Our 2025 speakers

Shelby Austin

Co-Founder and CEO, Arteria AI

Shelby Austin is the founder and CEO of Arteria AI Inc., an award-winning digital documentation software that was incubated and then spun out of the world’s largest consulting firm.  Arteria works with large financial institutions around the world providing infrastructure for them to document and monitor deals with clients.  

Shelby was previously the Managing Partner of Growth & Investments and Omnia AI at Deloitte. Shelby had responsibility for the Canadian firm’s inorganic and accelerated growth investments through acquisitions, ventures, incubation and scale-up and asset development activities and its AI and data footprint. 

Shelby joined Deloitte through its acquisition of her first company, a high-growth startup that also focused on documentation. Previously, Shelby was a Partner at a Canadian “Seven Sister” law firm where her practice focused on complex corporate and commercial litigation matters. 

Shelby was named to the Maclean’s 2024 list of the 100 Most Powerful Canadians, one of 10 in the AI category. In the past, Shelby has received the Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 award given by The Women’s Executive Network (WXN) and the Rising Stars award given by Lexpert Magazine to Canada’s leading lawyers under 40. In 2023, Arteria was recognized by CB Insights in its AI 100 rankings and by Gartner as one of three identified “Cool Vendors in Applying Generative AI to Banking” report. 

Balinder Ahluwalia

Senior Vice President and Head of Market Development and Digital Partnerships, Mastercard Canada

Balinder Ahluwalia is the Group Head of Market Development and Digital Partnerships. In his role, he leads Mastercard’s strategic vision across key sectors, driving digital transformation, market expansion and economic empowerment. 

Since joining Mastercard in 2018, Balinder has held key leadership roles, including Senior Principal and Group Head of Data and Services. He spearheaded growth initiatives in key verticals across financial services and market development clients, leveraging Mastercard’s unique data assets and consulting capabilities to deliver impactful results. 

Prior to Mastercard, Balinder held senior leadership and business development roles at leading financial and technology companies. His expertise in corporate strategy, market insights and innovation has positioned him as a key voice in Canada’s evolving payments landscape. 

Balinder holds a Master of Business, Entrepreneurship, and Technology from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science from the University of Windsor. 

Known for his strategic acumen and collaborative leadership, Balinder is passionate about driving innovation, fostering inclusivity and building meaningful partnerships that contribute to sustainable growth in the Canadian economy. 

Hamed H. Arbabi

Founder and CEO, VoPay

Hamed Arbabi is a seasoned serial entrepreneur with a proven track record of success, including two successful exits and a landmark $100M exit in 2012. With extensive experience building and leading teams ranging from 160 to 500 people, Hamed has consistently transformed innovative ideas into disruptive, high-growth ventures.

His early career in the telecom industry allowed him to witness firsthand the evolution and disruption within
the space, insights he later leveraged to fuel his passion for innovation in financial technology. Since moving to
Canada in 2005, Hamed has been at the forefront of digital transformation in financial services, pioneering
solutions that integrate seamlessly into the fabric of everyday life.
As the CEO and Founder of VoPay, Hamed has been instrumental in shaping the future of financial technology.
His vision for a platform-to-platform world—where financial services are ubiquitous and embedded in every
aspect of our lives—drives VoPay's mission to make financial transactions easy, affordable, and accessible to all.

Hamed’s overarching goal is to create technologies that accelerate digital transformation, financial inclusion,
and sustainable finance, ensuring that these advancements contribute to a more equitable and sustainable
world.

Beyond his entrepreneurial endeavours, Hamed is deeply committed to giving back to the community. He has
founded and supported multiple non-profit organizations focused on providing children with access to
technology and education, empowering the next generation to unlock new opportunities and shape their own
futures.

Armando Benitez

Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Head of AI, BMO Capital Markets

Armando Benitez is the Chief Data & Analytics Officer (CDAO) and Head of AI at BMO Capital Markets. He leads a team of engineers, strategists, and AI professionals who create end-to-end solutions at the intersection of Finance and Technology. 

As CDAO, Armando shapes the strategic vision for data and analytics, integrating AI  into business processes to drive innovation and improve decision-making. His leadership promotes data-driven insights and aligns technological initiatives with business goals. 

Armando joined BMO's ETF desk in 2016 after working on data products for fraud detection and recommender systems at Paytm. With a background in High Energy Physics, he brings a unique perspective to the team. 

Geneviève Bertrand

Senior Director, Information Security and Crisis Management, PSP Investments

Geneviève has over 20 years of experience in management, consulting, technology, and information security. She is currently Senior Director, Information Security and Crisis Management at PSP Investments, where she has held several leadership positions over the past eight years. In this role, she defines, implements, and manages the information security strategy. She also leads the security risk management advisory practice and coordinates the crisis management program across the organization. 

