Annual Conference Speakers

Maeghan Albiston
Director, Investor Relations, Canadian Pacific Railway

Maeghan Albiston is the Director of Investor Relations at Canadian Pacific (CP), a transcontinental railway whose shares trade on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. Prior to joining the Investor Relations team in 2011, Maeghan held various financial management roles with CP in the areas of financial analysis, treasury and capital markets. She has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta, and is an active CIRI Alberta member.

Helen Beck
Senior Vice President, Canadian Equities and Indexed Management, Caisse de Depot

Helen Beck is Senior Vice President, Canadian Equities and Indexed Management, Equity Markets, at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec She has over 20 years of experience as an analyst and portfolio manager in the Canadian stock market. Helen began her career at the Montreal Exchange and spent 15 years with CN Investment Division where she managed a Canadian equity portfolio as well as a North-American portfolio and was a member of the Division’s executive committee. Prior to joining the Caisse in April 2014, Helen was Head of Canadian Equities and a Partner at Jarislowsky Fraser, where she served on their Investment Strategy Committee. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Finance from Concordia University and is a CFA charterholder.

James Bowzer
President & Chief Executive Officer, Baytex Energy Corp.

Mr. Bowzer joined Baytex as President and Chief Executive Officer in September 2012. Mr. Bowzer has over 30 years of global experience leading large organizations, directing new projects and developing successful leaders. Prior to joining Baytex, he was Vice President, North American Production Operations for Marathon Oil Corporation in Houston, Texas. His experience includes play development in the Bakken, Eagle Ford and Anadarko Woodford in the United States and heavy oil in Canada.

Previously, Mr. Bowzer was Regional Vice President, International Production, covering a diverse mix of significant businesses including operations in Norway, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Africa. He also held senior positions in Strategic Planning, responsible for strategy, financial and economic valuation and Business Development. Mr. Bowzer has a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Wyoming and completed the Advanced Management Program at the Graduate School of Business at Indiana University. He has served on the board of directors of many industry and professional associations. 

Meghan Brown
Director, Investor Relations, Endeavour Silver Corp.

Meghan has over 20 years of experience in communications and investor relations in the resource sector. She joined Endeavour Silver in 2013 as Director of Investor Relations. Meghan started her career with Suncor Energy and has also worked in communications and investor relations for Transcanada, Placer Dome, Ventana Gold, and a number of publicly traded mineral exploration and development companies with assets in North and South America, Africa and Asia. Meghan is a past Director of CIRI BC (1997-2013) and served as President of the BC Board of CIRI for two years (2011-2013). She is currently Chair of the CIRI National Board of Directors, Co-chair of the HR and Governance Committee, and a member of the Audit Committee. She has completed the Canadian Securities Course and the Institute of Corporate Directors’ Governance Essentials Program for Directors of Not-for-Profit Organizations, and is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors. She holds a BA from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from Queen’s University.

Kelly Castledine, CPIR
Director, Investor Relations, Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.

Kelly joined Algonquin Power & Utilities in 2005 as Director of Investor Relations and is responsible for the development and execution of the overall Investor Relations and Communications program for Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. Kelly has over 15 years of experience in investor relations, communications, corporate governance & policy and business strategy development with North American businesses. She gained her experience in the information technology, pharmaceutical, independent power, and utility industries.

Todd Coakwell
Director, Investor Relations, Agrium Inc.

Todd Coakwell is the Director of Investor Relations at Agrium, Inc., one of the largest agricultural products and services companies in the world. With extensive knowledge in investor communication and support, Todd also has direct experience in activist shareholder interaction and campaigns. Prior to his role in Investor Relations at Agrium, he worked for 15 years in the energy sector in Calgary, Alberta, where he managed strategic planning, corporate internal/external reporting departments and controllership positions for publicly traded companies. Todd obtained his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary and his Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation in 1998.

