With his extensive expertise in the deployment of business strategies to acquire new clients and new markets, Guillaume Brossard is actively involved in the strategic planning, vision and implementation of the MPA's growth and development.

A member of the Quebec Bar, Guillaume Brossard specialized in business law, more specifically in real estate law, mergers and acquisitions, and civil and commercial litigation for various firms. He subsequently joined the City of Montreal's legal affairs and property assessment department as a lawyer in contractual law, and later joined the Energir team as Director, LNG Market Development. 

Derek is Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist for TD Bank Group. In his role, he leads a team of economists that provides leading analysis on the Canadian and U.S. economies. Each year, he speaks at more than 100 events on economic and financial developments across the U.S. and Canada. As a respected commentator, Derek has been quoted by many media outlets – including the London Financial Times and the Economist. He also is frequently interviewed on the radio and television.

Derek maintains a strong interest in public policy issues, and has written substantive reports on health care sustainability, education and immigration reform. He participates in a number of advisory and steering committees both internal and external to TD Bank Group.

Derek Burleton received his Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University and an M.Sc. in Economics from the London School of Economics. Derek has more than 20 years of experience as an economist in the financial industry. 

Nino is a passionate believer in electrification and the benefits that technology will bring to our future mobility. He has ten years in leadership roles with corporate marketing agencies and seven years executive board director for B2B industry publisher. Nino is the past President of the National Media Awards Foundation and a recipient of the EV Society's 2020 Howard Hutt Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Electric Transportation.

Hamza Khan is a multi-award-winning marketer, bestselling author, and global keynote speaker whose TEDx talk “Stop Managing, Start Leading” has been viewed over a million times. He shares actionable insights on resilience, productivity, and leadership to help people and organizations thrive in the future of work. Through his consulting, writing, teaching and speaking, Khan empowers people and businesses to transform ideas into action.

From New York to Singapore, from Los Angeles to Sydney, Khan is a global thought leader who has spoken to hundreds of audiences across many industries, in numerous countries. His clients have included some of the world’s most dynamic companies and organizations, including PepsiCo, LinkedIn, Deloitte, PwC, Trivago, and over 100 colleges, and his insights have been featured by notable media outlets such as VICE, Business Insider, and The Globe and Mail. He is also the author of Amazon bestseller The Burnout Gamble: Achieve More by Beating Burnout and Building Resilience.

Khan works alongside young people and new talent as Managing Director of Student Life Network, Canada’s largest and most comprehensive education resource platform, which reaches over 2.7 million students. He is also the co-founder of Splash Effect, a boutique marketing & creative agency, as well as SkillsCamp, a soft skills training company. As an educator, he is currently an instructor at Seneca College and Ryerson University, teaching courses on digital marketing and social media. 

Stephen Laskowski is president of the Ontario Trucking Association and the Canadian Trucking Alliance. Stephen has been a part of both trucking associations for close to 30 years. Over the years, he has been involved in multiple high-profile policies that have had tremendous change on the freight transportation sector, including but not limited to: 9/11 and its impact on the cross-border trucking industry, the technological and environmental enhancements, trucking labour issues like the driver shortage and multiple major truck safety reforms. Most recently, in the aftermath of the Humboldt tragedy, Stephen has led a national effort to improve highway safety across Canada, most specifically by urging, MELT, expedited implementation of electronic logging devices to monitor drivers’ hours of service and more robust industry entry standards to ensure the trucking industry is fully compliant with all rules of the road. As president his main mission is to level the playing field for the majority of responsible, compliant motor carriers in our industry. Through Stephen's leadership, the Canadian trucking industry was able to navigate through and weathered the pandemic storm that has been by far his most challenging task to say the least.  

Stephen was selected to be a participant in the prestigious US State Department World Leadership Exchange Program in 2004. He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Western Ontario and an undergraduate degree in Political Science & History from his hometown school McMaster University.

Stephen lives in Burlington Ontario with his wife Milena and their daughter. 

Founder of the Reshoring Initiative after being president of machine tool maker GF Machining Solutions for 22 years. Awards include: Industry Week's and Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) Hall of Fame, SPE's Mold Designer of the Year and Fab Shop Direct Manufacture of the Year. Participated actively in President Obama's 2012 Insourcing Forum at the White House. Member of the Department of Commerce Investment Advisory Council. 

Regularly quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, NYT, and seen on national TV and radio programs. BS and MS in Engineering from MIT and MBA from U. of Chicago. 

As Assistant-Vice President of International Intermodal, Girish Nair is responsible for all Sales and Marketing components of CN's International Intermodal business. Girish's primary role is to enable CN's customers to win in their markets and help build the physical & digital infrastructure needed to catapult CN to the next level. He is also responsible for managing all relationships with ocean carriers and port stakeholders on the three coasts that CN serves.

