Ms. Anderson has over 20 years of experience in the Human Resources field.

Prior to joining Domtar, Melissa served for three years as Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Government Relations for The Pantry, Inc., one of the largest independently operated convenience retailers in the United States.

She began her career with International Business Machines Corporation where she spent 17 years progressing through increasingly challenging human resources positions.

When she left IBM, she was Vice President of Human Resources for IBM Global Financing where she lead an international team of HR professionals who were responsible for creating and executing a worldwide workforce management strategy for an organization of approximately 3,500 employees.

Previously, she led IBM’s human resource functions for several other U.S. locations including IBM’s Silicon Valley Software Development Laboratory and IBM Austin, former headquarters to IBM’s RS6000 Server Division, now branded as Series P. The Austin site was home to approximately 4,500 employees with over 30 distinct lines of business. Earlier in her career, Melissa managed IBM’s pioneering effort to create one of the first employee shared-services center. The center supported over 200,000 employees and retirees.

Melissa holds a B.S. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Master of Industrial and Labor Relations degree from Cornell University.

Melissa was recognized as 2011 Award winner for Women Worth Watching in 2011, published in Profiles of Diversity Journal. The Society of Human Resource Management honored Melissa as a nominee for the 2011 and 2012 South Carolina Human Resources Management Award for Professional Excellence.

 

As Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Learning Officer of the world largest express transportation company, Bob Bennett understands the imperative role employees and HR play in the strategic success of a company. His scope of responsibility includes defining the role of HR for FedEx Express and providing strategic direction for the development and execution of HR programming for it’s more than 150,000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. With a background in engineering and extensive experience in global operations, Bennett has a real world perspective and deep respect for the effect that employees and corporate culture have on a company’s bottom line.

Under his leadership FedEx has continued to nurture a culture founded on People-Service-Profit. Simply stated it’s the belief that if you take care of your people, they’ll provide outstanding service and the profits will follow. Through Bennett’s guidance FedEx Express has created even stronger employee focus through employee loyalty surveys, prescriptive coaching, market-based management program and enhanced training performance metrics. FedEx has consistently been ranked on Fortune Magazine’s list of the "World's Most Admired Companies” and was ranked 5th on the Great Place to Work Institute’s 2011 list of the World’s Best Multinational Workplaces.

A passionate advocate for expanding the role of HR from “bricklayer to architect,” Bennett was instrumental in establishing the FedEx talent management program to assess high performance and high potential employees. He also led a progressive initiative to integrate strategic workforce planning into employee development, talent management, talent review and succession planning. In effect, the initiative created a clear roadmap for achieving business success through human capital management.

Bennett joined FedEx in 1979 as an engineer and throughout his career has held leadership roles in engineering, operations and HR.

A native New Yorker, Bennett earned a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering from Cornell University and a master’s degree in business administration from Bernard Baruch College at the City University of New York. A highly sought after speaker his speaking portfolio includes The Economist Talent Summit, Human Capital Institute Symposium and Argyle CLO Summits, as well as a feature articles in CLO Magazine and Oxford Economics. Bennett currently is on the board of directors for The Salvation Army and The Leadership Academy. 

 

Carolyn Clark has an extensive career in the hospitality industry with over 30 years experience.  Carolyn has been Senior Vice President, Human Resources for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts since May 2005 and, prior to her current position, she held the position of Vice President, Human Resources. Carolyn has also held various senior positions with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts since 1974 including: Executive Director, Human Resources; Corporate Director, Personnel; Manager, Recruitment & Training; Supervisor of Recruitment; and Executive Search Consultant.

As a result of the progressive Human Resource initiatives that have been implemented with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, the Company has been recognized for the 10th consecutive year as an “Employer of Choice” as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers.  Most recently, in May of 2012, our Company was presented with the Gallup Great Workplace Award, which recognizes organizations that are leaders in creating an engaged workplace culture.  As well, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts was recognized as one of Canada’s 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures and was awarded the “Best Initiative in Hotel Management Training” by the 2009 Worldwide Hospitality Awards for our Leadership Development Program.  

In 1999, Carolyn was awarded the Educator of the Year at the Ontario Hostelry Institute Gold Awards.  And, more recently, in January 2010, she was granted an Honorary Degree in Hospitality Operations Management from the Centre for Hospitality & Culinary Arts, George Brown College, Toronto.

Ms. Clark graduated from York University with a B.A. in Sociology and has completed courses from the University of Toronto, School of Continuing Studies in Compensation Management and Labour Relations Management.

Her affiliations include: Board of Directors, Canadian Hospitality Foundation; Conference Board of Canada; Council of Human Resources Executives; Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM); Fellow, Ontario Hostelry Institute; Board of Directors, Canadian Tourism Human Resources Council (CTHRC); and Member, American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) Human Resource Committee.

 

Bernard N. Cormier joined CAE as Vice President, Human Resources, in July 2010. In this position, Mr. Cormier oversees all Human Resources services worldwide and is responsible for the strategic planning of workforce and skills development to maintain and enhance CAE’s world-class team. He is also a member of CAE’s Executive Committee.