Geneviève holds an MBA from HEC Montréal and a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from McGill University. She is a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec. She is also actively involved in various committees and associations, including serving as outgoing chair of the HEC Montréal Alumni Association Board of Directors. 

Thierry Bélanger-Roy

Technology Partner, Canadian Platforms Leader, EY Canada

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Charles-André Bergeron

CEO, Ezo

EZO is a Canadian all-in-one financial app that integrates CeFi and DeFi with payments, financial services, and investments. Our mission is to make financial accessibility a universal right.

Surinderjit Kaur Bhatti

Founder and CEO, Fathom4Sight

Surinderjit Kaur Bhatti, also known as Jeet, is a recognized leader in the FinTech industry and
the visionary CEO and Founder of Fathom4sight, Canada’s premier knowledge-as-a-service
platform. She has led the company to provide unparalleled strategic foresight and online
intelligence, positioning Fathom4sight at the forefront of financial product innovation. Jeet has
revolutionized the market research and intelligence space through her groundbreaking platform,
establishing herself as a subject matter expert sought after by organizations looking to navigate
the future of financial services.

Beyond her entrepreneurial ventures, Jeet is a prominent figure in academia and industry
forums. She serves as a guest lecturer at prestigious univiersities, sharing her extensive
expertise with the next generation of FinTech leaders. Her insights and experience are highly
valued globally, leading to her roles as an Innovation Circle Judge at BAI and a BankingTech
Awards Judge at FinTech Futures. As a frequent speaker at major industry events, Jeet is
known for her thought leadership and ability to drive meaningful conversations around FinTech
innovation and transformation.

In her previous career, Jeet built world-leading fintech products for large financial institutions
and developed cutting-edge strategies that enabled the transformation of incumbent
organizations. She led comprehensive consulting projects and helped prominent banks and VC
firms globally to understand and engage with fintech ecosystems in various regions. Her work
has been instrumental in driving innovation and transformation within the financial services
industry.

André Boucher

Senior Vice President & Chief Information Security Officer, National Bank of Canada

Senior Vice President & Chief Information Security Officer, National Bank of Canada 

André Boucher is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at National Bank of Canada, where he leads cybersecurity strategy, software architecture, and engineering. He plays a key advisory role to the executive team, aligning security initiatives with business growth and resilience. 

Prior to joining the Bank in 2021, André had a distinguished career as a senior officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force and later served as Assistant Deputy Minister and Associate Head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. His leadership spans secure technology management, cyber operations, and national defense, with experience at NORAD and NATO. 

André is Vice Chair of the Canadian Financial Sector Cyber Council and represents Canada on the G7 Cyber Experts Group. He also serves on the boards of CyberEco and Quebec’s Food Banks, where he chairs the investment committee.

Brigit Carroll

Head of Policy, Americas, Wise

Brigit Carroll is Head of Policy for the Americas at Wise, a global technology company building the best way to move and manage money across borders. Based in Washington, D.C., Brigit helps to lead Wise’s policy and advocacy campaigns in Canada, Mexico, Brazil and the United States. 

Karen Cheng

Chief Technology Officer and Distinguished Engineer, Kyndryl Canada

Karen Cheng is a Distinguished Engineer with over 27 years of experience in IT enterprise architecture and technology planning. Known for her technical breadth and collaborative leadership style, she effectively builds bridges between technical and business stakeholders to achieve common goals. ​

In her previous roles, Karen was a cross-practice Enterprise Architect in Kyndryl Consult. She also led the design of the core automation platform that supports infrastructure services delivery for Kyndryl managed services clients today. She is a strong advocate for data driven decision making and actionable insights. ​

In her current role as Chief Technology Officer for Kyndryl Canada, she advises clients on complex IT transformations, with an integrator mindset towards technology, people, process and business outcomes. ​

As a licensed Professional Engineer, Karen enjoys being an active industry mentor, encouraging students to pursue careers in STEAM fields, and coaching technical talent within Kyndryl to foster innovation and community.

Stephanie Choo

Partner, Portage

Stephanie Choo has served as a General Partner at Portage since 2016. She runs the investment team in North America. She is passionate about partnering with the next generation of Fintech entrepreneurs globally and spends most of her time in consumer fintech, embedded infrastructure, payments and crypto. Prior to Portage, she led a team, which built and launched a leading digital advice platform in Canada, which now serves over 2M Canadians. Before that, she worked at BCG, where she nudged several large financial services incumbents on their journey to modernity. Her journey to Fintech started at a mobile payments startup, which was a lot of fun, but didn’t work.  Stephanie is based in NYC, but is a proud first generation Canadian.  She holds a B.Comm. from Queen’s University. 

