Agenda

Valérie Pisano is a visionary leader at the intersection of artificial intelligence, innovation, and organizational transformation. As the President and CEO of Mila – Quebec AI Institute, she oversees one of the world’s most renowned AI research centers, founded by Turing Award winner Yoshua Bengio. Under her leadership, Mila has strengthened its global impact in deep learning, ethical AI, and industry collaboration, ensuring that AI advancements drive meaningful, responsible progress. 

With over 20 years of experience in leadership and strategic transformation, Valérie has held key roles across multiple industries. Prior to Mila, she served as Chief Talent Officer at Cirque du Soleil, where she led global workforce engagement strategies for 3,500+ employees and artists. She also co-founded The Mobius Bias Project, an initiative dedicated to promoting diversity and advancing women in leadership by addressing unconscious bias in organizations. 

A former consultant at McKinsey & Company, Valérie brings a strong background in strategic thinking, change management, and talent development. She holds a Master’s degree in Applied Economics from HEC Montréal and serves on the boards of Montréal International and Chartwell Retirement Residences. 

With a deep passion for harnessing AI for the greater good, Valérie continues to drive Mila’s mission of advancing AI research while ensuring its responsible and ethical deployment in society. 

Join representatives from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for a discussion on the latest issues, trends and changes coming from the CRA.

David Elzinga, Delta Consulting Group

Fraud is like the awkward relative who always shows up during the holidays – no one wants to acknowledge them, but they can’t be avoided. The reality is that fraud happens and often occurs in organizations where the corporate culture breeds complacency. However, knowledge is power and once acknowledged, organizations can arm themselves with the tools to know what to look for and can mitigate the risks of falling victim to these fraudulent schemes. Led by a seasoned forensic accountant and citing real-life cases, this engaging session will explore the profile of a typical fraudster and what drives people to cross ethical boundaries. It will consider the types of payroll and related fraud schemes that have victimized organizations, address recent fraud trends in general and payroll fraud in particular as well as best practices in fraud prevention, detection, and investigation.

Justin Kingsley’s vocation is to invent the best way of telling the right stories—as an author, strategist, creative director, and photographer. 

Named one of North America’s most creative people by Marketing Magazine, Justin has served as Creative Director for NHL superbrand the Montreal Canadiens, turned Star Wars and Indiana Jones into global museum exhibitions, put a McDonald’s Restaurant into the side of a mountain at a snowboarding competition, and branded the 2010 Vancouver Olympics with the very first bilingual Games slogan: With Glowing Hearts / Des plus brillants exploits. He also developed the award-winning branding and communications strategies for UFC World Champion Georges St-Pierre, world champion sommelier François Chartier, and comedian Sugar Sammy. The strategy and campaign idea he developed for Adidas at the 2012 London Olympics, titled Take the Stage, won international acclaim and was named best global campaign of the Games. 

He has written two bestselling books: The Way of the Fight, a New York Times bestselling look at Georges St-Pierre’s life philosophy, and Weology: How Everybody Wins When We Comes Before Me, a book of ideas on leadership in the new millennium. 

Manon Amiot, National Payroll Institute

Understand the impact of recent changes to the Province of Employment policy on both employees and employers. This session will provide clarity on how the Province of Employment is determined in different scenarios, ensuring compliance across various workplace situations. Participants will also engage in a roundtable discussion to assess their own compliance status and receive practical guidance on addressing any gaps.

Nathalie Syratt, Karima Balfoul, Laura Angelo, National Payroll Institute