2026 Conference Speakers

Innovators, leaders, and change makers shaping the future.

WBE Canada Team

Dr. Georgette Zinaty

WBE Canada

Dr. Georgette Zinaty

Dr. Georgette Zinaty is President of Women Business Enterprises (WBE) Canada, leading national efforts to connect certified women-owned businesses to procurement opportunities and drive supplier diversity. A recognized thought leader, Forbes contributor, and global keynote speaker, Dr. Zinaty is renowned for her expertise in business transformation, innovation, and the integration of AI and data-driven strategies. She has founded Women Helping Empower Women (WHEW!) and DGZ Capital, and serves as Senior Advisor to Nobellum and on the Board of Advisors for ELLA at York University. Honoured with numerous awards, Dr. Zinaty is committed to empowering women, fostering inclusive innovation, and advancing leadership. She also teaches at Western University and Rotman, shaping the next generation of business leaders.

Catherine Grosz

WBE Canada

Catherine Grosz

Catherine is the Business Development Lead at WBE Canada, supporting its Corporate and Government members with their Supplier Diversity journey within Canada including developing and growing their Supplier Diversity programs, identifying opportunities, tools, and resources to enable them to become successful and sustainable within their programs, while making room for Canadian Women businesses to scale and grow their businesses toward a more vibrant Canadian market.

As BMO’s Manager, Supplier Diversity until her retirement in December 2020, Catherine was integral in the growth of their Enterprise Supplier Diversity Program since 2007. As a champion for Supplier Diversity growth in Canada, Catherine is widely respected and recognized across the country, gaining numerous accolades and awards for her commitment and relentless drive to support diversity and inclusion and supplier diversity across Canada.

MCs

Tami Adams

TA Speakers Management

Tami Adams

Tami Adams is the founder of TA Speakers Management, a boutique, women-owned keynote speakers agency built on the belief that human connection changes everything. With a background in event planning and a passion for helping people shine on stage, she has dedicated her career to elevating voices that inspire, educate, and spark change across North America.

Through TA Speakers, Tami curates and manages a roster of high-impact keynote speakers while also coaching thought leaders to transform their ideas into talks that truly resonate. Known for her boundless energy and authenticity, she empowers others to share their stories with confidence, clarity, and purpose.

Her work extends beyond managing talent—Tami is a champion of relationship-driven collaboration in the meetings and events industry, where she continually seeks new ways to create meaningful experiences. Guided by the motto “More Than Voices, We Are Human Connectors,” she is on a mission to showcase the power of storytelling to create lasting impact.

Theresa Bailey

Starfish Synergies Inc.

Theresa Bailey

Theresa Bailey is the founder and CEO of Starfish Synergies Inc., a Canadian leadership development company specializing in speaking, facilitation, training, and organizational development across Canada and the United States. She holds the exclusive North American license with Hasbro to deliver PLAY-DOH POWER SOLUTIONS Corporate Training, experiential programs focused on leadership, communication, adaptability, and organizational culture. Theresa has led more than 100 projects across public, private, nonprofit, education, and healthcare sectors, and was recognized as the 2025 winner of Export Plan of the Year through the Trade Accelerator Program supported by the World Trade Centre Toronto.

Speakers and Panelists

Adrianne Fekete

I Am Unbreakable®

Adrianne Fekete

Adrianne Fekete is an award-winning serial entrepreneur, the author of the #1 bestseller Rockstar Rising®, and the Founder & CEO of I Am Unbreakable®, a global ecosystem built to empower one billion women and their allies to build generational greatness.

She is the creator of The Power of The Pitch®, The Power of I Am® Summit, The Rockstar Rising® Awards, The Front-Row Sister® Community, The Backstage Dinner Series® and The I Am Unbreakable® Podcast and Magazine. Rooted in connection, collaboration and community, these platforms bring together leaders, founders and investors who are building bold companies and shaping the future of leadership.

Earlier in her career, Adrianne worked alongside global icons including The Rolling Stones, U2, and WWE before making history as North America’s first female founder of a private investigation agency.

Today, she advises executives, organizations and founders on using storytelling as a leadership strategy. Through unique frameworks, she helps leaders build meaningful relationships, create high-trust cultures and position their companies for lasting impact.

Adrianne is the founder of a not-for-profit junior hockey team in the world’s largest league, the PJHL, focused on youth development, mental health, and community building.

She is a proud mother of four incredible boys, and she lives by the words that define her mission: Yes You Can!

Andrea Robinson

Robinson Global Management Inc.

Andrea Robinson

Main Session: How Corporate Procurement is Evolving & Ways to Ready

Andrea Robinson helps organizations navigate complex procurement with confidence and protect public trust. As Founder, President & CEO of Robinson Global Management Inc. (RGM), she brings more than 20 years of experience in strategic procurement, independent fairness oversight, and governance.

