Kirsten Thompson is a Partner in the Corporate group and National Lead of the Transformative Technologies and Data Strategy Group at Dentons Canada. Kirsten's practice has a particular concentration in data-driven industries and disruptive technologies, and she is a leading Canadian practitioner in areas such as Fintech (including blockchain and "smart contracts"), digital identity, Open Data/Open Banking and PSD2 implementation, amongst others.
In her advisory role, Kirsten assists clients in navigating the legal and privacy requirements of new products and technologies. She counsels clients on issues raised by social media, surveillance, online behavioural advertising and FinTech and open banking.
She has worked extensively in the "Internet of Things" area and has advised two leading automakers with respect to their connected and semi-autonomous vehicles, and several companies in respect of their autonomous aerial vehicles (aka drones) and wearable devices.
Kirsten has been recognized in CHAMBERS CANADA as a leading lawyer in the area of Privacy & Data Protection consecutively from 2016-2020.
John Radford and his business partner have enjoyed a 20-year partnership in Vancouver, BC at Transpectives, providing executive consultancy services to CEOs, specifically within family-owned/operated businesses.
The focus of Transpectives is on helping leaders leverage conflict for change in a globally competitive, rapidly changing environment.
As an executive coach John's CEO clients learn to master the inner track of leadership, turning destructive internal tension and personal sabotage into positive energy for change.
Trudy Pelletier is the President of Trudy Pelletier Consulting, specializing in facilitating difficult conversations within the workplace. Her skills are highly sought after by business leaders interested in optimizing people and performance. She coaches business partners and private businesses on issues such as succession planning and conflict management.
Trudy works with corporate business leaders on communications, leadership development and building an empowering culture. Trudy helps organizations navigate highly charged issues and recurring challenges. Recently, that includes changes to organizational culture following the Me-Too Movement and emerging discussions of gender parity and leadership.
She's a trainer, facilitator with deep sales background, certified executive coach, and designated family enterprise advisor. She has decades of experience in connecting and cultivating understanding of bringing difficult issues from the background into the foreground. Trudy is also licensed in empowering women and men on material now relevant for all genders.
Rick Hansen, a Paralympic athlete and the founder of the Rick Hansen Foundation, an organization that removes barriers for people with disabilities by changing attitudes, creating accessible spaces and inspiring an inclusive society.
Rick grew up in Port Alberni, British Columbia, with ambitions for professional sport. When he was 15, on his way home from a fishing trip, he suffered a spinal cord injury when he was thrown from the back of a pickup truck. The accident left him paralysed from the waist down. With support and motivation from various mentors, Rick returned to sport less than a year later, and attended the University of British Columbia, where he became the first person with a disability to graduate with a degree in physical education.
Between 1979 and 1984, Rick won 19 international wheelchair marathons, four world titles, and nine Pan American Wheelchair gold medals. During this period, Rick was named Canada's Disabled Athlete of the Year three times and he represented Canada at the Summer Paralympic Games in 1984.
In 1985, Rick embarked on the Man in Motion World Tour, a two-year journey through 34 countries around the world to raise awareness for the potential of people with disabilities. Through the tour, Rick promoted accessibility and inclusiveness for all, and raised $26 million.
Rick founded the Rick Hansen Foundation in 1988 to continue the work of the Man in Motion World Tour. The Foundation focuses on spinal cord injury research, and other programs which aim to create an accessible and inclusive world where people with disabilities can live to their full potential.