Jean-François Courville

President, Quebec, Scotiabank

J-F Courville is responsible for Scotiabank's Grow Quebec strategy, including opportunities that span 
all Canadian Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets businesses. Prior 
to this, he was President and Chief Client Officer at Purpose Unlimited and CEO at Wealthsimple for 
Advisors.
From 2013 to 2017, J-F was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at RBC Wealth 
Management’s global support groups, responsible for continuing and evolving the focus on supporting 
all geographic businesses with investment advisory and fee-based solutions, credit and cash 
management, brand and marketing, as well as operations and technology. In addition, he was 
responsible for their overall strategy and oversight of the group’s strategic growth initiatives.
He joined RBC Wealth Management from Manulife Financial Corporation, where he was President and 
CEO of Manulife Asset Management. Prior to that, J-F was President and CEO of State Street Canada.
J-F is very active in the community, notably as a member of the Faculty Advisory Board of the Desautels 
Faculty of Management at McGill University. He is also a director on the boards of Samara and Embark. 
Additionally, J-F is a founding member and director of Toronto-based cycling philanthropy club, Les 
Domestiques, which has helped raise tens of millions of dollars for various charities across North 
America since 2009.

Philippe Daoust

Vice-President & Managing Director, NAVentures, National Bank of Canada

Philippe is the Managing Director for NAventures. He focuses on sourcing companies that will advance National Bank’s transformation. Before joining NAventures, Philippe developed and led the integration and separation advisory practice at a Big 4 firm. He played a varied role ranging from engagement sourcing to due diligence and integration advisory. He worked on large mergers and acquisition projects, including transformative deals for Canadian financial institutions. Philippe also practiced for several years in the United States, France, Latin America and New Zealand. 

Jacques Deforges

Chief Executive Officer, Finance Montréal

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Paul Desmarais III

Chairman and CEO, Sagard

Paul Desmarais III is the Chairman and CEO of Sagard, an alternative asset management firm
active in venture capital, private equity, private credit, real estate, healthcare royalties and
private wealth.

Paul took the helm of Sagard in 2016, along with a handful of close partners bound by a
common vision: partnering with entrepreneurs to catalyze transformation in our investments and
communities. Sagard has experienced outstanding growth in six years, with assets under
management increasing to over $13B, more than 300 professionals joining its ranks, and some
125 companies added to the portfolio.

Sagard has built a global network of expertise that helps companies lead, embrace, and stay
ahead of disruptive trends in the financial services, technology, and healthcare spaces, amongst
others. The team is behind some of the largest technology success stories in Canada such as
Wealthsimple and Dialogue.

Within the Sagard ecosystem, Paul is the Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Portage and
the Chairman and Co-Founder of Diagram. Within the investment portfolios, he is the Chairman
of Wealthsimple, Dialogue, Novisto, and Grayhawk, and a director of nesto.

Paul is dedicated to helping build a better business world. He is Co-Founder of the Black Wealth
Club and the Indigenous Leadership Circle, where emerging Black and Indigenous leaders go to
learn about creating wealth and networks giving them tools and resources that can be
reinvested in their communities. Under Paul’s leadership, Sagard has committed to a more
sustainable financial system by becoming a signatory of the United Nations Principles for
Responsible Investment, enlisting as a CREO participant, and embarking on its journey to
carbon neutrality. Paul was also co-chair of the Centraide (United Way) campaign in 2022 and
will chair the large donors campaign for the same organization in 2024-2027.

Paul is a board member of the Glenbow Museum and serves as Chair of the Next Canada
Emeritus board of advisors. He is a recipient of the Duke of Edinburgh Award for his work
chairing the fundraising campaign for the Kenojuak Culture Center. He was formerly a board
member of the Rideau Hall Foundation and Alpine Canada. Paul also co-founded Young
Canadians in Finance and co-chaired the True Patriot Love Expedition to the magnetic North
Pole.

Prior to his current role, Paul worked at Goldman Sachs in the Investment Banking Division,
Investment Strategy Group and Special Situations Group, Imerys S.A. in supply chain
management and strategy and Great-West Lifeco Inc. in risk management. He has earned a
B.A. in Economics from Harvard College and holds an MBA from INSEAD.

Catherine Desgagnés-Belzil

Executive Vice-President and Leader, Business Performance and Information Technology, Beneva

Driven by a desire to succeed and satisfied with rich, human collaborations, Catherine Desgagnés-Belzil first made her mark in the Quebec public service, and now at Beneva, since the merger of La Capitale and SSQ insurance companies in 2020.  

With a bachelor's degree in business informatics from Université Laval in Quebec City, Catherine applied her IT expertise to a variety of strategic positions in the public service, culminating in her role as Chief Information Officer for the Quebec government.  

At Beneva, she led the unification of technological bases, orchestrated over 250 projects, and ensured the cohesion of the IT ecosystem in line with the company's global strategy. Catherine established enterprise architecture guidelines, laying the foundations for an agile and resilient infrastructure. She also ensured consistency between strategic objectives and operational actions, adapting IT processes according to best practices and setting up various centers of excellence. 

