Michael is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur.  He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Secure conference with leaders from The Gap and Kroger talking about violence in retail stores, keynotes on the state & future of retail in Orlando and Halifax, and at the 2023 Canadian GroceryConnex conference, hosting the CEOs of Walmart Canada, Longo’s and Save-On-Foods Canada.   Michael brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi’s, Black & Decker, Hudson’s Bay, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.

Michael also produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in North America, Remarkable Retail,

Canada’s top retail industry podcast; the Voice of Retail; Canada’s top food industry and the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor, with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.

Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail influencers for the fourth year in a row, Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer, and you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.

Bobby Sahni is a veteran and thought-leader in the multicultural marketing and advertising industry. Bobby was the Head of Multicultural Marketing at Rogers Communications and has been a pioneer in developing, executing and managing diversity and multicultural marketing initiatives for a number of best-in-class organizations. He is Co-Founder and Partner at Ethnicity Matters – a multicultural marketing & advertising agency dedicated to helping companies drive new growth and sales by engaging North America’s fast growing, big spending ethnic and new immigrant communities. He is also Partner in Tulsea Sports Marketing, a US-based marketing consultancy focussed on the intersection of multicultural marketing and sports & entertainment. 

Bobby has earned national and international recognition for his work and thought leadership in multicultural marketing. Bobby also loves teaching, having guest-lectured at many universities/colleges and regularly speaks at industry events and conferences across North America. Bobby has also been on a variety of advisory boards and committees including Hockey Canada, Imagine Canada, Seva Food Bank, Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer, Cricket to Conquer Cancer, Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce, Reel Asian Film Festival and Credit Valley Conservation Foundation. Bobby earned his MBA from the global Kellogg Schulich Executive MBA program with cross-cultural studies in Hong Kong, Germany, Miami, Chicago and Toronto. He also holds a Bachelor of Science & Business degree from the University of Waterloo.

With more than 20 year of retail experience, spanning senior leadership roles in operations, product, merchandising, public relations, strategy, eCommerce and more, it has been an incredible career and journey spreading love for Canada’s biggest brands. In his new adventure, Wes is getting comfortable – VERY comfortable – helping customers furnish a better life for themselves leading the brands and marketing at Leon’s Furniture Limited.

Aarthi is the Vice President of Product Marketing at Plastic Bank, a globally recognized social fintech company that addresses poverty and plastic pollution. Plastic Bank empowers communities by enabling them to collect and exchange plastic for money, social benefits, and more. Today, the organization supports over 550 collection communities with over 40,000 members across the Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil, Egypt, Thailand, and Cameroon.

Aarthi joined Plastic Bank in 2021 and currently leads product marketing, helping businesses of all sizes reduce their environmental footprint, promote a circular economy, and support communities. Before joining Plastic Bank, Aarthi spent over a decade in consumer goods, managing world-class brands at Henkel, Diageo, and Kraft Heinz. She brings extensive experience in strategic planning, sustainability, brand management, product innovation, and commercial leadership.

Passionate about sustainability and diversity in her personal and professional life, Aarthi leverages her skills and experience to positively impact people and the planet. She lives in Mississauga, Ontario, is a proud girl mom & loves the outdoors.

Tanya Bevington is head of Communications for IKEA Canada, a world’s leading home furnishing retailer. For nearly 50 years, Canadians have welcomed IKEA into their homes and they have been strong supporters of the IKEA brand, product range and its vision “to create a better everyday life for the many people”. Tanya joined IKEA in 2014 and is responsible for overseeing the national corporate communications and public affairs programs for IKEA in Canada. Tanya is also a member of the Canadian management team for IKEA.  

Prior to joining IKEA, Tanya spent ten years working in communications and marketing for Waterfront Toronto, the tri-government agency responsible for overseeing the renewal of Toronto’s waterfront. 

Working in the communications field for over twenty years, Tanya is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in corporate communications, media and government relations, brand positioning, internal communications, strategic planning and issues management.  

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario and a Master’s degree in Professional Communications from the University of Western Sydney, Australia. 

With over 25 years of experience in marketing and analytics, Seoni understands business needs and how data and analytics can help solve them. As a Chartered Marketer, he has worked with organizations of all sizes to unlock the value of information in decision-making and business strategy. He specializes in helping organizations understand population trends, segmentation and performance benchmarking and appears regularly on CTV’s Canadian and U.S. federal election coverage as a commentator on voter demographics in key races.

Nikolas is an expert in Public Affairs and Communications research. Since joining Leger in 2021, he has presented the organization’s annual Youth Study, focusing on the values, behaviors, and attitudes of Gen Z and Millennial Canadians. He is particularly interested in how these age groups will challenge established consumer norms. Nikolas holds a Master of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from Queen’s University, with a specialization in Political Studies. Additionally, he has formal training in both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies through the Research Analyst post-graduate program at Georgian College.

