Doris understands the evolution of small to mid-market businesses and the people challenges inherent in any growing venture. For over twenty years, through the founding and growth of Centrepoint, she has consulted and advised leaders of owner-managed businesses, non-profit and government organizations, as well as budding entrepreneurs in the chaos of business start-up.
She is passionate about helping leaders develop and deliver on a vision for themselves and their organizations so they can achieve their personal, professional, and business goals with clarity and confidence. By defining the work people do, assessing talent needs, reimagining recruitment strategies, or advancing leadership growth, she supports their commitment to see people thrive and business accelerate.
She works with clients to plan and scout the road ahead, engaging them in essential conversations to resolve their people issues without second guessing the decisions they make. Whether working with founders, CEO’s, emerging or tenured leaders, she provides fresh perspectives and strategies to help them navigate their journey with wisdom and integrity.
Doris is an accomplished speaker, facilitator, and frequent presenter to various CEO and executive forum groups, professional associations and management teams.
As a writer and educator, she has authored many articles, blog posts, white papers, and management tool kits to advance workplace innovation and contemporary people practices. She is the author of the book Basic to Brilliant: The definitive guide to transforming your people practices, A playbook for the small to mid-size enterprise. (Available at all major online retailers.)
She holds Bachelor of Arts and Education degrees, has completed graduate work in organizational development, and holds the Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) designation, along with certifications in a number of psychometric assessment instruments.
Yellow Point partners with leading business owners to help guide their companies to the next level of success. Since 2004, Yellow Point has delivered top quartile returns to investors and helped many of their partners multiply the value of their equity stakes.
As one of the co-founders of Yellow Point, Brian Begert is primarily involved in sourcing and assessing prospective partnerships, as well as facilitating growth and new initiatives in investee companies.
Previous to Yellow Point, Brian co-founded Goepel Shields & Partners in 1989 (an investment firm which was acquired by Raymond James in 2000) and served the following 14 years as managing director of investment banking for Raymond James and its predecessor companies.
In his capacity at Raymond James, Brian facilitated capital raises, public offerings, and private placements for numerous services, industrial and technology companies.
Dave Chapman is a Yellow Point co-founder and Managing Partner and spends much of his time identifying new investment opportunities and encouraging growth in existing portfolio companies.
He was previously CEO of Greenlight Power Technologies, a privately held energy technology company that he successfully repositioned from a small niche player to the global leader in its field.
In 2003, Dave engineered the sale of Greenlight to a strategic buyer. Prior to Greenlight, Dave was a Senior Vice President in the investment banking group of Merrill Lynch.
He is a Partner of BC Social Venture Partners, a group of business executives tackling BC’s largest social challenges through a venture philanthropy model.
Dirk is passionate about helping organizations evolve into happier, healthier and more meaningful places to work. He is an advocate, through research and experience, in reinventing the way we work where every member can grow, develop and share their gifts and talents with the world.
Dirk continuously innovates with self-management, wholeness and evolutionary purpose practices and frameworks in order for organizations and teams to harmoniously work better together. A globally recognized leader, Dirk has worked and lived in Mexico, Germany, USA, Sweden and now Canada.
ET Group provides unique and innovative new business structures, practices and processes to clients such as Cisco, CB Richard Ellis, Bell, London Life, the Province of Ontario plus many others.
Dr. Joti Samra, is an award-winning clinical psychologist and innovator in the area of psychological health and wellness. Dr. Samra is the Founder & Principal of “My Workplace Health”, as well as Founder and Principal of “Dr. Joti Samra & Associates”.
In her role as principal developer for both My Workplace Health and her clinic, Dr. Samra has created a number of evidence-based resources for leaders and organizations in the areas of depression, suiciduality, chronic health conditions and workplace psychological health and safety.
A talented and dynamic expert in presenting innovative psychological research in an entertaining and accessible way has Dr. Samra appearing on various critically acclaimed docu-reality series such as “Confessions: Animal Hoarding”, A&E’s “Intervention”, on OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network Canada), and is the Clinical Expert Spokesperson for Bell’s “Lets Talk” Day.
