoption across global teams without formal authority structures
• Recognize how governance within operational functions strengthens enterprise risk management and board level assurance

This session offers a concrete and transferable example of governance as a capability builder inside a fast-scaling Canadian retail organization operating globally.

Speakers: Vishali Kairon, MPPAL, PMP, Program Manager, Trade Operations Governance, lululemon Athletica | North America

Track A: The Strategic Governance Professional

Session 3A: Elevating Your Emotional Intelligence in the Boardroom

In the high-stakes world of corporate governance, success is often determined not only by what you know but also by how you communicate and interact with your peers. 

Despite being one of the most critical boardroom skills, EI remains among the least discussed, yet it defines the most successful leaders and sits at the heart of the best-run companies. 

This session explores how to enhance your board's effectiveness by mastering your emotions and navigating others' emotions effectively. Participants will learn to move from reactive patterns to responsive mastery by embracing the "4 Cs" of Emotional Intelligence: 

1. Competency
2. Character
3. Courage
4. Chemistry
   

Practical Strategies for Boardroom Mastery. This panel will share actionable techniques for managing high-pressure situations and improving collective performance. 

Ultimately, elevating your EI leads to better decision-making, greater resilience, and psychological safety within the board. By "minding your P’s and Q’s," governance professionals can foster a more cohesive and aligned board, better equipped to make sound business decisions.

Speaker: Dr. Deborah Rosati, CEO & Founder, Women Get on Board; Dusya Vera, Professor, General Management & Strategy, Executive Director, Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership, Ivey Business School

Track B: Resilient Boards and Organizations

Session 3B: Accessible Governance – Creating Boardrooms by Design

Accessible governance has become a boardroom priority. As expectations rise, governance professionals must ensure board systems enable full participation, including for directors with visible and invisible disabilities.
 
This session explores common barriers in boardrooms today — from inaccessible board materials and meeting dynamics to physical and digital environments.
 
Drawing on insights from the Government of Canada’s first Chief Accessibility Officer, BIG Thoughts™ research, and lived experience, panelists will share practical, low-cost strategies to embed accessibility into governance, strengthening oversight across board policies, culture, and evaluation.

Key takeaways:

• Identify/Spot key accessibility barriers in board materials and meetings. 
• Apply accessibility and inclusion principles to board packages and agendas. 
• Support chairs and directors run meetings that are inclusive of people with disabilities. 
• Make immediate low-cost, high-impact improvements within your governance role and governance practices. 
• Implement practical changes for accessibility and inclusion, while upholding governance standards. 

Walk away with simple, high-impact tools to help build boardrooms where every voice can contribute.

Speaker: Ivy Lumia, CEO & Founder, Best in Governance Inc.; Stephanie Cadieux, Chief Accessibility Officer, Government of Canada; Ruth Millard (VLRC), Executive Business Lead, Board Relations & Governance, Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada; Melissa Kirby, Executive Business Partner, Operation Support Services, CNIB Deafblind Community Services (DBCS)

Track C: Governance and Trust

Session 3C: The Future of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Canadian Governance

As diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) face growing scrutiny and shifting expectations, board directors must navigate both the pushback and the promise. 

This session offers a candid look at the current state of DEIA in Canadian workplaces — including emerging challenges, public discourse, and policy trends — and reframes DEIA as a strategic imperative rooted in enduring values of dignity, belonging, and innovation for a more socially conscious economy and a more inclusive Canada. Through real-world examples and leading practices, participants will explore how boards can lead with intention, foster inclusive cultures, and build resilient organizations. Topics include governance strategies, inclusive leadership, measuring impact through DEIA assessment frameworks. 

Whether you're in corporate, nonprofit, academic, or public sectors, this session will equip you with actionable insights to future-proof your board’s DEIA commitments. The session will include key advice and insights on: 

• Values-based demand
  
• Demographic and political shifts
  
• The myth of meritocracy and HR best practices 
  
• AI and skills of the future 
  
• Inclusive leadership for board directors 

Key takeaways:

• Identify gaps in current HR and governance practices—particularly around the myth of meritocracy—and apply evidence informed strategies to strengthen equity and inclusion. 
• Analyze how AI adoption and evolving skill requirements influence workforce equity, accessibility, and long term talent planning. 
• Implement practical governance approaches that foster inclusive cultures, support accountability, and reinforce sustained DEIA commitments across their organizations

Speaker: Anne-Marie Pham, VP Engagement, CCDI
Anne-Marie currently is an Advisor to the Government of Alberta's Anti-Racism Advisory Council, on the Board of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, and Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the National Council of Asian Canadians.

