Speakers

Justine Bailey is the Assistant Corporate Controller at London Drugs and a Chartered Professional Accountant. She began her career on the sales floor more than 20 years ago, building a strong operational foundation rooted in customer service that continues to shape her approach to finance today. Progressing through both store operations and the finance team, Justine now oversees key aspects of financial reporting and systems, translating data into meaningful insights that support day-to-day decision making and long-term growth. Most recently, she successfully led the implementation of a new financial ERP system and is passionate about leveraging financial systems, processes and data to help London Drugs achieve its objectives in ways that simplify operations, support teams, and create a seamless experience for customers.

Bryant joined TC in October 2022 and has been instrumental in the successful launch of raddar, first in Quebec and more recently in British Columbia. With a strong focus on business development and growth, he continues to lead strategic campaigns in collaboration with many of the country’s top national accounts. With nearly two decades of experience in direct-to-consumer promotions, Bryant brings a deep understanding of how to craft and execute marketing solutions that deliver measurable results. His expertise spans a diverse client base—from small and mid-sized businesses to national agencies, major retailers, and leading CPG brands. Known for his collaborative approach, Bryant works closely with clients to identify the most effective strategies within budget parameters, ensuring every campaign is results-driven, efficient, and impactful.

Ransom graduated from the Ivey Business School and spent 7 years in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry at SC Johnson, in both Sales and Marketing. Ransom became the youngest member of the Canadian Leadership Team, managed SCJ’s largest client (Walmart), and managed iconic brands like Ziploc, Windex, and OFF. In 2015, after a chance meeting with Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak, Ransom founded Caddle, a mobile-first consumer insights marketplace working with brands like Walmart, P&G, Domino’s, Nestlé, and PepsiCo. Caddle was recently named a Metabridge Top 15 Canadian Scale Up, and featured in MacLeans as one of the Top 50 Fastest Growing Start Ups in Canada. Ransom also recently was awarded Father of the Year for his superb fathering of his two kids and dog. 

With over 15 years of experience in retail, real estate, marketing, financial services, analytics, customer insights and geodemography, Michael brings his passion for combining technical and analytical expertise to deliver data-driven insights in support of strategic objectives. His expertise lies in leveraging omnichannel opportunities to help retail clients find the best location opportunities and to develop the optimum media mix in reaching targeted consumers for future growth. 

Hermanjit Mahil is the Assistant General Manager – Human Resources at London Drugs, where he plays a pivotal role in shaping the company’s talent strategy. With a strong focus on career development and recruitment, Herman supports initiatives that empower employees to grow within the organization and attract top talent aligned with London Drugs’ values and culture. His work bridges strategic HR planning with hands-on support for teams across the retail network, helping to build a resilient and future-ready workforce.

Safia Rahemtulla is a Partner in EY’s Consulting team and specializes in emerging technologies and digital risk. She holds the CPA,CA, Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified Third Party Risk Management Professional (C3PRMP) designations. Safia brings a unique perspective to the world of automation with a focus on scalable and purposeful transformation. Over the course of her career, Safia has worked with clients across the country in various industries. She plays a vital role in advising clients through the complexities of risk, as the landscape continues to evolve specifically due to technology and transformation. Today, Safia spends her time guiding clients through harnessing the power of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) while balancing people, process, risk and technology considerations. There is an important balance to be struck between scaling and transforming an organization and the cost benefit to do so, recognizing that as organizations change they are subject to varying types of risk.

Charlotte Sobolewski is a Partner and EY’s AI Leader for Consumer Products and Retail. She brings a uniquely diverse background across industry, strategy and product consulting, startup leadership, and entrepreneurship—each shaping her bold approach to enabling the future consumer experience.

Charlotte works with Canada’s leading retail, CPG, and life sciences organizations to design consumer journeys that are personalized, sustainable, and powered by emerging technologies. Her focus is on responsible innovation—embedding the right safeguards to protect privacy, promote fairness, and build trust.

Her career spans leadership roles at a major Canadian bank and global technology consulting firms, where she co-developed an AI-enabled recruiter solution, and led team’s out of the Future of Work Centre in Singapore. As a startup executive, she led Element AI’s North American solution team, launching market-ready AI products prior to its acquisition by ServiceNow. She also founded and scaled a learning services company before a successful exit.

Today, Charlotte is driving the evolution of retail—where emerging technologies meet consumer values, and responsible innovation becomes a competitive advantage.

Maja Pesic is a results-driven Shopper Marketing Manager with over 25 years of experience in the retail industry. Beginning her career as a part-time advisor in the beauty department, Maja worked her way up through a variety of roles across retail operations and marketing, gaining hands-on expertise that grounds her strategic approach today.

