Keynote Speaker: David Chilton
Former “Dragon”, CBC TV’s Dragons’ Den 

Bestselling Author, The Wealthy Barber

Whether it’s helping millions of Canadians achieve personal financial success or investing in low-fat cookbooks, David Chilton has always had a knack for recognizing great ventures, a skill he proudly leveraged as a “dragon” on CBC television’s #1 hit show, Dragons’ Den. Called “charming, unpretentious, and funny,” by The Chicago Sun-Times, Chilton puts his business expertise and life experience to work in his informative and inspiring talks.

Chilton began his career by self-publishing his book The Wealthy Barber in 1989. It was written in 26 months, and was specifically targeted toward those with little investment experience, in order to help them develop positive personal-finance habits. The book has become one of the most popular Canadian books of all time, with two million copies sold since its release. 

Chilton’s second book, also self-published, is The Wealthy Barber Returns, and is yet another runaway Canadian bestseller. He is also the publisher of the bestselling cookbooks Looneyspoons; Crazy Plates; and Eat, Shrink & Be Merry! (working with authors Janet and Greta Podleski).

An economics graduate from Wilfrid Laurier University, Chilton won the award for the highest mark in the country on the Canadian Securities Course. He is also a frequent guest on national television and radio shows.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Georgette Zinaty, MBA, MSc, DBA

Executive Vice-President at Corporate Class Inc

Dr. Georgette Zinaty is currently the Executive Vice-President at Corporate Class Inc and Practice Lead for their Center for Diversity and Inclusion. Dr. Zinaty holds a Bachelor degree in English and Political Science, a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Liverpool, a Master’s of Science from the Henley School of Business and a certificate on Leading Strategic Change within Organizations from Harvard University.

She holds a Doctorate in Business Administration—a joint program with the Rotman School of Business and the Henley School of Business. Dr. Zinaty’s research focuses on business leadership, diversity, inclusion and the future of leadership. Dr. Zinaty is also a Professor at Western University as well at the Rotman School of Business.

Dr. Zinaty is a strong advocate for leadership and inclusion within organizations. She is a frequent contributor and thought leader to Forbes on issues of leadership, inclusion and business and has been a frequent global panelist, keynote and a public speaker, including a TEDx talk, and most recently at the World Diversity in Leadership Conference alongside Martin Luther King III, world leaders and Julia Gillard Former PM of Australia. She is the recipient the Canadian University Productivity Award as well as the Stepping Up Award in recognition of innovation in the workplace.

In 2018, she was named an “Immigrant Woman of Inspiration” by the publication Canadian Immigrant and has been recognized by the Premier of Ontario and Federal Members of Parliament in Canada for her volunteerism and work in the community. She serves on as a Senior Advisor to Nobellum a non-profit social and technology enterprise dedicated to carving out a space in the technology industry for Black founders in STEM.

She is also on the Board of Advisors for the Entrepreneurship and Leadership Learning Alliance (ELLA at York University), Fund Director at the Creative Hub 1352 and is the Co-Chair the inaugural Canadian Chapter of ChIPs, a global organization that supports women in intellectual property and technology. She is the Founder of a non-profit called WHEW! Women Helping Empower Women and published a book on the scarcity of women and diversity in leadership called Why Not YOU? where 100% of all the profits go to support WHEW!

She has recently been awarded the CILAR Aspiring Innovator of the Year Award. This inaugural annual award recognizes Black, Indigenous Peoples, and People of Colour who are aspiring innovators from across Canada positively impacting their communities and demonstrating great innovations. 

 

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois 

Professor, Food Distribution and Policy
Faculty of Management
Senior Director, Agri-food Analytics Lab
Dalhousie University, Canada

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Professor in food distribution and policy in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. He is as well the former Dean of the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University. Before joining Dalhousie, he was affiliated with the University of Guelph’s Arrell Food Institute, which he co-founded. While at the University of Guelph, he was also the Associate Dean of Research for the College of Business and Economics. He is a former director of the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy in Regina where he was also Associate Dean at the Faculty of Business Administration of the Kenneth Levene Graduate School of Business. He is a recipient of multiple federal government research grants.

Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He is one of the world's most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability. Since 2020, he co-hosts The Food Professor podcast, discussing issues in the food, foodservice, grocery and restaurant industries. The podcast is ranked in the top 10 most listened management podcast in Canada.

He has authored seven books on global food systems, his recent one titled Poutine Nation explores the journey of the iconic Canadian dish from humble beginning to international success. He has also published over 750 peer-reviewed journal articles in several academic and professional publications. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, including The Economist, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BBC, NBC, ABC, Fox News, Foreign Affairs, the Globe & Mail, the National Post and the Toronto Star. 

Dr. Charlebois is an editor for the Trends in Food Science Technology journal. He sits on company boards, and supports many organizations as a special advisor, including some publicly traded companies. Charlebois is also a member of the Scientific Council of the Business Scientific Institute, based in Luxemburg. He conducts policy analysis, evaluation, and demonstration projects for government agencies and major foundations focusing on agricultural policies and community development both in Canada and in development settings. Dr. Charlebois is a member of the Global Food Traceability Centre’s Advisory Board based in Washington DC, and a member of the National Scientific Committee of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in Ottawa. He has testified on several occasions before parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces, in the United States, Brazil, Austria, Italy, France, Belgium, China, Great Britain, Finland and the Netherlands.