Free Night - Sponsor client events

Track A: Effective Governance Professionals

Session 4A: Better Board Decisions: Facilitating Strategic Clarity and Resilient Board Decision-Making

We read the headlines in the Globe & Mail ... another corporate governance fiasco! Why do smart boards sometimes make poor decisions? 

In an era of shifting trade alliances, economic volatility, and breakneck AI disruption, the stakes for every boardroom decision have never been higher. Today’s boards must move from passive oversight to active navigation of overlapping risks that can rewrite the rules of business overnight. 

The difference between a board that is paralyzed by complexity and one that thrives lies in its decision-making process. This session explores the board's role as the ultimate decision-maker in an ever-evolving environment. We move beyond theory to provide "in-the-trenches" techniques for managing ambiguity, avoiding cognitive traps like groupthink, and supporting the board in its decision-making processes.

Learning Outcomes:

• Recognize early warning signs of common decision-making pitfalls
•  Apply agile decision-making frameworks that account for shifting headwinds
  
• Leverage practical tools to facilitate sharper deliberations and ensure your board remains forward-thinking and resilient
  
• Essentials for the Corporate Secretary 
  
• Best Practices in Agenda Crafting Building
  
• Effective Governance Boardroom Dynamic
  
• Steps to Effective Decision-Making 
  
• The link between effective decision-making and the work of a Governance Department 
  
• Practical tips on how to create environments that support effective decision-making by Boards

Speakers:  Christine Thomas, Senior Governance Advisor; Sheldon Stener, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Legal & Governance, Federated Cooperatives Ltd.

Track B: Resilient Boards and Organizations

Session 4B: The Agenda: Sheet Music for the Board meeting

Do you sometimes think your board agenda is as fresh and right for the moment as yesterday’s warmed-over casserole?

Time and again, directors express the view that “there’s not time!”. Not enough time to deal with risk. Not enough time to deal with strategy, culture, and succession. Not enough time to deal with emerging issues.

The hours in a day are the same for great boards and bad boards. The difference is in how great boards prioritize, sequence, and structure that precious board time. A maestro doesn’t simply walk up to a symphonic podium, tap a baton, and expect beautiful music. There’s thought that goes behind the programming. A board that meets to talk about items listed on a warmed-over template agenda probably isn’t using its time most effectively.

The board agenda is the sheet music for the board meeting. Thoughtfully prepared and sequenced, a great agenda unleashes “dead time” that often gets sucked up with procedure matters and the mundane. Absent a thoughtful agenda, an organization’s proverbial “elephant in the room” may remain unnoticed, ignored and invisible to the assembled stewards.

This session, led by Brian Hayward—a veteran of over 700 board meetings, more than a dozen chairing mandates, and author of an internationally acclaimed governance book—will explore how to craft an agenda that is right for the moment. An agenda that uses board time most effectively. An agenda that directors and management see as providing the framework for constructive conversations.

Take home value includes :

• Learning simple techniques that expand the time for thoughtful dialogue.  
• Exploring ways to have board meeting content reflect current organization priorities
• Understanding the critical importance of the sequence of discussion items
• Seeing how an agenda can reinforce alignment on purpose, strategy, and future priorities.  
• Discovering how to bring creativity and spontaneity to the meeting.

Speakers:  Brian Hayward, President, Aldare Resources

Track C:   Key Trends in Governance

Session 4C: Culture as a Governance Imperative: Duty of Care, Psychological Safety, and the Governance Dividend

Organizational culture is increasingly recognized as a core governance issue—not a “soft” topic but a critical factor influencing risk management, ethical conduct, decision-making quality, and long-term performance. 

As legal expectations and stakeholder scrutiny evolve, boards are being asked to oversee culture, equity, engagement, and psychological safety as part of their duty of care. Directors must understand how people experience the workplace and how those experiences shape compliance, trust, innovation, and risk behaviours across the organization.