Girish held leadership positions in Sales at CN as Senior Commercial Manager - establishing the industry best cold supply chain program in North America. He was responsible for pricing, product development and commercial strategy within this segment.

Just prior to his present role, Girish was responsible for the entire customer service team at CN's Consumer Product Supply Chain Group. That job entailed overseeing the customer experience within all segments of the Intermodal & Automotive business and developing self-serve tools incorporating automation and clear metrics to measure CN performance.

Girish holds an MBA degree from the University of Leicester, UK and currently lives in Milton, ON with his wife and two children.

Rob Nichols has lead CP's Domestic Intermodal Sales portfolio since 2016.  He has nearly 20 years of progressive leadership and senior leadership roles in supply chain, transportation, operations, integrated logistics management, and business development. 
Rob started his career with UPS Supply Chain Solutions and prior to joining CP led the sales and customer support teams for Calyx (National Fast Freight).  Rob is a graduate of the International Trade program at Sir Sanford Fleming College and lives north of Toronto with his wife and two children. 

Sandra was first elected to the Ontario Legislature in 1995, was appointed to Cabinet in 2003. She represented Windsor for 16 years. She served most of her years in Cabinet as Minister of Industry and Trade, where she led trade delegations in most major markets around the world and provided steady leadership through a uniquely challenging economic climate. Sandra chose to enter the private sector launching her own management consulting firm. She worked with PwC Canada, as their Strategic Advisor: Industry, Global Markets & Public Sector. Sandra’s depth of experience, network of business contacts, global experience and public profile enabled her to drive growth for the firm and their clients, domestically and on the global stage. She continues to manage her own firm these last 10 years, and has focused on strategy, government relations and communications.

Sandra obtained her ICD.D certification from the Rotman School of Business. She sits on the board of  Martinrea International Inc., a global auto parts maker. She just wrapped up 6 years as a Board member of the Asia Pacific Foundation and Chair of the Pearson Centre, a centrist think tank based in Ottawa. She is the former Chair and Board member of Hydro One, Canada’s largest transmission company, and was the founding Vice- Chair of Ontario Global 100. As a volunteer, Sandra sits on the St. Elizabeth Foundation Board of Directors, the Foundation that supports St. Elizabeth nurses and healthcare and hospice workers across Canada. Last spring, Sandra co-founded Reshoring Canada, an initiative that promotes a healthy supply chain for Canadian businesses.

Sandra’s ongoing commitment to community betterment and mentoring women who aspire to lead, led to her receiving the Women's Executive Network’s (WXN) 2014 Top 100 Canada’s Most Powerful Women award. She was recently awarded the Businesswoman of the Year by the ICCO in Toronto, Canada, and the 2016 Innovation and Global Growth Award by the Bank of Montreal, one of Canada’s largest banks.

Amar leads thought leadership on health and wellness, home improvement, and Canadian retail. 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 in Canada, which included brand management, packaging optimization, and product innovation. Amar has an MSc in marketing and consumer studies from the University of Guelph.

Rajiv is a Senior Director in PwC Canada's supply chain transformation team with a primary focus in the fast moving consumer foods and the food sector in particular. He works with his clients from upfront strategy, roadmap and business case development through implementation across all areas of supply chain including planning, procurement, logistics and distribution. Rajiv has also worked with a number of his clients to find opportunities to optimize their distribution networks in Canada in order to improve service, reduce costs and support growth aspirations. He is excited to be moderating today's panel discussion with this esteemed group on this important topic. 

Ilana is an award-winning creative strategist experienced working with blue-chip brands such as Accor, Air Canada and Fidelity Investments. Her work has reached million-plus audiences across the globe and has twice been named a Webby Honoree. 

In his role as vice president, operations and supply chain, Peter Xotta is responsible for the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s land and marine operations, health, safety and security, and supply chain optimization activities.

For the past decade, Peter has led the port authority’s gateway infrastructure programs, and the funding thereof, to deliver an enhanced Lower Mainland road and rail network to better facilitate trade through the Port of Vancouver. He also leads the port authority’s data-capture and supply chain visibility work.

Peter has held diverse portfolios including business development and leading strategic port projects. He was previously president of Modalink Distribution Hub Ltd., a multi-modal logistics facility in South Richmond, British Columbia. He is the former chair of Canada Place Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. He is on the board of the Freight Management Association of Canada.

Peter has a Masters in Business Administration from Simon Fraser University’s Segal Graduate School of Business and is an active mentor in the program.