Recognized for her drive and determination, Catherine is also involved in numerous initiatives in her industry and community and is particularly keen to put the spotlight on women. Her involvement with the Tel-jeunes Foundation testifies to her generosity and empathy for the adults of tomorrow. 

Isabelle Dreyer

Vice-President, Everyday Banking, Cards & Payments, Mouvement Desjardins

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Paula Dunlop

Vice President, Policy, Government Relations and Research, Payments Canada

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Daniel Eberhard

Founder and CEO, KOHO

Laurent Ferreira

President and CEO, National Bank of Canada

Laurent Ferreira is President and Chief Executive Officer of National Bank, a position he has held 
since November 2021. He is responsible for the strategies, orientations and development of the 
Bank and its subsidiaries, with the support of the Senior Leadership Team. At the time of his 
appointment, Mr. Ferreira was Chief Operating Officer. 

Mr. Ferreira started his career at Bankers Trust where he worked for two years. He joined National 
Bank in 1998 and successively held the positions of Senior Manager, then Executive VicePresident and Managing Director of Derivatives and Equities within the Financial Markets group. 
From 2018 to 2021, Mr. Ferreira was Executive Vice-President and Co-Head, Financial Markets.

Mr. Ferreira was a member of the Hydro-Québec Board of Directors for several years. He currently 
serves on the Boards of Directors for Groupe CH and the Business Council of Canada. Mr. Ferreira 
is actively involved in the community and supports various causes. He has co-chaired fundraising 
campaigns for the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, the Montreal Women’s Y Foundation, and 
the Centraide United Way campaign for Greater Montreal. He currently co-chairs the Grow Beyond 
campaign for the CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation. 

Mr. Ferreira has a Master’s degree in Finance from HEC Montréal and a Bachelor's degree in 
Economics from Université du Québec à Montréal. 

Karim Gillani

General Partner, Luge Capital

Karim is the Co-Founder and General Partner of Luge Capital, a fintech-focused venture capital firm with $180M under management. Prior to Luge, Karim led Venture and M&A for PayPal in Canada, and started the Corporate Development practice at Xoom (NASDAQ IPO; acquired by PayPal for $1.1B). 

Michael Godin

President, Canada, CGI

In July 2024, Michael Godin was appointed President of CGI’s Canada operations, leading a team of 11,000 consultants coast to coast. Michael and his team bring CGI’s end-to-end capabilities—including strategic IT and business consulting, systems integration, managed IT and business process services, and intellectual property—to clients across industries through a local proximity model complemented by global delivery capabilities.

Prior to this appointment, Michael Godin served as Senior Vice-President, leading and growing CGI's operations for the Greater Montréal area to become one of the largest CGI business units in the world.  Previously, he led CGI’s operations supporting the federal government in the National Capital Region. Michael’s career journey, from business development roles in his early years to leading CGI’s operations in various geographies, has endowed him with broad industry and technology knowledge, as well as extensive expertise in team leadership and fostering client collaborations.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, with a major in finance from Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.

Daniel Grossi

Executive Vice-President, Information Technology, Mouvement Desjardins

In 2002, Daniel graduated with honours from McGill University with a bachelor's degree in Commerce. To round out his academic qualifications, he completed the Operations Leadership Program at Queen's University in 2007 and the High Potentials Leadership Program at Harvard University in 2013.    

Over his career, Daniel has spent more than 20 years working in IT operations management, infrastructure services, project delivery, strategic planning and transformation. Prior to joining Desjardins in 2016, Daniel spent more than 15 years at Bell Canada, where he asserted his leadership in several key roles. His final role with Bell was General Manager of IT Service Operations (Business Market).  

Daniel initially joined Desjardins as Director of IT Project Delivery, and was appointed Vice-President of Operations Services Management a year later. Building on his experience with cross-sector services, he took on the Digital and Omnichannel Capacity IT Division in June 2020 to help implement the idea of "one Desjardins" for members and clients through a simplified omnichannel experience.  

Hossein Rahnama

Founder and CEO, Flybits

Gideon Hazam

Co-Founder, COO and CCO, MEMCYCO

Gideon Hazam – Co-Founder, Chief Operating & Customer Officer (COO & CCO) at Memcyco 

Gideon Hazam is the Co-Founder and COO of Memcyco, where he leads business operations and customer success. With over 30 years of experience in the cybersecurity and tech industry, Hazam has held senior leadership roles across multiple domains, including operations, sales, business development, and customer support.  

Gideon co-founded Memcyco in 2021, bringing his operational acumen and deep cybersecurity expertise to build an innovative platform focused on real-time protection against digital impersonation and ATO fraud. 

