Forward Together

Speakers

• 
  GARY VAYNERCHUK

  World Renowned Innovation & Marketing Strategy Expert

  Gary is considered one of the leading global minds on what’s next in culture, relevance and the internet. He is described as one of the most forward thinkers in business – he acutely recognizes trends and patterns early to help others understand how these shifts impact markets and consumer behavior.

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  Gary Vaynerchuk is a serial entrepreneur, and serves as the Chairman of VaynerX and the CEO of VaynerMedia.

  Gary is considered one of the leading global minds on what’s next in culture,  relevance and the internet. Known as “GaryVee” he is described as one of the most forward thinkers in business – he acutely recognizes trends and patterns early to help others understand how these shifts impact markets and consumer behavior. Whether its emerging artists, esports, NFT investing or digital communications, Gary understands how to bring brand relevance to the forefront. He is a prolific angel investor with early investments in companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Venmo, Snapchat, Coinbase and Uber.

  He helps Fortune 1000 brands leverage consumer attention through his full service advertising agency, VaynerMedia which has offices in NY, LA, London, and Singapore.  VaynerMedia is part of the VaynerX holding company which also includes VaynerProductions, Gallery Media Group, The Sasha Group, Tracer, VaynerSpeakers, VaynerTalent and VaynerCommerce. Gary is also the Co-Founder of VaynerSports, Resy and Empathy Wines. Gary guided both Resy and Empathy to successful exits — both were sold respectively to American Express and Constellation Brands.

• 
  WES HALL

  Finance & Diversity Expert

  Wes Hall has been named as one of the nation’s “most influential powerbrokers” by The Globe & Mail; one of the “most powerful business people” in 2016 by Canadian Business magazine; “2020 Communicator of the Year,” by the International Association of Business Communicators (Toronto). Toronto Life magazine voted him among the “50 most influential Torontonians in 2020,” and Maclean’s magazine ranked him number 16 on their 2021 Power List of the “50 most powerful people in Canada.”

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  Wes Hall has established himself as the preeminent leader in shareholder advisory services and contested investor situations. Named as one of the nation’s “most influential powerbrokers” by The Globe & Mail; one of the “most powerful business people” in 2016 by Canadian Business magazine; “2020 Communicator of the Year,” by the International Association of Business Communicators (Toronto). Toronto Life magazine voted him among the “50 most influential Torontonians in 2020,” and Maclean’s magazine ranked him number 16 on their 2021 Power List of the “50 most powerful people in Canada.”

  As the Founder of Kingsdale Advisors, Wes has delivered an unparalleled track record of success for North America’s biggest names. He is also the owner of QM Environmental, a leading national environmental and industrial services provider with over 450 employees; Titan Supply, a top manufacturer and distributor of rigging and wear products serving industries in the oil and gas, construction and transportation sectors; and Harbor Club hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton, one of St. Lucia’s premier resorts.

  In 2020, Wes was one of five individuals appointed to the Ontario government’s Capital Markets Modernization Taskforce, an advisory group of experts tasked to review and modernize the province’s capital markets regulations.

  Wes serves as a Board Member of the SickKids Foundation, Pathways to Education, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and The Black Academy. Wes is Founder and Chairman of The Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism and the BlackNorth Initiative, committed to the removal of anti-Black systemic barriers negatively affecting the lives of Black Canadians.

• 
  HUBERY JOLY

  World Renowned Leadership & Turn Around Expert

  Hubert Joly is the former Chairman and CEO of Best Buy. He has been recognized as one of the one hundred “Best-Performing CEOs in the World” by Harvard Business Review, one of the top thirty CEOs in the world by Barron’s, and one of the top ten CEOs in the United States in Glassdoor’s annual Employees’ Choice Awards.

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  Hubert Joly is the former Chairman and CEO of Best Buy. He has been recognized as one of the one hundred “Best-Performing CEOs in the World” by Harvard Business Review, one of the top thirty CEOs in the world by Barron’s, and one of the top ten CEOs in the United States in Glassdoor’s annual Employees’ Choice Awards. Joly is now a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and serves on the boards of Johnson & Johnson and Ralph Lauren.

