International Women's Day 2020

In celebration of IWD 2020 the Empire Club is holding our Annual 'Women Who Lead' luncheon.

Our esteemed panel of industry leaders will discuss their personal and career successes, trials and tribulations. We will delve into the collective experiences of our speakers to discuss topics such as: forging a gender equal world in the 'Roaring 20's', celebrating women's achievements, raising awareness against bias and taking tangible, impactful action for gender equality in the short and long-term.

#IWD2020 #EachforEqual

Panelists:

Claudette McGowan, Chief Information Officer, Enterprise Technology Employee Experience, Bank of Montreal, BMO

Claudette McGowan is a global information technology leader with more than 17 years of success leading digital transformations and designing new approaches that improve service experiences. She has worked in the technology industry for organizations such as Deloitte, Metropolitan Police Services, North York General Hospital and Bank of Montreal. Claudette began her career at BMO in 2000. She is the current Chief Information Officer, Enterprise Technology Employee Experience. Claudette is a published author of five books and founder of the Black Arts and Innovation Expo. Claudette holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Business Administration.

Over the past 24 months, Claudette was the recipient of several prestigious awards: In January 2020, she was selected as an honoree at the Jamaican Canadian Association’s 20th International Women’s Day event for her groundbreaking work in STEM and also has been chosen to be featured in the Honourable Jean Augustine’s 2020 Edition of the 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women Book. In 2019, Toronto Life recognized her as one of the city's Top 50 Most Influential Torontonians, Women’s Executive Network recognized her as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, AdWeek Magazine heralded Claudette as a Toronto Brand Star, the Digital Finance Institute honoured her as one of the Top 50 Canadian Women in FinTech. In September 2019, Claudette also had the honour of moderating what is being hailed as the most insightful one on one conversation with Former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, in front of a sold out crowd of 3,000 plus at Elevate, Canada’s largest technology festival.

Deborah Rosati, Founder and CEO, Women Get On Board

Deborah Rosati is an accomplished corporate director, entrepreneur, Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant, FCPA, and certified Corporate Director , ICD.D, with more than 30 years of experience in technology, consumer, retail, cannabis, private equity and venture capital. An experienced Audit Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee chair, Deborah provides extensive knowledge as a Corporate Director in the areas of financial and enterprise risk management, corporate strategy, transformational changes, M and A, corporate governance and CEO and board succession planning.

Deborah currently leads and serves as a Corporate Director for Khiron Life Sciences Corp. , TSXV:KHRN, and Audit Committee Chair and Lift and Co., TSX V: LIFT, as Vice Chair and Chair of the Audit Committee. Deborah recently served on the board of Med Releaf, TSX:LEAF, as the Chair of the Audit Committee, acquired by AuroraCannabis, TSX: ACB, July 2018, as well as she chaired the Audit Committee, for NexJ Systems, TSX:NXJ, and was on the board of Sears Canada, TSX: SCC. She is the Founder and CEO of Women Get On Board, a leading member based company that connects, promotes and empowers women to corporate boards. Deborah has been selected as a Diversity 50 2014 candidate and was recognized in 2012 as one of WXN’s Top 100 Canada’s Most Powerful Women in the corporate director award category. Deborah’s thought leadership on corporate governance, board diversity and entrepreneurship are profiled on her website: www.deborahrosati.ca

Natasha Walji, Director, Telecom, Government, Entertainment and Technology, Google

Natasha Walji is a Director at Google leading the Tech, Telecom and Public sector business. She has been at Google for 10 years, and previously was a McKinsey consultant and a software developer. Natasha has actively served the community for 20 years in the areas of disaster relief, poverty alleviation, public health and also founded an organization for children with disabilities. She serves on the board of Ronald McDonald House Canada. Natasha holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Victoria, an MBA from Yale University and an MSt. in Sustainability Leadership from the University of Cambridge. Natasha was recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2016.

Moderator:

Kayla Grey, Host and Reporter, TSN

Kayla Grey is a host and reporter for TSN’s SPORTSCENTRE. She also makes frequent appearances on TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto and TSN Radio 1150 in Hamilton covering the Toronto Raptors, and contributes regular sports updates to CTV’s YOUR MORNING.

In 2019, Grey reported on the Toronto Raptors’ historic NBA championship run for TSN. She also joined CTV’s fan favourite reality series THE AMAZING RACE CANADA as an official race correspondent for THE AMAZING RACE CANADA: RIDE ALONG.

The Toronto native joined TSN in 2015 as an on air update anchor for TSN 1050.

A graduate of Toronto’s College of Sports Media, Grey began her broadcasting career in Winnipeg as a Digital Broadcast Journalist for Global News. She then moved to Prince Rupert, BC to become a senior reporter for CFTK TV news.

Prior to heading west, Grey found success in roles as a colour commentator for the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and various university varsity sports.