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To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.
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The 10th Annual IEP Conference Guest Speakers

Keynote Speaker

Idris Mootee
CEO, idea couture

Idris is an internationally renowned expert on strategic innovation and new game strategy, a published author and the world’s foremost expert in applied design thinking in business strategy. His audiences regularly describe his sessions as "inspirational" and "mind changing."

He is currently the CEO of Idea Couture – a global strategic innovation firm with offices in San Francisco, Toronto, London, Mexico City and Shanghai. He works with Fortune 500 clients in all sectors to develop strategic foresights, identify their highest-value innovation opportunities, address their most critical challenges and develop breakthrough strategies. The foundation for his work is a conviction that strategic innovation is a process of discovery, and unleashing the power of design thinking that transforms organizations and create new wealth.

Mootee speaks frequently at the world's most prestigious management conferences and private executive offsites and has also advised government leaders and policy makers on matters of innovation policy, creative industries and industrial competitiveness. Author of four books in business strategy, Mootee is also the publisher/editor-in-chief of M/I/S/C – a design thinking and innovation magazine being distributed in 26 countries.

Mr. Motee will speak about: Strategic Innovation and Entrepreneurial Leadership for Radical Times
The shocks and dislocation of the global economic crisis, extreme competition and blurring of industry boundaries are leading us into a time of radical change on all fronts. The winners in this next phase of our economy will be those who can rethink and reinvent our way of creating and delivering value.

Host

Nil Köksal
Journalist and Anchor, CBC News Toronto

Nil Köksal is an award-winning journalist and anchor of CBC News Toronto Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 11:00 p.m. on CBC Television. Nil has built a name in breaking news and skilled storytelling since 2001, covering some of the biggest stories in Ontario, including the Toronto's turbulent G20 Summit and the loss of Jack Layton.

In 2013, Nil won the Best Breaking Reportage (Local) Canadian Screen Award. Nil has also reported from Turkey and Washington, DC, including the first inauguration of Barack Obama. Nil was born in Istanbul, but has lived in Canada since the age of four. She is on the board of the Toronto Public Library's New Collection Committee.

Host

Matt Galloway
Host, Metro Morning on CBC Radio One

Matt Galloway is the host of Metro Morning on CBC Radio One, Toronto’s top rated morning radio program. In 2010 and 2011, he was voted Top Radio Personality in Toronto by the readers and editors of NOW Magazine, and named a Toronto Hero of 2011 by Torontoist.

In 2012, he was given the Excellence In Community Service Award for addressing issues confronting diverse communities by the Intercultural Dialogue Institute. Matt is a keen cyclist, burgeoning runner, voracious reader, proud Torontonian and messy cook. He currently sits on the boards of the Stop Community Food Centre and the Toronto Arts Council.

Guest Speaker

J.D. Clarke
Senior VP of Operations, CGA Ontario

J.D. Clarke is the senior vice-president, operations, at Certified General Accountants of Ontario. In his role, J.D. is a key member of the leadership team and provides leadership, direction and coaching to the business development, professional development and student services teams.

After achieving his bachelor of arts from Queen’s University in 1994, J.D. began his career in operations, planning the delivery of management education programs as a program manager at the Queen’s School of Business. His 10 year career at Queen’s evolved into an associate director role, and finally as director of operations. He later accepted a global opportunity as director of operations with the International Executive Development Centre (IEDC) at the Bled School of Management in Slovenia. As one of Europe’s leading providers of management education, IEDC has reached over 30,000 executives in 50 countries, allowing J.D.’s experience to reach a global scale.

In 2005, J.D. returned to Canada to join the Richard Ivey School of business as director of EMBA program services. Prior to his departure in 2011, he was promoted to director of executive client services, leading the marketing, recruitment, admissions and program services for the Ivey Executive EMBA program and marketing operations for open enrolment executive education programs.

He completed his MBA (with distinction) in 2010 from Western University, Richard Ivey School of Business and was awarded an Ivey Scholar.

Guest Speaker

Ian Proudfoot
Vice President, Metroland Media Group

Ian is Metroland Media Toronto’s publisher and a Metroland Media Group vice president.

Under his leadership more than two dozen newspapers, numerous websites, magazines and various other media platforms play an active and leadership role within the communities they serve. And those communities stretch from Toronto, on the shore of Lake Ontario to North Bay.

"The diversity population of Toronto enriches our community. We believe there are opportunities as individuals and community to build on this strength for community betterment." said Proudfoot.
Personally, Mr. Proudfoot has been involved in a wide group of community organizations including, The United Way, hospital organizations, economic development, education groups and more. Proudfoot led the creation of the York Region’s prestigious Celebration of the Arts event.
He was awarded the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship in 2011 for his exceptional and long-standing contribution to his community.


Guest Speaker

Rhonda Singer, M.Sc., C.H.R.D., CMF
Senior Associate, Coaching For Action Inc.

Rhonda is one of the first in Canada to be recognized as a certified Cultural Intelligence (CQ) facilitator. Organizations looking to achieve their bottom line results seek Rhonda’s innovative coaching and facilitation solutions that help identify, engage and leverage global talent. She has completed assignments in healthcare, legal and financial services, management consulting, academia and non-profit environments.

She is a frequent speaker on Cultural Intelligence and its implications for Canada’s business community. Rhonda served as President of the award-winning PCPI for nine years and in that capacity was one of the first leaders to identify a vital intersection of opportunity for key stakeholders and Canada’s Internationally Educated Professionals (IEPs). She is the proud co-founder and producer of the first five highly acclaimed IEP Conferences. She is also Chair of a National Steering Committee for Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC).


Guest Speaker

Paul Acchione, P.Eng.
Vice Chair, OSPE’s Board

Paul Acchione became Vice Chair of OSPE’s Board in 2012. He has been an active member of OSPE’s Political Action Network since 2006 and participated as a member of the Professional Engineers Act Task Force. He became actively involved in OSPE’s Energy Task Force in 2007 and has chaired the Task Force since 2010. Paul began his career at Ontario Hydro, holding various roles from 1973 to 1997. From 1997 to 2002, he was a Department Manager at Ontario Power Generation. Since 2002, he has worked as Management Consultant with Market Intelligence and Data Analysis Corporation.

Paul is a member of ASME, IEEE, ANS and ISA and has co-authored 12 technical papers related to project engineering and management, simulation analysis, engineering design and application of digital computers. He has been an active member of his community and has participated as president of his local parish, president of one of Peel's condominium corporations, and president of the Carlyle Residences Owners Association. Mr. Acchione earned his B.A.Sc. and M. Eng. from the University of Toronto.