CDIC, which protects close to $1 trillion dollars in bank deposits, is a key part of Canada’s financial safety net. CEO Peter Routledge will discuss Canada’s economic volatility in post pandemic life. He will also discuss how CDIC contributes to making our financial system more resilient to failure, which supports financial stability, a key element of economic growth.

Peter Routledge, President and CEO, CDIC

Mr. Routledge was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation, CDIC, in November 2018. Mr. Routledge leads a team of professionals from a variety of disciplines whose work supports the corporation’s vision to earn the trust of Canadians as a global leader in deposit insurance and resolution.

Mr. Routledge has extensive experience in Canada’s financial sector. Prior to joining CDIC, he was a Senior Advisor at the Department of Finance where he provided advice on a range of policy issues including financial stability, housing finance, and competition in Canadian financial services.

Mr. Routledge has held a variety of leadership roles in the financial services industry, both in Canada and abroad. He served as managing director of research at National Bank Financial, where he led a team responsible for producing equity, fixed income, and derivatives research on Canadian financial institutions. Prior to that, Mr. Routledge led the Canadian Financial Institutions Group at Moody’s Canada, with responsibilities for covering issuers in the banking, life insurance, personal and commercial insurance and reinsurance industries in Canada and the United States.

Mr. Routledge holds an MBA from INSEAD in France, and a bachelor’s degree in business and economics from Simon Fraser University.

Vanmala Subramaniam, Capital Markets Reporter, The Globe and Mail

Vanmala Subramaniam is a reporter with The Globe and Mail, covering capital markets for Report on Business. She was previously at The Logic, where she covered Canada's tech sector, with a focus on how legacy industries are adapting to the innovation economy. Vanmala is a business journalist with over a decade of reporting across Canadian media, prior to The Logic she was the Financial Post's cannabis reporter, where she investigated and broke stories on the biggest names in legal cannabis, establishing herself as a must read for anyone with a stake in the industry. Vanmala also created and led VICE Canada’s Money vertical, where her areas of coverage included personal finance, labour and the housing market. She began her career as a television producer at the CBC, working on various business and current affairs programs including The Fifth Estate.

The live webinar discussion is sponsored by the Canadian Fuels Association and will see Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, The Honourable Seamus O’Regan joins Parkland President and CEO, Bob Espey, for a fireside conversation on the future of the Canadian fuels sector, low carbon leadership, and renewable fuels, and the important role that Canada’s fuel sector has in helping Canada reach Net Zero Emissions by 2050. The event will be the first in a series of Fuel for Thought webinar events the Canadian Fuels Association will be hosting over the coming months.

Bob Espey, President and CEO, Parkland

Mr. Espey was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer in 2011 and has successfully led the evolution of Parkland from a regional independent into an international marketer of fuel, petroleum and convenience products. In his role, Mr. Espey delivers on Parkland’s strategic plan while maintaining a strong focus on teamwork, business integration and shareholder value.

Mr. Espey has overseen a number of transformative acquisitions, including of Chevron Canada’s downstream fuel business, the Ultramar business from CST brands, the expansion of Parkland into the U.S., and in 2019 the addition of Sol which expanded Parkland’s operations into the Caribbean region. Under his leadership, Parkland’s annual fuel volumes have grown from less than 5 billion to more than 22 billion litres.

Previously, Mr. Espey served as Chief Operating Officer from 2010 to 2011, and Vice President, Retail Markets from 2008 to 2010. Prior to joining Parkland, Mr. Espey held a variety of senior management roles across a diverse group of industry sectors, both internationally and domestically, including as President and Chief Executive Officer of FisherCast Global Corporation. Mr. Espey also worked as a consultant based in the United Kingdom, where he worked with many large multinationals across a variety of industries including downstream marketing, media, consumer goods, and manufacturing. Mr. Espey also has experience in the Canadian Navy where he spent four years as a commissioned officer.

Mr. Espey serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Fuels Association and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America, SIGMA. Mr. Espey holds a Bachelor of Engineering, Mechanical, from Royal Military College and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario.

The Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources

Minister O’Regan was appointed Minister of Natural Resources in 2019, with a mandate to put Canada’s natural resources sector at the forefront of the fight against climate change. This mandate includes planting two billion trees over ten years, developing low and zero emissions fuels for widespread adoption, and retrofitting homes and infrastructure to ensure peak energy efficiency.

Prior to this role, Minister O’Regan served as the Minister of Indigenous Services, where he oversaw the passage and implementation of laws affirming Indigenous jurisdiction over child and family services.