Rachelle Hildyard

Managing Director, Global FIG & Correspondent Banking Sales, Global Transaction Banking, Scotiabank

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Octavia Howell

Vice-President, Chief Information Officer Security Officer, Equifax Canada

Octavia Howell has spent her career supporting and nurturing Cybersecurity professionals, while
protecting some of the world’s largest financial institutions from cyber-attacks. She lives by Mary
Church Terrill’s mantra of “Lift while you climb.” As Equifax Canada’s Chief Information Security
Officer, she has been recognized as the 2024 Canada CISO of the year and one of Canada’s Top
Women in Cybersecurity. Octavia received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science and
Mathematics from Spelman College and holds multiple industry certifications. She is a member of
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, the International Information Systems Security
Consortium (ISC2), the CISO Society, CISOs Connect, Co-Chairs the CISO Forum for the
Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF), and sits on the Advisory Board of
SiberX
In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, spending time with her family, and cheering her daughter on
in Competitive Acrobatic Dance and her son in Track and Field.

Ramesh Jayakrishnan

Vice President - New Payment Platforms, Mastercard

Ramesh Jayakrishnan leads the Transfer Solutions business, within the Commercial and New Payment Flows for Mastercard Canada. He is responsible for Product, Strategy and Delivery of various money movement solutions and services across international and domestic payments. 

Working with financial institutions, fintech and other eco-system partners, Ramesh has led the launch of Mastercard Move for commercial, retail, and small business payments use-cases, for both, domestic money as well as international money movement to over 150 countries - to bank accounts, wallets, cards and cash-out locations. 

Prior to joining Mastercard, Ramesh held positions at TD Canada Trust and ICICI Bank in Canada as well as American Express in India. His areas of expertise include cross border and domestic payments, real-time payments, payments modernization, bill payments, and new product delivery. 

Farid Jiandani

Co-Founder and SVP of Business Development, Theom

Farid brings to his role a diverse experience that includes AI, enterprise technologies, and venture capital. `Previously, Farid led business development at Labelbox, and Turbonomic (acquired by IBM). Earlier, Farid was a partner at Andreessen Horowitz where he supported enterprise investments. Prior to a16z, Farid spent over six years at Cisco in various product management roles. 

Sladjana Jovanovic

CIO, Personal & Business Banking Technology and B2C Data Transformation, BMO Financial Group

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Chris Juryn

Vice President of Business Consulting, CGI

Chris Juryn is Vice President of Business Consulting at CGI, where he leads the Emerging Technologies practice, a multidisciplinary team of AI/ML strategists, cloud architects, data engineers, and data scientists. With a deep focus on the financial services sector, Chris has partnered with leading banks and financial institutions across North America to integrate cutting edge technologies into their operations. His work has helped clients modernize legacy systems, enhance risk modeling, and unlock new value through Generative and Agentic AI driven solutions. Chris is passionate about guiding organizations through complex digital transformations, leveraging his experience to drive innovation, operational efficiency, and strategic growth. 

Bianca Lavoie

Managing Director, Ministère de la Cybersécurité et du Numérique du Québec (MCN)

Bianca Lavoie holds a bachelor's and master's degree in criminology from the University of Ottawa. With over 25 years of experience in the Québec public service, she worked for 23 years at the Sûreté du Québec, where she held various management positions related mainly to criminal investigations, intelligence, and administration. 

Ms. Lavoie joined the Ministère de la Cybersécurité et du Numérique in 2023, where she serves as Director General of Government Information Security. In this capacity, she plays an essential role in the development and implementation of government information security policies, frameworks, and strategies within the Gouvernement du Québec. 

She leads strategic information security projects in a variety of areas, including regulatory compliance, risk management, cybersecurity awareness and training, digital data classification and protection, and information security governance. In the current context of emerging new technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, she actively contributes to assessing the associated risks and designing frameworks for the ethical and responsible use of these innovative tools within Québec’s public administration. 

Recognized for her leadership and proactive approach, Ms. Lavoie knows how to respond to the growing challenges of cybersecurity. Passionate about collaborative and innovative strategic projects, she works with partners in the Québec ecosystem as well as national and international organizations. She regularly participates in numerous committees, conferences, and seminars to raise awareness among cyber ecosystem stakeholders about the new challenges of information security in the digital age.

Julie Lévesque

Executive Vice-President Technology and Operations, National Bank of Canada

Julie Lévesque was appointed Executive Vice-President – Information Technology in June 2020. As such, she is responsible for implementing the Bank’s technological strategy. In addition, she was appointed head of the Operations sector in January 2022. Ms. Lévesque is a member of National Bank’s Senior Leadership Team.

At the time of her appointment in 2020, Julie Lévesque was Senior Vice-President – IT Delivery 
Strategy at National Bank. Previously, she spent three years working for the Canada Pension Plan 
Investment Board as Managing Director and Head of System and Data Delivery, Technology. 
Ms. Lévesque worked at National Bank from 2005 to 2016, where she held various management 
roles in IT, including Vice-President – IT Delivery, Risk, Finance, Capital Markets and Human 
Resources.