This session explores how boards and governance professionals can integrate culture oversight into governance frameworks without crossing into management responsibilities. Drawing on legal principles, emerging governance standards, and real-world organizational practices, the discussion will examine how engagement, inclusion, and psychological safety function as leading indicators of governance effectiveness. Participants will also explore how governance professionals can help boards access meaningful workforce insights and translate them into informed oversight, stronger decision-making, and improved organizational resilience.

By reframing culture and engagement as governance intelligence rather than HR topics, this session will equip governance professionals with practical approaches to help boards meet modern expectations while strengthening ethical leadership and organizational performance.

Participants will leave with:

1. A clear understanding of how culture, equity, and psychological safety relate to the board’s duty of care and governance oversight.
2. Insight into how employee engagement and inclusion can serve as leading indicators of organizational risk, ethics, and performance.
   
3. Practical ways to integrate culture oversight into governance structures, reporting frameworks, and board discussions.
   
4. Guidance on how governance professionals can bring workforce insights to the boardroom while respecting management’s operational role.
5. Tools to help boards strengthen decision-making and long-term value creation through more effective oversight of organizational culture.

Speakers: Elisabeth Cooke, CEO, Dignii Technologies Inc 

Track A: Effective Governance Professionals

Session 5A:  Navigating governance conflicts during high-pressure situations

A controversial event announcement has gone public, and suddenly, as CEO, you and your board are thrust into a high-stakes governance challenge.

Board members regularly face sensitive issues—but what happens when a controversial issue arises? How do you manage the ripple effects on the business events ecosystem and organizational culture? What happens when governance oversight steps in, attempting to direct the CEO? And how do you lead when personal values across your team are misaligned?

This session offers a behind-the-scenes look at real-world challenges, decisive actions, and lessons learned when a leader must take a firm stance on a divisive issue—balancing operations, executive leadership, and complex board dynamics.

• Navigating governance conflicts during high pressure situations
• Strengthening CEO-Board relationships in an era of heightened scrutiny
• Honest conversation about leadership in the face of controversy.
• Discover how resilient leadership can become a force multiplier for organizational success.

Track B: Resilient Boards and Organizations

Session 5B: Joined-Up Governance: Designing Operating Models That Boards Can Rely On

Boards are being asked to provide sharper oversight in more complex, more volatile environments yet many organizations still rely on fragmented governance operating models. Accountability for governance, legal entities, compliance, and risk sits across functions, with limited integration. The result is familiar: inconsistent data, unclear ownership, delayed escalation, and ultimately, reduced confidence in the assurance provided to the board.

This plenary takes a more direct stance: governance does not fail at the board level, it fails in the operating model beneath it.
The session will examine how governance professionals can design joined-up operating models that connect roles, processes, and information flows across the organization. It will focus on how to create clear accountability, embed control, and generate decision-useful insight that boards can rely on.

Drawing on practical experience, it will also explore how technology and data, when applied deliberately enables consistency, scalability, and audit-ready assurance.

Attendees will leave with a clear blueprint to strengthen governance where it matters most: below the board.

Learning Objectives

1. Understand why governance failure is often an operating model problem, not a boardroom problem
2. Identify where fragmentation across functions and the business undermines risk visibility and assurance
3. Apply principles to design joined-up governance operating models with clear ownership and accountability
4. Recognise how structured data and targeted use of technology enable control, consistency, and auditability
5. Strengthen the ability to deliver credible, decision-useful assurance to the board 

Track C:   Key Trends in Governance

Session 5C: Purpose at the Top: Board Oversight, Accountability, and Impact

As more organizations articulate a social purpose, boards and governance professionals are being asked to move beyond statements to effective oversight. This one-hour panel will introduce emerging Purpose Governance Guidelines and explore leading practices for embedding purpose into board mandates, strategy, culture, and accountability. Designed for governance professionals, directors, and corporate secretaries, the session will cover the fundamentals of social purpose —what it means, why it matters, and how it supports long-term value creation—alongside practical governance implications. Panelists will share insights from board, management, and advisory perspectives on how purpose can be integrated into governance frameworks, committee structures, performance management, risk oversight, and disclosure. The session will highlight real-world examples from Canadian organizations, common pitfalls such as purpose-washing, and practical steps governance professionals can take to strengthen board oversight and ensure purpose is meaningfully activated at the top.