She is past recipient of the Canadian Psychological Association’s New Researcher Award and the BC Psychological Associations’ Advancement of the Profession of Psychology Award. In addition, Dr. Samra is past President of the British Columbia Psychological Association and past Chair of the BC Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards Committee.
Dr. Elisabeth Sherman
Director of Brain Health and Psychology
Dr. Sherman is the director of brain health and psychological health and a clinical neuropsychologist with expertise in brain health and neuropsychological assessment. Dr. Sherman also heads a private practice in neuropsychology where she conducts medico-legal assessments. Dr. Sherman has served as neuropsychologist, researcher, and consultant for hospital Neurology and Neurosurgery departments, and is the author of three books, including a well-known reference text for neuropsychological assessment and the first reference book on pediatric forensic neuropsychology. She has authored over 20 book chapters and 65 scientific articles and has delivered over 85 presentations at national and international scientific conferences in addition to serving as speaker for corporate and community events. Dr. Sherman has served as editorial board member for scientific journals such as the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, Child Neuropsychology, and Epilepsia and has served as invited journal reviewer for numerous scientific journals in the area of neuropsychology. She founded two pediatric neuropsychology fellowship training programs, serving as Fellowship Director at both BC Children’s Hospital and Alberta Children’s Hospital and helping to train the next generation of neuropsychologists. Dr. Sherman is also the author of three commercial tests of memory and of performance validity.
Dr. Sherman holds a doctorate in Clinical Psychology with Neuropsychology Specialization from the University of Victoria, completed her internship at London Health Sciences Center in Ontario, and completed postdoctoral training at UCLA. She has held prior positions as Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Calgary in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences and in the Department of Paediatrics, and as Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia.
Dr. Sherman’s goal is to make the science of brain health accessible and understandable, and to help people improve their brain health and wellbeing at work and at home. She has helped individuals and groups learn how to optimize their brain health, maximize their performance at work, and better understand healthy aging. She is an accomplished clinician who assesses and treats patients with brain conditions and psychological conditions, including traumatic brain injury/concussion, ADHD, PTSD, memory loss, and dementia.
As General Manager of Edelman Vancouver, Bridgitte leads a team of highly experienced experts in helping clients earn trust through communications strategies.
Before coming to Edelman, Bridgitte was Press Secretary to a former BC Premier and a local and national news anchor.
In recent years at Edelman, Bridgitte led the Corporate Communications Practice in the Vancouver office and provided counsel to brands such as Vancouver Airport Authority, Pacific Blue Cross, and the Industry Training Authority.
An avid community leader, Bridgitte is a big believer in giving back. Outside of the office, she is a Director on the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and Co-Chair of the Jack Webster Foundation.
As the CEO of Luvo, Christine brings over 20 years of leadership experience as the former CEO of Lululemon and various executive positions at Starbucks.
Christine’s passion, experience and dedication to wellbeing inspires the team at Luvo to continue innovating for growth to achieve the next level in making a positive difference in the lives of others thru the love of food.
In 2016 Christine was honored during the 2016 Excellence Performance Summit and is a recipient of a Canada Award for Excellence in recognition of her outstanding accomplishgments as a successful executive and entrepreneur.
In his teenage years, Bill Bishop was dead set against a career in marketing. His parents operated a small marketing company and to save money, they often used Bill as free labor in advertising and PR programs. At the age of six, he was cast as "The OFF Boy" in a series of commercials for the famous insect repellant. At age 14, they dressed him up in a frog outfit to promote a local retail mall, followed by a humiliating stint in a pink bunny suit.
These indignities, along with many others, made Bill swear he would never pursue marketing as a career. Yet, in his early 20s, Bill was thrust back into the marketing world when he won a waiter contest by selling 1,400 lobsters. This seminal event was so inspiring and lucrative that Bill concluded he actually loved marketing and decided to start his own marketing company. Since that time, Bill and his team of coaches have helped more than 10,000 entrepreneurs in dozens of industries around the world develop and market innovative BIG Ideas.
