Dr. B. Mario Pinto

As the President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Dr. Pinto works to ensure that Canada’s brightest and most productive researchers in the fields of natural sciences and engineering are supported by the Federal government. He also works to link these researchers with Canadian businesses to help them meet the challenges of a competitive operating environment.

Dr. Pinto is a community builder with a track record of bringing business leaders and academics together to solve problems. With an academic career as a Chemical Biologist spanning over 30 years and as a two-term Vice-President of Research at Simon Fraser University, he is an innovator in seeking and exploiting opportunities for Canadian academics to make an impact both at home and throughout the world.

Dr. Pinto received his B.Sc. (1975) and PhD in Chemistry (1980) from Queen’s University, doing his postdoctoral work at Centre national de la recherche scientifique in France and the National Research Council Canada. He was also awarded the Montréal Medal (2014) of the Chemical Institute of Canada, and the Alfred Bader Award (2013), and R.U. Lemieux Award (2012) of the Canadian Society of Chemistry. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

The Right Honourable Kim Campbell P.C.; C.C.; O.B.C; Q.C. served as Canada’s nineteenth and first female Prime Minister in 1993. She also held the cabinet portfolios of Minister of State for Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Minister of National Defence, and Minister of Veterans' Affairs. She was the first woman to hold the Canadian Justice and Defence portfolios, and the first woman Minister of Defence of a NATO country.

Ms. Campbell served as Canadian Consul General in Los Angeles (1996-2000) and taught at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (2001-2004), is past Chair of the Council of Women World Leaders, and past President of the International Women's Forum. She was Secretary General of the Club of Madrid (2004-2006), an organization of former presidents and prime ministers, of which she is a founding member.

Today, Kim Campbell devotes the majority of her time to serving as the founding principal of the new Peter Lougheed Leadership College at the University of Alberta. She also chairs the steering committee for the World Movement for Democracy, and serves on the boards and advisory committees of several international organizations such as the East West Institute and the International Center for the Study of Radicalization at King's College London.

Learn more at KimCampbell.com, and follow her at @AKimCampbell on Twitter.

Stacey Cerniuk is the founder, President and CEO of Annex Consulting Group. He has a Bachelor of Science in Computing Science from Simon Fraser University and 25 years of IT industry experience as a business analyst, project manager, management consultant and entrepreneur. Stacey’s company provides IT recruitment services and solutions and was an industry pioneer in BC. With offices in Vancouver, Victoria and Calgary and slated openings in Toronto and Seattle next year, Annex has grown on average by more than 50% year-over-year since its inception in 1998. Under Stacey’s leadership, Annex has been recognized with numerous awards including PROFIT Magazine’s ranking of Fastest-Growing Companies in Canada six times in the last eight years, and CDN magazine’s Top 100 IT Solution Providers in Canada for the last eight years.

Stacey was a Forty Under Forty winner which recognizes the top business people in BC under the age of 40. Some examples of his active involvement in the local IT industry include mentoring for S.U.C.C.E.S.S., which helps new immigrants find work in the IT industry and adapt to Canadian culture, and serving on the Advisory Council for the University of British Columbia’s Certificate in Project Management and Certificate in Business Analysis programs. Away from the office, Stacey coaches a select U18 boys soccer team and has coached youth soccer for the last 13 years. He exercises regularly and this summer will compete in his fourth Tough Mudder, this time in Germany.

Dr. Diane Finegood: As president and CEO of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR), Diane draws on an exceptional record of academic and leadership experience to champion the growth of health research in British Columbia.

Since joining MSFHR in March 2011, Diane has been instrumental in helping  secure new funding; strengthening relations with the health system; and bringing stakeholders together to develop a provincial strategy for health research.

From 2000 to 2008, Diane served as inaugural scientific director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes and served in a range of leadership positions which brought together government, NGOs and the private sector to address the growing health challenges of obesity and chronic disease.

As a researcher, Diane has been recognized for her work in a wide range of areas including physiology, diabetes, obesity and complex adaptive systems.

Fiona Macfarlane is a Managing Partner of Ernst & Young’s British Columbia practice and the firm’s Chief Inclusiveness Officer. She previously held the role of Ernst & Young’s Tax Managing Partner for the Canadian Tax practice, making her the first woman among the Big Four accounting firms to have held such a position.

Fiona serves on the Executive Committee of the BCBC Board of Governors and is on the UBC Board of Governors. She was appointed by the BC Minister of Finance to the province’s Expert Panel on Business Taxation and sits on the Executive Board of the Immigrant Employment Council of BC. Previously a Director on the Canadian Board of the IWF, she currently co-chairs their Committee on Sponsorship of Women to Leadership roles.

She trained as a lawyer in Cape Town, where she was admitted to the Bar, and earned a Master of Law degree from Cambridge University. In 2011 Fiona was awarded an Honorary CA.

Fiona’s achievements garnered her a place among WXN Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 in 2011, 2012 and 2014. She is also winner of the 2015 Influential Women in Business Awards presented by Business in Vancouver and recognized in the Top 25 Women of Influence, Professional Services, 2015.

Donna Wilson, SVP, People
LifeLabs Medical Laboratory Services

Prior to joining LifeLabs, Donna was VP, Industry Services and Sustainability at WorkSafeBC responsible for leading five operational areas. Prior to joining WorkSafeBC, from 2005 to 2010, she was the Executive VP, Workforce and Sustainability at the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC). In addition to her responsibilities for hiring and training a large organization of full and part-time employees and some 25,000 volunteers, Donna played a key role in leading the development of VANOC’s organizational culture, strategic direction and project leadership oversight. Throughout her career, Donna also held progressively more senior roles at Vancity Credit Union, BC Hydro, Canadian Airlines International and the BC Nurses Union.

As SVP, People, Donna leads all elements of Human Resources at LifeLabs, including but not limited to Recruitment, Attraction, Orientation, Training, Career Development, Succession Planning, Total Rewards, Payroll, Labour Relations, and Environment, Health and Safety.