Chris Hannay writes about the business of health care. Chris looks at everything from blockbuster drugs hitting the market to how business pressures affect health-care providers.

Before that, Chris worked in a variety of roles across departments that give him a well-rounded view of the topics he covers. He reported on issues affecting small businesses at the height of the COVID-19 crisis. He has written for the editorial board. He was an editor in the Ottawa bureau, helping direct coverage of federal politics and writing The Globe's popular daily newsletter about politics. And he has written about arts, winning a National Newspaper Award in 2018 for coverage of a scandal at the National Gallery of Canada.

André Picard is a health reporter and columnist for The Globe and Mail, where he has been a staff writer since 1987. He is also the author of six bestselling books.

André is a two-time winner of the Columns category at Canada's National Newspaper Awards, and past winner of prestigious Michener Award for meritorious public service journalism.

He was named Canada’s first Public Health Hero by the Canadian Public Health Association, and a Champion of Mental Health by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health. He received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his dedication to improving healthcare.

André is a graduate of the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, and has received honorary doctorates from eight universities, including UBC and the University of Toronto.

Dave Ricks is chair and chief executive officer of Eli Lilly and Company, a medicine company that for 150 years has united caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. Under Dave's leadership, Lilly has accelerated progress in obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, cancer and immune conditions while delivering record R&D output and business results. In 2025, Lilly medicines reached more than 71 million people worldwide. Since joining Lilly in 1996, Dave has held leadership roles across functions and geographies, including as general manager of Lilly Canada and Lilly China, president of Lilly USA, and president of Lilly Bio-Medicines. He holds a bachelor's degree and an honorary doctorate from Purdue University and an MBA from Indiana University.

Dave Ricks is chair and chief executive officer of Eli Lilly and Company, a medicine company that for 150 years has united caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. Under Dave's leadership, Lilly has accelerated progress in obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, cancer and immune conditions while delivering record R&D output and business results. In 2025, Lilly medicines reached more than 71 million people worldwide. Since joining Lilly in 1996, Dave has held leadership roles across functions and geographies, including as general manager of Lilly Canada and Lilly China, president of Lilly USA, and president of Lilly Bio-Medicines. He holds a bachelor's degree and an honorary doctorate from Purdue University and an MBA from Indiana University.

Suzanne McGurn is the President and Chief Executive Officer at Canada’s Drug Agency. She leads the organization to deliver credible, objective evidence that helps inform decisions about the best use of drugs and health technologies in Canada.

Suzanne joined the organization in July 2020 and is focused on enabling transformative change that helps support evidence-based health system decision-making.  

She spent 17 years working in clinical care as a registered nurse before moving to government. She has held various assistant deputy minister positions within the Ontario public service, focusing on the public drug program and health human resources strategy.

Throughout her career, Suzanne has developed strong relationships with patients, government officials, and industry. Her diverse experience as a clinical and senior leader has provided her with a deep understanding of the complexities in Canada’s health systems.  

Suzanne led the implementation of the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA) and served as its first chair. She is a member of the board of directors at the Victorian Order of Nurses for Canada and the Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC), as well as a member of the Strategic Advisory Council for MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital. Suzanne holds a BScN and an MPA from Queen’s University. 

Dr. Wayne Inuglak Clark is an Inuk scholar and the Ozhaawashkobinesiik Professor in Indigenous Health Systems Research at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. His research focuses on Indigenous health governance, distinctions-based clinical trials, Inuit health and mental wellness, Indigenous data sovereignty, and medical education. Dr. Clark served as Director of Indigenous Health and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Alberta and held an appointment as Visiting Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Clark is a Fulbright Arctic Initiative Scholar, Research Affiliate with POLAR Knowledge Canada, Braiding Knowledges Canada Research Fellow, and President of the Canadian Society for Circumpolar Health. His work has been recognized with the Jens Peder Hansen Award and Athabasca University’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Dr. Bettina Hamelin, PharmD, EMBA, serves as President of Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC), bringing over 30 years of expertise across academia, industry, and the non-profit sector. Known for her commitment to advancing research and healthcare accessibility, Dr. Hamelin champions Canada as a global hub for life sciences, attracting investments, jobs, and clinical trials. Her previous role as President and CEO of Ontario Genomics positioned her at the forefront of engineering biology, fostering an ecosystem for Canadian innovation. Dr. Hamelin’s tenure as Vice-President of Research Partnerships at NSERC further reflects her dedication to research, having led strategic investments in innovation. She has also held prominent roles at BioChem Pharma and Pfizer and served as a professor at Université Laval. Dr. Hamelin is a transformative leader devoted to strengthening Canada’s healthcare and research infrastructure for a healthier future.

Michelle is an experienced lawyer, public affairs professional and leader in both the corporate and not-for-profit sectors.