Today, Bill is the CEO of The BIG Idea Company and the creator of The BIG Idea Adventure™, an advanced coaching program that helps entrepreneurs grow their business by creating, packaging, and promoting BIG Ideas. He is also the founder of The New Economy Network, and the inventor of the popular board game Quibberish®: The Paraphrase Puzzle Game.
In addition, Bill is the author of nine books including How To Sell A Lobster (now sold in 25 countries in 12 languages), The Problem With Penguins, Beyond Basketballs, Return of The Lobster, and Global Marketing For The Digital Age. He was also the author of Strategic Marketing For The Digital Age (1996), the first book published about e-commerce and Internet marketing. He recently published his new book The New Factory Thinker: Re-Wire Your Mind For Success In A Disrupted Marketplace. He also published Going To The Net, a book about using psychology and mindfulness to excel at tennis and life.
Bill has delivered speeches to hundreds of organizations including The MIT Entrepreneur Program, TEC, Entrepreneur's Organization (EO), Advocis, The Knowledge Bureau, MDRT, NAIFA, NAPFA, Independent Financial Brokers, Workcomp Advisors, Pro-Seminars, BNI, The Ivey School of Business, The Schulich School of Business, and Queen's University Executive MBA Program.
Dr. Atul Malhotra, is a board-certified pulmonologist, intensivist and chief of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine.
Dr. Malhotra is active clinically in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine care and research related to sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy and sleep disorders associated with medical or psychiatric conditions.
Dr. Malhotra is the president of the American Thoracic Society. He has taught and presented his research on sleep-related disorders locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
He has published more than 200 original manuscripts in leading journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Sleep and the Journal of American Medical Association.
Before joining UC San Diego Health, Dr. Malhotra practiced pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He also served as attending physician in intensive care at King Faisal Hospital in Rwanda. He was associate professor at Harvard Medical School and medical director of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Sleep Disorders Research Program.
As President of FocalPoint Canada, Marc oversees the operations of the Business Coaching and Training Team Canada wide. For 15 years Marc has served in the business coaching & training community including the past 12 years with FocalPoint International and FocalPoint Canada. Marc enjoys helping the FocalPoint Team to positively impact Canada`s businesses, professionals, executives and teams to reach their goals by learning and doing to become leaders in their industries.
At FocalPoint, we believe any company can dramatically improve the quality of their business results faster than they ever imagined possible - that it's simply a matter of choice and commitment.
The core of our belief and system is the best way to achieve sustained high performance is through cultural and attitudinal change coupled with skill & knowledge training.
We get results for companies (executives, teams, individuals) by delivering high-level training & coaching in the areas of Leadership Development - the Coach Approach, Effective Behavioral Communication, Hi-Performance Attitude and Employee Engagement development.
Focal Point
I’m here today with Kevin Brady, Chairman and Founder of Advica Health, Advica Health is one of Canada’s leaders in preventative and supportive healthcare for busy CEOs, Executives and their organizations. Advica Health is also a very valuable Innovator Partner with MacKay CEO Forums.
Kevin’s vast experience includes holding senior management positions within one of Canada’s largest insurance companies as well as starting his own employee benefits company, while leading these organizations, he saw a need to help companies and employees with health solutions and therefore founded Advica Health.
Kevin shares his expertise in the area of health and wellness through volunteering and giving back to his community. He has served on many boards including Board Chair for both the YMCA and his local hospital, where he is currently leading a Capital Campaign to raise $60 million for the hospital. He is also a sought after speaker on the topic of how companies can improve their profits through employee health and wellness.
Kevin has been recognized as Citizen of the Year in 2007 and Philanthropist of the Year in 2010 for his philanthropic work in his city. He has also received the esteemed Queen’s Jubilee Medal that is awarded by the Queen of England in recognition for being an outstanding community member.
Dr. Izzo has spoken to over one million people, advised over 500 companies, authored six bestselling books and helped some of the world’s most admired companies in the world including MacDonald’s, Coca Cola, Telus, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, IBM amongst many others.