With over 25 years of experience in information technology, Julie Lévesque has in-depth 
knowledge of corporate IT environments and infrastructure. Her leadership style is based on 
collaboration, trust, partnership and cross-sector teamwork. Her passion for innovation and 
emerging technology means she quickly grasps the issues involved and excels at explaining 
concepts in business terms.

Ms. Lévesque sits on the boards of directors of the Computer Research Institute of Montreal 
(CRIM), the fintech Flinks Technology Inc., and the Resources for Children with Diabetes 
Foundation (FRED). In 2022, she was named CIO of the year in the Private Sector category by IT 
World of Canada and the CIO Association of Canada. Ms. Lévesque has an Executive MBA
(EMBA) from McGill-HEC Montréal.

Ellen Linardi

Chief Product and Technology Officer, Synctera

Ellen Linardi is the Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO) at Synctera, where she drives the company’s product vision to modernize and expand access to financial services. She brings extensive leadership experience from past roles at Clover, Symantec and Intuit, helping to scale products used by millions of consumers and businesses worldwide. 

Michael Linford

Chief Operating Officer, Affirm

Michael Linford is the Chief Operating Officer at Affirm, where he oversees and manages the Company’s finance, capital markets, internal audit, and people functions. 

Prior to joining Affirm, Michael held multiple leadership roles within investment, IT, and software companies. Previously, Michael was the Chief Financial Officer for Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Software. Michael led commercial work for all HPE separations and previously served as the VP of M&A Integration at HP. Additionally, Michael dedicated seven years to global investment firm KKR & CO, working his way to Principal and offering strategic and tactical support to a wide portfolio of companies as a member of the operations group. He started his career in management consulting as a business analyst at McKinsey & Company focused on consumer and retail clients. 

Michael holds a B.S. from The University of Texas at Austin where he studied Mechanical Engineering. 

Shingai Manjengwa

Senior Director, Education and Development, Talent & Ecosystem, Mila

Shingai Manjengwa leads AI Education at the Mila, Quebec AI Institute, where she designs and delivers impactful programs that advance the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence across sectors. A recognized leader in data science and AI, Shingai has deep expertise in creating value with data, building AI education curricula, and operationalizing responsible AI in both public and private organizations. 

An entrepreneur and technical expert, she previously led technical education at the Vector Institute for AI and is the founder of Fireside Analytics Inc., a global data science education company whose programs have reached over 500,000 learners on platforms like IBM’s CognitiveClass.ai and Coursera. Shingai also developed Canada’s first Ministry of Education–inspected high school data science course and has led AI education initiatives for students, professionals, policymakers, and underserved communities. 

She works closely with governments and organizations on AI policy, governance, and implementation, and serves on multiple boards and advisory committees. Shingai is a member of the Public Service Productivity Working Group under the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, and is a sought-after global speaker on topics including bias, responsible AI, innovation, and the future of work. Her contributions have been recognized with honours such as the DMZ’s Women of the Year award and the Public Policy Forum’s Emerging Leader distinction. 

David Marotte

Leader, Data and Artificial Intelligence, Regional Lead – Industrial Markets, KPMG Canada

David Marotte is responsible for strategy and growth of the Data and Artificial Intelligence practice at KPMG in Canada, for the Montreal office. 

In this role, David leads numerous strategic development initiatives for the firm’s artificial intelligence programs. He also manages various projects that seek to improve and develop data-related business offerings. David particularly enjoys helping find ways to improve and develop corporate culture, with a view to achieving tangible results for his clients. 

David has extensive experience in strategy, change management and business intelligence, particularly in the IT, cleantech and VFX industries. A seasoned entrepreneur, he has mentored over 125 entrepreneurs and continues to pass on his knowledge to entrepreneurs from all walks of life at the École d’Entrepreneurship de Beauce. 

Laviva Mazhar

Principal, Luge Capital

Laviva is a Principal at Luge Capital, a fintech-focused venture capital firm with $180M under management. Prior to that she was an Investor at Ferst Capital Partners, a fintech startup foundry and VC firm. She was selected as one of The Peak’s Emerging Leaders for 2024, featured on the Women in FinTech Powerlists by Innovate Finance for both 2020 and 2017, and named in Canada’s 2019 Top 50 Women in Fintech by the Digital Finance Institute. Laviva holds a BCom degree with majors in Economics and Finance from McGill University, and completed CFA Level 1.

Marc Milewski

Co-Founder, Zum Rails

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Melisa Muraca

Vice-president and Global Chief Architect, Sun Life 

Melisa is Vice President and Global Chief Architect at Sun Life. In this role, she defines and communicates the digital architecture vision, ensuring that choices and solutions are aligned with business outcomes and Client needs. 

