The April 2019 #InnovateWorkTO event is happening next week. The sixth edition of the Toronto summit for world-of-work innovators will bring together HR, Talent, Tech and C-Level pros for an evening of learning and networking that’s bigger and better than ever before!
Hot on the heels of the first InnovateWork Vancouver event, around 350 professionals will mingle at MaRS in downtown Toronto for awesome speakers, a panel and networking opportunities for HR professionals and business leaders in Toronto.
InnovateWork CO-Founder, Bill Banham said “We’re delighted to be bringing another InnovateWork summit to Toronto. The line-up of speakers and panelists is stronger than ever and we’ve been sold out for a while. We are excited to meet with Toronto’s business community and exchange ways to help improve how we collaborate and excel in the workplace“.
Agenda
5:30 – 6:00 – Registration & Networking
6:00 – 6:10 – Event Introduction – Rob Catalano, Co-Founder, WorkTango
6:10 – 6:50 – HR Passion Series – 9-minute Passion Talks
- Take a risk and be the new HR | Christine Song, Chief People Officer, Coinsquare
- “The Behaviour Equation” Why Focusing on Behaviour Matter | Chuck Farrell, Vice President – HR, Pizza Pizza
- Retention of young talent: Learn what 20,000+ coffee chats has taught RBC about the next generation. | Brien Convery, Director of Talent Acquisition, Early Talent Attraction and Engagement, RBC
6:50 – 7:20 – Networking Break
7:20 – 7:40 – Keynote 1 – The Infinite Game: How do you win a game that has no end? | Stephen Shedletzky, Brand Voice, Igniter, Start With Why – Simon Sinek
7:40 – 7:45 – Improv session with Lori Pearstein
7:45 – 8:30 – Panel Discussion – Is Culture Fit Dead? – The future of diversity and its impact on hiring
For years, candidate assessment has often included the tough-to-define, yet very real question “are they a culture fit?”. But when used without restraint, that question has been shown to lead to monoculture. How should we re-frame this question? Should we stop asking it all together? Is it really the worst thing to hire the people you’d like to have a beer with? Join this robust discussion as we dive beyond euphemism and into meaning to discuss how to find the people most likely to succeed in your company culture.
- Moderator – Josh Levine, Author of Great Mondays: How to Design a Company Culture Employees Love
- Panelists:
- Anna Petosa, VP People, The Weather Network
- Kris Tierney, VP People & Culture, Dealer-FX
- Denine Das, Sr. Director, People & Culture, TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival)
- Paul Dodd, Head Canadian Engagement, WilsonHCG
8:30 – 9:00 – Final Networking
Speaker Bios
Brien Convery, Director, Early Talent Acquisition, Attraction and Engagement, Canada – Royal Bank of Canada
Brien Convery is an accomplished, results-driven executive professional with 28 years of diversified and progressive experience spanning a wide range of industries and disciplines both in the private and public sectors across the globe. As Director, Early Talent Acquisition, Attraction and Engagement, at RBC, Brien leads the Canada campus recruitment teams to attract, engage, recruit and mentor top student talent at one the world’s leading financial institutions. As a champion for diversity and inclusion, Brien holds the title of Vice-Chair Recruitment and Mentorship for the RBC PRIDE Employee Resource Group focusing on the LGBTQ+ employees and community at-large.
Currently, Brien is an Employer Representative Board Member for Co-operative Education and Work Integrated Learning Canada (CEWIL). Brien also sits on a number of post-secondary advisory boards and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, Management and Operations from the University of Hartford, Connecticut.
Follow Brien and his Early Talent Acquisition, Attraction and Engagement Team on Twitter: @BrienKConvery @RBC4Students.
Christine Song, Chief People Officer, Coinsquare
As a member of the executive team at Coinsquare, Christine’s goal is to approach the function of People Experience by aligning the people strategy with the business strategy. She is addicted to the technology startup space, and her greatest passion is scaling startups so that they can accelerate growth while focusing on a people-first approach.
Leadership development at all levels is incredibly important to Christine, as she believes great leaders lead great teams and create a pathway for future leaders. Creating a purpose-driven culture guided by high-performance is also her superpower. We all want to be engaged with a purpose – we want more than just a “job.” Engagement led by purpose is hard to balance but it’s not impossible. Startups that are scaling quickly are in a sweet spot where they need to find that purpose to drive engagement, and Christine wants to show them the path to get there.
When she’s not immersed in all things people, she watches movies (sci-fi yes, horror no), checks out great foodie establishments, and travels with family and friends to cool destinations. Christine Song is the Chief People Officer at Coinsquare. She is also an Advisory Board Member for BioConnect and provides personal leadership counsel to CEOs and executives within the startup space.
Chuck Farrell, Vice President Human Resources – Pizza Pizza Limited
Chuck is a senior business professional with 20+ years experience in Human Resources leadership roles in the retail & restaurant industries. He currently leads all things people for Canada’s iconic pizza pioneer and largest chain – Pizza Pizza. Previously he has worked for well known industry leaders such as Walmart Canada, Yum! Restaurants International and Loblaw where he gained a unique mix of general HR management and specialist experiences. When taking on new challenges, which he often does, Chuck is known for diagnosing fast and building a strategic picture that is realized through practical, effective and simple business solutions. He’s passionate about Food, Customers and getting things done!
