diversity@work | Main

Richard E. Venn

Senior Executive Vice-President, CIBC, and Managing Director and Deputy Chair, CIBC World Markets Inc.

Mr. Venn advises the President and CEO as well as CIBC's Senior Leadership Team on matters related to identifying and developing strategic initiatives and joint ventures for CIBC.

During his 35 year career with CIBC, he has led most areas of Investment and Merchant Banking, culminating in his role as Chairman and CEO of CIBC's Canadian dealer for seven years. He has also been a strategic advisor to many CIBC Wholesale Banking clients.

Since 2005, Mr. Venn has provided leadership to the bank's employment equity and diversity strategy through his ongoing role as CIBC's National Diversity Champion.

He is a director of CIBC Mellon, FirstCaribbean International Bank Ltd., and the Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Ltd. He also serves on the Foundation Board of Mount Sinai Hospital and is Chair of the Foundation of the United Jewish Federation, sitting on its Board and Executive Committee.

Mr. Venn received a BA Sc. (engineering science) in 1973 at the University of Toronto. He proceeded with a scholarship to complete his MBA at Harvard in 1975.

Marina Nemat | A personal journey

Marina Nemat was in  born Tehran, Iran. During the Islamic Revolution of 1979, she was arrested at the age of sixteen and spent more than two years in Evin, a political prison in Tehran, where she was tortured and came very close to execution. The memoir of her life in Iran, Prisoner of Tehran, was published in Canada by Penguin Canada in April 2007, has been published in 28 other countries, and has been an international bestseller. MacLean’s Magazine has called it “…one of the finest (memoirs) ever written by a Canadian.” Prisoner of Tehran has been short listed for many literary awards, including the Young Minds Award in the UK and the Borders Original Voices Award in the US. On December 15, 2007, Marina received the inaugural Human Dignity Award from the European Parliament, and in October 2008, she received the prestigious Grinzane Prize in Italy. In 2008/2009, she was an Aurea Fellow at University of Toronto’s Massey College, where she wrote her second book, After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed, which was published by Penguin Canada on September 18, 2010, and has so far been published in four countries. Marina has spoken at high schools, universities, and conferences around the world.

In After Tehran, Nemat reveals how writing brought her back to life. Immigrating to Canada in 1991 with her childhood love and first-born son, she played the part of a hard-working wife, mother, waitress at Swiss Chalet, and after her parents’ arrival in the country, dutiful daughter. The first 80 pages scribbled at the local Second Cup, and after her shifts at Swiss Chalet. It was followed by writing courses at the University of Toronto’s Continuing Education department.

Michael Bach | What are men doing about it?

National Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, KPMG, Canada 

Michael Bach is the National Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for KPMG Canada. In this capacity, Michael is responsible for the overarching diversity strategy for KPMG’s operations in Canada, including the development and implementation of all diversity related programs and initiatives. Since taking on the role, KPMG has received several prestigious diversity related awards – including being named one of Canada’s Top Employers for Diversity and one of Canada’s Best Employers for New Canadians. KPMG is the only organization that has won both awards in all five years they have been awarded.

 

Michael is the former Deputy Leader for Diversity with KPMG International – acting as a subject matter advisor to KPMG’s 140+ member firms globally.

Recently Michael was honoured as the 2011 Diversity Champion with the Catalyst Canada Honours Human Resources/Diversity Leader award. He also received the 2011 Inspire Award as LGBTQ Person of the Year and the Out on Bay Street Leaders to be Proud of LGBT Advocate Workplace Award.

Michael has a Post Graduate Certificate in Diversity Management from Cornell University and also holds the Cornell Certified Diversity Professional, Advanced Practitioner designation.

Matt Petersen | What are men doing about it?

Senior Director, Diversity Strategies & Workplace Inclusion, CIBC Human Resources, Diversity & Resourcing

Matt currently serves as the Senior Director of Diversity Strategies and Workplace Inclusion for CIBC.  In this role, he has accountability for developing strategies that support the attraction, retention and development of diverse talent.

Matt’s leadership in designing and implementing innovative diversity and inclusiveness programs has helped CIBC achieve a number of awards and recognition including Canada’s Top 100 Employers, Canada’s Best Diversity Employers, Best Employer for New Canadians, Top 10 Most Admired Cultures, and Best Workplaces in Canada.

 Matt began his career in HR with Kelly Services Canada where he provided strategic staffing solutions and consultation to Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, Walt Disney, Xerox, and S.C. Johnson. He later moved to Veritude, a division of Fidelity Investments where he worked as a Staffing Specialist focused on recruitment and employee relations supporting Fidelity’s Canadian and US operations in Toronto.

 Additionally, Matt has worked as a part-time instructor with Centennial College’s continuing education program teaching several Human Resources Management courses that are compulsory for the Certified Human Resources Professional Designation.