John Cole
Director, Equity Trading, RBC Capital Markets

John Cole has been involved on the sell-side of the Canadian capital markets for 10 years. John started his career working at UBS, where he specialized in trading the Mining and Industrial Sectors. John has worked as a senior liability trader at RBC Capital Markets for five years. He is responsible for the Mining, Telecom and Industrial sectors.

Vincent Delisle
Managing Director, Portfolio Strategy Group, Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets

Vincent Delisle has more than 20 years of experience in the investment industry and has been leading Scotiabank GBM’s portfolio strategy group since 2004. His team uses macroeconomics data, market fundamentals, and quantitative models to help determine optimal asset mix, global equity, and sector allocation strategies. Under his guidance, Scotiabank’s portfolio strategy team has ranked number one in Greenwich and Brendan Woods surveys.

Elena Doom
Managing Partner, Corbin Perception Group

Elena joined Corbin Perception in 2015 as Managing Partner. Prior to Corbin, Ms. Doom led Honeywell’s IR efforts for over five years where she was responsible for communicating the Company’s strategy, financial results and outlook to the investment community. During her tenure, Elena was credited with enhancing investor understanding and perception of Honeywell by leading extensive investor marketing and educational events and emphasizing a credible and transparent approach to IR. Her efforts contributed to an expanded global shareholder base and share price outperformance, culminating in a First Place ranking in the category of Best IR Professional, Capital Equipment/Industrial – Electrical Equipment & Multi-Industry by Institutional Investor by both the buy- and sell-side analyst communities in 2014 and 2015.
 
Elena’s views on IR Best Practices have been featured in various trade journals and she has served as a guest speaker on numerous panels discussing the importance of proactive investor communications, anticipating issues, practicing transparency and demystifying complexity.
 
Prior to joining Corbin Perception, Elena held various business and corporate financial roles with Honeywell, including positions in Operational Finance, Corporate Treasury and Investor Relations. She also served as Director, Corporate Development and M&A from 2006 to 2009, where she successfully oversaw acquisition, divestiture and joint venture activities across the company.

Janet Drysdale
Vice President, Investor Relations, CN Railway

Janet Drysdale was appointed Vice-President, Investor Relations in December 2012. Prior to that, she had been Director Economics and Strategy since October 2009. Ms. Drysdale provides strategic direction and guidance for the company's position in the global equity Markets and manages the Company's relationship with the investment community. Ms. Drysdale joined CN in 1996, initially working as a project officer in a management development program before moving to positions of increasing responsibility in Sales and Marketing, Investor Relations and Financial Planning, including Market Manager (Petroleum and Chemicals), Senior Manager Revenue Planning (Corporate Marketing), and Senior Manager Investor Relations. In that role, she spearheaded CN's response to the Carbon Disclosure Project, for which CN was recognized as a Canadian leader in climate change disclosure. Ms. Drysdale holds an Honours Bachelor of Science degree from Queen's University and an MBA from McGill University.

Chris Dutton
Director, TD Equity Research

Chris obtained his BA in history from Huron College, The University of Western Ontario, and is a CFA charterholder. Chris was a quantitative analyst with CT Securities before joining TD Securities, and his significant experience includes roles with Deutsche Bank Securities and ScotiaMcLeod. Chris has been consistently ranked as a top quantitative analyst for the past 10 years. 

Kelly Freeman
Director, Investor Relations, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.

Kelly Freeman is the Director of Investor Relations at Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (PotashCorp), where he is responsible for the development and execution of PotashCorp’s investor relations program and strategies. Prior to joining PotashCorp, he worked in the forestry products industry with Weyerhaeuser in various financial management roles. Kelly has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan, and has earned his designation as a Certified Management Accountant (CMA). He also is a National board member of the Canadian Investor Relations Institute (CIRI).