Minister O’Regan’s first Cabinet position was Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, where he reinstated lifelong pensions and introduced an Education and Training Benefit for Veterans.

Minister O’Regan is from St. John’s, Newfoundland, and was raised in Goose Bay, Labrador. He studied politics at St. Francis Xavier University and University College Dublin, and marketing strategies at the INSEAD Business School, near Paris. He received his Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Cambridge, where he wrote his dissertation on Indigenous participation in large-scale natural resource development.

Minister O’Regan began his career in politics as Executive Assistant to the Minister of Justice and, later, Senior Policy Advisor to the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.

He’s known to many Canadians for his ten years as co host of the country’s top morning news programme, Canada AM.

Over the years, he has championed causes dear to him, namely mental health, the arts, and the environment, sitting on the Board of WWF Canada.

Join the Empire Club of Canada in celebrating International Women's Day with Rania Llewellyn, President and CEO of Laurentian Bank, and Jennifer Reynolds, President and CEO of Toronto Finance International and former President and CEO of Women in Capital Markets. A 2021 WXN Top 25 Women of Influence recipient with over 25 years in the banking industry, Rania Llewellyn will discuss her career and her journey to becoming the first woman to lead a major Canadian bank.

Rania Llewellyn, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Laurentian Bank of Canada

Rania Llewellyn was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors of the Laurentian Bank of Canada, on October 30th, 2020. She is the first woman to lead a major bank in Canada.

Ms. Llewellyn is a strategic and innovative leader with more than 25 years of experience in the banking industry. She previously served as Executive Vice President, Global Business Payments, at Scotiabank, where she began her career 26 years ago as a part time teller. Over the years, she rose through the ranks and held Senior positions at Scotiabank such as Vice President, Multicultural Banking; President and CEO of Roynat Capital; Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking, Growth Strategy; and, Senior Vice President, Products and Services, Global Transaction Banking.

Ms. Llewellyn has distinguished herself as she developed innovative products in retail and business segments. Her focus has always been on improving customer experience, driving growth and shareholder value. In 2018 and 2019, the operations teams she led were recognized for their exceptional customer service by the SMQ Group. In 2019 as well, the teams she was responsible for received the Cash Management and Payments Innovation Award by Aite Group and the Judge’s Choice Award for responsible Innovation in Financial Services at the Annual Canadian FinTech and AI Awards. That same year, she received the Women in Payments Award for Thought Leader from the Women in Payments Association for her outstanding work in modernizing the Canadian payments industry.

Born in Kuwait to an Egyptian father and Jordanian mother, Rania Llewellyn immigrated to Canada from Egypt in 1992 after the Gulf War. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree, an MBA and an honorary doctorate from Saint Mary’s University. She is married to Sean Llewellyn is the mother of two wonderful children, Sofia and Zachary.

Jennifer Reynolds, President and CEO, Toronto Finance International

Jennifer Reynolds is the President and CEO of Toronto Finance International, TFI, a public private partnership whose mission is to promote and develop Toronto’s financial services sector, and to establish its prominence as a leading global financial centre.

Jennifer’s 20 year career in the financial services industry has included senior roles in investment banking, venture capital, and global risk management. Prior to joining TFI, Jennifer was the President and CEO of Women in Capital Markets, WCM, Canada’s largest industry association and advocacy group for women in the financial sector.

Jennifer is a Director on the Board of Citibank Canada, Director on the Board of BF and M Ltd, Director on the Board of the Canada Development Investment Corporation, CDEV, and a Director on the Board of Women’s College Hospital Foundation. Jennifer is the Co Chair of the UN convened Financial Centres for Sustainability, FC4S, network and also serves on the Advisory Council for the Institute of Sustainable Finance. In 2015 and 2017, she was named a Women's Executive Network, WXN, Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winner.

Jennifer is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Women's Leadership program, and she received her MBA from McGill University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Economics and Political Science from McGill University. Jennifer also holds the Institute of Corporate Directors Designation, ICD.D.

Our Moderator Rudy Blair will chair a panel of leading Canadian musicians in a discussion of the history of black music and the way it helped to shape North American music generally and the way it impacted their own work. Rudy will be joined by Ron Westray, Oscar Peterson, Chair at York University and renowned trombonist, who will bring is vast knowledge of black music to the discussion. Juno award winning vocalist Molly Johnson will talk about the way black music traditions inspired her career. Grammy Award winner, Dan Hill brings his deep insights into the roots of black music and will share his perspective on the way it helped to shape his work as a singer song writer. And Canadian Queen of R and B, Jully Black, will share her experience and the way black music traditions have played a role developing her career as a musician.