Dr. Izzo has been a pioneer on creating successful businesses and emerging work trends for over twenty-five years. He was a pioneer on employee engagement and social responsibility in 1994 with his book “Awakening Corporate Soul”, then in 2000, the shifting generational values when he wrote “Values Shift-The New Work Ethic”, and most recently, showed how individuals shape the future with the book “Stepping Up” in 2014.
Currently, he is blazing a new trail showing businesses why a rising class of people worldwide will shape the economy of the future with his book “The Purpose Revolution”. This rising class is not one of nationality, income, race or gender but one that aspires to have a good life while doing good.
Known for his compelling combination of leading-edge research, riveting storytelling, practical ideas to make a difference starting now and a keen sense of where the future is, organizations who have the privilege of working alongside Dr. Izzo are inspired to act with purpose and inspiration.
Rocky is a successful entrepreneur, business leader and one of Canada’s most passionate evangelists on the Future of Work and Culture Transformationalism. Rocky is also a highly rated speaker for MacKay CEO Forums.
Rocky preaches that technology, a sharing economy and the connected generation have dramatically changed the way companies attract, engage and retain their people. Companies that fail to embrace this reality will find themselves disrupted or made redundant by an increasingly innovative and agile economy.
Rocky couples 10-years of executive HR and operations leadership in large enterprise organizations, with 5-years of startup tech experience. He is the co-founder of the NoW of Work Inc. and the NoW-Academy.
Liz Rose is the youngest Canadian to conquer the Seven Summits. she accomplished this fear in under three years and is one of the few women in history to have done so. After receiving a communications degree from the University of Denver, Liz studied broadcast journalism at the New York Film Academy. Liz was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, with older twin brothers. Liz attributes her adventurous spirit to the ocean and mountains at her doorstep. To learn more about her adventures, visit LizRoseSummits.com
Kerry's very diverse business background gives her the personal experience from which she speaks. She grew up with a father who was an insurance broker and then both parents went on to open their own very successful Jewellery store. She saw first hand what it took to be successful!
After gradutating from University, Kerry spent 12 years as a top producing real estate agent, she owned her own real estate office managing a staff as well as 30 realtors, and has been a top producer in the direct sales industry. When it comes to business experience Kerry has personally seen and experienced it all!
Her expertise and passion has been in inspiring individuals by delivering practical, business coaching and training which combines both personal effectiveness and business effectiveness strategies. It was this passion that led Kerry and Richard to start their company, Success Biz Coach and the programs they offer to small business owners and their teams.
In her 18 years as a Business Coach Kerry realized success in business was more than passion and enthusiasm, being "good at something" and the breaking down of our own barriers to success, it also required learned skills and competencies.
It was the application of this education her own Coaching Business that resulted in revenues in the six figures in a short period of time.
Kerry is also active in her community as an active member of the local Chamber of Commerce, past president of the Capital City Executives Association, a chapter of Business Network International (BNI), the founding Executive Managing Director for eWomenNetworkan organization for women in business, and the Canadian College of Performing Arts.
Curt Steinhorst
Curt, a millennial himself, has received standing ovations for his powerful delivery that combines The Center’s latest research and how-to with his unique experience working with clients around the world. His entertaining speaking style has engaged and inspired audiences across North America and Europe.
Curt’s personal experiences leading Millennials and serving as a speaking coach for top performers, from executives and TV personalities to helping the Heisman Trophy Winner prepare for his speech, make him a powerful and entertaining speaker on how to solve generational challenges with employees and customers.
The Center for Generational Kinetics is the #1 Millennials, Gen Z and generations research, speaking, and consulting firm. The Center’s team have repositioned global brands to win every generation, advised companies on multi-billion-dollar acquisitions, and taken clients from last to first in employee retention.
Read The Center’s latest discoveries at GenHQ.com
Dr. Lois Nahirney is passionate about creating a healthier world by helping people take power over their health. She has identical twins adopted from Vietnam (one transgender) which led to a fascination in DNA. She solved years of personal health problems by learning about a simple weakness in her genetic make up, and acquired the company. She has a doctorate and a master in business and has held a number of international senior executive roles. She has been honoured with several women in business awards and volunteers extensively in the community and overseas. Her vision is to help people make better health decisions and live healthier lives based on their unique DNA.