Lois Gardiner
Senior Vice President, Risk Consulting Western Canada, AON Global Risk Consulting

SVP, Director Risk Consulting Western Canada (Calgary, Alberta) Lois is recognized as a leader in the risk management field. She joined Aon in October 2013 bringing with her over 22 years of risk management experience. In her mandate, she directs Aon Global Risk Consulting (AGRC) in Western Canada and working with clients on key risk assessment initiatives. Prior to joining Aon 18 months ago Lois spent the past seven years (2006-2013) as the Managing Director, Risk Management, at Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). In this role Lois was responsible for delivery of the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program which included project risk assessments on all major capital projects. Lois also was accountable for the risk transfer program, policy standardization and compliance, business continuity Planning, Integrated Control Framework (ICF) improvements and various business process improvement initiatives. Lois was responsible for the corporate crisis management plan, hostile takeover plan and the ongoing maturity of these programs.

Prior to CP Lois spent 11 years working for Shell in Canada, the UK and Switzerland in a variety of risk management and finance roles including 2 years as a senior internal auditor. Lois worked in all commodity groups including crude, oil sands, chemicals and finished products and acted as risk manager on several major multibillion dollar construction projects. Prior to Shell Lois worked for 5 years in the insurance industry as a claims adjuster and commercial lines underwriter.

Wesley Gee
Director, Sustainability, The Works Design Communications

Wesley Gee, M.Sc., AIEMA, is Director of Sustainability at The Works Design Communication Ltd. He has worked in management consulting and sustainability for 15 years, and has substantial knowledge of and experience in areas including strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, performance management, corporate governance and reporting. He has recently contributed in working groups to revise the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines and develop the SASB Standards. Wesley has advised leading companies at executive and operational levels on sustainability in his current role, and when he was a Senior Consultant at Stantec and Senior Corporate Social Responsibility Advisor at Canadian Business for Social Responsibility. Wesley is also a lecturer at Ryerson University, Advisor at Microskills and Associate at the Institute for Environmental Management and Assessment. 

Co-founder & Portfolio Manager, FrontFour Capital

Zachary George is a co-founder and portfolio manager of FrontFour Capital, a value oriented, event driven hedge fund manager with more than $500 million in assets under management. Mr. George has spent more than a decade evaluating catalyst based investment opportunities across the capital structure of small and mid-cap North American companies. Mr. George has worked in a management capacity and with numerous corporate boards to turnaround operations, effect corporate action, and implement governance policies in order to maximize shareholder value.

Mr. George, who is a Canadian citizen but originally from Houston, Texas, earned a B.A. from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia and a Juris Doctor in 2002 from Brooklyn Law School in Brooklyn, New York. He recently served as the Chairman of the boards of FAM REIT and Huntingdon Capital Corp. and previously served as the lead independent director of both Cornell Companies Inc. and PW Eagle, and on the boards of Allied Defense Group, and IAT Air Cargo Facilities Income Fund.

Martin Grosskopf
Vice President & Portfolio Manager, Sustainable Investing, AGF Investments Inc.

Martin has more than 15 years of experience in combining financial and sustainability criteria for the selection of investment opportunities. In addition to the portfolios that he manages, Martin provides input on sustainability and ESG issues across the AGF investment teams.

Martin joined the financial industry after working in a diverse range of industries in the areas of environmental management, assessment and mitigation. Martin was previously Director, Sustainability Research and Portfolio Manager with Acuity Investment Management Inc. AGF Management Ltd. acquired Acuity Funds Ltd. and Acuity Investment Management Inc. in February 2011. He was a Project Manager with CSA International from 1997 to 2000 and prior to that was an Environmental Scientist with Acres International Limited.

Martin obtained his BA from the University of Toronto, MES from York University and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business and NIMBAS.

Four-Time Olympic Speed Skating Medalist and Olympic Broadcast Analyst

A native of Ottawa, Kristina started skating when she was 11 because she wanted to distinguish herself from her ski-crazed family. Good news for Canada. Twenty-years later, in 2007-08, she produced a season to remember collecting World Cup medals culminating in her first overall title (1500m), a World All-round Championship bronze medal, and an historic five-medal performance at the World Single Distance Championships including gold in the 3000m.