Sonia has been passionate about the Internet and its forward movement in Canada from the start. With a rich tenure of experience touching virtually every aspect of digital marketing, she brings a well-rounded perspective to support the best interests of IAB Canada and its members.

Sonia has led global digital strategy initiatives for international brands including Gillette, Heineken, General Motors, RBC, Coca Cola and Spin Master Toys. Her work has included every discipline of online media and marketing with specialties ranging from performance marketing to communications and creative strategy. Sonia has spent time building and consulting with successful early to mid-stage start-ups and has consulted industry associations and publishers to help navigate the disruptive media landscape.

Sonia was recently inducted into the Canadian Media & Marketing Hall of Fame for her efforts in digitally transforming the Canadian media industry. Her passion for the industry continues in the role of President of the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada where she continues to help drive the industry forward and put Canada on the global stage for online media innovation.

Vince is the Managing Partner of Watt International, a globally recognized integrated retail agency delivering strategic and creative services that help retailers position themselves for growth and success. As a seasoned and multi-disciplined strategist who applies a holistic view to assessing brand and business challenges, Vince has a proven track record in delivering solutions that get in-market results and build lasting brand equities for clients.

Having spent a number of years working in market research, consumer insight,
strategic planning, and business consulting, Vince brings a solid background
encompassing both agency and client-side experience. He has worked with leading national and global brands in the consumer-packaged goods and service industries, and with retailers on a global scale.

Jonelle Ricketts is head of Marketing for IKEA Canada, a world-leading home furnishing retailer. For nearly 50 years, Canadians have welcomed IKEA into their homes and been strong supporters of the IKEA brand, product range, and its vision “to create a better everyday life for the many people.”

Jonelle started her IKEA journey in 2011 in Canada as a Marketing & Advertising Specialist, supporting campaign creative development and media planning across all owned and paid channels. In 2016, she was promoted to Media Manager, leading paid media planning and execution for IKEA Canada and, a couple of years later, for IKEA Netherlands. Jonelle then joined the Ingka Global Communication team in Leiden, Netherlands, where she gained valuable experience as the Global Communication Knowledge & Development Leader, focusing on developing communications teams across Ingka and leading the global Communication matrix.

Most recently, Jonelle has held the position of Global Marketing Communication/Network Leader as part of the Marketing Communications team at Inter IKEA Systems in Delft, Netherlands, where she supported the global marketing transformation project and developed a global marketing matrix for retailers outside the Ingka Group.

Jonelle also brings several years of experience in Marketing and Communications supporting other organizations such as BlackBerry and Sephora Canada. She resides in Kitchener with her husband and two of her three children. Her favourite IKEA product is the PAX closet system with KOMPLEMENT interior solutions. As someone obsessed with organization, PAX has been a game-changer for Jonelle with its versatility, flexibility, and unbeatable price.

Dave McManus brings over 25 years of experience in connecting consumers with brands through expertise in brand development, merchandising, and marketing. He has a proven track record of leveraging these disciplines to create personalized experiences that resonate with audiences and drive business success. Dave is passionate about the power of personalization in forging meaningful consumer-brand relationships and is excited to share insights on this transformative topic.

Sheri is a marketer, strategist, entrepreneur, media expert, speaker, and teacher.  Sheri has extensive experience in communications planning across the entire marketing ecosystem and loves understanding the consumer’s role in the decision journey.

With 20+ years of experience, Sheri has held numerous senior

level positions at various agencies in both Montreal and Toronto. Sheri oversees the agency team at PMG and believes that partnerships, agility and creativity are the keys to success.

When not at work you can find Sheri dockside or slope side depending on the season, traveling the globe with her husband or knee deep designing her next renovation.

Adam is the Senior Vice President of Product & Marketing at Flipp, a leading retail technology company. In his role, Adam is focused on building products and technologies that help people make smart shopping decisions while enabling retailers and brands to influence those decisions through digital merchandising experiences. 

Adam is an experienced, charismatic speaker, who most recently delivered the Concurrent Session at RCC’s Retail Marketing Conference in September 2023, alongside Matthew Cheung. Adam is an accomplished public speaker with the ability to distill complex and large ideas into relatable real-life analogies and examples that bring context and inclusivity to multiple audiences.  

Before joining Flipp, Adam led various businesses at Procter & Gamble including Retail Innovation, eCommerce, Market Strategy & Planning, and the Amazon Business Development Team. Adam graduated from the University of Toronto where he studied Computer Science and Political Science. Before graduation, Adam took a four-year break from University to tour the world as a member of a critically acclaimed reggae-rock band called Panic & the Rebel Emergency.  

Andy is responsible for connecting the dots between TC’s design studio, digital teams and their print, structural and industrial production facilities, to grow the envelope of what’s possible in-store, while maximizing sales lift, customer engagement and ROI for both brands and retailers.  Andy’s previous roles in distribution and as a brand owner, working with supply chain, operations, finance, sales and marketing, gives him a unique, holistic lens to problem solving for current in-store challenges

Doug Stephens is one of the world’s foremost retail industry futurists. His intellectual work and thinking has influenced many of the most widely known international retailers, agencies and brands including Walmart, Google, L’Oreal, BMW and LVMH.