John is a facilitator and coach who works with business leaders to develop high performance teams, create differentiated and compelling strategies, and then enrolls their organization to realize the vision. He is committed to helping executives become self-aware and understand the impact of their actions.
A disciple of motivation theory, John enables connections that engage people to achieve higher performance. He believes that when leaders encourage the right conditions, ordinary people can achieve extraordinary results. One of his strengths is seeing the possibilities and potential in everyone.
HIs early career focused on developing Information Systems, which included the creation of a Cash Forecasting System for BC Hydro. This became the prototype that launched Selkirk Financial Technologies which went on to become a four-time FAST 50 technology firm and was twice recognized as a finalist for “Best Managed Private Company”. John led VP roles for Client Services, Marketing, Product Management and Business Development. He discovered his true calling as VP, Organizational Performance when Selkirk grew from 35 to 85 people in one year.
After Selkirk was acquired by Thomson Reuters, he used the experience of founding a technology company to start the West Coast Practice of Potentials Unlimited, a Leadership Development firm. John has supported a wide range of organizations including BDC, BMO, Enerplus, Conoco Phillips and Matrix Asset Management. He chaired Take a Hike, Youth at Risk Foundation during his 10 year tenure as a director.
John has an MBA from SFU and is a certified practitioner with Insights Discovery, Black Isle’s ‘Speak with Impact’ and a graduate of Destination Coach. He is a proponent for “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” and “The Four Disciplines of Execution”. He is an advocate for “Firms of Endearment”, organizations that live the principles of Conscious Capitalism to generate profit at its best. His mantra is to ‘amplify the impact’ before, during and after an engagement.
When John is not cooking or gardening at his home in Lions Bay, he can be found skiing or mountain biking on the slopes of Whistler with his wife Carol and dog, Mack.
Andrew has a history of improving financial results through optimizing the collaboration of teams and developing more effective senior leaders; focusing on the culture and behaviors required to be successful. He has been a consultant and a leader in turnaround situations and led companies that were recognized as being one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Privately Owned Companies.
Andrew is a professional speaker and performs training engagements for small and large groups, covering the topic of “Performance and Cultural Alignment: Aligning your team to increase the predictability and profitability of your business.” Some of the groups that he has been asked to speak to include CEO Connections, TEC, MacKay CEO Forum, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, Innovators Alliance, ScaleUp Academy and Presidents of Enterprising Organizations.
His current role also involves him meeting with CEO’s and members of the Executive Leadership Team to determine how well aligned their organizations are. Through a series of interviews and surveys conducted over a 1 day period he is able to conduct a Performance and Cultural Assessment (PCA). This tool provides feedback and action plans as to where companies have opportunities to gain a greater degree of alignment.
As Co-founder and CEO, Joanne provides direction and oversight with specific emphasis on ground breaking educational environments, healthcare, research and multi-unit, high-rise, mixed-use developments. Her work is informed by vigorous research and careful client consultation, working from first principles in a way that thoughtfully translates her clients’ needs into physical reality.
Joanne founded the firm on the principles of sustainable design, quickly establishing it as a leader in the field. This passion continues to inform all that she does, including our work with business leaders, entrepreneurs, developers and our colleagues in the engineering and consulting industry. Under Joanne’s leadership, the firm remains focused on design excellence in a way that balances the social, economic and environmental sustainability of each building we create.
Joanne sits as Vice Chair on the Board of Directors for the CaGBC and she is a regular speaker, sought out nationally as a thought leader in this design specialty.
As Regional President, British Columbia, RBC Royal Bank, Martin Thibodeau leads a team of 4,000 employees in BC, dedicated to providing financial advice and services to over 1.5 million personal, small business and commercial clients.
Martin joined RBC 28 years ago, and has held a number of senior management positions that led him to travel across the country, notably as Regional President, Quebec; Regional Vice-President, Eastern New Brunswick and P.E.I.; Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, Quebec Headquarters; Regional Vice-President, Commercial Financial Services, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and North Ontario; and Vice-President, Canadian Banking, Toronto.