Speakers: Coro Strandberg, President, Strandberg Consulting and Chair, Canadian Purpose Economy Project; Maureen Young, VP Social Purpose, Coast Capital Savings; Francisca Quinn, Board Director, Canada Nickel; Oana Branzei, Professor, Ivey Business School

Track A: Effective Governance Professionals

Session 6A: From Oversight to Foresight: How Audit Committees, Corporate Secretaries, and Internal Audit Shape Better Governance

Boards are navigating an increasingly complex risk landscape shaped by artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, geopolitical uncertainty, regulatory change, talent challenges, and shifting stakeholder expectations. In this environment, governance is no longer simply about oversight—it is increasingly about foresight.

As audit committees and boards seek better insight into emerging risks and strategic challenges, expectations of internal audit are evolving. The most effective internal audit functions are moving beyond assurance activities to provide enterprise-wide risk intelligence, challenge assumptions, connect emerging issues across the organization, and support more informed decision making.

Moderated by the Chair of the Institute of Internal Auditors North American Board, this panel brings together an Audit Committee Chair, a General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, a Chief Internal Auditor, and a national internal audit leader to discuss how governance structures, committee mandates, reporting relationships, and board practices are evolving to meet today's demands.

Panelists will explore what audit committees truly need from internal audit, how organizations can move from reactive oversight to proactive risk governance, who should own oversight of emerging risks, and how the relationship between boards and internal audit is likely to evolve over the coming years.

Attendees will leave with practical insights on strengthening governance effectiveness, enhancing board and audit committee discussions, and positioning internal audit as a trusted strategic advisor.

Moderator: David Helberg, incoming Chair of the Institute of Internal Auditors North American Board and a member of the IIA Global Board of Directors

Speakers:  Jeremy Trickett, Executive Vice President, Legal Affairs and Chief Legal Officer, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, Gail Stephens, Audit Committee Chair.; Nancy Russell, SVP and Chief Internal Auditor, Export Development Canada; Carlie Persson, National Internal Audit Leader, PwC Canada

Track B: Resilient Boards and Organizations

Session 6B: Elevating Indigenous Voices in Governance

Pathways Executive Search and The Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB) have conducted national research on Indigenous involvement in corporate leadership and governance. We will present the findings, recommendations, and action plan to ensure Indigenous perspectives are embedded in the most senior levels of decision making in corporate Canada and beyond.

The session will review the research findings on Indigenous leaders in Corporate Canada, the Case for Indigenous Perspectives in Governance and a National initiative to grow the community of Indigenous Directors.

Session takeaways will include:

• Understanding of current state (the data) and historical barriers
• A vision for the future and the role of corporate, crown and not-for-profit Boards
• Understanding of the impact of Indigenous knowledge and perspectives in governance 
• Awareness of a national initiative to address the gaps and ways to get involved 

Speakers:  Angela Mark, Director, Research, Canadian Council for Indigenous Business; Laurie Sterritt, Founder and Managing Partner, Pathways Executive Search

Track C:   Key Trends in Governance

Session 6C: The New AI Landscape and Its Impact on Governance

The practical learning session will draw on the most recent developments across the AI landscape and explore what this means for boards and governance professionals today. As the architects of board processes, information flow, and structure, governance professionals play a critical role in helping boards understand emerging risks, framing the right questions, and ensuring governance practices evolve alongside the rapidly changing environment.

Participants will explore:

• Key developments in the AI landscape over the past 6–12 months and why they matter for governance
• How rapidly changing technology is reshaping expectations around accountability, transparency, and risk oversight
• Why AI is fundamentally a governance issue, not just a technology issue
• The evolving role of governance professionals in helping boards navigate these changes effectively

Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how the current AI environment is influencing governance expectations and how governance professionals can help boards operate confidently and responsibly in an AI-shaped world.  

Speakers: Peter Wright, President, The Planning Group, Cheyenne Russell, MBA, Partner & Principal Consultant, The Planning Group

Sponsored By:

Track A: Effective Governance Professionals

Session 7A: Navigating Polarization Risk: Preparing Management for Complex Boardroom Conversations

In today’s boardrooms, some of the most critical strategic decisions, ranging from climate change and DEI to AI adoption and governance practices, are also the most contentious. Senior executives and directors may bring deeply held, partisan perspectives to discussions, creating both risks and opportunities for the board and organization.

