Erin Elofson is the President of Mastercard in Canada, leading the team’s efforts in driving innovation and strategic growth across all aspects of the company’s Canadian operations. With a deep commitment to strengthening customer relationships, Erin is focused on ensuring Mastercard leads the way in driving technology innovation to power commerce and unlock Canada’s rapidly evolving digital economy.

A collaborative leader with more than two decades of experience in high-growth technology companies, Erin brings a proven track record of building and scaling businesses. Most recently, she served as Head of Canada and APAC at Pinterest, where she opened the company’s Canadian office and spearheaded significant growth across multiple markets. Prior to that, Erin held senior leadership positions at Meta and Microsoft.

Erin holds an M.A. from York University with a specialization in Technology in Practice, completing a thesis on media choice theory. She currently serves on the WildBrain Board of Directors and CAMH Foundation Cabinet Committee. In 2022, Erin was named a DMZ Woman of the Year, underscoring her tremendous impact and influence in the technology sector.

Rita Trichur is an award-winning journalist. She is a Senior Business Writer and Columnist in the Report on Business. Her previous roles at The Globe and Mail include Senior Editor, Financial Services Editor, and Canadian business columnist for the Report on Business Magazine. Rita returned to Globe in July 2016 after spending about 2 ½ years as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal’s Canada bureau. She primarily covered domestic banks and insurance companies from Toronto, but also wrote a variety of other stories about Canada for the U.S. newspaper. Prior to WSJ, Rita spent more than three years at the Globe, initially working as a general assignment reporter in the Report on Business before covering the telecom beat. Rita has also covered financial services and economics for the Toronto Star, and has held various roles at the Canadian Press and the Ottawa Sun. She got her first byline at age 6 when the Toronto Star published her short story about a fish-stealing cat and paid her $10. Rita, who also speaks French, was born in Toronto. She has a Bachelor of Journalism and Political Science and a M.A. in Canadian Studies – both from Carleton University in Ottawa.

Brian Kingston is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association (CVMA). The CVMA represents Canada’s leading manufacturers of light and heavy duty motor vehicles. Its membership includes Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited, General Motors of Canada Company, and Stellantis (FCA Canada).
Prior to joining the CVMA, Brian was Vice President of Policy, Fiscal and International, at the Business Council of Canada where he led the Council’s economic policy priorities and global engagement. From 2009 to 2012 he served in the federal government with positions at the Department of Finance, Global Affairs Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the Treasury Board Secretariat, and the Privy Council Office. Brian is active in the non-profit sector including as past president of the Ottawa Economics Association and as the current chair of the Banff Forum.

Jimmy Jean is Vice-President, Chief Economist and Strategist at Desjardins Group. He leads a team of researchers, analysts and forecasters that has been named Best Overall Forecaster – Canada by FocusEconomics on numerous occasions. His keen insights and clear communication style make him a sought-after speaker and a regular guest on financial news programs in Canada’s English and French media markets.

Jimmy has been with Desjardins Group for most of his career, but has also served as senior strategist at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and as an economist at Moody's, RBC Capital Markets and Statistics Canada. He has a master’s degree in applied financial economics from HEC Montréal and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Dawn is the editor of Report on Business magazine, handling long-form features, packages and oversight of the publication. She also writes the magazine's back-page column, "Last Word," along with the occasional feature.

Laura Dawson is one of North America’s leading experts in U.S-Canada economic relations. She leads the Future Borders Coalition, an organization dedicated to business and government cooperation on trade and travel between the U.S. and Canada. In recognition of this work, she received the 2025 King Charles Coronation medal and was named one of Canada’s Top 50 Foreign Policy Influencers by the Hill Times. She is a frequent commentator on Canadian, U.S. and international media and is a trusted advisor to governments in both countries.

Previously, Dawson was director of the Canada Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington DC, senior economist at US Embassy Ottawa, and ran a think tank on government digital transformation for Amazon Web Services. She has taught graduate courses in international economic policy in universities around the world. At a practical level, she has advised on NAFTA/USMCA trade negotiations, regulatory cooperation, border security and facilitation, and helped launched new programs for secure and efficient movement of people and cargo between countries.

A proud Sault Ste Marie native, Dawson holds a PhD in political science and is married to U.S. Ambassador (ret) Charles Shapiro. They live in Atlanta, GA.