Mr. Cormier brings value to CAE with his nearly 30 years of experience in human resources management including union relations, career development programs and leadership development processes. Most recently, he was Vice President, Human Resources at The Home Depot for Canada and Asia. He has led Human Resources functions for numerous multinational companies including Molson Inc., Bombardier Aerospace in Toronto and GE China.

An MBA graduate of the University of Western Ontario (Ivey) and a BAA graduate of Université de Moncton, Mr. Cormier also completed an Executive Leadership Program with The Home Depot at Emory University in Atlanta (USA) and a Global Business Management Course at GE/IMD in Lausanne (Switzerland). A former Board Member of the Richard Ivey School of Business UWO, he currently sits on the Board of Correctional Services Canada. 

Mr. Cormier is a frequent speaker at corporate and trade events.

 

Mr. Michael Creamer was appointed Vice President of HR for International in April 2007 and was promoted to Vice President of Human Resources for Cott Corporation in August 2008. Prior to joining Cott, from 2005 to 2007, Mr. Creamer was Senior Director of Human Resource Operations and International for Avanade Corporation, a global IT consultancy formed as a joint venture between Accenture and Microsoft Corporation. From 1990 to 2004, Mr. Creamer held several positions with Microsoft, including senior global human resources positions.

 

Sue Cummings joined TD Bank Group in 2005 and is Senior Vice President and Head of Human Resources, TD Bank Group. Sue oversees a diverse portfolio of strategic HR activities for TD globally, including Relationship Management, Global Compensation, Pensions and Benefits, Employment Advisory, HR Regulatory Risk and HR Shared Services. 

Before taking on her current role, Sue was Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate and Public Affairs, for TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®. She has also served as SVP Human Resources for TD’s Canadian Retail Businesses (including Personal and Commercial Banking, Wealth and TD Insurance). 

Sue has spent most of her career within the financial services industry in HR. Before joining TD, Sue worked with HSBC in the UK, and with Merrill Lynch and CIBC in Canada. She studied at the University of Essex, UK. 

Sue leads TD Bank Group’s HR Operating Committee. She is also a member of TD’s Women in Leadership Committee and the Reputational Risk Committee. 

Sue lives in Richmond Hill, Ontario, with her husband, and is proud mom to Thomas and Laura. Sue enjoys tennis, pilates, traveling and quiet times at the cottage. 

 

During her fifteen years at Oracle, Anje has helped transform the Talent and Organizational effectiveness function to meet the needs of the rapidly growing global workforce of 115,000 employees in 67 countries.  Leveraging a deep knowledge of the business, a strong talent vision and Oracle's technology assets, she has created programs and measurements that produce industry leading results in productivity, capability and organizational effectiveness.  Her team's mission includes providing more meaningful intelligence to help the business make better workforce decisions and accelerate execution on its strategy.  Anje oversees initiatives that drive targeted learning solutions for Oracle employees and leaders, including the Oracle Women’s Leadership Initiative which aims at creating opportunities that support, educate and empower Oracle’s current and future generations of women leaders.  Throughout her career, she has held roles in the business and various human resource management positions which include responsibility for employee relations, compensation, recruiting, organizational effectiveness, performance management, training, and employment practices. 

 

Mark joined RSA in January 2011 in the role of Senior Vice President, Human Resources with responsibility for HR across all companies within RSA Canada. RSA is Canada's third largest property and casualty insurance company providing home, car and commercial insurance both directly and through a network of brokers. With more than 4,000 employees we're nationally represented with regional offices and branches coast to coast. Prior to joining RSA Mark worked in the UK and has held HR executive positions in various sectors including energy and broadcasting with companies such as Centrica and BSkyB. Mark holds a BSc (Hons) in Management Sciences from the University of Warwick and is a member of The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a Certified Executive Coach. 

 

In this role, Kate leads frontline leadership coaching, onboarding, initiative training, operational communications and Knowledge Management for Rogers Communications Inc.’s 43,000+ frontline employees, dealers, and third party partners. With more than 15 years’ experience Kate has held senior positions in both Learning and Human Resources.

Kate is an accomplished Human Resources and Learning professional with a track record of successfully partnering with internal and external stakeholders to diagnose and develop solutions that improve business results. Recognized as a successful business partner and trusted advisor who uses talent management, organizational development, and performance consulting skills to translate business requirements into human resources and learning strategies that build strategic organizational capabilities, drive improvement in business results, and evolve company culture.

Kate graduated from Western University’s Ivey School of Business MBA program with distinction, and was awarded the Ivey Scholar designation. Kate and her family reside in Toronto, Canada.

 

Ms. Hawkins joined ACE Canada in June, 2009.  Ms. Hawkins is responsible for the human resources function including developing strategic initiatives for the Company.  She is a senior human resources executive who brings considerable insurance and leadership ability to her role.  Her breadth of experience includes domestic and international human resources oversight in both well established and emerging organizations.

Prior to joining ACE, Ms. Hawkins was the Managing Director of Global Human Resources for DBRS – a global credit rating agency.  Prior to DBRS, she held several progressive positions at Liberty International Underwriters with her last position as Vice President, Global Human Resources.

