Speakers

Mattermost, Chief Marketing Officer

Leigh Dow

Leigh Dow is an award-winning marketing executive, agency founder, and national security strategist with more than two decades of experience in brand, go-to-market, and policy engagement for dual-use technologies. As Chief Marketing Officer at Mattermost, she drives global growth across defense, intelligence, security, and critical infrastructure, positioning the company as a leader in secure collaboration and sovereign-ready software.

Leslie Quinton, is the VP Public Affairs and Communications at La Caisse, Canada’s 2nd largest pension fund investment company, after Canada Pension Fund. Previously, she was the Vice-president, Communications at Ubisoft, where she developed a deep expertise in all aspects of communications and organizational leadership. From multinational corporations to agency to non-profit, she has a broad background in corporate communications and related areas, such as CSR and DE&I. She was named a Top 50 over 50 by CEO Magazine, she has been one of the Top 50 Women Leaders in Montreal for the past three years, and has been named by Women of Influence, among other recognitions. She taught communications at McGill University and Université de Sherbrooke, and studied humanities at Concordia University.

VP Public Affairs and Communications at La Caisse

Leslie Quinton

Vandana Puranik is the Owner of Active Ingredients, where she brings extensive experience in strategy, innovation, and marketing to help organizations make better decisions and execute with excellence. 
Her career spans multiple industries, including packaged goods (food, health, and beauty), financial services, telecommunications, and digital platforms, with experience across both B2C and B2B markets in North America. She has held roles at leading global organizations such as Procter & Gamble, Kellogg’s, and Royal Bank of Canada, and has worked as a consultant with a wide range of companies including Johnson & Johnson, Revlon, Rogers, Hershey, Campbell’s, and Maple Leaf Foods.

OWNER OF Active Ingredients

Vandana Puranik

dianewolf.com

@dianemwolf

Diane Wolf helps leaders go beyond managing stress—to mastering it. As a Registered Psychotherapist and former business professor, she uniquely bridges the gap between brain science and business strategy. Her neuroscience-based approach empowers business owners, executives, and teams to transform high-pressure challenges into strengths that drive clarity, resilience, and long-term success. The results? Increased productivity, reduced burnout, and sharper decision-making—fueling stronger leadership and enhanced team performance.

Registered Psychotherapist

Diane Wolf

@overcat_pr

Audrey Hyams Romoff was born and raised in Montreal. After graduating from university with a degree in English literature, Audrey founded OverCat, a communications and influencer agency based in Toronto. OverCat has consulted for numerous brands, including Victoria’s Secret, Crate & Barrel, IKEA, Longines, Bosch, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Estée Lauder.

OverCat has also worked with a roster of A-list celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence, Sarah Jessica Parker, Katy Perry, and Jennifer Lopez. Audrey was named a top Public Relations executive by Cosmetics Magazine. Her memoir, The Ripple Eclipse: Turning the Tide of Inherited Trauma, is now available through Amazon, Indigo, and Barnes & Noble.

overcat Communications

Audrey Hyams Romoff

Clare Mitchell is the founder of Creating Clarety, a leadership and workplace wellness practice helping teams move from “productive but stuck” to clear, connected and energized. With 25+ years of experience across public and private sectors in Canada, Clare designs and leads engaging, highly interactive experiences that strengthen alignment, elevate conversations and translate insight into action. Her work blends strategic facilitation, applied psychology and evidence-informed wellness, including breathwork and cold plunging, to create meaningful shifts at team events, offsites and retreats without awkward icebreakers or surface-level team building. Clare helps organizations create the conditions where clarity, momentum and performance naturally follow.

founder of Creating Clarety

Clare Mitchell 

Serena Quaglia MA is a behavioral economics and strategic communications advisor helping developers, cities, and institutions translate human behavior, health, and well-being into measurable real estate performance. Her work spans large-scale masterplans, destinations, CRE, and infrastructure, including GTM strategy for a $3B, 243-acre mixed-use development and $1B+ in sales enabled across asset classes. Serena helps leaders align narrative, lived experience, ESG, and trust in multi-stakeholder environments to reduce risk and protect long-term value. She is the founder of Wellnutcake Inc., serving clients across Canada, the U.S., and Indigenous-led development contexts.  

Founder, Wellnutcake Inc.

Serena Quaglia

Julia is the Chief Communications Officer for the City of Toronto, the fourth largest municipal government in North America. She has more than 25 years’ experience in the communications, marketing and public relations fields and has worked with some of the most iconic brands over her career, including the Olympics, Bell, Sony, Dell, and Telus to name a few. She’s worked in various sectors including telecommunications, healthcare, consumer goods, electronics, corporate finance, pharmaceutical and insurance. Julia has won over 25 awards in the past 5 years for her work in communications, change management, media relations, corporate social responsibility, and leadership.
She is a regular guest speaker and mentor with both the Canadian Public Relations Society and the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and holds several national and international mandates within IABC. She has also served as part-time faculty member at Lambton and Fanshawe colleges.

Chief Communications Officer,  City of Toronto 

Julia Oosterman

As the founder of Good Investing, Tim Nash has helped more than 20,000 people put their money where their values are. Tim isn’t an investment advisor or portfolio manager but more like a teacher and coach. He is a Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®) with a huge heart. As an expert on responsible investing, sustainability, and impact investing, he is regularly featured in publications such as CBC, BNNBloomberg, and Corporate Knights.

Good Investing Financial Planners

TIM NASH