An energetic, inspiring and authentic leader, Martin is very committed to his community and has dedicated his time and skills in service of a number of organizations. Martin is a Governor of the BC Business Council and is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cancer Research Society. He heads the Centraide/United Way campaign for financial institutions, and is outgoing Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Foundation.
Martin has received several distinctions and recognition from his peers, including the Alter-Ego Award presented by the Association des femmes en finance du Québec.
For over 25 years, Aqua-Guard Spill Response is the global leader in oil spill controls, protecting the worlds’ most precious resource, water. The Company’s patented oil skimming technology has been used to clean up spills from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico and from Egypt to China, winning innovation, business excellence and entrepreneurialism awards and recognition.
Nigel has devoted his life to environmental and social responsibility and boldly advocates for “risking it all for what really matters” among the entrepreneurial tribes to which he belongs. For 15 years, he has been an active member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization and of MIT’s Gathering of Titans.
Nigel speaks and consults with entrepreneurs and young people worldwide about bringing their talents to solve some of our planet’s most pressing challenges. Whether he’s talking with business leaders, not-for-profit groups or a student audience, Nigel is committed to positive change.
Nigel and his wife, Rieko, have travelled the world with their two sons and their daughter to help develop them as global citizens. The entire Bennett family has created Kokoro Gifting Fund to raise monies in support of various charities that promote a “socially just and sustainable world”.
An active philanthropist, Nigel Bennett is author of Take That Leap: Risking It All for What Really Matters. All profit from his book sales and speaking engagements are donated 100% to organizations that support poverty alleviation, human rights, social services and the environment.
For the past 20 years, Kevin has been a key strategic advisor and coach to high-performing CEOs and business leaders around the world. He is relentless in helping them to build and maintain tremendous success in business, and a full, rich personal life.
CEOs in North America, the Middle East, India and Australia, also count on Kevin to facilitate their strategic planning sessions, to align their leadership teams, and to stay focused.
Kevin has a Coach Emeritus distinction by Gazelles International in recognition of his mastery. Using his deep knowledge of how to take a good company and how to make it great, Kevin combines his own methods with the Rockefeller Habits to help leaders, in a wide variety of sectors – from consumer-packaged goods, manufacturing, luxury retail, media, automotive and professional services – to build high-performance leadership teams, expand into new markets, attract profitable customers, and increase productivity and profits.
Ernie Philip joined the Canadian leadership team of Medline in May 2017. Prior to his current success at Medline, Ernie held various leadership roles at Xerox including Director of Marketing and Director of Large Enterprise.
As Vice President of New Business Development at Xerox, Ernie was responsible for new logo sales acquisition and managed sales teams across Canada.
And most recently as Senior Vice President of Xerox, Ernie managed the services cost base to drive growth and was responsible for GTM, M&A, marketing strategies, P&L and talent for the services business.
Medline is a global manufacturer and distributor of medical products and acquired Medical Mart in March 2016.
Dr. John Izzo has been a pioneer on creating successful businesses and emerging work trends for over twenty-five years. Izzo was a pioneer on employee engagement and social responsibility with his book Awakening Corporate Soul (1994), a trail blazer on shifting generational values when he wrote Values Shift-The New Work Ethic (2000), showed how individuals shape the future with Stepping Up (2014) and now is blazing a new trail showing business why a rising class of people worldwide will shape the economy of the future with his forthcoming book The Purpose Revolution. This rising class is not one of nationality, income, race or gender but one that aspires to have a good life while doing good.
He has spoken to over one million people, advised over 500 companies, authored six bestselling books and helped some of the world’s most admired companies. Known for his compelling combination of leading edge research, riveting storytelling, practical ideas to make a difference starting now and a keen sense of where the future is going your organization will leave inspired and ready to act. His clients have included IBM, Qantas, the Mayo Clinic, Verizon, RBC, TELUS, Westjet, DuPont, Humana, Microsoft and McDonalds.