Outside of his diversity and inclusion responsibilities at CIBC, Matt is the co-chair of CIBC’s GenNext Leadership Cabinet, and serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for Pride at Work Canada, and a Board Director for the Ontario Job Opportunity Information Network (JOIN). He also advises the TO2015 Pan/Para PanAM Games’s Organizing Committee as a member of both their Employment Advisory Council and Community Engagement Council.

Carrie Freeborough | The art of networking

Fincance Lecturer, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

Carrie Freeborough is a Finance Lecturer for the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. She has a MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business and worked in capital markets as an Institutional Equity Sales/Trader for almost 20 years. She spent the majority of her career as an Executive Director at UBS Securities Canada and was the Head of Canadian Equity Execution at Citigroup Canada.

She is a former Executive Board Member of Women in Capital Markets, was one of the founding members of the Diversity Initiative at UBS Securities Canada and is a frequent speaker on diversity in the workplace.

Chris Davies | Freedom within a framework: Benefitting women through empowerment

National Director of Communications, McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited 

Chris Davies joined McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Limited in April 2003 as the Director of External Communication. In this role, Chris oversaw all media relations, marketing public relations and crisis communications. Corporate Social Responsibility, McDonald’s public website, www.mcdonalds.ca, and all PR activities surrounding Ronald McDonald House Charities also fell under her direction. Chris then led the Internal Communication function overseeing management communications, system communications, online communications, meetings & events, and key employee communication initiatives. Currently, she is the National Director of Communication overseeing both disciplines.

Chris has a passion for furthering the role of women in business. She is a founding member of McDonald’s Canada’s Women’s Leadership Network and currently sits on the Steering Committee as Secretary.

Prior to joining McDonald’s Canada, Chris was the Director of Communications for priszm brandz, Canada’s largest franchisee of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Before that, Chris was Vice President at Weber Shandwick Worldwide in Toronto. Here she led the McDonald’s PR account for three years, while also managing Canadian Tire Corporation, Bayer Canada Consumer Products, Star Choice Communications and the Port Wine Institute accounts. Chris started her communications career behind the wheel of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, as a goodwill ambassador for the company.

Chris holds a Bachelor’s degree with honours in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a Masters Degree in Organizational Communications from the same institution. She lives in Toronto with her husband, Huw, and children, Bryn and Evan.

Winnie Ng | Against all odds: Immigrant women workers and re-employment/retraining

CAW Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy, Ryerson University

For over three decades, Ng has championed the rights of workers through her involvement with various labour organizations and networks. She is currently the acting executive assistant to the president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council. Prior to that, Ng was the acting executive director of the Labour Education Centre, and for eight years, she was the Canadian Labour Congress' Ontario regional director. She is the labour co-chair of Good Jobs for All Coalition, an executive member of the Asian Canadian Labour Alliance and a board member of Labour Community Services. Recognized for her leadership in the Canadian labour movement, Ng is the recipient of numerous distinctions including the Urban Alliance on Race Relations' Leadership Award, the United Farm Workers’ Cesar Chavez Black Eagle Award and the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award.

A labour rights activist and scholar, Winnie Ng has also joined Ryerson University as the CAW-Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy. The CAW-Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy is the first union-endowed chair at a Canadian university.

Ng holds a MA and PhD from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Her doctoral studies focused on re-imagining the labour movement from an anti-racism perspective. She graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Sociology.

She is a sought-after speaker and contributor on women's rights, labour equity and anti-racism issues.

Brent Chamberlain | Pride at Work Canada

Executive Director Pride at Work Canada

Brent joined Pride at Work Canada in August 2010 when he returned to his hometown of Toronto after living in London, England. Previously, Brent was a manager with Stonewall, Britain’s leading lesbian, gay and bisexual charity, where he wrote several workplace publications, including Workplace Equality Index and Bisexual People in the Workplace, working alongside the 600+ members of the Diversity Champions programme. Brent has also been named as one of Toronto’s 2012 DiverseCity Fellows.

PRIDE AT WORK CANADA

Pride at Work Canada was founded in May 2008 by a group of dedicated individuals with a vision – to improve the climate of inclusiveness for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-identified (LGBT) employees in the workplace.

Diversity fosters success. The most successful organizations reflect and embody the values of the people they serve. Pride at Work Canada encourages organizations to support authenticity at a corporate level and create workplaces where LGBT employees will be more able to be themselves and, ultimately, to be more productive.

Pride at Work Canada’s Partners employ over 750,000 Canadians — and include leading organizations from a broad spectrum of the Canadian economy. Each company recognizes LGBT individuals as key to a productive, engaged workforce. Their partnership brings them into a network of sharing good practice, and helps them establish best-in-class workplace initiatives.

Sébastien Goupil

Director General, Policy and External Relations

Sébastien Goupil is the Director General of Policy and External Relations at Status of Women Canada. Sébastien has gender-based analysis as well as federal-provincial-territorial relations as part of his main responsibilities.

