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Women in Business Summit Series: Get to Know our Speakers
Women in Business Summit Series: Get to Know our Speakers
Learn more about our industry experts and business and thought leaders.
Dr. Rumeet Billan
CEO, Women of Influence & Founder, Viewpoint Leadership
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Dr. Rumeet Billan is an award-winning, internationally recognized entrepreneur, learning architect, and humanitarian. Her mission is to transform workplace cultures through research, training, and experiences that enable trust, foster belonging, and build resilience. Dr. Billan is the CEO of Women of Influence and Founder of Viewpoint Leadership. She completed her PhD at the University of Toronto and has designed and facilitated programs, courses, and training sessions across industries and sectors. She led the groundbreaking research study on Tall Poppy Syndrome which reveals the impact of the silent systemic syndrome on women in the workplace and co-led the Canadian Happiness at Work study in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association. Dr. Billan was named one of Canada’s Top 10 Power Women and has been featured in Forbes, the Globe and Mail, and more. Learn more at Rumeet.com.
Laura Williams
Founder & Managing Partner, Williams HR Law LLP
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Laura Williams is the founder and managing partner of Williams HR Law LLP and President and CEO of Williams HR Consulting Inc. With over two decades of experience, Laura specializes in providing strategic advice and legal representation in labour, employment law, and human rights matters. She is also an experienced workplace investigator with a focus on equity, diversity, inclusion, and systemic discrimination issues.
As a Certified Professional Speaker, Laura frequently keynotes at conferences, chairs panels, and provides in-house corporate training. She is a thought leader featured in numerous publications, including Canadian Lawyer, Law Times, HR Professional Magazine, and Canadian HR Reporter. Laura has also appeared in national media outlets like CTV News, Global News, and the Globe and Mail.
In addition to her professional work, Laura is an active member of various professional organizations and community service associations. She serves as an advisor on the University of Western Ontario’s Equity Council and the Adidas United Against Racism Accountability Council. Laura has also held board positions, including her current role as Chair of the 360Kids Board of Directors.
Williams HR Law has received numerous awards, including the Richmond Hill Chamber of Commerce’s Business Achievement Award and the York Region Business of the Year Award. Laura herself has been recognized as one of Canada’s top female entrepreneurs, listed on the W100, and honored as one of the Top 100 Black Females to Watch in 2020.
Kadie Philp
Commissioner & Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Ontario Pay Equity Commission
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Commissioner Philp is a seasoned executive whose career has been characterized by successful collaboration across public, private and not-for-profit organizations to design and deliver inclusive economic growth strategies. Before joining the Ontario Pay Equity Commission in 2020, Commissioner Philp worked on implementing aspects of the Federal Government’s “Feminist International Assistance Policy” where she increased women’s participation in international trade, the labour market as well as equitable participation of men and women in their local economy. Her expertise has taken her around the world working with legislators to establish programs and legislation that support women-led micro and small enterprises. She is a Queens’s Diamond Jubilee Medalist, recognized for her work contributing to significant economic improvement in various Canadian cities. Commissioner Philp firmly believes that equity and inclusion are the foundation for sustainable economic prosperity.
Kate Lister
Senior, AVP, Employee Experience and Culture, CWB
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Kate Lister has spent her nearly 25 year career building great teams and learning from great leaders to help organizations build exceptional employee experiences. Starting her career in communications, she has worked in a number of diverse fields, from health care, to energy and for the last 11 years, financial services. Expanding her career from communications to include DEI, talent acquisition, and change management, Kate has had the opportunity to fuel her passion for creating a values-based workplace that offers employees a differentiated experience centered on great communication, trust and engagement, and inclusion and belonging. Kate strongly believes that when organizations put people first, they can achieve great things. She values relationships, words, and community. On top of an already very busy career, Kate is a mother of three children aged 15, 13 and 9, and spends a lot of time at sports and music lessons, and in her spare time loves to travel, camp, cook, listen to great music and read great books.
Nancy Nazer
Chief Human Resources Officer, OMERS
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Nancy leads Human Resources for OMERS 3,000+ global team — one of Canada’s largest Pension Plans who serves 600,000+ members. Focused on attracting and retaining top talent, she strategically shapes the employee experience, ensuring people have the resources and opportunities to be, and do, their best.
Nancy is a member of the Executive Leadership Team, a Purpose@Work Committee Executive Advisor and also co-chairs the global I&D Council alongside OMERS CEO.
Nancy is a champion of OMERS people-first, purpose-driven culture. Partnering with leaders across the organization, she’s created an environment where employees feel empowered to make an impact. This commitment has resulted in notable awards and recognition including, Best Workplaces in Canada, Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures, Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance and Best Workplaces for Mental Wellness. Nancy has also ranked as one of the Best 50 Executives in Canada.
Over her 20+ year career, she’s become an expert in deepening engagement and data-driven
organizational transformation. Prior to joining OMERS, Nancy was SVP, Organization Development, Talent Acquisition & Learning with Rogers Communications, led several executive HR roles at TD Bank and spentnearly a decade at Bell Canada implementing award-winning programs.