At Sun Life since 2007, Melisa has over 20 years of experience in technology and has a peripheral perspective on international technology trends. In the last two years she was responsible for Sun Life’s global Technology & Transformation Strategy and had accountability for the IT and transformation Strategy, the Digital Enterprise Center of Excellence, as well as defining and rolling out Global Value Realisation Office. Most recently, she was temporarily assigned to the U.S. Technology team. As Vice President of Technology Products, she led the technology product and solutions strategy, serving Clients in the U.S. through product-driven practices, experience design and agile delivery.   

She holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce, with a major in Management Information Systems and a minor in e-Commerce from the University of Concordia. 

Jeff Mulholland

Lead Client Partner, IBM Consulting

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David Ouellet

Senior Vice President and Chief Technology, Data and Operations Officer, PSP Investments

David Ouellet, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology and Data Officer at PSP Investments, focuses 
on sustaining the organization’s growth with effective tools and technologies that meet and exceed 
technological trends, including digital, cloud and artificial intelligence solutions. He also oversees Business 
Information Security, Business Governance, Data Management and Digital Innovation.

Cato Pastoll

Co-Founder and CEO, Loop Financial

Cato Pastoll, CEO and co-founder of Loop, has spent over a decade pioneering financial solutions for Canadian businesses. WIth deep expertise across both tech and finance, he built Loop to empower businesses to grow globally, backed by better financial services solutions to help them manage their global finances.

Michael Pelosi

Country Manager, Canada, Cohere

Michael Pelosi is the Strategic Enterprise Lead at Cohere, where he partners with some of the world’s largest organizations to design and deploy secure, customized AI solutions at production scale. He focuses on operationalizing enterprise-grade language models to unlock tangible business value through responsible, scalable adoption of generative AI. 

At Cohere, Michael leads strategic partnerships that emphasize data privacy, domain-specific performance, and real-world impact—enabling enterprises to confidently integrate AI into their most critical workflows. 

Prior to Cohere, Michael led multiple finance portfolios at Google across fintech, payments, and enterprise banking, with a focus on digital transformation and emerging technology strategy. He holds an MBA from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and is a graduate of the Oxford Fintech Programme. 

Anthony Rjeily

Senior Partner, EY Canada

Anthony Rjeily, Senior Partner at EY, where he serves as the National Leader for EY’s Business Consulting practice and Relationship Lead for the National Bank of Canada.  

Anthony is a recognized leader in the financial services industry innovation space, having worked closely with some of the largest financial institutions in North America and successful Fintechs throughout his career. He has built a reputation for helping organizations navigate disruption, embrace digital transformation, and develop strategies that drive growth and resilience.  

Beyond his professional achievements, Anthony is deeply passionate about human connection, wellbeing, and the power of culture to transform both organizations and individuals. His influence extends beyond the firm as well: he proudly serves on the Board of Directors of Summit School in Montreal, an institution dedicated to empowering neurodivergent students and fostering inclusion through education.

Patrice Roy

Payments Lead, National Bank of Canada

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Dominique Samson

Chief Operating Officer, Flinks

Dominique Samson is the Chief Operating Officer at Flinks, a Montreal-based financial data
company that powers secure and seamless data connectivity across financial services,
bridging banks, fintechs, and consumers. In his role, he drives operational excellence, talent
management, and risk management, as well as industry partnerships, in support of Flinks’
vision of open finance.

With over six years of leadership experience at Flinks, Dominique has held pivotal
roles—including Vice President of Corporate Affairs—which have enabled him to help shape
the company’s strategic growth, regulatory positioning, and policy advocacy across North
America.

Dominique brings a unique and impactful blend of legal, technical, and global experience: he
holds degrees in both law and computer science and previously served as an officer in the
Canadian Armed Forces and a fraud investigator with the United Nations.

A recognized industry leader, Dominique also serves as a director on the boards of Fintechs
Canada and of the Financial Data and Technology Association, helping steer the nation’s
fintech policy agenda through real-time payments modernization and open banking initiatives.
Dominique Samson est chef de l’exploitation (Chief Operating Officer) chez Flinks, une
entreprise montréalaise de technologie financière qui propulse une connectivité de données
sécurisée et fluide à travers l’ensemble des services financiers, en créant des ponts entre les
banques, les fintechs et les consommateurs. Dans le cadre de ses fonctions, il pilote
l’excellence opérationnelle, la gestion des talents, la gestion des risques ainsi que les
partenariats stratégiques, contribuant directement à la réalisation de la vision de Flinks en
matière de finance ouverte.

Giovanni Sansalone

Vice President, Security Evolution, Desjardins

Giovanni Sansalone is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience driving strategic growth and operational excellence across diverse industries. As Vice-President at Desjardins, he leads cross-functional teams to deliver transformative initiatives that strengthen corporate security and compliance, streamline processes, and enhance member/customer experience. 

Prior to this role, Giovanni held key leadership positions at Bell, where he played a pivotal role in launching innovative solutions for business customers. His tenure at Bell was marked by a strong focus on digital transformation, agile delivery, and building scalable strategies that supported long-term growth. 

