Yvette Zhang has more than fifteen years of consulting experience, including at corporate internal consulting groups and at professional service firms. She has helped automakers and automotive suppliers across the world transform themselves via growth-strategy development, supply-chain optimization, process and organization re-engineering, and operations improvement. She has been a trusted advisor for business leaders of companies ranging in scale from start-ups to multi-billion-dollar global companies, including advising them in the high-tech spaces of future mobility, electrification, and autonomous driving.

Yvette has an MBA from Kellogg at Northwestern University and BS in Economics from Fudan University. Originally from Shanghai, she now lives in New York.

Petrina Gentile is an award-winning automotive journalist -- one of the few women who cover cars in Canada. Petrina has been writing for The Globe and Mail’s Drive section since 2004. She also covers the automotive beat for CTV NewsChannel on her bi-weekly national segment called "Up to Speed" and has appeared on CP24, CBC, and BNN Bloomberg TV. She produced 18 seasons of the national TV show Car/Business with Jeremy Cato and Michael Vaughan, which was broadcast weekly on CTV and BNN. She has written several non-fiction books for kids including "Big Trucks, Big Wheels," "Dirt Movers," and "The Ballet School." Before focusing on cars, she was a news writer at CTV and a producer at BNN. She has a Master of Journalism (MJ) from Carleton University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Waterloo.

 Jordan Chittley is a content editor for The Globe and Mail. He joined The Globe in 2014 as the online editor for Globe Drive.

Diego Marroquín Bitar is the Inaugural Bersin-Foster North America Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center and the driving force behind their North America research agenda. He co-founded the North America Project at the US-Mexico Foundation and the non-profit North America 3.0.

As a think-tanker, Diego specializes in North American trade, investment, energy integration, labor mobility, and US-Mexico relations. His insights are frequently featured in publications such as Bloomberg, El Universal, Foreign Affairs, NPR, Politico, Reforma, The Hill, The New York Times, The Economist, and The Financial Times. Before joining the Wilson Center, Diego worked as a Senior Researcher at the Brookings Institution, a Fellow at the US-Mexico Foundation, and a Consultant at The Economist Intelligence Unit. He created the Brookings USMCA Tracker and Scorecard. Diego received his BA from ITAM in Mexico City and earned his Masters in Public Policy from Georgetown University, where he was honored with the Global Leadership Award.

Cara Clairman is President and CEO of Plug’n Drive, a non-profit that is accelerating the deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) to maximize their environmental and economic benefits. Cara has taken Plug’n Drive from an idea to a thriving non-profit, recognized as a leader in the EV space. Focused on accelerating EV adoption through outreach and education for over 10 years, Plug'n Drive has developed a number of awardwinning programs to encourage consumers and fleets to make the switch from gas to electric, including the EV Discovery Centre and the Mobile EV Education Trailer (MEET). Cara has more than 25 years of experience working in the environmental and sustainability fields, including 12 years working at Ontario Power Generation, initially as OPG’s environmental lawyer and later in the role Vice President of Sustainable Development. Prior to joining OPG, Cara spent five years practicing environmental law with the Torys law firm.

She holds a Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall and a Masters in Environmental Studies from York University, as well as an Honours Bachelor of Science degree from Queen’s University. Cara is the 2017 recipient of the Women in Renewable Energy’s ‘Woman of the Year’ award and the 2021 winner of the Al Cormier EV leadership award from Electric Mobility Canada. She lives in a two EV household, including a Chevy Bolt and a
Tesla Model 3.

Andrew Gordon is the General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI).

In this role, Andrew oversees all legal and regulatory compliance matters at TCI. Andrew also has responsibility for human resources, government relations, corporate communications, and product public relations.

Prior to his role at TCI, Andrew was the General Counsel at a Toronto-based health technology company. Before that, Andrew was a partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, where he practiced corporate and commercial law for 10 years.

Andrew holds a law degree (J.D.) from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University.

 Based out of Calgary, Jason Clifton is a Consulting Partner within EY Canada’s Electric Mobility practice. Throughout his 20+ years in the energy sector, Jason has worked with many leading national and international oil and gas and power and utility organizations providing a multitude of risk management services.

As Sr. Manager of Sustainable Mobility at Geotab, one of the world’s leading companies in connected transportation, Charlotte’s focus is on enabling fleets to reduce carbon emissions with data-driven solutions and sharing aggregated insights to inform large-scale vehicle electrification strategies. She is a subject matter expert in fleet electrification and a champion for connected vehicle technology solutions in the EV industry. Charlotte has been involved in electric transportation since 2009. Before joining Geotab, she managed the Plug In BC initiative in British Columbia, delivering EV programs for fleets, charging infrastructure and public awareness. She currently sits on the board of NACFE (North American Council for Freight Efficiency). 

Baris Akyurek, a veteran of the Canadian automotive industry with over a decade of experience, serves as the Vice President of Insights & Intelligence at AutoTrader.ca. He and his team are dedicated to uncovering cutting-edge automotive research, analytics, and insights. These findings are utilized internally to drive strategic decision-making and are shared externally to help the automotive industry navigate market shifts and stay ahead of emerging trends.

As a leading media spokesperson for AutoTrader.ca, Baris frequently appears on major Canadian broadcast programs, offering expert commentary and analysis on automotive trends. Baris holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Mathew is the Senior Vice President at Canadian Manufacturer & Exporters (CME), the largest and most influential industry and trade association in Canada. The association represents over 2,500 companies across Canada.

In his current role, Mathew is responsible for national business services and Western Canadian Operations. This function spans the creation, development of business programs to support the growth of manufacturing through targeted training and education such as lean operational and environmental performance, as well as the implementation of new targeted services supporting operational excellence.

Throughout his career Mathew has worked on and led the industrial response on a variety of major business challenges facing Canada, including resource development, border policies and simplifying regulatory processes, skills training, technology adoption, CUSMA negotiations, and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic. These efforts have resulted in hundred of billions in financial supports and focused tax measures aimed at driving investment, the creation of new Canadian border protocols, the launch of programs to support training, skills development, and broaden the labour pool for industry, the creation of the Ontario Made program celebrating local manufactured goods, and the creation of many other manufacturing focused measures and regulatory changes. Mathew has chaired and been an active participant on several senior government advisory committees and has authored research papers on a variety of critical business issues facing Canada.

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.

Brian holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Carleton University, a master’s degree in international affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and an MBA from Ivey Business School.