Speakers

Tobaccowala was named by BusinessWeek as one of the top business leaders for his pioneering innovation and TIME magazine dubbed him one of five “Marketing Innovators. He is one of only 300 people elected to the Advertising Hall of Fame since 1948.

Rishad is the author of “Restoring the Soul of Business: Staying Human in The Age of Data” which helps people think, feel, and see differently about how to grow their companies, their teams and themselves to remain relevant in transformational time and  “Rethinking Work”  which helps people thrive amidst the seismic changes that will occur at work due a combination of changing demographics, new mindsets, the rise of distributed work, and the spread of AI.

Rishad is the host of the What Next? podcast and publishes a thought letter called “The Future Does Not Fit into the Containers of the Past” which is read by 30,000 every week.

Rishad Tobaccowala remains a Senior Advisor to the Publicis Groupe where he has spent his entire 37 career, most recently serving as the Chief Growth Officer and Chief Strategist of the 100,000+ person firm. Prior to those roles Rishad was the Chairman of Digitas and Razorfish.

Rishad serves as a board director or advisor to a host of firms including LoopMe, Journey, Growth Catalyst Partners, Dumbstruck, Shift Paradigm, Quilt. Ai and Qualsights.

Rishad is also the Chairman of the Tobaccowala Foundation which helps over 10,000+ people in India.

Rishad has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School and a BS in Mathematics from the University of Bombay.

Frederick is a retail industry leader with 25 years of experience and a passion for brands and marketing technology. Before moving to Canada in 2012 to join FGL Sports to oversee Marketing and eCommerce, he occupied various senior executive marketing positions for prestigious organization such as Pepsi, Nokia, Microsoft and more recently LG Electronics at the HQ in Seoul Korea where he was leading the global brand strategy and digital team. Over the past two years, he has also been driving the integration of generative AI into marketing workflows, starting with the adoption of tools like Jasper.

David Boone is the Chief Executive Officer of The Michaels Companies, Inc.

Since assuming the role in February 2025, David has seized every opportunity to drive transformation and growth, solidifying Michaels as the leading destination for creativity and celebration in North America. 

Prior to joining Michaels, David was the interim CEO of Essendant, a wholesale, e-commerce, and 3PL company. David’s retail leadership experience includes previously serving as CEO of Staples Canada, where he led a six-year transformation, redefining its retail experience, expanding merchandise offerings, and scaling its services and B2B businesses through acquisitions and strategic partnerships. Before Staples, he held leadership roles at TD Bank USA, driving growth in financial services for major U.S. retailers. He also held a variety of executive positions during his 16 years at Loblaw Companies, Canada’s largest retailer, where he led its National Wholesale Club Division and played a key role in merchandising strategy and category management across several businesses. 

David holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McMaster University and an MBA from Kellogg (Northwestern) and Schulich (York University).

Phil Higdon is Chief People Officer at Saje Natural Wellness, where he focuses on embedding people strategy into the core of how the business grows. His work connects talent, performance, and operating discipline to unlock stronger commercial outcomes.

His experience across strategy, operations, and organizational development shapes a perspective on HR as an engine for performance—grounded in clarity, accountability, and momentum.

Phil holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Dalhousie University and a Graduate Diploma in Public Relations and Communication Management from McGill University.

Sean McCormick is an expert in consumer spending data. Sean joined Moneris in 2015 and is the Vice President of Business Development, Moneris Data Services, which enables private and public sector organizations to use payment data to improve their economic forecasting capabilities and inform their economic development strategy. Sean specialized in SaaS products until the onset of the pandemic when governments needed trusted and reliable consumer spending data to make crucial policy decisions that were necessitated by the historical shift in consumer spending behaviour.  

Working with both the public and private sectors, Sean created a network of like-minded researchers, analysts and economists who leveraged Moneris data as an input to pandemic support and recovery strategy. This network continues to leverage Moneris spending insights to support a wide range of research objectives to better understand the impact of economic trends in different categories across Canada, including retail. 

Carolyn Wright is Senior Vice President, Product and Planning at Holt Renfrew, Canada’s leading fashion and lifestyle destination. She leads all product categories comprehensive of the concession business which includes global luxury brands.

