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Hugh O’Reilly is President and CEO of OPTrust with responsibility for all of the organization’s operations, overseeing management of the pension fund’s $18.4 billion in assets and pension plan administration.
Hugh is one of Canada’s foremost pension experts with extensive expertise in the operation and governance of jointly-sponsored pension plans. Before joining OPTrust, Hugh led the Pension Benefits and Insolvency Practice at Cavalluzzo Shilton McIntyre Cornish LLP.
During his career, Hugh also served as senior policy advisor and Chief of Staff to a cabinet minister in the Ontario government, held the role of Senior Counsel at Canada Trust and practiced law as an associate lawyer at Oslers and a partner at Torys in Toronto.
He is a member of the TMX Advancing Innovation Roundtable and the editorial advisory board of Benefits and Pensions Monitor.
In 2016, he was the recipient of the Industry Leadership Award from the Benefits Canada Workplace Benefits Awards and was also named to the Wealth Professional Magazine 2016 Hot List.
The Honourable Amarjeet Sohi is the Member of Parliament for Edmonton Mill Woods and the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities.
Prior to being elected Member of Parliament Amarjeet Sohi was a three-term Edmonton City Councillor. He was first elected in 2007 and then re-elected in 2010 and 2013.
Dedicated to improving Edmonton’s infrastructure and livability, Amarjeet represented the city on the Canadian Urban Transit Association, and is a strong advocate for Light Rail Transit. Amarjeet also advocated municipal interests to other orders of government through his delegation to the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association. He therefore understands the importance of building strong relationships between governments in order to build strong, vibrant and resilient communities. He has been a prominent leader on city and provincial issues, volunteering with Public Interest Alberta, the Centre for International Alternatives, and the Canadian Labour Congress.
Amarjeet works tirelessly to promote learning and cooperation among cultural communities. While on council he led City Council’s Immigration, Multiculturalism and Racism Free Edmonton initiatives. Amarjeet has received the Edmonton Interfaith Advocate award and John Humphrey Centre’s Human Rights Advocate award for promoting welcoming and socially inclusive communities, the Man of Honour Leadership Award from the Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation and the Recognizing Immigrant Success in Edmonton Life Time Achievement Award.
As a former member of the Edmonton Police Commission, Amarjeet believes in building safe and strong communities. Amarjeet also took a leadership role to create the Police Chief’s Indo-Canadian Liaison Committee, the Punjabi Cultural Association, and the Punjabi Arts Association.
Minister Sohi grew up in the Indian state of Punjab and immigrated to Edmonton in 1981.
Cameron Hepburn is Professor of Environmental Economics at the Smith School and a Fellow at New College, University of Oxford. He is the Director of the Economics of Sustainability Programme at the Institute for New Economic Thinking and Co-Director of the Net Zero Carbon Investment Initiative at the Oxford Martin School.
Cameron has advised governments (e.g. China, India, UK and Australia) and international institutions (e.g. OECD, UN organisations) on energy, resources and environmental policy. He is a member of the Economics Advisory Group (with Lord Stern and Professor Helm) to the UK Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change. He served for almost a decade as a member of the Academic Panel, in the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Cameron began his business career with work at oil multinational Shell, law firm Mallesons and then management consultancy McKinsey & Co. Cameron is now a founder-investor in the social enterprise and clean energy sectors. He has co-founded three successful businesses in environmental and energy finance and economics.
Anatole Kaletsky is founder and co-chairman of Gavekal, and a principal contributor to the research service. He is also a columnist for Reuters and the International Herald Tribune and chairman of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, a US$150mn foundation created to reform academic economics after the 2008 crisis.
His recent book Capitalism 4.0, on the post-crisis transformation of the global economy, was nominated for the 2011 Samuel Johnson Prize. Before founding Gavekal he worked for 30 years as an economic journalist and commentator on the Financial Times, The Economist and the London Times.
When some of the world’s leading brands need to discuss innovation strategies or figure out how to get ready for disruption, Terry Stuart often gets the call. As Deloitte Canada’s Chief Innovation Officer, Terry’s job is to be a “constructive disruptor”, helping both the firm and clients thrive in a world where exponential change is in the driver’s seat and is not obeying the speed limit. A creative thinker with an idea every nanosecond, a meeting with Terry leaves people itching to jump out of the present and bounce into the future.
Terry leads Deloitte’s ecosystem strategy in Canada. He drives our D{ } initiative at Communitech and Deloitte’s participation at OneEleven, MaRS and the Ryerson DMZ. He helps connect new startups with large corporations.
As well, Terry is on Deloitte’s Global Innovation Executive and helps connect Canadian companies to the latest trends in global accelerators (Israel, Australia, Germany and the UK).Animated and passionate, Terry speaks to audiences across the country (C2Mtl, TedX, C-Suite Exponential Technology series, etc.) and abroad. Terry is a master connector and finds value in meeting with everyone in the innovation ecosystem—he finds inspiration everywhere.
The word innovation can sometimes be used in a cavalier way, but in Terry’s mind it matters. Canada’s productivity is on the line and innovation is what will propel the country forward to help future generations be successful.
Warren (Smokey) Thomas was elected president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) on April 20, 2007, after serving three terms (six years) as 1st Vice-President/Treasurer.
A registered practical nurse, Thomas has been an OPSEU activist for over 30 years, first beginning his leadership career as president of Local 431 at the Ontario Psychiatric Hospital in Kingston, Ontario. His early activism with OPSEU was triggered by his interest in developing an Employee Assistance Program at the hospital. Here he represented more than 1,000 members before being elected to OPSEU’s Executive Board in 1993. It was on a simple pledge that Thomas became OPSEU president in 2007: to put the interests of the union’s members first.
To this day Thomas remains active in his hometown of Kingston, where he sits on the board of directors of several community and sporting organizations. He is also a periodic lecturer at the School of Industrial Relations at Queen’s University where he shares his knowledge and expertise in collective bargaining. Thomas chooses to donate all fees he receives from the university to the Partners in Mission Food Bank.
Kathleen Wynne is Ontario’s 25th Premier.
Since taking office in February 2013, some of Premier Wynne’s accomplishments include the largest infrastructure investment in Ontario’s history and completing the single-largest climate change initiative in North America by eliminating coal-fired electricity generation in the province.
Premier Wynne’s economic plan for Ontario builds on her number-one priority: growing the economy and creating jobs. Her four-part plan invests in talent and skills, including helping more people get and create the jobs of the future by expanding access to high-quality college and university education. In addition to infrastructure investments in roads, bridges, transit, schools and hospitals, her plan is investing in a low-carbon economy driven by innovative, high-growth, export-oriented businesses. The plan is also helping Ontarians achieve a more secure retirement. Guided by its balanced plan to build Ontario up for everyone, Premier Wynne’s government will continue to work to deliver real benefits and more inclusive growth to help people in their everyday lives.