Friday Night Keynote - Bill Buxton
Bill Buxton is the author of, Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design, published jointly by Morgan Kaufmann and Focal Press as well as a columnist on design and innovation for BusinessWeek.com.
He is Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research and has a 30 year involvement in research, design and commentary around human aspects of technology, and digital tools for creative endeavour, including music, film and industrial design.
Prior to joining Microsoft, he was a researcher at Xerox PARC, a professor at the University of Toronto, and Chief Scientist of Alias Research and SGI Inc. where in 2003 he was co-recipient of an Academy Award for Scientific and
Technical Achievement.
In 2007, he was named Doctor of Design, honoris causa, by the Ontario College of Art and Design, in 2008 became the 10th reci-pient of the ACM/SIGCHI Lifetime Achievement Award for fundamental contributions to the
field of human-computer interaction. In January 2009 was elected a Fellow of the ACM, in June was awarded a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, by his alma mater, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, and in November was awarded an honourary
doctorate in Industrial Design from the Technical University of Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
Uses of Renewable Energy
Ralf Rank is a Vice President with Brookfield’s Renewable Power group, where he leads a team responsible for originating, evaluating and structuring investments in the renewable power and utility sectors. In the power and utilities space, Brookfield primarily focuses on hydroelectric, wind, transmission and other utility investments in North and South America.
Prior to joining Brookfield, Ralf was an Associate Director
in the investment banking division of Scotia Capital Inc., with an industry specialization in the infrastructure, power and utilities group. He also worked on Brookfield’s long-term debt financings for a substantial portion of Brookfield’s renewable hydroelectric portfolio in Canada and the United States, Transelec SA, Chile’s national transmission grid and Island Timberlands. Mr. Rank has an Honors Bachelor of Applied
Science (Mechanical Engineering) and a Minor in Economics from the University of Waterloo and is also a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
After graduating from the Richard Ivey School of Business, Chuck joined Union Gas and held a variety of sales positions focusing on the residential and commercial markets. Chuck left Union Gas in 1990 and until 1997 ran his own heating, ventilation and air conditioning retail business in Owen Sound. Chuck returned to Union Gas in 1997 and became involved in the Conservation industry, holding various roles in marketing
and account management. In 2005, Chuck was appointed as the Director for Market Knowledge and Demand Side Management at Union Gas. Chuck left Union Gas in 2006 and joined the Ontario Power Authority to continue his work in the Conservation field.
At the OPA, Chuck has held a variety of roles, including his current role as Director, Conservation Integration in Power System Planning, Chuck leads the development of the provincial electricity forecast and develops the long term plans for the inclusion of Conservation resources.
Alison Ouellet is the Director of Government Affairs for the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association. A seasoned political insider, Ms. Ouellet understands how Government works and how decisions get made. Her role as a leading advocate for renewable fuels means working closely with both the industry and governments at all levels.
In her previous career, Ms. Ouellet served as a political aide to two federal Members of Parliament, and held a key national outreach position with a major political party in the Nation's Capital. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree from the University of Ottawa and is a member of the Canadian Society of Association Executives.
Health care: A look into Profit and Non-Profit Organizations
Rob joined GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare in April 2001 as a Regulatory Affairs Associate. During his time with GSK, Rob has been involved in many industry association committees and taskforces spanning the spectrum of drugs, natural health products and cosmetics.
Rob earned a Regulatory Affairs Certification in 2006 from the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society and is a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Regulatory Affairs. Rob holds an Honours Bachelor of Science Degree from McMaster University
Sandra Hanmer is the Chief Executive Officer of the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network (WWLHIN). Sandra has devoted her professional career to health service organizations including COTA Health, VON Waterloo-Wellington-Dufferin, Stratford General Hospital, Kitchener-Waterloo Hospital, The Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto.
Recognized as both a visionary leader and strategic thinker, Sandra has an impressive ability to move programs forward from conception to implementation. She is committed to making a far-reaching contribution and to that end takes on the role of mentor to many young professionals.