Her career journey has equipped her with a deep understanding of the shopper mindset and the retail environment, from frontline customer interactions to high-level program management. She has successfully led shopper marketing programs across multiple categories, collaborating with agencies, suppliers, and cross-functional teams to deliver integrated campaigns that drive in-store traffic, strengthen brand visibility, and enhance customer engagement.  Known for her leadership, strategic thinking, and commitment to continuous improvement and learning, she is passionate about building impactful shopper experiences that create long-term value for both London Drugs and its customers.

Shannon Stewart has built her entire career with Harry Rosen, a premier menswear specialty retailer with 18 locations across Canada. She began her journey with the company through a successful summer internship with the Buying Team and quickly demonstrated the talent and drive to rise through the organization. Over the years, Shannon has held key roles including Buyer, Merchandise Manager, and now serves as Chief Merchandising Officer.

In her current role, Shannon oversees financial and assortment planning across all business divisions—Mainline stores, HarryRosen.com, and the Outlet division. Her responsibilities also extend to leading the Visual Merchandising function, ensuring a cohesive and compelling customer experience across all channels.

Shannon is deeply passionate about the art and science of retail, and thrives in the entrepreneurial spirit that has defined Harry Rosen since its inception.

Jim joined GLS in April 2024, bringing together several iconic Canadian transportation brands including Dicom, AltiMax, Rosenau, GoJit and Acropolis under the GLS banner. In September 2024 he was appointed CEO North America and added the GLS US parcel network to his portfolio.  

Spanning almost three decades in the transportation and logistics industry, Jim has held leadership roles at Praxair (now Linde), Walmart, TFI International and now GLS.   

He holds an undergraduate degree from Western and an Executive MBA from the Smith School of Business. He is also a CPA (Chartered Professional Accountant), Six Sigma Blackbelt and holds the CITT designation.  

Jim regularly writes and speaks about leadership and supply chain topics. He has authored two books on leadership in his best-selling “Reflections of a Workaholic” series and more recently published his first book on his ten plus years coaching rep youth sports.  

Born and raised in Las Vegas, Cameron Conn is a seasoned investor and serial entrepreneur with a career spanning hospitality, casino development and operations, and technology—where he successfully exited his last venture as a founder. For the past 13 years, he has called Vancouver home and is an active board member of Arts Umbrella, a leading arts education organization. 

Cameron’s lifelong interest in fashion led him to invest in and advise Champlain, where he played a key role in bringing the brand to market. Following his early involvement, he was invited to join the company’s leadership team to help scale its growth and apply his business acumen to an industry he’s deeply passionate about. His cross-sector experience positions him as a unique and strategic voice at the intersection of culture, commerce, and innovation. 

As President of Worldpay Canada Corporation (“WPCC”), Phil oversees the establishment, development, sale, and onboarding of digital payment solutions enabling Canadian companies to expand their global geographic reach, enhance their revenues and competitive positioning in the market. WPCC’s parent, Worldpay Inc., processes over 53 billion transactions a year – making it one of the largest processors in the world.  

Prior to joining Worldpay, Phil was responsible for the Merchant Services & Mobile Payment portfolio at Everlink Payment Services, an Interac Acquirer.  At both Moneris Solutions and Pivotal Payments (now Nuvei), Phil ran their North American Technology Partner Programs. Finally, Phil started the first decade of his career at The Canadian Bankers Association where he was Director, Payments Systems Strategy.     

In April 2024, Phil was selected to be a member of Payments Canada’s Stakeholder Advisory Council which reports to the Board of Directors. Also, Phil has also written extensively on payments, technology and partner management for such publications as the Financial Post, the Globe & Mail, PROFIT, Payments Business, and the Canadian Banker. Finally, Phil is the Chairman/President of the Brampton Golf Club which held the World Junior Girl’s Golf Championship in 2023.   

Steve Mossop is the executive vice-president of Leger’s Vancouver office and leads a team of 20+ researchers in B.C. serving public and private sector clients with full-service market research solutions. 

Most recently, Steve was the president of Insights West, which Leger acquired in late 2021. Insights West offered insights-driven solutions via leading-edge tools and normative databases and had 15+ employees and $3M+ in billings annually in the 10 years it operated. Prior to this, Steve was at Ipsos for 17 years and managed 30+ client service staff in multiple cities after starting his career at the Angus Reid Group and TNS. 

Steve has released over 700+ public opinion polls on politics; topics from bridge tolls to bike lanes; support or opposition to environmental, social and policy issues; employee satisfaction; social media habits and COVID-19 impacts. He has correctly predicted the outcomes of over 25 elections over his career. 

