Wisdom Exchange

PROGRAM SPEAKERS

Robert J. Deluce
President and Chief Executive Officer
Porter Airlines Inc.

Robert J. Deluce is one of Canada's most knowledgeable and respected airline owners and operators. He brings to the industry over 50 years of Deluce family experience in successfully owning, financing, restructuring, operating and managing a number of regional airlines in Canada.

His involvement in the aviation industry includes White River Air Services, norOntair, Austin Airways, Air Creebec, Air Ontario, Air Manitoba, Air Alliance and Canada 3000 Airlines.

He has been President of Deluce Capital Corp. since 1987, and is currently President and CEO of both Porter Aviation Holdings Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Porter Airlines Inc.

Dani Reiss
President and CEO, Canada Goose

Dani Reiss has Canada Goose in his DNA.

For three generations, Dani’s family has owned and operated Canada Goose, a Canadian manufacturer of the world's best and warmest parkas and extreme outerwear. Under Dani’s guidance, Canada Goose has developed into one of Canada's fastest growing companies. A vocal advocate of "made in Canada," Dani has earned a reputation for his ongoing commitment to authenticity by refusing to move the company’s production outside of Canada’s borders.

Dani not only understands the needs and challenges of outerwear manufacturing, he excels at strong brand management. His passion and commitment to developing superior quality, and authentic and functional products has truly made Canada Goose an iconic brand. His strategic approach to marketing has earned Canada Goose a strong-hold in the North American, European and Asian marketplaces, beyond scientists, explorers and outdoor enthusiasts. In fact, Canada Goose has become a staple in contemporary fashion, as fashion and lifestyle retailers answer the call of consumers who seek strong, authentic, heritage brands that refuse to compromise.

Dr. Douglas Reid
Associate Professor, Queen’s University School of Business

Douglas Reid has taught strategy and implementation in all Queen's School of Business programs, including initiating the first teaching and learning Ph.D. course.

Douglas is one of the highest-rated instructors in strategy planning, implementation, and leadership at Queen's. Specializing in strategic planning with Boards and senior management, and in building organizational resilience, he currently delivers courses or consults to corporate and government executives in Canada, the U.S., Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

His research focuses on understanding how busy executives learn, especially using education to accelerate the formation of professional judgment. He is researching a book on the effects of measurement within organizations.

Before joining Queen's, Douglas was vice president of an international consulting company, and has worked in governments for a former Ontario Premier and as Chief of Staff to a provincial Cabinet Minister. He has also served on two corporate and one Crown agency Boards.

Tom Clark
Chief Political Correspondent, Global National News

Tom Clark
Host of Global TV's "The West Block" with Tom Clark & Award-Winning Journalist
Tom Clark is Global National News' chief political correspondent and hosts Global Television's weekly political program "The West Block" with Tom Clark, which discusses issues Canadians want to hear about the future of their country.

He has covered every federal election campaign since 1974, as well as numerous provincial campaigns. He has interviewed nearly every Prime Minister since Pierre Trudeau and secured Canada's first televised interview with a sitting U.S. President in over 30 years.

Tom has reported from five war zones, most notably from Southern Iraq in 2003. Prior to his "tour" there, he was the only Canadian reporter in Belgrade during the Yugoslav war. He also did two coverage tours in the Persian Gulf War, as well as two tours of duty in Bosnia. In the early 1980s, he was the Bureau Chief in CTV's Beijing bureau in China.

Derek Burleton
Vice President & Deputy Chief Economist
TD Bank Group

Derek Burleton was promoted to Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist for TD Bank Group. In his current position, he heads a team that provides leading Canadian economic and financial analysis. Derek has also authored a number of reports that have generated considerable attention across the country, including: "A New Normal: Canada's Potential Growth During Recovery and Beyond," "The Coming Era of Fiscal Restraint" and "Charting a Course for Sustainable Health Care in Ontario." He is frequently called upon to speak to the media on economic issues and he gives numerous presentations to various groups within and outside TD.

Glen Hodgson
Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist
The Conference Board of Canada

Glen Hodgson brings nearly 30 years of experience and a specialization in international economic and financial issues to the position of Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist of The Conference Board of Canada. Glen is responsible for overseeing the Board’s macro-economic outlook products, tourism, custom economic research, and is the Board’s chief spokesperson on economic issues. He has published over 170 articles and briefings and is the editor and a contributing author of the book Crisis and Intervention: Lessons from the Financial Meltdown and Recession, published in November 2010. He has written extensively on Canadian tax reform and is co-authoring a series of briefings on the economics of pro sports in Canada. Glen is leading a high-profile research initiative at the Conference Board, the Canadian Alliance for Sustainable Health Care (CAHSC), just as he led the creation of the Board's International Trade and Investment Centre.

Robert Hogue
Senior Economist
RBC

Robert Hogue is a member of the Macroeconomic and Regional Analysis Group, with RBC Economics Research. He is responsible for providing analysis and forecasts for the Canadian housing market and for the provincial economies. His publications include Housing Trends and Affordability, Provincial Outlook and provincial budget commentaries. In his functions, he is frequently called to comment on the economy both internally within RBC and externally with clients and the media.

Robert joined RBC in May 2008 after spending 15 years with another Canadian financial institution as a senior economist specializing in industrial analysis. At the outset of his career, he spent four years as an economist with Ontario Hydro, where he specialized in industrial and macroeconomic analysis. Robert holds a Master’s degree in economics from Queen’s University and a Bachelor’s degree from Université de Montréal.

Warren Jestin
Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist Scotiabank Group

Warren Jestin is Scotiabank’s Chief Economist and has been with the Bank since 1979. He also has worked at the Bank of Canada and taught at several Canadian universities. Warren is on advisory boards for the College of Management and Economics at the University of Guelph and the Sobey School of Business at St. Mary’s University. He has served on the C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council and has been involved with policy committees of the Canadian and Ontario Chambers of Commerce and the Toronto Board of Trade. As Chair of Scotiabank’s Sponsorship and Donations Committee, Warren works closely with a wide variety of charitable institutions.

Avery Shenfeld
Chief Economist of CIBC World Markets Inc

Avery Shenfeld is the Chief Economist of CIBC World Markets Inc. He has been with the CIBC since 1993 and is widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading economists for his perceptive analysis and insight on North American economic developments and their implications for financial markets. Avery is a two-time winner of the Dow Jones Market Watch forecasting award and Bloomberg Markets has named him among the top forecasters of the U.S. economy. Avery has also been consistently ranked as one of the top Canadian economists by fixed income investors. Prior to joining CIBC in 1993, he spent seven years in management consulting and was on the economics faculty at the University of Toronto and in the summer program at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.