In 2008-2009, Kristina continued her success on the ice, winning her second overall title in the 1500m and producing a three-medal performance at the World Single Distance Championship and Olympic test event at the Richmond Olympic Oval. At the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Kristina carried a heavy load competing in five events, capturing a silver and a bronze medal to add to the Olympic silver medal in the women's 1500m and Team Pursuit event at the 2006 Games in Torino.

Outside of skating Kristina is passionate about supporting Right To Play as an athlete ambassador and is also an athlete speaker for Clean Air Champions. In 2011, Kristina was honoured as the University of Calgary's Distinguished Alumni of the Decade for a decade of consistent athletic performance and her work in building green initiatives within Speed Skating Canada.

Since retiring from sport in 2011, Kristina is now pursuing her passion for sustainability and energy and has embarked upon a new journey – she is currently working towards a graduate degree in Sustainable Energy Development at the University of Calgary. She also works part-time for RBC as part of the Olympians program and for CBC doing speed skating commentary with Steve Armitage.

Steve Hansen
Senior Vice President, Equity Analyst, Raymond James Ltd.

Steven Hansen joined the firm in October 2005 as an associate equity analyst covering the Industrial sector and was promoted to equity analyst in April 2007. Prior to joining the firm, Steve was employed as a stock analyst with Morningstar covering the forest products sector. Educationally, Steve holds an MBA (2004) from the Ivey School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Forestry (1999) from the University of British Columbia. Steve also holds his CMA designation and is a CFA Charterholder.

Melanie Hennessey
Vice President, Corporate Communications, NOVAGOLD Resources Inc.

Mélanie is NOVAGOLD's Vice President, Corporate Communications, responsible for all aspects of the Company's internal and external communications functions and investor relations activities. Mélanie has extensive experience within the precious metals mining industry particularly in investor relations, corporate communications, crisis management as well as mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining the Company, she served in a variety of executive and senior roles with such precious metals companies as Goldcorp Inc., New Gold Inc., and Hecla Mining Company. Mélanie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Ottawa.

Todd Hirsch
Chief Economist, ATB Financial

Todd Hirsch is ATB Financial's Chief Economist. He holds a BA Honours in Economics from the University of Alberta and an MA in Economics from the University of Calgary. For over 20 years he’s worked as an economist at Canadian Pacific Railway, the Canada West Foundation and the Bank of Canada. For almost a decade, Todd taught economics at the University of Calgary. He released his first book, The Boiling Frog Dilemma: Saving Canada from Economic Decline in 2012. 
Todd provides economic commentary for several Canadian media outlets and is a regular columnist for the Globe and Mail. He currently serves on the Alberta Economic Development Authority, the University of Calgary Board of Governors and is the chair of the Premier's Council on Culture. The federal government honoured Todd for his contribution to the community with the Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Mr. Jiles joined Leith Wheeler in 1994, after spending 10 years at Odlum Brown Ltd., where he managed their Research department. David follows Industrial Products, Consumer Discretionary and Staples companies and has a keen interest in behavioral finance and economic history. He is a graduate of UBC (1979) B.A. and holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

George Kesteven
Manager, Corporate & Investor Relations, Sterling Resources Ltd.

George is Manager, Corporate and Investor Relations with Calgary-based Sterling Resources Ltd., an international junior oil and gas company with operations in the United Kingdom and Dutch North Sea. Prior to joining Sterling in mid 2008 he was Manager, Investor Relations at PrimeWest Energy Trust, a position he had held since 2001. Concurrent to much of his tenure with PrimeWest he served as President of the Canadian Association of Income Funds (CAIF) from 2004 to 2006, and assumed the role of Chair from early 2007 until year-end 2008. Prior to his involvement with the income trust space he held senior roles in corporate finance and investor relations with TransCanada Pipelines and Petro-Canada respectively. George is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds both an MBA (Finance) and a B.Comm. (Marketing) from the University of Calgary. He is an active member of CIRI Alberta and the Calgary CFA Society. He and his wife Nancy and daughter Paige reside on Vancouver Island, and he commutes to Calgary, Aberdeen and London as required.