Over the past 20 years, Michelle has provided strategic counsel and leadership to a wide array of organizations in the health and life sciences sector, including health charities, health research organizations, hospitals, pan-Canadian government-funded health organizations, and pharmaceutical and health technology companies. Having led the development of many national communications, stakeholder engagement and government relations strategies and campaigns, she is best known as a skilled and strategic advocate who has secured significant policy and funding commitments at the federal level.

Michelle previous leadership roles include General Manager at Hill + Knowlton Strategies, one of Canada’s largest public affairs agencies, and Vice President at the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

Dr. Desjardins is an award-winning entrepreneur with more than 30 years of biotechnology experience. Over the course of her career, she has founded 4 biotechnology companies. Currently, Dr. Clarissa Desjardins is the founder and CEO of Congruence Therapeutics, a computationally driven biotechnology company using machine learning to rationally design small molecule correctors which rescue aberrant protein function.

Previously, Dr. Desjardins was the founder and CEO of Clementia, a clinical-stage company focused on developing therapies for rare pediatric bone diseases. Clementia was a Nasdaq-listed company until its acquisition by Ipsen in 2019 for $1.3 billion. Clementia’s lead product, Sohonos® (palovarotene), was approved by the FDA and Health Canada and is the first and only treatment for Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva, a debilitating and progressive rare bone disorder.

Prior to Clementia, Clarissa was CEO at the Centre of excellence in Personalized Medicine, a federally-funded think tank created to promote personalized medicine research and policies. Dr. Desjardins also co-founded Caprion Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company focused on proteomic biomarker discovery and drug development, where she was Executive Vice-President of corporate development. Caprion, now CellCarta still operates in Montreal and employs more than 700 hundred people. As a graduate student, she founded Advanced Bioconcept, a research reagent and diagnostics company which was sold to NEN Life Sciences (Perkin Elmer) in 1998.

Dr. Desjardins is the recipient of the 2018 Bloom Burton Award for her contribution to Canada’s innovative healthcare industry, the BRIO award for outstanding contributions to the biotechnology industry from the Quebec Biotechnology Association, holds Honorary Doctorates from Universite de Moncton and Concordia University. Dr. Desjardins currently sits on the board of INSMED (Nasdaq:INSM) and was previously a board member of Bellus Health (Nasdaq:BLU) and Xenon Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:XENE). Dr. Desjardins earned a doctorate in Neurology and Neurosurgery from McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine with a minor in History and Philosophy of Science.

Anne is a Managing Director with the RBC Healthcare Capital markets team where she leads the banks efforts in the sector across Canada. Born and raised in Toronto, Anne brings over 25 years of experience in life sciences and capital markets, with 15 years of experience within pharma and biotech. Prior to RBC Capital Markets, Anne launched and led the Life Sciences and Healthcare practice in Canada for both RBCx and Silicon Valley Bank.
Anne is a member of the executive at Life Sciences Ontario and also sits on the boards of the Ontario Biotech Innovation Organization and Biotech Canada. An active member of the Canadian life sciences community, she is a regular panelist and contributor to podcasts and various publications. Anne also offers coaching and advice to early-stage founders, reinforcing her passion for nurturing the ecosystem and enabling the next generation of changemakers to push their next breakthrough forward.
Anne holds a BSc from McGill University, an MA in leadership from the University of Guelph, and became a CFA Charterholder in 2001.

Dr. Bradly Wouters is an internationally recognized leader and cancer researcher. He became Executive Vice President of Science and Research at UHN in 2016 and prior to that served as the Interim Director of Research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre since 2014. He joined UHN in 2008 as Senior Scientist and Director of the Princess Margaret Hypoxia Program, and has held faculty appointments at the University of Toronto in the Department of Medical Biophysics and the Department of Radiation Oncology since that time. Prior to joining UHN, Dr. Wouters was Professor and Head of Experimental Radiation Oncology at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. As EVP of Science and Research, Dr. Wouters is focused on creating an environment that incentivizes, facilitates, and rewards excellence in basic, translational, and clinical research across all elements of UHN.

Ruchi Ambike was diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy (IgAN), a rare auto-immune kidney disease, in 2001 and it was not until 2023 that she met anyone else with this disease. As the Lead Ambassador to Canada for the IgA Nephropathy Foundation, Ruchi is committed to raising awareness and fostering a supportive community. More recently, Ruchi co-founded a Canadian nonprofit, IgA Nephropathy Canada Hub, to help bring information and advocacy to patients, clinicians and scientists. She is also an active member of the Canadian Society of Nephrology Advocacy Committee. Professionally, Ruchi is a paediatric speech-language pathologist working with autistic children and their families. Outside of her advocacy and professional work, she enjoys life with her husband, two sons, and two beagles – and embraces every opportunity to live life to the fullest.