Sébastien is the first man to sit on the agency’s Executive Committee. Before assuming his current position, Sébastien worked in Portfolio Affairs at the Department of Canadian Heritage, notably as Director, Portfolio Policy and Governance.

Between 2002 and 2006, Sébastien held several positions within the federal administration. He served as senior advisor in the Citizen Participation Branch of Canadian Heritage and also worked for Citizenship and Immigration Canada in the area of new arrivals integration at headquarters in Ottawa and in the Ontario Region in Toronto. Sébastien holds both a master’s and a bachelor’s degree in history from the Université du Québec à Montréal.

 

Sébastien Goupil est directeur général des politiques et relations extérieures à Condition féminine Canada. Sébastien est entre autres responsable de l’analyse comparative entre les sexes et des relations fédérale-provinciales-territoriales.

Il est le premier homme à être membre du Comité exécutif de l'agence. Avant de prendre ce poste, Sébastien a travaillé au Bureau des Affaires du portefeuille du ministère du Patrimoine canadien, notamment à titre de Directeur des politiques et de la gouvernance.

Entre 2002 et 2006, Sébastien a occupé divers postes au sein de l'administration fédérale. Il a entre autres agi à titre de conseiller principal à la direction générale de la participation des citoyens de Patrimoine canadien. Il a aussi travaillé pour le compte de Citoyenneté et Immigration Canada, dans le domaine de l'intégration des nouveaux arrivants, à l'administration centrale, à Ottawa, et dans la région de l'Ontario, à Toronto. Sébastien détient une maîtrise et un baccalauréat en histoire de l'Université du Québec à Montréal.

Debbie Douglas | Where do we go from here?

Debbie Douglas, Executive Director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI)

Debbie Douglas has been the Executive Director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, (OCASI) for the past 10 years. Prior to arriving at OCASI, Ms. Douglas spent over 15 years working in the non-governmental (NGO) sector in direct service organizations as a manager, director and consultant. As a consultant Debbie designed and delivered anti-oppression workshops for a wide range of community-based organizations, post-secondary institutions, hospitals, community health and legal centres, police services and arts organizations.

Ms. Douglas has a prominent face in the Toronto area and across the province, as a member of numerous boards and working groups including—the Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigrant Settlement (CERIS), The Voluntary/Non-profit Human Resources Sector Council, and the City of Toronto’s City-Wide Local Immigration Partnership Steering Committee. Debbie also co-chairs the National Working Group on Immigration and Settlement at the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR).

Ms. Douglas is an active feminist and was instrumental in the development of Ontario’s first shelter geared to abused immigrant women in the late 1980’s. She was an active participant and advocate during the early nineties in the public discussions and debates on Employment Equity, and the establishment of anti-discriminatory systems in public institutions particularly the public school system. As well she lends her voice and efforts to the gay and lesbian community through her work at OCASI, highlighting issues of sexual orientation within the immigration system and promoting the creation of safe, welcoming spaces within settlement and integration programs and services.

Tinashe Mafukidze

Leader-in-Residence | Immigrant Women in Leadership

Tinashe is the first Leader-in-Residence for Immigrant Women in Leadership. Her involvement with Skills for Change is focused on the gender-based analysis. We rely on Tinashe to make deep connections with other people and organizations to scale recommendations of the project while also supporting  the project by working closely with the Gender Lens Specialist and External Evaluator. Tinashe will be tasked with identifying an emerging issue from the GBA project findings and develop it into her own initiative that will harness the potential of immigrant women in leadership.

Tinashe is an experienced project manager and a social entrepreneur at heart with expertise in communications strategy and partnerships development. She is interested in issues of innovation, diversity & new media technology.

She was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in Burundi, Kenya before coming to Canada as a refugee in 2001. Tinashe brings a global perspective to all her work.

Tinashe enjoys connecting people to ideas and opportunities to people and is deeply committed to increasing social innovation, access and diversity as well as engagement for the people especially young people and immigrants.

Over the years, Tinashe has served on local and international boards and committees dedicating both her personal and professional efforts into working and supporting impact and development projects. An actively engaged emerging leader in the community and has served on various boards and committees tackling issues on social change such as HIV/AIDS, the environment, immigrant and settlement, diversity, conflict and genocide, access and inclusion, poverty, youth and community engagement. 

Since 2009, she has been continuing to develop her social enterprise called immigrantyouth.org – an initiative that promotes the advancement and engagement of young immigrants between the ages of 16 and 30 in Canada and around the world. In 2011, she began her second social enterprise called afriBloggers – an online platform that promotes, showcases and connects the world to Blogs Made By Africa.

For her various contributions and commitment to city building, she was named a 2010 DiverseCity Fellow, a joint program of Civic Action and Maytree Foundation. Amongst some of her achievements, in 2011 she was nominated as one of the Top 75 Canadian Immigrants by Royal Bank Canada and Canadian Immigrant Magazine.