​

Panelists:

Jully Black, Platinum Selling Canadian Singer Songwriter and Artist

Dan Hill, Grammy Award Winning Canadian Singer Songwriter and Artist

Molly Johnson, Award winning Canadian Jazz Vocalist

Ron Westray, American Jazz Trombonist, Musician, Composer and Educator

Moderator:

Rudy Blair, CEO, Founder and Interviewer, Rudy Blair Entertainment Media; Host, Vinyl Avenue with Rudy Blair

As Canadians consider how to build a better economy as the COVID 19 crisis starts to recede, their prospects and possibilities will be shaped not only by the choices of their own governments and firms but by those of their closest international partners in North America, the Group of Seven and the Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development.

No one is better placed to provide perspective on, and help produce, the pathway to Canada’s post pandemic prosperity in that key international context than Angel Gurria, Secretary General of the OECD. He joins the Empire Club of Canada to present the results of the OECD’s latest economic outlook for Canada and its key partners and to report on the OECD’s critical work on transitioning to a jobs rich digital economy. He will also reflect on how he has led the OECD for the past 15 years, including during the global financial crisis from 2008 to 2009, and has broadened its work to produce better policies for better lives in financial regulation, health, climate change and much else.

Angel Gurria, OECD Secretary General

As Secretary General of the Organisation of Economic Co operation and Development, OECD, since 2006, Angel Gurría has firmly established the Organisation as a pillar of the global economic governance architecture and a reference point in the design and implementation of better policies for better lives. He has broadened OECD’s membership with the accession of Chile, Estonia, Israel, Latvia and Slovenia, and has made it more inclusive by strengthening its links with key emerging economies. Under his watch, the OECD is leading the effort to reform the international tax system, and to improve governance frameworks in anti corruption and other fields. He has also heralded a new growth narrative that promotes the well being of people, including women, gender and youth, and has scaled up the OECD contribution to the global agenda, including the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Born on May 8th, 1950, in Tampico, Mexico, Mr. Gurría came to the OECD following a distinguished career in public service in his country, including positions as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance and Public Credit in the 1990s. For the first time in a generation, he steered Mexico’s economy through a change of Administration without a recurrence of the financial crises that had previously dogged such changes.

Mr. Gurría holds a B.A. degree in Economics from UNAM, Mexico, and a M.A. degree in Economics from Leeds University, United Kingdom. He has received Honorary Degrees from the Universidad de Valle de México, Rey Juan Carlos University, European University of Madrid, and the Universities of Leeds, Haifa and Bratislava.

The panel will look at recent polling showing that Canadians are losing confidence in vaccines and will discuss ways that we can combat misinformation and build and maintain public confidence in vaccines.

Panelists:

Angel Chu, Vice Chair, Immunize Canada; Infectious Disease Physician, Department of Medicine, Foothills Medical Centre

Dr. Jia Hu, Medical Officer of Health; Chair, 19 To Zero

Raj Pannu, CEO and Founder, Emergence Creative

Scott Ratzan, Distinguished Lecturer, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Public Policy

Moderator:

William Powers, Writer, Journalist and Technologist

Over the past year, anti Black racism protests have elevated systemic issues that remain pervasive in society, serving as a catalyst for important discussions around racism and discrimination in Canada. These discussions have revealed a harsh reality: Black Canadians continue to be significantly underrepresented in leadership positions. This disparity is particularly pronounced in professional fields such as law, public affairs, politics and finance. In order to create lasting change to our society and institutions, a concerted effort is needed to identify and address barriers Black Canadians face in attaining leadership positions in the public and private sectors.

Despite countless obstacles and barriers, there are stories of success to celebrate and learn from. The Empire Club is pleased to host a panel discussion that will share the experiences of those who have secured leadership positions in their fields, lessons they have learned along the way and what today’s leaders can do to inspire and empower the next generation of diverse voices.

Panelists:

Zanana Akande, Interim Chair, Black Legal Action Centre

Al Ramsay, Associate Vice President, Sales and Strategy and Head LGBTQ2+ and Black Customer Segments, TD Bank

Charlene Theodore, President, Ontario Bar Association; Workplace Lawyer

Ray Williams, Managing Director and Vice Chairman, Financial Markets at National Bank Financial

Moderator:

Asha Tomlinson, Award Winning Investigative Journalist, CBC News: Marketplace and CBC News contributor; Co creator, Co producer, and host, Being Black in Canada program and Face Racism series.

