Chris Henderson is a Canadian eco-entrepreneur and environmental innovator. He is among the country’s foremost energy transition commentators. Chris has held a spectrum of prominent leadership positions at the intersection of clean energy, Cleantech, climate change, and sustainable prosperity for over four decades. He offers transformative analysis to accelerate Canada and the World’s transition to a clean energy future. Chris is particularly known as a Strategist, and for his outstanding skills in Designing and Implementing transformative energy policies, financing innovation, and kick-starting large-scale, high-impact projects essential for a low emissions electrification economy. His first book Aboriginal Power was published in 2013. He is authoring a trilogy of books presenting ground-breaking energy transformation ideas and insights to catalyze national and global dialogue – fostering just and impactful collaborations.

Umesh Patel is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience in the global energy sector. He has gained a diverse range of skills and expertise through his work in the industry, particularly in the areas of development and transformation.

Umesh currently holds key leadership positions in the energy sector, serving as the Director of Marketing at Eaton and an Executive Board Member of Electro Federation Canada. In these roles, he is dedicated to driving pragmatic action and leveraging Canada's unique advantages to further the country's energy goals.

As an advocate for sustainable energy practices, Umesh is deeply passionate about the transition to a cleaner energy mix. He firmly believes that Canada has the potential to achieve net-zero emissions and is committed to making it a reality.

For Umesh, Canada's journey towards a cleaner future is not about making ""either-or"" decisions. Instead, he believes that the country must pursue a comprehensive approach that includes both electrification and cleaner fossil fuels. By investing in both areas, Canada can meet its climate and economic objectives and ensure a sustainable future for generations to come.

Matt McClearn is an investigative reporter and data journalist with The Globe and Mail’s Energy, Natural Resources and Environment Team. He specializes in complex, data-informed projects relating to energy and environmental matters, and particularly the electricity sector. He worked as a business journalist for many years prior to joining The Globe in 2015.

Hoda Talebian is a PhD candidate in the Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and working in the Energy Innovation Laboratory (http://enilab.apsc.ubc.ca/). She has four years of experience in energy system modeling for policy analysis. Her current focus is on techno-economic and environmental analysis of low carbon fuel infrastructures for road transportation. For her PhD research, she developed a cost and emission optimization model for the strategic long-term investment planning of hydrogen fuel supply chain in British Columbia. She also analyzed the effectiveness of the environmental policies on the economics and emission reduction from this infrastructure. Hoda is holding Vanier CGS, recognized as the department scholar in 2016 and received the UBC Mechanical leadership award in 2017.

Daniela Carcasole is an Assurance Partner at Ernst & Young and the Canadian P&U Market Leader. She has 20 years of experience in providing audit, transaction, and other assurance services to public companies in the power and utility industry with deep experience in the renewable energy sector.

Daniela currently serves as the engagement partner on large national and multinational entities (with subsidiaries in UK, Brazil, Colombia, Netherlands, Germany and US) both SEC registrants and Canadian issuers, reporting under IFRS and US GAAP. She has deep experience in supporting clients with IPO’s, prospectus offerings and other raising capital transactions.

Daniela has also hosted the EY Energy Drivers podcast series and published thought leadership on EV adoption. Daniela has spoken at various Canadian P&U events including key note speaker at Clean Energy BC Generate conference and regular panelist at Energy Regulator Dialogues. Daniela is an active blogger in the power space.

Daniela serves as a board member of CPA Ontario and chair of the CPA Ontario Governance and Nominations Committee, board member of Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario and a member of the Canadian Opera Company’s planning committee of Operanation.

Giselle De Grandis is Manager of Business Development & Market Strategy with Hydro One, Ontario’s largest electric utility. She is responsible for developing and leading innovative programming to support customers on their energy transition journeys and implement Hydro One’s strategic priority of building the grid of the future. Giselle also helped develop the company’s new innovation strategy and manage its venture capital investment.

Giselle is passionate about utility leadership and innovation in service of the energy transition. A policy master’s graduate with a decade of experience in clean energy and transportation policy with the Government of Ontario, she holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MSc from Erasmus University Rotterdam and a professional certificate from Yale University in Financing and Deploying Clean Energy.

Giselle currently mentors emerging climate leaders as part of the City of Toronto’s Women4ClimateTO program.

Francis Bradley is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Electricity Canada. Founded in 1891, Electricity Canada (formerly the Canadian Electricity Association) is the national voice for sustainable electricity for its members and the customers they serve as the country works towards a Net Zero by 2050 future.

Electricity Canada members include integrated electric utilities, independent power producers, transmission and distribution companies, power marketers, manufacturers and suppliers of materials, technology, and services. The Association supports, through its advocacy efforts, the regional, national, and international success of its members.
Francis is the co-chair of the National Cross-Sector Forum, overseeing Canada’s Action Plan for Critical Infrastructure. He also sits on the Steering Committee for the Electricity Sub-Sector Coordinating Council (ESCC), the Board for the Energy Council of Canada (ECC), the Positive Energy Advisory Council, and is a founding Board member of the Canadian Transportation Alliance. At the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) Member Representatives Committee and Board of Trustees’ meetings, Francis represents Electricity Canada and advocates strongly for its members in their activities related to the Electric Reliability Organization Enterprise, and its role in ensuring the reliability and security of the North American bulk power system.
Prior to being named CEO in June 2019, Francis managed Electricity Canada’s day-to-day activities as Chief Operating Officer since 2014. During that time, he also was a member of the National Advisory Committee of Canada’s Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction and was a co-chair with the Standards Council of Canada of the Smart Grid Standards Advisory Committee.
In 2019, Francis created and continues to host “The Flux Capacitor” podcast featuring discussions about the future of electricity with CEOs, regulators, political figures, and leaders from civil society.