Known for his collaborative leadership style and sharp analytical thinking, Giovanni works closely with senior stakeholders, to align corporate security vision with actionable strategies. 

Outside of work, Giovanni is passionate about mentoring emerging leaders and contributing to Montréal’s vibrant business community. He holds a degree in Computer Engineering from Polytechnique Montréal. 

Parinaz Sobhani

Managing Director & Head of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Sagard

Parinaz Sobhani is the Head of AI at Sagard. In this role, she helps portfolio companies adopt AI and gain a competitive edge. She has a Ph.D. from the University of Ottawa, where she focused on natural language understanding. With over ten years of experience, she's published more than 20 papers in top ML and NLP conferences.  

Before Sagard, she was the Head of AI at Georgian, where she led a team of engineers and scientists to help growth-stage companies build and scale machine learning products. Parinaz also worked at Microsoft Research, developing advanced neural machine translation models, and at the National Research Council of Canada, where she made significant contributions to deep neural network models for sentiment analysis." 

Patrick Surry

Chief Data Scientist, Hopper

He was one of the founders of Quadstone Inc, a predictive customer analytics company, since acquired by Pitney Bowes Software, where he developed high-performance parallel engines for generalized additive models. Patrick holds a PhD in mathematics and statistics from the University of Edinburgh, where he studied optimization based on evolutionary algorithms, following an HBSc in continuum mechanics from the University of Western Ontario. 

Jessica Tan

President, Sun Life Canada

Jessica Tan is President of Sun Life Canada. She is responsible for leading Sun Life’s business in its home market, driving continued growth as a leader in health, wealth and protection for Canadians. Sun Life Canada is a 160-year business serving 12 million Canadians, which is more than half the working Canadians in the country across insurance, wealth, asset management, and health businesses.

Jessica is widely recognized as a transformative leader. She held a top 5 ranking on Fortune's Most Powerful Women for 5 consecutive years (2019 - 2023) and has been recognized as one of Forbes' The 
World's 100 Most Powerful Women since 2019. Prior to Sun Life in North America, Jessica worked in Asia for 20 years across Greater China, India, and Southeast Asia. Specifically, she was the co-CEO of Ping An, one of Asia’s largest insurance companies, responsible for Ping An’s insurance, digital banking, healthcare, and technology businesses. Prior to that Jessica was a partner at McKinsey where she worked in North America and Asia working with global and regional financial services companies and regulators.

Jessica is an active leader in the global community for fintech, healthcare and elderly care. She sits on several global boards and advisory committees including the Singapore Central Provident Fund (Singapore National Pensions Fund >US$460 billion), SEA Group (Southeast Asia's largest gaming, e-commerce and fintech company), Global Finance & Technology Network (Global Fintech Network started by the Monetary Authority of Singapore), Asia Society Global Board of Trustees, Oxford Blavatnik School of Government, and AGEWELL elderly care/tech organization in Canada.

Jessica is married with two teenage daughters, and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a Master degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer science, and two Bachelors degrees in Electrical Engineering and Economics.

Matt Vega

Chief of Staff and Fraud Fighter, Sardine

Eva Verreault

Chief Revenue Officer, Mondata

Eva Verreault is the Chief Revenue Officer at Mondata, a Quebec-based cybersecurity company. She is responsible for the company's growth strategy, including the go-to-market execution for WeActis, an innovative solution that empowers employees to secure Microsoft 365 data. 

Before joining Mondata, Eva held strategic roles in the technology sector. She spent ten years at Croesus, a FinTech firm, where she led sales, marketing, and international growth. Her discipline and dedication to customer satisfaction played a crucial role in establishing Croesus as a leading player in the portfolio management industry. 

Eva then joined SuccessFinder, an HRTech company specializing in psychometric assessments, where she served for five years as Vice President of Partnerships, Sales, and Marketing. She was key in driving the company’s growth and establishing it as a leader in talent management and leadership development. 

With extensive expertise in strategic management, a proven track record across various tech sectors, and experience supporting large enterprises, Eva is dedicated to positioning Mondata as a cybersecurity leader while continuing to develop innovative and sustainable growth strategies. 

Malik Yacoubi

Co-Founder and CEO, Nesto Group

Malik Yacoubi is the Co-Founder and CEO of Nesto Group, a Montreal-based fintech and one of the fastest-growing startups in Canada, revolutionizing mortgage lending through proprietary technology and AI. With over 23 years of experience building and scaling digital businesses, Malik has successfully launched and exited two tech companies. Malik was named to Maclean’s Power List in 2024 to recognize his impact.  

Today, nesto has grown into Nesto Group, a leading Canadian provider of AI-powered mortgage technology and financing solutions. With over $73 billion in residential and commercial mortgages under administration and trusted by some of Canada’s most prominent financial institutions, Nesto Group is building the mortgage ecosystem of the future.