 

Katya Laviolette holds the position of Corporate Vice-President, Human Resources, for tc • Transcontinental (www.tc.tc). She is a member of the Corporation's Executive Management Committee and her principal role is to oversee the management of all human capital and corporate culture activities.

Ms. Laviolette has close to 20 years of experience in human resources, industrial relations, and organizational development, acquired in positions with CBC/Radio-Canada, Rio Tinto, Bombardier Aerospace, and CN Rail.

Prior to joining Transcontinental Inc., Ms. Laviolette held the position of Vice-President, People and Culture, for Canada's national public broadcaster, CBC/Radio-Canada, where she was responsible for the overall human resources and industrial relations function for the Corporation.

She holds a Bachelor's of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta and a Master's of Industrial Relations from Queen's University in Ontario. She has received a number of awards, including the E.S. Sunley Scholarship in Industrial Relations, the Queen's Graduate Fellowship, the Cameron-Wood Prize in Industrial Relations, and the Queen's University/IRC Press Prize for her article, "A Framework for a Formal Mentoring Program." In 2000, she co-chaired the Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference.

She is a member of the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés and is on the board of directors of the Centre international de recherches et d'études en management (CIREM).

 

Stephen Lee is a Senior Partner and the Market Leader for Mercer’s Canada Central Market and is on the Canada Latin America Region Leadership Team. Stephen is also a Client Manager in our Toronto office for several large clients and has over twenty years of consulting experience.

Stephen joined Mercer in 1996 and has held many leadership positions including leading Mercer's M&A business in Canada, from 2001 to 2008 and during that time worked on numerous acquisitions and mergers for corporate and private equity clients as well as speaking as an expert on HR issues in transactions at a number of conferences. Stephen was a Retirement Unit Leader in the Toronto office from 2003 until 2005, and our Mississauga office from 2001 until 2003.

Stephen is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. He graduated from Queen's University with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Mathematics.

 

Donna Pascal has over 18 years of HR experience spanning across the distribution, telecommunication and not-for-profit sectors. Donna is currently the Vice President, Human Resources (Canada) for a Global distribution company. She graduated with a Bachelors of Political Science from the University of Western Ontario and attended the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management where she obtained an Executive Certificate in Human Resources Management. Donna is recognized as a Certified Human Resources Professional by the Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations and the Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario. Donna is also certified in Alternate Dispute Resolution through the faculty of law at the University of Windsor.

 

Paul Pierroz is the Vice President of Human Resources of ShawCor Ltd. He joined ShawCor as Vice President of Human Resources in May of 2008. Prior to joining ShawCor Paul held senior human resources management positions with three Canadian-based global leaders; Barrick Gold Corporation, Amcor PET Packaging and Husky Injection Molding Systems.

At ShawCor his responsibilities include organization performance and talent management,workforce and succession planning and leadership development.

Paul holds a degree in Economics from Wilfred Laurier University.

 

As Vice President, Human Resources for MasterCard Canada, Louise J. Porthouse is a strategic business partner to the Canada leadership team responsible for developing and delivering human resources programs that support the business strategies in an effective and flexible manner.  Prior to joining MasterCard, Ms. Porthouse specialized in Employee Relations at Dundee Wealth Management, and generalist human resource management at KPMG and Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions. Ms. Porthouse holds an honours undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Management from the University of Sunderland, England, a Post Graduate Certificate of Finance from Birkbeck College, University of London and a Certificate in Advanced HR Management from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Ms. Porthouse is a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) and is a member of the Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA).

 

Rebecca Schalm was appointed Senior Vice President, Human Resources for Finning International Inc. in January 2011. She also has executive responsibility for OEM Remanufacturing, a component remanufacturing facility owned by Finning International.

Prior to joining Finning, Ms. Schalm held various positions at RHR International in Toronto and Calgary, the most recent being partner and global practice leader. Rebecca’s extensive experience includes providing consulting services to senior leaders and board of directors of organizations in the areas of: executive selection, integration and leadership development, succession and talent management, and senior team development.

Ms. Schalm holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in General Studies from the University of Alberta, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Saskatchewan. She also earned a Master of Arts and Doctorate of Philosophy in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Guelph.

 

Sean Simpson is the Country Manager of Sales/Operations at Workday and is responsible for Workday's Canadian practice which involves business development, customer advocacy, and partnership & alliances strategy.

Sean Joined Workday in April of 2010 and prior to Workday, Sean has spent 10 years in the Enterprise software space, more recently with Ariba where he was Country Manager and leading their cloud/SaaS practice in Canada. In his leadership role, Sean was responsible for growing the Ariba practice with a year over year growth of more than a 120% , including establishing a growing customer base of more than 35 SMB and Large enterprise clients. Prior to Ariba, Sean spent 3 years with SunGard Data Systems leading there Online investment software division.

Sean holds Bachelor of Honors in Business/Political Science from The University of Western Ontario.

 

Alice Smith is the Enterprise Relationship Manager for getAbstract, Inc. in Canada.  She has extensive account management experience and has been in the learning industry for more than 20 years.  Alice is highly customer focused and well regarded in the industry.  She is committed to building partnerships with her customers and helping them align learning solutions to meet their business needs.