With more than 20 years of leadership experience across top brands like Adidas, Aritzia, and Joe Fresh, Carolyn brings deep expertise in brand development, retail strategy, and international growth. At Holt Renfrew, she leads a dynamic team shaping the company’s strategic roadmap and driving growth through customer-focused, sustainable, and inclusive product initiatives. Her leadership has been instrumental in evolving Holt Renfrew’s offering to reflect a more accessible, diverse, and responsible vision for modern Canadian luxury. Carolyn holds a BCOMM and an Accelerated MBA from Queen’s University. Passionate about mentorship and empowerment, she actively supports female and student programs and is part of Be Uninterrupted, a new network for women navigating career transitions. She also sits on the Board of Directors at Toronto’s Badminton and Racquet Club, contributing to its Sports Committee and DE&I Task Force. A former ski racer turned avid sports enthusiast, she now shares her love of athletics—and its life lessons—with her young son.

Derek Schweitzer is the Senior Vice President of Stores, Canada at Michaels. With more than two decades at Michaels, Derek plays a critical role in shaping the company’s in-store experience and operational strategy across Canada. Since joining the company in 1998, he has held a range of leadership positions spanning store operations, management, and human resources, giving him a deep understanding of the business from both frontline and enterprise perspectives.

Prior to his current role, Derek served as Vice President of Retail Operations and General Manager for Michaels Canada, where he led the company’s Canadian business and oversaw store performance, operational execution, and team development across the region. Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles including Director of Human Resources for Canadian Operations and District Manager, building a strong foundation in both people leadership and retail operations.

Isabelle Bonin is currently Vice President of Marketing & E-Commerce at Reitmans, where she leads brand, creative, digital, and visual merchandising for one of Canada’s most iconic women’s fashion retailers.

A strategic and data-driven leader, Isabelle blends creativity, performance marketing, and customer insight to drive meaningful growth across brand and business. She is known for turning bold vision into execution – shaping clear growth strategies, scaling digital ecosystems, and building high-performing teams in fast-paced retail environments.

Previously, Isabelle held senior executive roles on the agency side in both Canada and Australia, bringing a global perspective to building brands, driving growth, and delivering customer-centric strategies.

Benjamin is a member of the CIBC economic team that is responsible for analyzing macro economic developments and their implications for fixed income, equity, foreign exchange and commodities markets. He also acts in an advisory capacity to bank officers on issues related to wealth management, household credit and risk, and corporate credit and risk. 

Well-known for his ground-breaking published research on topics such as labour market dynamics, real estate, credit markets, international trade and business economic conditions, Benjamin not only contributes to the conversation but also frequently sets the agenda. 

Benjamin has close to 20 years of experience in the private sector advising clients, industry leaders, corporate boards, trade associations and governments on economic and financial issues. He is also a regular commentator in the media. 

Benjamin is a member of the Economic Committee of The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Committee of the Toronto Board of Trade. He is also a board member for the Governors of Junior Achievement of Central Ontario and Toronto Financial International. 

Santo Ligotti is the VP of Member Services and Marketing at Retail Council of Canada and brings over 20 years of experience of marketing leadership. Santo began his career in data sciences and progressed to lead B2B/B2C marketing teams across financial, technology and payments industries including companies such as TD Canada Trust, Rogers Communications, CIBC, Moneris and JPMorgan Chase.

In addition, Santo is the President Elect for the  American Marketing Association, Toronto Chapter and teaches part time at George Brown College and York University. Santo holds an undergraduate degree in statistics from McMaster University, a Master’s in Information Science from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from York University

Noah is a seasoned executive with over 15 years of experience driving growth and innovation across the retail industry. Currently serving as VP/GM of Digital Loyalty at Loblaw, Noah leads a team of 50+ in advancing Canada’s largest loyalty program, PC Optimum, and oversees all digital communications across Loblaw Companies. 

Previously, Noah served as VP/GM of Joe Fresh eCommerce, where he enhanced operational efficiency, implemented scalable fulfillment solutions, and optimized overall business performance. His ability to lead cross-functional teams, optimize digital operations, and drive measurable outcomes has been consistent throughout his career, including leadership roles at Psycho Bunny, Mackage, and Ardene.

