Growing up with the “SAPUTO” name was both a blessing and a challenge for Patricia: a blessing because the name was very reputable in the province of Quebec where she grew up, and a challenge because people just assumed that coming from a successful and wealthy family, life was easy and full of opportunities.

Her parents, Francesco and Lia Saputo, advocated that education was very important and that it would make their daughters self-reliant and not be taken advantage of by others. With that advice, Patricia became a CPA, and furthered her education in tax, investments, Estate and succession planning.

Being a woman in a man’s world had never stopped her from moving forward and proving to be a leader in her own right. She wanted to be a role model for other women in the profession, the business world and the community.

After leaving Deloitte in 1998, she began a new path that allowed her to manage the patrimony of her immediate family in pioneering the startup of the family’s “Family Office” that further developed into the areas of investments, family governance, managing wealth as it is transitioned to future generations so they become responsible stewards of their own wealth. This has lead her to become a co-founder and Chairperson of Crysalia Inc., a Chief Learning & Development Office for enterprising families.

She is very generous with her time as she serves in key leadership roles on a variety of boards and advisory committees. She is also a regular speaker at a number of International Forums. She has been invited to speak on numerous occasions in the areas of family wealth, women and wealth, education, philanthropy and financial literacy. She believes that education is an incomplete process which is why she considers herself a “life-learner”.

Peter Jaskiewicz is the inaugural Director of the Family Enterprise Legacy Institute (FELI), as well as full professor of family business at the Telfer School of Management where he holds the University Research Chair in Enduring Entrepreneurship. He is also the co-author of new book, Enabling Next Generation Legacies: 35 Questions that Next Generation Members in Enterprising Families Ask.

Peter’s research on family business has received numerous awards and were considered among the most globally influential scholarship in 2013, 2015, and 2017. Peter has presented his research insights to members of the European Parliament, the European Commission, and employees of the United Nations. In addition, he has also worked with the federal government in Canada. His current research focuses on antecedents of transgenerational entrepreneurship and corporate reputation in family and founder firms. Moreover, Peter researches organizational outcomes of entrepreneurial legacies, managerial pay dispersion, and family dynamics in these firms.

Arjan Stephens is the General Manger of Nature’s Path Foods and President of Que Pasa Foods. Arjan believes our forks and wallets are powerful tools for change, and regenerative organic agriculture is the catalyst that will transform the world for the better. 
 
Since 2011, Arjan has led the launch of over 100 products at the company, growing the product fleet to more than 350. Arjan also launched major brands within the company, including Love Crunch, Qi’a, and Nature’s Path Sunrise cereals. He also led the acquisition of Que Pasa Foods, expanding the brand to the USA and significantly increasing sales in Canada. 
 
Arjan and his wife Rimjhim are the proud creators of the Love Crunch brand. Originally created as a favor for their wedding guests, Love Crunch granola was such a hit that Arjan took the lead in making it an official Nature’s Path product. This indulgent, premium granola, now expanded to granola bars and cereal, revolutionized the granola market when it hit store shelves in 2010.  Arjan also created the Bite4Bite program so that for every bag of Love Crunch sold, the equivalent is donated to food banks across North America. To date, this program has donated more than $16.5 million USD worth of food, ensuring that food-insecure communities have access to healthy, organic food.  Love Crunch granola is emblematic of how Arjan combines his exceptional business skills and passion for innovation with a compassion for community. 

Rita Trichur is an award-winning journalist. She is a Senior Business Writer and Columnist for the Report on Business section of The Globe and Mail. Her previous roles at The Globe include Senior Editor, Financial Services Editor, and Canadian Business Columnist for Report on Business Magazine. Rita returned to The Globe in July 2016 after spending 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 for 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 an M.A. in Canadian Studies – both from Carleton University in Ottawa.

Under Margaret’s leadership, the company has driven a number of environmental and community initiatives. Most notably, the company recently commissioned Canada’s first fully solar-powered commercial egg laying farm and more recently a second solar field on the original Burnbrae Farms. As well, Burnbrae has been a longtime supporter of a wide array of charitable initiatives including breakfast programs, food banks, disaster relief initiatives, environmental charities and many others.

As the President and CEO of Burnbrae Farms, Margaret Hudson worked her way up through a variety of Burnbrae divisions in the family-owned and operated business. The youngest daughter of company Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Joe Hudson, Margaret has worked for the family firm full-time since 1990. Burnbrae Farms is recognized as an industry leader with egg grading, processing, and farming operations in five provinces across Canada. Margaret is one of the 4th generation of the Hudson family to work in the business, which has been in the family since it was founded in 1891 by Margaret’s great grandparents.

Margaret grew up in the village of Lyn, Ontario and began her career at the age of 12 gathering eggs part-time for their farming operation, and the energy and passion of her youth has unquestionably manifested itself in her business persona today. Over the course of her career, Margaret led the development and launch of several new products that transformed the egg category including such favourites as Naturegg Omega 3 eggs and Simply Egg Whites. The company has received over 14 Grand Prix New Product Awards, which recognize outstanding innovation in the food and consumer products industry, the most of any Canadian manufacturing company.

In 2020, Margaret was honoured with the Golden Pencil award, which recognizes food industry leaders for their lifetime achievement and contribution to the industry. Margaret joined many food industry greats when she received this award, including her own father who was a recipient in 2001. Margaret and her father are the only father-daughter combination to have received this award in its over 60 year history. In 2021, Margaret and Joe were also inducted into the Grocery Business Hall of Fame.