Sandra has received recognition for her work being awarded the ACHCE Regents Award for Excellence in Health Care Leadership (2004), City of Waterloo Volunteer of the Year Recognition Award in both 2003 and 2007, and Canadian College of Health Services Executives (CCHSE) Chapter Award for Distinguished Service in Health Care Leadership (2008). Sandra holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from McGill University and a Master’s In Health Sciences from the University of Toronto.
Kevin began his healthcare career in the group insurance industry after which, as V.P. RxPlus (know by us today as ClaimSecure) Kevin developed and implemented Canada’s first electronic prescription claims submissions and adjudication system.
While at RxCanada, Kevin effectively championed and managed the efforts of competitor pharmacy chains in the development and implementation of numerous multi-stakeholder alliances and partnerships across healthcare verticals and developed and marketed unprecedented, revenue-generating, multi-stakeholder patient care / education programs for large-scale implementation by independent and chain pharmacies across Canada.
Kevin’s vast resume includes dealing directly with pharmaceutical manufacturers, drug wholesalers, and payer communities to ensure “best-in-class” service to long-term care contracts and retail pharmacy clients.
Today, Kevin is the Vice President, Client Services at Innomar Strategies responsible for Strategic Consulting, Specialty Pharmacy and New Business Development.
Success Factors of the Science and Technology Industry
Suzanne Hyatt, Vice President Human Resources at Tech Capital Partners, plays a key role in the design, development and implementation of human capital strategies critical to supporting business development and growth. Suzanne specializes in organizational design and development, one on one executive
coaching and leadership development, building and developing high performance teams, developing leading practices in the attraction and retention of talent, the creation of total rewards strategies, and the management of organizational change. With over fifteen years of operational and human resources experience, Suzanne has worked closely with many venture-backed companies and has developed best practices to help entrepreneurs manage the human resources challenges that companies often face in the early stages of their business. Prior to joining Tech Capital, Suzanne was Manager of Human Resources and Operations for Solowave Investments Limited (Private Equity).
Howard has been called “the quintessential educational entrepreneur.” CBET’s founder, he has been a driving force for innovation in entrepreneurship education. He is the recipient of Waterloo’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the L.S. Rosen Outstanding Accounting Educator Award and a 3M National Teaching Fellowship. His students praise his ability both to motivate them and to challenge them, and in the words of one, "his devotion to teaching his students to read, write, and think critically is the greatest gift a professor could give”
Professor Armitage is a widely sought after corporate speaker and consultant, has worked in more than a dozen countries and is the author of numerous articles and monographs in the area of cost management systems. He is a squash (the sport) nut, a movie fan and a terrific grandpa.
Dave Robitaille joined IBM Canada in 1990, and is currently the Director of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs (CCCA) for IBM Canada. In his current role, Dave is responsible for administering IBM’s community outreach and philanthropy in Canada, and for driving employee engagement in IBM’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives including sustainability.
Most of Dave’s career has been spent in the various supply chain disciplines, and more recently he has managed internal, executive and external Communications, including Media, Public and Community Relations.
Dr. Evan Koslow is the founder and CEO of GABAE Development located in Waterloo. He was the President and CEO of KX Industries for 16 years. The company was sold in 2007 to the Marmon Group/Berkshire Hathaway. KX Industries was the world’s largest manufacturer of extruded carbon. He was the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of Nuclear, Biological and
Chemical Defense & Technology International. He was the CEO of an international defense company during the 1987-1997 timeframe. Dr. Evan Koslow holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, a Masters degree in Forestry from Yale University and a doctorate in Agronomy and Agricultural Engineering from Cornell University. He has written over 175 articles and papers and holds 70 patents in multiple fields. He is the original inventor of the solid state extrusion process for carbon block technology. He holds membership in a variety of distinguished professional and honorary organizations and has done extensive grant research on various projects from forestry to nuclear power.