Speakers

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.

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.

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.

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

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.