Mark Rendell is The Globe and Mail's economics reporter. He covers the Bank of Canada and macro topics, as well as economic policy and trade.

Matt Lundy is The Globe and Mail's economics editor. As a reporter, Matt covered some of the biggest economic news from 2019 to 2024: the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, four-decade-high inflation and breakneck population growth. Matt has written frequently about the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and its controversies; demographic and labour market trends, such as rising youth unemployment; and the absurdities of Canada's housing supply crisis, from Prince Edward Island to Red Deer, Alta.

An Arthur F. Burns Fellow in 2023, Matt reported from Berlin on Germany's economic stagnation, China's dominance in electric vehicles and a rags-to-riches soccer club. He's also reported from Cambodia.

Erin Elofson is the President of Mastercard in Canada, leading the team’s efforts in driving innovation and strategic growth across all aspects of the company’s Canadian operations. With a deep commitment to strengthening customer relationships, Erin is focused on ensuring Mastercard leads the way in driving technology innovation to power commerce and unlock Canada’s rapidly evolving digital economy.

A collaborative leader with more than two decades of experience in high-growth technology companies, Erin brings a proven track record of building and scaling businesses. Most recently, she served as Head of Canada and APAC at Pinterest, where she opened the company’s Canadian office and spearheaded significant growth across multiple markets. Prior to that, Erin held senior leadership positions at Meta and Microsoft.

Erin holds an M.A. from York University with a specialization in Technology in Practice, completing a thesis on media choice theory. She currently serves on the WildBrain Board of Directors and CAMH Foundation Cabinet Committee. In 2022, Erin was named a DMZ Woman of the Year, underscoring her tremendous impact and influence in the technology sector.

Brian Rosen is the President, U.S. Northeast Region, Brokerage & Chief Executive Officer, Canada at Colliers, a leading Canadian commercial real estate services and investment management firm.

Rosen joined Colliers in 2019, first as COO and then as CEO of Colliers Canada, and his role expanded in January 2026 to include the U.S. Northeast Region Brokerage. With a career spanning corporate strategy and general management in the US and Canada, Rosen worked for Marakon Associates, Avon Products, and Iron Mountain.

Rosen is a dual citizen of the US and Canada and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology from Princeton University.

Jay-Ann Gilfoy joined Meridian as President & CEO on January 3, 2022. She is focused on leveraging Meridian’s unique value proposition to transform the business, achieve its winning aspiration and secure its future. In collaboration with the Board and senior management, she is responsible for articulating the organization’s strategy and delivering on its purpose on helping Members and customers achieve a better life, while growing the business.

Jay-Ann’s wealth of business transformation, social impact and leadership expertise has been cultivated over more than 20 years as a senior executive in a broad range of roles and experiences in the private and public sector, and co-operative financial services.

Since 2018, Jay-Ann served as CEO of Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB), a nationally focused subsidiary of B.C.-based Vancity credit union.

In this role, Jay-Ann brokered partnerships with the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CHMC) and Habitat for Humanity to help create innovative, affordable housing solutions for Canadians. She also led VCIB’s efforts to be the first bank in Canada to acquire an impact investment firm: CoPower, a leading provider of clean energy financing and investments.

Prior to that, she served as Senior Vice-President of Digital Solutions and Business Technology for Vancity. While there, Jay-Ann led the development and implementation of the credit union’s technology road map. Previously, she served as Chief Transformation Officer/Chief HR Officer at Coast Capital Savings.

Tanya Woods leads Government and Regulatory Affairs for Questrade Financial Group, a successful private Canadian company with $85B+ AUA and a portfolio of leading companies offering innovative banking, financial, home, lending, services online to help clients become much more financially successful and secure. Tanya is a dynamic and specialized technology, regulatory, and trade lawyer, former trade negotiator, and technology policy expert. She advises governments and companies on digital trade, open finance and fintech issues, intellectual property, sustainability and resiliency, cybersecurity policy and global enforcement, digital literacy, and emerging technologies. She has served in Advisory, Board and C-suite legal and business roles successfully advancing the commercial and regulatory agendas of technology companies for 20 years, including Microsoft, Nintendo, Interac, and BCE Inc