Heather Killian
Executive Director, Business Strategy & Development, CIBC World Markets

Heather Killian is Executive Director, Business Strategy & Development with CIBC World Markets Inc. the wholesale Banking arm of CIBC. Ms. Killian is responsible for managing CIBC’s equity trading products business which includes client and market interface tools, execution management, liquidity management and market structure research. Additionally, she contributes to CIBC’s equity markets business strategy through in-depth analysis of the regulatory and market structure environment. Ms. Killian has also been a key contributor to the development and growth of CIBC’s electronic trading franchise. Prior to joining CIBC in 2010, Ms. Killian was a chief operating officer at a Canadian alternative trading system (ATS) where she was involved in all aspects of the system’s launch into the marketplace. She also worked for an independent broker dealer with extensive experience in trading and product management. Ms. Killian holds an Honours BA from the University of Western Ontario.

Jamie Kozak
Portfolio Manager, North Grown Management

Jamie joined North Growth Management in 2003 and is a Portfolio Manager for the Canadian Equity and U.S. Equity Funds.  As a generalist, Jamie researches and analyzes numerous industries and companies in Canada and the United States and contributes to the portfolio management team’s decision making process.  Jamie holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Marketing from Simon Fraser University and he is a CFA charterholder.

Yan Lapointe
Manager, Investor Relations, Bombardier Inc.

Yan Lapointe was appointed Manager, Investor Relations in January 2007. In his role, he supports the company’s relationships with its various investors and financial analysts. He also assists the Senior Director of Investor relations in providing guidance for the company’s position in the financial markets and on events affecting the company and its share price. Yan joined Bombardier Inc. in September 2003 as an internal auditor in the Corporate Audit Service and Risk Assessment function. He has risen in the ranks and joined the Investor Relations Department in August 2006. Before working at Bombardier, he was controller at JitneyTrade Inc., a financial brokerage firm headquartered in Montreal. Yan graduated with a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (BBA) in Finance from HEC Montreal. He is a CFA charterholder and holds a CPA, CGA designation.

Dirk Lever
Managing Director, Institutional Equity Sales, AltaCorp Capital

Prior to joining AltaCorp, Mr. Lever was a Managing Director at RBC Capital Markets for nine years where he held various senior roles in trading, sales and equity research in Toronto. Mr. Lever was Head of North American Energy Sales (2008 - 2011) and Head of Income Trust Research (2004 – 2008.) Prior to RBC, Mr. Lever was an Equity Research Analyst at National Bank Financial (2000 – 2004) in Calgary. Mr. Lever was consistently a top ranked equity research analyst and was a sought after speaker on the Canadian Income Trust Industry. Mr. Lever has worked in Corporate Finance, Venture Capital, Private Equity and Merchant Banking and is a Chartered Accountant who specialized in income tax. Mr. Lever graduated with Honors from Simon Fraser University and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Finance). Mr. Lever is a Director with the Canadian Chartered Accountant’s Canadian Performance Reporting Board.

Randy Mah, CPIR
Senior Manager, Investor Relations, Capital Power Corporation

Randy Mah is currently the Senior Manager of Investor Relations at Capital Power, an independent power producer with operations throughout North America, where he is responsible for leading the company’s investor relations strategies since its initial public offering in 2009. Randy has been an investor relations professional for 15 years. Previously, he led the start-up of the investor relations function for EPCOR Utilities Inc.’s publicly-traded limited partnership from 2005-2009 and was a Manager, Investor Relations at TELUS from 2000-2005. Randy holds a CPIR designation and a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) degree from the University of Alberta. He has been a member of CIRI since 2000 and is currently a member of the Alberta Chapter Executive.

Dean Morrison
Director, Investor Relations, Vermilion Energy Inc.

Dean is an experienced investor relations professional with over 20 years of financial, operational and analytical experience across large and small capitalization companies in the oil and gas production, transportation, real estate and industrial sectors. Prior to joining Vermilion, Mr. Morrison worked on the development of key strategies to maximize shareholder value while in senior investor relations roles at a variety of publically traded companies and royalty trusts in addition to equity sales and marketing roles in the private equity sector. Mr. Morrison is a past Director and Treasurer for the Alberta Chapter of the Canadian Investor Relations Institute (CIRI).