Prior to founding the consultancy Retail Prophet, Doug spent over 20 years in the retail industry, holding senior international leadership roles.

Doug has most recently released highly anticipated book in Spring 2021 entitled Resurrecting Retail: The Future of Business in a Post-Pandemic World. He is also the author of two International bestselling books – Reengineering Retail: The Future of Selling in a Post-Digital World and The Retail Revival: Re-Imagining Business for the New Age of Consumerism. Doug is the nationally syndicated retail columnist for CBC Radio and sits on multiple corporate and academic advisory boards.

His unique perspectives on retailing, business and consumer behavior have been featured in many of the world’s leading publications and media outlets including The New York Times, The BBC, TechCrunch, The Wall Street Journal and Fast Company.

Amar leads thought leadership on health and wellness. He creates insights that inform strategic decisions related to key drug, home improvement, discount, convenience, grocery, and digital channels. Amar is a seasoned brand, shopper, and advertising researcher. Before joining Kantar in 2018, he managed consumer insights at a leading CPG brand, which included brand management, packaging optimization, and product innovation. Amar has an MSc in marketing and consumer studies from the University of Guelph in Canada.

As Director of Technology at Walmart Canada, Sabrina leads the Enterprise Technology team . Her team oversees applications and systems supporting various domains like Finance, Merchandising, HR, legal, Compliance, and Real Estate, improving productivity and speed. Joining Walmart as a Senior Product Manager Sabrina led Store technology, Health & Wellness product teams prior to her current role. Sabrina has been in Product management and technology space for over 14 years working in Telecommunication and retail primarily. She started her tech journey launching mobile commerce solutions for growing economies, leveraging technology to meet market needs. Her motto, “Your comfort zone is your opportunity to push for change” reflects her commitment to technological innovation and her drive to challenge norms. Additionally, as Vice-Chair for Women of Walmart ARG (Associate Resource Group), she advocates for inclusion, growth and learning of Women in Walmart.

A marketing professional, Amber Winters has spent two decades at Pizza Pizza. She started her journey at Pizza Pizza as an administrative temp and has risen up the ranks to her current role as Senior Marketing Director. Amber was drawn to Pizza Pizza due to its culture, purpose and everything that went into the food they served to provide millions of meals a year to Canadians, coast to coast. 

Her current role is focused on overseeing brand, media, promotions, sponsorships and cross-channel sales performance. Most recently, she contributed to Pizza Pizza’s brand platform work ‘Everyone Deserves Pizza’ and its corresponding programs to further build the narrative around the heart and soul of Pizza Pizza. Amber is also an active member of Pizza Pizza’s D&I Council. 

Amber has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and in her personal time, she loves spending time outdoors with her husband, young son, and dog. She also enjoys ordering the Pesto Amore pizza and Buffalo wings for the family. 

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.

Neil Patel is the co-founder of NP Digital. The Wall Street Journal calls him a top influencer on the web, Forbes says he is one of the top 10 marketers, and Entrepreneur Magazine says he created one of the 100 most brilliant companies. Neil is a New York Times bestselling author and was recognized as a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by President Obama and a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 35 by the United Nations.

Ivano Pirro is an experienced sales leader with over two decades of telecommunications leadership. He currently supports more than 3500 team members across Bell, Virgin+ Best Buy Express and Lucky Mobile. As a strategic leader he is passionate about customer experience and talent development and driving high performance. Ivano’s leadership ensures Bell’s retail stores are a go-to for personalized customer service, innovation and simplifying complex technical problems into everyday value add solutions.

Ivano is a seasoned business leader whose contribution has been felt throughout Bell in a range of progressively senior roles. Ivano began his career with Bell as a technician, later serving in various call center roles, and then in 2006 he joined Bell retail stores leading the successful nationwide integration of brands like Solo Mobile and Virgin Mobile.

Ivano holds a Diploma in Business Administration from Dawson College and a Bachelor’s degree from Concordia University with a Major in Sociology and a Minor in Law.

As a partner and Creative Director at Public Office, a Creative Marketing Consultancy, Caila Stangl is a dynamic leader who seamlessly balances art and commerce, bringing intuitive style and business acumen to every project. With a profound understanding of cultural trends, social movements, technology and global perspectives, she ensures that the work resonates, remains relevant and drives results. By anticipating future market needs and creative possibilities, Caila guides clients toward forward-thinking solutions that set them apart from competitors and drive long-term success.

Caila is a bold risk-taker who, with her partners, reestablished Public Office pushing brands into new territories and developing distinct points of view to brand communications. Leading engagements with prominent clients like Starbucks Canada, Sonos, RW&CO, Casper Canada, and AFC Toronto, she exemplifies her ability to blend strategy with creative insight, crafting award-winning work that stands out in the market and delivers results.