Stephen Shedletzky (Shed-Let’s-Ski), Head of Brand Voice, Igniter on Simon Sinek’s team at Start With Why
Stephen engages with people in meaningful ways so that we connect with depth and live in a more fulfilled world. With a knack for sharing the right words at the right moment, he delivers evidence-based content in a provocative and humorous way. He joined the Start With Why team in 2012 and now leads the Brand Voice team to ensure every product, partnership and communication authentically reflects the organization’s most deeply-held beliefs.
As an Igniter, he helps leaders and organizations discover, articulate and bring their WHY to life. A dedicated aide to the Start With Why team and those they serve, Stephen is first in line to support those who seek to live their WHY from the inside out.
With the right mix of passion and professionalism, Stephen was an obvious choice to narrate the audiobook for the 2017 best-seller Find Your Why. Along with David Mead, he also co- hosts the Start With Why Podcast, with more than 600,000 downloads in over 180 countries.
Stephen graduated from the Richard Ivey School of Business with a focus in leadership, communication and strategy. He brings the message to inspire to people and organizations around the world and serves clients in nearly every industry. Stephen lives in Toronto, Canada with his wife and daughter. For more tools and inspiration visit startwithwhy.com
Josh Levine, Author of Great Mondays: How to Design a Company Culture Employees Love
Josh Levine is an educator, designer, and best-selling author, but above all, he is on a mission to help organizations design a culture advantage. For more than 15 years Josh has helped build culture-driven brands and as Principal of Great Mondays continues his work with technology and social enterprise organizations. He is best known for helping found the non-profit Culture LabX, and as its executive director has overseen its grow into an international community.
Josh is sought after for his inspiring and educational keynotes, that not only reveal new insights, but inspire new action. His highly entertaining and accessible writing has been featured in Forbes, Huffington Post, Fast Company, and the Design Management Journal.
Kris Tierney, VP People & Culture, Dealer-FX
Kris’s approach as an executive leader is to achieve results by creating outstanding workplaces where people & culture are strategic priorities. Her experience as an HR leader has been focused on building and developing the people & culture infrastructure in high growth tech companies. Kris started her career in hospitality where she held various leadership and management positions. From there, she developed her HR acumen in progressive HR and leadership positions at TD Bank Financial Group and TD Canada Trust, and as an independent Training Consultant.
Kris honed her skills in leadership, strategy, and culture during her 10 years at Questrade, Inc., contributing to the organization’s growth from start-up to 4th largest online brokerage firm in Canada. Kris earned her Business Administration Diploma, Human Resources (with Distinction) from St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ontario and the Human Resources Post Graduate Certificate from Humber College in Toronto. She has achieved the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) and Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) designations from Canada’s HR Professional Association. Kris has also earned the Human Capital Strategist certificate from the Human Capital Institute, and an Associate’s Certificate in Project Management from McMaster University.
Since joining Dealer-FX Group Inc. as VP, People & Culture more than three-years ago, Kris has continued to provide vision and leadership in all areas of Dealer-FX’s people & culture programs and practices.
Sponsors
The HR Gazette – Organizing Sponsor – Latest opinion, reviews and podcasts for pros interested in HR Technology, Talent, Performance, Learning, Leadership.
WorkTango – Organizing Sponsor – A platform to give employees a voice and companies actionable insight.
Xref – Silver Sponsor – Xref is an online, mobile-friendly reference checking tool that enables fast, data-driven hiring decisions.
Morgan McKinley – Silver Sponsor – Our mission is to connect niche specialist tech talent with leading employers across multiple industries and disciplines within Canada.
Normandin Beaudry – Copper Sponsor – Total rewards consulting firm providing advisory services in 8 areas of expertise including Performance, Group Benefits, Compensation, Pension and Savings, and Communication.
epitome HR – Copper Sponsor – Full-service boutique consulting firm that will help you transform your organization by putting your people practices and employer brand at the heart of your company’s success.
AnchorHR – Copper Sponsor – Anchor HR is your partner to implement effective employee enablement and change management strategies and practices.
MaRS Discovery District – Community Partner – The launchpad for leading innovators.
Global HR Collective – Community Partner – Created to design, develop & share the latest thinking, trends & best practices affecting the HR profession & more broadly, global workplaces.
Ryerson Univeristy Career Centre – Educational Partner – Focused on empowering and encouraging students to maximize their potential at Ryerson
Dynamic Signal – Supporting Partner – Communicate with every employee, drive engagement, and empower employee advocates, all with one powerful platform.
Ubisoft – Supporting Partner – With the largest in-house game development staff in the world, Ubisoft attracts the best and brightest from all continents with talent, creativity & innovation at its core.
Lighthouse Labs – Supporting Partner – Empowering students, launching careers, and contributing to the growth of Canada’s tech industry.