This session will explore the pivotal role governance professionals can play at the intersection of management and the board in getting polarizing information into boardroom and ensuring that polarization risk is understood and appropriately overseen/managed. With unique insight into directors’ perspectives, board dynamics, and decision-making styles, corporate secretaries are well-positioned to shape not only what information enters the boardroom but also how it is framed, received, and debated.

Participants will examine how to ensure that polarization risk is understood by management and the board and that materials relating to sensitive topics include challenging views, present balanced viewpoints, and clearly articulate decision pathways. The session will also focus on how to equip management teams to deliver presentations that navigate disagreement with confidence and credibility. The session will address a common but counterproductive tendency - the avoidance of contentious issues. If chairs prioritize smooth meetings over substantive debate, or management delays bringing difficult topics forward, it may result in diminished trust and weaker decision-making. The session will offer practical strategies to break that cycle and help governance professionals encourage timely, transparent, and prepared discussions.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• Understand polarization risk as a critical governance responsibility
• Appreciate your role in supporting management to present contentious issues in a manner that encourages productive board dialogue and strong organizational oversight
• Learn how to anticipate and navigate diverse director perspectives on sensitive issues
• Learn to improve the clarity, and impact of board pre-reads and board presentations
• Learn to prepare board chairs to facilitate productive debate

Designed for governance professionals, corporate secretaries, and others operating at the board–management interface, this session will present actionable insights to address divergent issues as a catalyst for better governance and stronger decision-making.

Speakers:  Morgan Hamel, President, MH Partners Inc; Gigi Dawe, GPC.D, Principal, GLD Advisory

Track B: Resilient Boards and Organizations

Session 7B:  What Leading Boards Are Doing Differently: Insights from the GGA Leading Boards Index

• The governance practices that are gaining traction among leading boards
• Common pitfalls that continue to limit effectiveness and credibility
• Practical steps boards and governance teams can take to strengthen alignment and enhance disclosure

Speakers:  Tony Spizzirri, Partner, Global Governance Advisors; Suzanne Van Sligtenhorst, Director of Corporate Governance and Assistant Corporate Secretary, Discovery Silver Corp.; Annie Laurensen, Senior Director, Governance & Corporate Secretary, Vicuna; Karla de Flavis, Manager, Governance and Assistant Secretary, Office of the Corporate Secretary at Air Canada

Track C:   Key Trends in Governance

Session 7C: AGM Formats - Hybrid is best 

BCI has published a Best Practices Guide on Hybrid AGMs that we would like to draw attention to as companies move AGMs on-line. We would like to share our experiences and offer suggestions on how to get value out of AGMs and not just treat them as a compliance exercise. They are an opportunity to build trust and openness with your investor base. 

1. Understanding investor expectations 
2. best practices to be implemented 
3. encouraging dialogue between investors and companies 

Speakers:  Jennier Coulson, Senior Managing Director & Global Head ESG, BCI; Shannon Gong, Principal, ESG, Capital Markets and Credit Investments, BCI

Closing Dinner: A Great Gatsby Evening (6:00 PM - 11:00 PM)

Step into the glamour, elegance, and energy of the roaring 1920s as we close the conference with a Great Gatsby-inspired evening. Join fellow governance leaders for a night of dining, music, celebration, and connection.

Expect an evening filled with jazz-era charm, lively conversation, and timeless style as we celebrate another successful year together.

Whether you embrace full Gatsby elegance or simply add a touch of 1920s flair, we encourage guests to join the spirit of the evening and have some fun with the theme.

Suggested Attire

For Men

• Classic black tuxedo or dark suit 
• Bow tie or suspenders 
• Pocket square or vintage lapel pin 
• Polished dress shoes 
• Optional: fedora, vest, or subtle 1920s-inspired accessories 

For Women

• Cocktail dress or evening gown with 1920s-inspired elegance 
• Fringe, sequins, satin, pearls, or metallic accents 
• Long gloves or statement accessories 
• Art Deco-inspired jewelry or headbands 
• Elegant heels or vintage-inspired footwear 

Think timeless sophistication with a touch of Gatsby glamour.

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