Her experience spans projects valued at more than CAD $75 billion across infrastructure, energy, healthcare, transit, defence, and technology. Working with national governments, provinces, agencies, municipalities, and enterprise clients, she advises on procurement strategy, evaluation, and risk management, helping teams turn project goals into transparent, defensible decisions.

Andrea founded RGM in Toronto in 2018. Under her leadership, the firm is building on its procurement and fairness practice with research, technology consulting, and project and asset investment services. She brings a practical approach to innovation and a collaborative leadership style that helps teams resolve challenges and move projects forward.

A committed advocate for inclusive procurement, Andrea mentors entrepreneurs and diverse suppliers seeking to grow through government opportunities. She serves on the Board of the Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council (CAMSC).

Andrea received the 2025 Women Elevating Women “Cultivate Pillar” Award, the WBE Canada Leader Award in 2020, and the WBE Rising Star Award in 2019. RGM was named WBE Canada Supplier of the Year in 2021 and a finalist for the Ones to Watch Building Diversity Award in 2026.

Andrea holds a B.A. from the University of Windsor and an LL.M. in Energy and Infrastructure Law from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. She is a Qualified Arbitrator, Project Management Professional, and Certified Supply Chain Leader (NISCL-CSCL), and holds the MCIPS designation.

Kari Norman

Desjardins Group

Kari Norman

Main Session: 2027 Economic Outlook

Kari Norman is a Senior Economist with Desjardins Group, based in Toronto. Since joining the organization in 2023, she has contributed to Desjardins’ economic analysis and thought leadership through analysis of the Canadian housing market, broader economic conditions, and public policy, with a focus on housing affordability, demand and supply dynamics, and rental markets.

She is a frequent contributor to economic commentary, supporting internal and external stakeholders with timely insights around major data releases, policy announcements, and market shifts. Before Desjardins, Kari worked with the Canadian Association of Business Economics, Clayton Research Associates, the C.D. Howe Institute, and Royal Bank Economics.

Melissa Grelo

Aging Powerfully with Melissa Grelo

Melissa Grelo

Melissa Grelo is a 20-plus-year broadcast journalist, media entrepreneur, and the creator and host of Aging Powerfully with Melissa Grelo, one of Canada's top podcasts dedicated to women's health, the menopause transition, and aging as an empowering life stage. She spent thirteen seasons as co-host and moderator of CTV's THE SOCIAL, a show she pitched to the network and helped build into Canada's number one daytime talk show, closing out eighteen years with Bell Media. Known for the kind of tenure and long-term leadership rare in broadcasting, Grelo now works exclusively with brands aligned to her mission of serving midlife women, a demographic too often overlooked by media and wellness industries alike. She is a multiple Canadian Screen Award winner and was named one of Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2019.

Monifa Brooks

Garabyte

Monifa Brooks

Main Session: Is Privacy Dead?

Monifa Brooks is driven by a core belief that privacy is not just a compliance requirement. It is a foundation that enables innovation, empowers individuals, and strengthens communities. This “why” has guided her throughout her career and continues to shape her work as a privacy leader, advisor, and advocate.

As the co-founder of Garabyte, Monifa brings extensive experience in data privacy, access to information, and regulatory compliance across both the public and private sectors. She is a Certified Information Privacy Professional/Canada (CIPP/C), Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM), and Six Sigma Green Belt (SSGBC), with a career defined by advancing responsible data practices and embedding privacy into the fabric of organizational culture.

Before launching Garabyte, Monifa spent nearly twenty years in the private sector, where she led enterprise-wide privacy and anti-spam compliance initiatives. She played a pivotal role in implementing Mandatory Breach Notification processes, launching large-scale privacy and CASL training programs, and supporting efforts to combat SIM swap fraud across the telecommunications industry. Her expertise supported high-profile divisions including consumer services, retail, media, and banking.

Today, Monifa provides practical, strategic privacy guidance to organizations across sectors, including telecommunications, utilities, publishing, health agencies, Federal Crown Corporations, and government bodies. Her work spans the development and maturity of privacy programs, operationalizing Privacy by Design, establishing CASL compliance programs, and designing risk management frameworks that include policies, assessments, playbooks, third-party risk models, and breach response protocols.

She advises clients on a wide range of legislation, including PIPEDA, the Privacy Act, the Access to Information Act, Quebec’s Law 25, the GDPR, and several U.S. state privacy laws, such as the CCPA and Maryland’s Privacy Act. Across all engagements, her focus remains consistent: help organizations manage risk effectively while empowering teams to achieve their operational goals with confidence and integrity.

A passionate advocate for privacy education, Monifa regularly speaks at industry events and public forums, sharing insights on ethical AI, data governance, and the future of privacy in an evolving digital landscape.