His accomplishments include launching Insights West to be the fastest-growing B.C. market research company, winning Business in Vancouver’s Top 40 Under 40 award in 2006, and winning BCAMA’s 2001 Marketer of the Year Award. Steve was chair of the BCAMA’s Senior Executive Program for 4 years and was a member of Vancouver EO for 5 years. 

Steve is a frequent public speaker and media personality in British Columbia, making regular appearances on a wide variety of media outlets as the spokesperson for Leger and in the past for Insights West and Ipsos. Steve holds a BBA degree from Simon Fraser University with a concentration in marketing.

Mat doesn’t hold back any enthusiasm when he says that he’s madly in love with Best Buy and believes it is a humbling privilege to lead the team that takes care of the launchpad and marketplace for consumer tech in Canada.   

Prior to President, Mat held several roles in the company, most recently as Senior Vice President of Best Buy Retail, Geek Squad Services and Best Buy Business, where he and his team were responsible for hundreds of stores, thousands of Blue Shirts and Agents and millions of customers. 

In his time at Best Buy, his teams ushered in monumental efficiencies in retail operations, world-class culture and engagement scores, a slew of innovative store formats, the launch of some cool initiatives like Membership, subscriptions, trade-in, and really thoughtful ways to use stores for more than ever. 

Before Best Buy, Mat held senior and management positions at other great companies like HP, TELUS and LG, where he then considered himself a member of the broader Best Buy community and remains devoted to the meaningful win-win partnerships with our extended family – our vendor partners.  

Both at home and at work, he has a passion to know people, tackle problems, fix, improve and learn. “It’s really simple. It’s up to all of us to create a place we love, to spend others time well, and to have fun while we’re at it – it’s amazing to work for a company whose values are one’s not to just work by, but to live by”. 

Sandy is the Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer for Encorp Pacific (Canada), better known as Return-It. Last year, Return-It celebrated its 30th anniversary—an important milestone in British Columbia’s beverage container stewardship—and Sandy has been with the organization since day one. 

In her role as CMO, she has been instrumental in driving the agency’s growth, leading marketing and communications initiatives that have elevated program awareness to an impressive 95%. Prior to joining Encorp Pacific in 1995, Sandy enjoyed a distinguished career in retail management, where she specialized in sales strategy, marketing and merchandising—expertise she still draws upon to understand and engage consumers. 

A proud BCIT graduate with diplomas in Marketing and Business Administration, Sandy further enhanced her governance skills through the Institute of Corporate Directors at UBC’s program for Not-for-Profit Organizations. Her commitment to the sector extends beyond Return-It: she’s a past board member of the Recycling Council of BC and the Burnaby Board of Trade, served as President of the Ridge Meadows Recycling Society, and lent her expertise to the board of BC Technology for Learning. 

Shenela Tavarayan is a dynamic product leader with extensive expertise in developing client-centric solutions that drive growth for retail businesses. As Director of Product Development at Interac Corp., Shenela has spearheaded transformative initiatives, including the pilot launch of Canada’s first proprietary digital wallet, advancing seamless payment solutions, and enhancing merchant acceptance and usage. She also oversaw critical partnerships with major digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay, revolutionizing digital payments in Canada. 

Shenela is a recognized advocate for diversity and inclusion, serving as co-lead and co-founder of Interac’s Women’s Employee Resource Group. Her efforts foster a workplace culture of respect and empowerment while contributing to the company’s broader DEI strategy. 

An accomplished speaker and panelist, Shenela has shared her insights at high-profile events, including the Collision Conference, Payments Canada Summit, and Women in Payments. Her thought leadership spans topics such as omnichannel payment strategies, the future of commerce, and building inclusive workplaces. With a reputation for operational excellence, regulatory expertise, and stakeholder engagement, Shenela continues to shape the payments landscape while championing innovation and equity in the industry. 

Santo Ligotti is the VP of Member Services and Marketing at Retail Council of Canada and brings over 20 years of experience of marketing leadership. Santo began his career in data sciences and progressed to lead B2B/B2C marketing teams across financial, technology and payments industries including companies such as TD Canada Trust, Rogers Communications, CIBC, Moneris and JPMorgan Chase.

In addition, Santo is the President Elect for the  American Marketing Association, Toronto Chapter and teaches part time at George Brown College and York University. Santo holds an undergraduate degree in statistics from McMaster University, a Master’s in Information Science from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from York University

Michael is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions with C-level executives and participated on thought leadership panels worldwide.

Michael is also the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts, including Canada’s top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail, plus the Remarkable Retail with author Steve Dennis, Global E-Commerce Tech Talks and The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, all available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon and all major podcast platforms.