Dr. Suresh Venkatesan joined POET Technologies from GLOBALFOUNDRIES where he served most recently Senior Vice President, Technology Development at GLOBALFOUNDRIES and was responsible for the company’s Technology Research and Development. Suresh joined GLOBALFOUNDRIES in 2009, where he led the development and ramp of the 28nm node and was instrumental in the technology transfer and qualification of 14nm. In addition, he was responsible for the qualification and ramp up of multiple mainstream value added technology nodes.

Suresh is an industry veteran with over 22 years of experience in semiconductor technology development. Prior to joining GLOBALFOUNDRIES, he held various leadership positions with Freescale Semiconductor in Austin, Texas. Dr. Venkatesan holds over 25 US patents, and has co authored over 50 technical papers. He holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology and Master of Science and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University.

In Toronto’s lowest income neighbourhoods, 69% of residents are racialized, while 73% of residents in Toronto’s highest income neighbourhoods are white. The increased attention to systemic racism has revealed to the general public what those in the housing industry have known for years: housing in Toronto and across the GTA is highly racialized. Historically, homeownership has helped Canadians advance in society and work to overcome barriers such as the income and wealth gap. However, for Black Canadians, the lack of access to the housing market has and continues to actively limit opportunities for the Black community now, and in generations to come. It is time to address this inequity, but doing so demands that we re imagine the future shape of the GTA and seize opportunities to build affordable housing while creating a path to ownership for more black families.

This panel discussion will be moderated by Ene Underwood, CEO, Habitat for Humanity GTA. Panel participants will share their unique perspectives on the importance of enhancing the pathway to ownership for lower income black households, and how this framework can be applied to additional underrepresented populations. Panel members include, Mwarigha, VP, Housing and Homelessness Services, Woodgreen; Stephen Diamond, CEO, Diamond Corporation and Chair, Waterfront Toronto; and Isaac Olowolafe, Founder, DreamMaker Developments and Chair, BlackNorth Housing Committee.

Panelists:

Stephen Diamond, Chief Executive Officer, DiamondCorp

​

Mwarigha, Vice President, Housing and Homelessness Services

​ Isaac Olowolafe, Founder, Dream Maker Inc.; Board of Directors, Sick Kids Foundation

Moderator:

Ene Underwood, Chief Executive Officer, Habitat for Humanity GTA

Over the past year, the TTC has taken a hard look at many of its existing anti racism practices, both in how it deals with its customers as well as the treatment of its own employees from underrepresented groups. Diversity and inclusion have become top priorities for the CEO and the TTC is moving to become a leader in the industry on confronting existing issues and making meaningful changes to address them.

In December, the TTC launched a 10 Point Action Plan to begin attracting a more diverse workforce, starting with women and then moving to attract others from underrepresented groups. As the TTC creates a more diverse and inclusive workforce, this 10 Point Action Plan will also serve to benefit the TTC’s diverse customer base.

Hear from Mr. Leary about his thoughts on the TTC’s past, the 10 Point Action Plan and about his vision for the TTC going forward.

Key Note Speaker:

Rick Leary, Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Transit Commission

Prior to becoming the CEO of the TTC in July 2018, Rick Leary was Chief Service Officer and Deputy CEO for four years. Leary is an award winning Transit Executive with a long and tenured history in public transit.

Prior to his arrival at the TTC in 2014, he was General Manager for York Region Transit and VIVA. Leary began his career working for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority out of Boston as a train attendant in 1984 rising through the ranks and eventually serving as Chief Operating Officer until he retired in 2009.

Leary has degrees from Northeastern University including a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration as well as a Certificate of Special Studies from Harvard University in Administration and Management.

Moderator:

Leslie Woo, Chief Executive Officer, CivicAction

Leslie Woo is a respected leader with over 25 years of experience building sustainable communities and shaping urban growth in Canada’s fastest growing urban region, greater Toronto. Leslie assumed the role of CEO at CivicAction in September 2020. A premier civic engagement organization that convenes established and rising leaders from all sectors, backgrounds, and experiences, CivicAction catalyzes actions and impactful solutions to address pressing challenges in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and beyond.

Before joining CivicAction, Leslie was at Metrolinx for over a decade including her time as Metrolinx’s Chief Planning and Development Officer. Leslie is a tri-sector athlete with experience in the public, private, and not for profit sectors as well as her experience as a planner, architect, and community activator. An accomplished leader, Leslie was named One of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2017 by WXN, Spacing Toronto’s Transit Changemaker in 2016, and Canada’s Women’s Infrastructure Network’s 2015 Outstanding Leader. Founder of shebuildscities.org, Leslie uses her voice and platform to amplify and celebrate other women city builders.