Nicole Piggott

Synclusiv

Nicole Piggott

What if inclusion wasn't just the right thing to do, but the smartest business move you could make?

Nicole Piggott, founder of Synclusiv and RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards finalist, has spent her career turning that question into results. Her three-part framework — people, systems, and culture — helps organizations stop treating inclusion as a checkbox and start treating it as a growth engine. The research backs her up: diverse leadership doesn't just feel better, it performs better.

Suzanne Knight

mBolden

Suzanne Knight

Main Session: Is Privacy Dead?

Suzanne Knight, MBA, MA, is the Founder and CEO of mBolden, a management consulting firm that helps complex organizations turn strategy and major investments, including AI, into results. mBolden works with executive teams on operating models, governance, change and hands-on execution, and is a proud WBE Canada-certified supplier.

Before founding mBolden, Suzanne was VP, Transformation Services at Walmart Canada, led transformation for Philip Morris International in Canada and was Deputy Transformation Leader at Deloitte. Over 20 years she has advised 80+ organizations in 14 countries, including Fortune 500 companies and governments. The Globe and Mail has interviewed her on how AI is changing consulting. Her TEDx talk, The Myth of Doing It All, has more than 500,000 views.

Breakout Session Presenters

Addie Greco-Sanchez

AGS Rehab Solutions Inc.

Addie Greco-Sanchez

Breakout Session: Building Your Resilience During Challenging Times

Addie Greco-Sanchez is the founder and president of AGS Rehab, a leader in disability management and assessment services since 1999 that has grown into a successful company with a head office in Mississauga and a large network of professionals across Canada. Selected as one of PROFIT/Chatelaine’s Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs, Addie is a passionate and expert advocate for mental health in the workplace and frequent national speaker on the topic of how companies can safeguard employees’ psychological health. She is co-author of the book, The 5-Minute Recharge, 31 Proven Strategies to Refresh, Reset and Become the Boss of Your Day.

Janine L. Liberatore

Zubas Flett Liberatore Law LLP.

Janine L. Liberatore

Breakout Session: Tools That Help or Hurt: Performance Improvement Plans and AI in the Workplace

Janine has practiced labour and employment law for 20 years, including serving as in-house counsel at large national corporations. She has extensive experience appearing before labour arbitrators and advising on strategic human resources initiatives, including succession planning, organizational growth, restructurings, and mass terminations.

As a frequent speaker and trainer, Janine has presented on numerous human resources topics, including appearances on BNN Bloomberg News Channel and at the American Bar Association. She is also a former adjunct professor at Seneca College and an instructor with Professional Engineers Ontario, teaching employment law, contract law, ethics, and alternative dispute resolution.

Judith Richardson

Centre for Women in Business

Judith Richardson

Breakout Session: Are You Interested in Doing Business with Eastern Canada?

Passionate and results-oriented senior executive, Judith has global experience in corporate strategy, executive leadership and team development/facilitation, mergers and acquisitions, evaluation and customer service strategies – exporting to 12 countries. Judith puts to work her 20+ years of executive corporate leadership and customer-staff-patient-citizen engagement experience within a variety of business and public sectors to create aligned action.

In her current role with the Centre for Women in Business, Judith works to further build and strengthen the case for the inclusion of women-owned businesses and other diverse suppliers, in the supply chains of corporates, organizations, and governments. Through mentorship and masterminds, cohorts learn and put systems in place to gain a place in those supply chains. The Centre for Women in Business (CWB) is dedicated to helping women business owners and entrepreneurs across Canada succeed through exposure, connection, and learning. From one-on-one business advice and skills training, to networking and membership programs, we help our clients launch new business ideas, propel established companies to new levels of success, and thrive as owners, CEOs and industry leaders. CWB exists to help women business owners in all phases of their business development.

Over and above the companies and governmental departments in Judith’s experience, her work history also includes executive/project lead on multi-year international projects, and she has been involved in over 30 publications and lectures/speaking engagement. Over the years, Judith always makes the time to dedicate to community involvement by sitting on boards and commissions, coaching team sports, and pet therapy team with golden retriever, Jake, while enjoying time with family.

Sarah White

Zubas Flett Liberatore Law LLP.

Sarah White

Breakout Session: Tools That Help or Hurt: Performance Improvement Plans and AI in the Workplace

Sarah is an employment and labour lawyer who represents employers in a wide range of workplace matters. Drawing on her experience practicing on Bay Street and in corporate settings, she provides practical, strategic advice to clients across diverse industries. Known for her sound judgment, determination, and pragmatic approach, Sarah helps clients navigate
complex workplace issues in an evolving legal landscape.

Raised in French-Canadian communities, Sarah studied in France while completing an international Bachelor of Business degree. During law school, she helped manage the Dispute Resolution Centre, where she conducted mediations, trained students, and facilitated dispute resolution workshops.