Matt Orsagh
Director, Capital Markets Policy, CFA Institute

Matt Orsagh, CFA, CIPM, is a director of capital markets policy at CFA Institute, where he focuses on corporate governance issues. He was named one of the 2008 “Rising Stars of Corporate Governance” by the Millstein Center for Corporate Governance and Performance at the Yale School of Management. He has written and spoken many times on the issue of earnings guidance and short-termism in the market, including Breaking the Short-term cycle (2006) and Visionary Board Leadership (2012).

Marie-Josee Privyk
Director, Communications & Sustainable Development, Innergex Renewable Energy Inc.

Marie-Josée Privyk has been with Innergex since 2011. In addition to ensuring effective interactions with investors in view of optimizing the firm’s reputational capital and enterprise value, Ms. Privyk coordinates Innergex’s sustainable development implementation and reporting process. Ms. Privyk has more than 20 years’ experience in the securities industry, including 11 years as an analyst of small and mid-cap Canadian companies. Ms. Privyk is also a board member of CIRI Quebec, the Finance and Sustainability Initiative (FSI), and the St-Raphaël Palliative Care Home and Day Center. She holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from McGill University, as well as the CFA designation and the Sustainable Investment Professional Certification (SIPC) designation.

Derek Wheatley
Managing Director, Energy Specialist, Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets

Derek Wheatley is one of Scotiabank’s two Energy Sales Specialists. He works with the firm’s Energy Analysts and Associates to cover across the entire energy spectrum, from Infrastructure to Exploration & Production to Integrated Refiners to Oilfield Services. Instead of covering specific investment firms, he focuses on covering specialist Energy Portfolio Managers globally. He is a CFA Charterholder and previously worked for 9 years in the energy investment banking business.

Ibrey Woodall
Vice President, Web Communications Services, Business Wire

As VP, Web Communications Services, Ibrey Woodall is responsible for Business Wire's InvestorHQ Investor Center and NewsHQ Online Newsroom products. Ibrey is an active industry speaker and writer, and has been nominated for the Association of Women in Communications Woman of the Year (Technology). She holds a B.A. in Mass Communications and a Webmaster certification. Ibrey has been involved in launching IR sites and online newsrooms for 3M, Aetna, Bank of America, Box, CKE Restaurants, DISH Network, Forest Laboratories, Kinder Morgan, McKesson, Merck, Office Depot, PRSA, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Ryder System, Staples, The Fresh Market, Tremor Video, W.R. Grace and many others.

Josh Wright
Economist, Bloomberg

Josh Wright joined Bloomberg as an economist after 5 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he helped build the Federal Reserve's agency MBS portfolio of over $1 trillion. As a researcher there, he published on housing and mortgage markets, and advised policymakers across the legislative and executive branches of government.  His work has appeared in the Bloomberg Economics Brief, the New York Fed's Economic Policy Review, the Liberty Street Economics blog, and the New York Times. A Chartered Financial Analyst and a graduate of Harvard and Yale, Josh is also a frequent guest on Bloomberg Television and Radio.

Deborah Yedlin
Business Columnist, Calgary Herald

Herald Business columnist Deborah Yedlin began her career working as an investment banker in 1987, working in New York for Goldman Sachs. Upon completing her MBA in Finance, Deborah continued working in corporate finance, first in Toronto and then in Calgary. Deborah's career in business journalism began in 1996 and has included positions with the Financial Post and the Globe and Mail. Deborah has held her current position as business columnist for the Calgary Herald since April 2007. She is also a weekly business commentator for CBC radio.

In addition to her professional obligations, Deborah is active in the Calgary community, sitting as a director on a number of not-for-profit boards. Deborah was born and raised in Edmonton, holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Alberta, an MBA from Queen's University and recently completed the Institute of Corporate Directors program through the Haskayne School of Business.