The Impact of Exclusion at the Top

Karen White-Boswell is the Director of External Communication for Sobeys Inc. where she focuses on ensuring the advancement and protection of the brand reputation of Empire Company Limited (Empire) and Sobeys Inc. as a values-led retailer. In her capacity, she leads external engagement and government relations to advance the strategic narrative of the organization.

Ms. White-Boswell is a strategic communication professional with over 20 years of experience guiding organizations to engage in a meaningful way with internal and external target audiences. With extensive experience leading internal communications, public relations, and philanthropic and corporate social responsibility programs for large organizations, Karen is respected for her ability to drill down into communication goals, establish the narrative, understand the landscape, and establish comprehensive communication strategies that build toward success.

Karen frequently writes about leadership and engagement, advising on how to empower teams to strive for excellence through a keen awareness of their individual needs and potential. She is also a strong advocate for mentorship, providing guidance to young women and men both within organizations she has been a part of as well as within the broader community.

She graduated from Western University with an honours bachelor of arts degree in sociology and is ADKAR certified. She currently sits on the Second Harvest Board of Directors as Vice Chair and Executive Board member. In her spare time, she enjoys travel, interior design, and crafting.

Lesley Hawkins is the VP Retail at adidas Canada. She has enjoyed a tenured career in the sporting goods industry during which she has become a strong performance driven leader with an expertise in building and executing strategy cross-functionally. Having worked her way through the ranks in a very male-dominated business, Lesley has lived experience in being the only female in the room for most of her career. She understands the importance of inclusion to truly drive equity and diversity.
With experience across multiple functions including sales, merchandising, marketing, finance, and retail, Lesley tackles any challenge with a beginner’s mindset, leaning into creativity to break the mould and delivering impact for the business. Her greatest passion is leading teams to create a high-performance culture through a meaningful strategy that resonates with every associate and creates accountability throughout the Team.
When she is not working, Lesley loves playing golf with her husband and hiking with her family including her two dogs, Essex and Mickey.

Liza Amlani is a 25 year retail industry veteran and process expert that works with retailers and brands to accelerate their speed to market, preserve gross margins and deliver products that their customers truly want. She works across merchandising and product creation leaders to drive profitability and improve organizational effectiveness. Liza has worked with familiar brands including Holt Renfrew, Ralph Lauren Europe and Canada, Club Monaco, Nike, Walmart

Liza founded Retail Strategy Group in 2020. Her thought leadership is showcased in our monthly newsletter, The Merchant Life. Founders, VP’s and C-Suite executives subscribe to gain valuable insights and discover best practices. Liza is also a Talkdesk Retail Industry Advisory Board member and sits on the board of Women of Color Retail Alliance (WOCRA). Liza is a respected voice on a variety of pertinent topics and is cited in Forbes, RetailWire, Retail Insider, Bloomberg, Chain Store Age, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Sourcing Journal and Footwear News.

She has been invited to speak at retail conferences across North America and often guest lectures at top Business schools across the country. She also brings a wealth of global insight to her work given the number of stamps in her passport and countries in which she has resided – Liza has moved 29 times in her life from Canada to the UK to Africa and many places in between.

Liza has recently been named one of RETHINK Retail’s Top Influencer of 2022 and 2023 and you can find her on all social platforms under @themerchantlife.

Rachel is well known for her leadership and entrepreneurial achievement as Founder & CEO of Canadian jewelry brand, Hillberg & Berk. The company started from her kitchen table and was named to honour her great-grandmother, Hilda Bergman. With fourteen stores across Canada, and global Ecommerce operations, Rachel has grown the H&B brand that continues to attract international attention and demand. Rachel’s business successes have included a showing at The Oscars, a deal on Dragon’s Den, partnerships with Olympic ice dance champion Tessa Virtue, model and activist Ashley Callingbull, Canadian influencer Jillian Harris, and two custom design commissions for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Rachel has built a successful national brand with purpose and impact baked into the DNA. Since inception, H&B has donated millions in financial and product contributions to partner organizations who share the company’s mission to connect women to their power.

Rachel’s accolades and volunteer contributions over the years are impressive, as she passionately works to recognize and empower women across Canada and around the world. Rachel was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for her volunteer work in 2012 and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2023, was named an Ernst and Young class of Winning Women in 2015, was named one of XL’s Canada’s Top 40 under 40 in 2017, was named one of Women’s Executive Network Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2016 and 2017 and received the Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Celebration of Achievement Award in 2018.

As a notable alumna from the University of Regina, Rachel received an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree in 2022, and supports the Saskatchewan community by generously funding several scholarships that empower young women. Rachel volunteers her time as an Honorary Captain of the Royal Canadian Navy and on the national board of Dress for Success Canada.

More recently, Rachel has been very open about her cervical cancer journey, in hopes that it might encourage other women to access healthcare and undergo regular pap testing, and she channels this passion into advocacy and philanthropy for medical innovation for women’s health through Women Leading Philanthropy in Saskatchewan. Rachel is married to her best friend, Zlatan, and is a proud mom to three children.