David Brownstein joined Browns full time in 2004 and played a key role in the company’s early digital initiatives, leading the launch of its first transactional e-commerce website in 2008. In 2009, he oversaw a reorganization of Store Sales ahead of Browns’ national retail expansion and was subsequently named Vice President of Sales, joining the company’s Executive team.

As VP Sales, David continued to oversee e-commerce while leading the development of Browns’ retail infrastructure during a decade of store growth across Canada. Following the pandemic, he was appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2022, where he helped drive significant organizational expansion to support the company’s next phase of growth. In 2025, he became President, representing the fourth generation of the Brownstein family to lead Browns.

David lives in Montreal with his wife and two sons.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix is President of Shikatani Lacroix Design (SLD), a global branding firm specializing in transforming customer experiences. With a thorough background in graphic design and strategic foresight, Lacroix is a future-focused innovator who has been instrumental in assisting brands to remain relevant.

He is coauthor of the best-selling book The Business of Graphic Design and author of The Belonging Experience, Desire by Design, and most recently ThinkBlink Manifesto: Creating Deep, Lasting Emotional Brand Connections in the Blink of an Eye.

Lacroix has been running design firms for the past forty-six years, the last thirty-six at SLD, helping manage the transformation of major organizations around the world.

Ekaterina is a growth-driven marketing leader who blends corporate executive expertise with creator-level consumer engagement. As Vice President of Marketing at Miele, she leads brand strategy, digital transformation, and consumer experience across premium markets. Her career spans executive roles at L’Oréal and in the pharmaceutical sector, where she built high-performing teams and drove innovation through rapid industry change.

Outside the boardroom, her educational content has attracted over 500 million views, giving her a unique understanding of how modern audiences engage, decide, and connect. She brings this creative lens to building brands that not only grow but also resonate deeply with consumers and inspire teams to deliver lasting impact.

Dave Stevens serves as our Chief Technology Officer, overseeing all aspects of technology, data, cyber security and artificial intelligence engineering. Mr. Stevens joined Groupe Dynamite in 2022, bringing extensive experience from his previous roles as Senior Vice President of Global Technology at Spin Master and Vice President of Innovation and Chief Information Officer at Munich Re Canada. Mr. Stevens has approximately 32 years of retail and other relevant experience. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree from Toronto Metropolitan University.

Rohit Sriram is the SVP of ecommerce & loyalty at Loblaws overseeing online businesses across food retail, beauty & apparel including brands such as Loblaws, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, Shoppers Drug Mart & Joe Fresh and the PC Optimum program. Rohit has over 18 years of experience working in Retail, Technology and Finance Industries formulating future-focused strategies to move the business effectively toward its long-term goals and objectives. He holds an MBA from University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Engineering from India.

Kim Furlong is President & CEO of the Retail Council of Canada (RCC), bringing over two decades of experience at the intersection of public policy, business, and advocacy. Known for her strategic mindset and collaborative approach, Kim leads RCC at a pivotal time for the retail industry—championing members’ interests, shaping national policy, and building strong partnerships across sectors.

Before rejoining RCC in 2025, Kim spent six years as CEO of the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA). There, she played a key role in elevating the voice of Canada’s private capital sector, influencing public policy, and strengthening the country’s investment ecosystem.

Prior to CVCA, Kim spent a decade at Amgen Canada leading External Affairs, and also served as a senior political aide in two federal ministerial offices.

Throughout her career, Kim has earned a reputation as a trusted advisor and effective advocate, with a deep network spanning business, government, and media. She is passionate about building consensus, delivering results, and helping industries thrive in an evolving economic landscape.

Kim is an avid cyclist, enthusiastic foodie, and lifelong book lover. Originally from the picturesque town of Percé, Quebec, she is a proud French Quebecer. She now lives in Toronto with her husband and their twin boys—affectionately known as “the Peanuts.”

Eric Morris is the Managing Director and Head of Google’s Retail practice in Canada, where since 2002, he has worked alongside the country’s top marketers and advertising agencies.  

Eric has held several leadership roles at Google Canada, leading sales, operations, research, strategy and analytics for Google’s advertising business. Most recently, he led Google Canada’s search and performance advertising business.  

In 2016 Eric was named inventor and issued a patent in the United States for identifying rising search queries and trends at scale for advertisers worldwide. 

Eric was elected to the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada’s board of directors in 2009, and elected Chair of the board in 2015.