SAC: Supplier Advisory Committee

Anne-Marie Deslauriers

DELAN

Anne-Marie Deslauriers

Anne-Marie Deslauriers is the founder and president of the board of DELAN - IT Talent Solutions, a Montreal-based IT recruitment firm established in 1997 and ISO 9001:2015-certified. With more than 29 years of experience, she mentors her team, which manages over 70 consultants delivering talent solutions, from permanent recruitment to executive headhunting, for clients across Canada. She chairs WBE Canada's Supplier Advisory Committee and is a member of the Women Presidents' Organization (WPO).

Alison “Ali” Hernández

Staff Shop Inc.

Alison “Ali” Hernández

Alison “Ali” Hernández, PMP®, is Chief Operating Officer of Staff Shop Inc., an Indigenous- and women-owned people strategy firm operating across Canada and the United States. She leads strategy, operations, corporate development, and growth across the firm’s staffing, executive search, and consulting practices. Ali also serves in governance and advisory roles with KasheDance, WBE Canada, and People2.0, and is actively involved in community and faith leadership.

Charlene Currie

MOR Consulting Group™

Charlene Currie

Charlene Currie (She/Her), MBA, PMP, is Founder and President of MOR Consulting Group™, a WBE Canada-certified advisory firm that works with leaders to close operational gaps and improve performance. She brings more than 20 years of experience leading enterprise transformations, post-close integrations and operational turnarounds at TD, BMO and other highly regulated organizations. Charlene serves on WBE Canada's Supplier Advisory Council, and her insights have been featured in Forbes and Canadian HR Reporter.

Deb Day

Innovate By Day

Deb Day

Deb Day is Founder, CEO and Chief Strategist of Innovate By Day, a bilingual, certified woman-owned strategy and communications company. An award-winning film and television director turned entrepreneur, Deb has spent more than 30 years helping leaders see what others miss, ask questions and make smarter decisions. She works with CEOs and teams when something important is unclear, stuck or changing—cutting through noise, connecting the dots and helping them solve the right problem before committing time, money or reputation.

Denise Atkinson

TIPI HORSE, TIPIHORSE TURNKEY, and Animikii Ventures

Denise Atkinson

Denise Atkinson is an Anishinaabe entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of TIPI HORSE, TIPIHORSE TURNKEY, and Animikii Ventures. A proud member of the Red Rock Indian Band, an Ojibwe First Nation in Northwestern Ontario, she honours her grandmother, an Ojibwe-speaking trapper who built her own business trading furs with the Hudson's Bay Company. Drawing on leadership, business development, government relations, and rights-holder engagement expertise, Denise builds enterprises where profit and purpose thrive together, creating opportunity for Indigenous communities.

Gabby Zuniga

HR Kind

Gabby Zuniga

Gabby Zuniga is an HR leader, consultant, and entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in human resources, leadership, and organizational culture. As founder of HR Kind, she provides practical, hands-on HR support to small and growing Canadian businesses. A former Diversity & Inclusiveness Leader at EY Canada and Adjunct Professor at Queen’s University, Gabby combines deep HR expertise with firsthand experience as a business owner, helping entrepreneurs confidently manage their people so they can focus on growing their businesses.

Margaret Brigley

Narrative Research

Margaret Brigley

Margaret Brigley is CEO and Partner of Narrative Research, a national, full-service market research company offering a full range of bilingual quantitative and qualitative research services. Narrative Research is 100% Canadian-owned and certified as a women-owned business.

Margaret has more than 35 years of consulting experience, working with clients across the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors, in regional, national, and international scope.

Sarah Neville

Open Line Communications

Sarah Neville

Sarah Neville is Co-Owner and Director of Open Line Communications, a WBE Canada Certified company specializing in business communication and diversity, equity and inclusion.

For more than 25 years, she has worked with organizations across Canada and the U.S., helping people from the front line to the executive suite communicate effectively, navigate difficult conversations, and build more inclusive, psychologically safe workplaces. Sarah teaches at the Rotman School of Management and is an IMI Qualified Mediator. Her insights have been featured in Forbes and The Globe and Mail.

2026 Conference Speakers

WBE Canada Team

Dr. Georgette Zinaty

Catherine Grosz

MCs

Tami Adams

Theresa Bailey

Speakers and Panelists

Adrianne Fekete

Andrea Robinson

Kari Norman

Melissa Grelo

Monifa Brooks

Nicole Piggott

Suzanne Knight

Breakout Session Presenters

Addie Greco-Sanchez

Janine L. Liberatore

Judith Richardson

Sarah White

SAC: Supplier Advisory Committee

Anne-Marie Deslauriers

Alison “Ali” Hernández

Charlene Currie

Deb Day

Denise Atkinson

Gabby Zuniga

Margaret Brigley

Sarah Neville

More to Come!