Passionate about finding ways to uplift and support others, Nancy has been steadfast in her commitment to advancing inclusion, diversity and belonging. She is a certified coach and serves on the boards for Teranet and Holy Trinity School. Nancy holds a Master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Toronto.
Preet Makkar
Head of HR, Haleon Canada
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Preet Makkar is an accomplished human resource professional with over 20 years of experience across various HR disciplines. As the Head of HR at Haleon Canada, she provides strategic counsel and drives business priorities through innovative people strategies. Preet’s career at GSK/Haleon began in 2001 as a freelance HR coordinator, and she has since become a key figure in shaping and implementing the company’s employee-focused culture. Her expertise spans talent strategy, organizational transformation, leadership coaching, recruitment strategy, and employee relations.
Preet is deeply committed to creating a workplace where diversity thrives, and everyone feels a sense of belonging. She is dedicated to developing and sustaining an inclusive workplace culture, ensuring that every individual can reach their full potential.
Sévrine Labelle
Managing Director, Thrive Lab, BDC
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Sévrine is a strategic leader who is passionate about supporting entrepreneurs. As the Managing Director of BDC’s $100M Thrive Lab, she works closely with partners to develop innovative equity investment models to support women-led businesses. Her background includes a common theme of building a more inclusive and sustainable society. As President and CEO of Evol, she led the organization through a major transformation from supporting only women to all underserved groups and raised a $60M impact fund.
Sonia Brown
Head of HR, Johnson and Johnson, MedTech, Johnson & Johnson
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Sonia Brown is a Human Resources leader with over 20 years of experience in a variety of industries. Currently, she is the Head of Human Resources for Johnson & Johnson MedTech in Canada, located out of Markham, Ontario. In her various professional roles, she has worked with business leaders to translate global/regional HR strategies into local/ national strategies, providing leadership, coaching and consultative services as it relates to organizational change plans, HR strategy, diversity equity and inclusion, talent and compensation strategy.
Sonia has built a career in roles that include a strong focus and passion for coaching business leaders for high performance on both a personal and organizational level.
Sonia has a BA in Social Science (Political Science) from the University of Western Ontario and a professional certification in Human Resources Management from Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology.
She has a passion for helping other; included in her voluntary and philanthropic activities, she is the President of The George Lunan Charitable Foundation, Past Chair of the Board of Directors for Room 217 Foundation and has participated in numerous humanitarian missions in Central America. She is also the Chair of the HR Committee for MedTech Canada trade association.
Sonia resides in Toronto, Ontario.
Molara Awosedo
Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Toronto Pearson Airport
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Molara Awosedo joined Toronto Pearson as the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in November 2021. Her focus is to ensure that DE&I are embedded into the fabric of the wider airport, with diverse representation at all levels, all while fostering a safe, respectful, and inclusive work environment where all employees can make a meaningful contribution.
Prior to joining the Toronto Pearson, Molara worked in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Communications and Employee Experience roles within the financial industry where she was focused on creating and executing talent and communication strategies that supported the attraction, development and retention of a diverse and high performing workforce.
In 2019, Molara was recognized as a Woman of Influence for her work in building a global network and Employee Resource Group focused on the professional development of equity-deserving groups. She also serves as a DEI committee member on the Airports Council International and BlackNorth Initiative working groups.
Molara holds both a Bachelor of Arts degree and Public Relations diploma from McGill University and is currently exploring additional DEI certifications.
Rupa Bahri
General Manager, Haleon Canada
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Rupa Bahri is the General Manager of Haleon Canada, a leading global consumer healthcare company. She leads one of Haleon’s top five global markets, overseeing 1,200 people dedicated to delivering better everyday health with humanity. A highly accomplished executive, Rupa has over two decades of experience in healthcare, with expertise in driving business growth, leading organizational change, and building high-performing teams in both local and global roles.
Mentorship has been central to Rupa’s personal and professional journey. She is passionate about supporting the next generation of young women and is proud to oversee a leadership team at Haleon Canada comprised of over 70% women.
Carolyn Levy
Managing Director and Head of Canada, Randstad Digital
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Carolyn Levy, Managing Director & Head of Canada at Randstad Digital, partners with executive leaders to drive digital transformation, offering talent-led solutions that empower Canadian organizations to navigate the digital landscape, future-proofing their operations and ensuring sustainable growth. As a leader motivated by creating diverse and inclusive workplaces, she improves the visibility and priority of employment equity but also contributes to the necessary leadership, investment, and accountability regarding EDI&A. Carolyn serves on the NACCB board, representing staffing firms on Canadian IT policy, and the WCT Canadian National board.
Sarah Lane
Regional Manager, Women in Enterprise, Commercial banking, TD
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Sarah has been with TD since 2007 holding increasingly senior positions through Branch Banking, Corporate Office, and Commercial Banking. Today Sarah is the Regional Manager for Women in Enterprise supporting Commercial and Specialized Business Banking in Central Canada. Sarah developed a passion for this space during her experience in Commercial Banking as a careerwomen in a predominantly male industry. As the mother of a young-daughter, Sarah feels privileged to have the opportunity to remove barriers for women entrepreneurs and leaders and support this demographic in achieving their biggest aspirations.
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