  During Hubert’s time at Best Buy, he and his team rebuilt the company into one of the nation’s favorite employers, a sustainable leader, and an innovator, dramatically increasing customer satisfaction and growing the company’s stock price 10-fold. His greatest achievement, however, may have been to make himself dispensable: he decided to step down as CEO in 2019 and as executive chairman in 2020, and pass the baton to a new generation of leaders.

  Hubert’s purpose in life is to make a positive difference on people around him and use the platform he has to make a positive difference in the world. Besides serving on the boards of Johnson & Johnson and Ralph Lauren, he now spends most of his time as a lecturer at Harvard Business School and supporting other leaders seeking to become the best versions of themselves and to lead with purpose and humanity. He is also actively invested in efforts to advance meaningful diversity and inclusion.

• 
  JENNIFER MOSS

  Burnout & Corporate Culture Expert

  Jennifer Moss is an award-winning journalist, author and international public speaker specializing in happiness and wellness at work. Her book, Unlocking Happiness at Work, received the distinguished UK Business Book of the Year Award.

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  Jennifer Moss is an award-winning journalist, author and international public speaker specializing in happiness and wellness at work. Her book, Unlocking Happiness at Work, received the distinguished UK Business Book of the Year Award. Moss works with a wide range of organizations on how to develop and measure their happiness strategies for improved performance. Her inspiring and evidence-based presentations help leaders and their teams find joy and grow to become more resilient and successful.

  Moss is a Harvard Business Review contributor and nationally syndicated radio columnist. She also sits on the Global Happiness Council – a small group of leading scientists and economists that support the UN’s sustainable goals related to global well-being and the Annual Global Happiness Policy Report. Prior to this, Moss worked in Silicon Valley, eventually joining Barack Obama’s California social team during his historic presidential campaign.

  To acknowledge her contributions to business and public service, Moss was named a Canadian Innovator of the Year, an International Female Entrepreneur of the Year, and recipient of the Public Service Award from the Office of President Obama. Her next book, The Burnout Epidemic, will be published by Harvard Business Press in September 2021.

• 
  JANICE STEIN

  Geopolitical Expert

  Whether it’s economics, geopolitics, or international security and terrorism, few people have a better understanding of global issues than Professor Janice Gross Stein.

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  Whether it’s economics, geopolitics, or international security and terrorism, few people have a better understanding of global issues than Professor Janice Gross Stein. Her dynamic presentations provide a unique perspective into what’s really happening around the world—from China to Russia to the Middle East and Europe—and what it means to her audiences. Professor Stein’s presentations not only connect the dots regarding key events, but provide a look at where things are headed, and where the potential dangers and opportunities may lie. Both realistic and hopeful, she leaves her audiences with a better understanding of current global issues, and a clear, compelling vision of the future.

  Stein is the Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management in the Department of Political Science and the Founding Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Honorary Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

  Professor Stein was the Massey Lecturer in 2001, and a Trudeau Fellow. She was awarded the Molson Prize by the Canada Council for an outstanding contribution by a social scientist to public debate, and has received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Alberta, the University of Cape Breton, McMaster University, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario.

• 
  PETER KATZ

  JUNO-Nominated Musician & Storyteller

  Peter Katz is a JUNO Award & Canadian Screen Award-nominated singer-songwriter who has spent the past 15 years touring internationally. He has been described by many of his fans and speaking clients as "a thunderbolt for the soul”.

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  Peter Katz is a JUNO Award & Canadian Screen Award-nominated singer-songwriter who has spent the past 15 years touring internationally. He has been described by many of his fans and speaking clients as “a thunderbolt for the soul”.

  Renowned CBC radio host Tom Power described Peter’s music as “one of the most heartfelt, beautiful, and vulnerable records of the year… an astonishing record”. To date, his music has been streamed over 4.5 million times and his music videos have over 16 million views on YouTube.

  Peter’s music has also been featured on several TV shows and movies like Lethal Weapon, Reign, Sign Sealed and Delivered, Felicity, For Your Consideration, Hello Goodbye, Alias, Heartland and more, as well as on CBC Television’s 2016 Rio Olympics / Paralympics coverage.

  As a speaker, Peter is a 4-time TEDx fellow being called on to give his highly customized ‘Keynote Concerts’ to countless companies and organizations across various industries like Bell, Xerox, Royal Lepage, SITE Global, Trillium Health, The Canadian Society of Association Executives, and the Government of Canada, to name a few.