Barbara Zvan is President and Chief Executive Officer of University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP). She is responsible for realizing UPP’s strategies to deliver valuable, lifelong pension security, and service excellence to UPP’s over 39,000 members while establishing UPP as the pension solution of choice for Ontario’s university community.
Formerly the Chief Risk and Strategy Officer for the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Barb is globally recognized as a leading voice on sustainable investing and an ambassador for defined benefit pensions. She was named Canada’s CEO of the Year and Corporate Citizen of the Year 2022 by the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business magazine in honour of her contributions and leadership in both areas.

A sought-after responsible investing expert, Barb was appointed to the Government of Canada’s Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance in 2018 and is an inaugural member of the Sustainable Finance Action Council, which launched in 2021. On the global stage, Barb played a significant role in creating the G7 Investor Leadership Network and was named one of 26 Climate Champions by British High Commission in Canada and the Canada Climate Law Initiative ahead of COP 26 in 2021.

She also serves on the boards of various organizations including the Responsible Investment Association, Climate Engagement Canada, and the advisory board of the Institute of Sustainable Finance at the Smith School of Business.
She holds a master’s degree in Math and Statistics from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor of Science degree from McMaster University. She is a Fellow of the C.D. Howe Institute, a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA), and a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA).

James Bradshaw is the Banking Reporter for Report on Business. Since early 2017, he has covered the country's largest banks as well as other prominent financial services firms and fintechs. Over more than a decade reporting for The Globe, he also covered media from 2014 to 2016, and higher education from 2010 to 2014. Early in his career he covered cultural policy and news for Globe Arts, and was fortunate to win the Edward Goff Penny Memorial Prize, which recognizes the work from young journalists. He has also written for both the editorial page and the Toronto section. James grew up in Toronto and joined The Globe in fall of 2007, after cutting his teeth in journalism at the Queen's Journal while studying at university in Kingston, Ont.

John has over 30 years experience in the Real Estate industry and is currently Vice President of Corporate Real Estate at Rogers Communications. He is responsible for all aspects of management of Rogers 8 million sq ft of owned and leased real estate. His team is also responsible for Rogers Carbon Net Zero strategy and meeting Rogers target of a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.

John has an MBA from the Schulich School of Business and a BASc in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto.

Jeanette Irekvist is the President of Ericsson Canada and leads a world-class team driving Ericsson’s engagements with customers, partners, and other stakeholders across the country.

A veteran of the technology sector and a proven transformational leader, Irekvist has more than 20 years of experience in the industry with Ericsson and has held senior
leadership roles across Strategy, Sales, Operations, Marketing and Communications in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

Irekvist joined the North American team almost a decade ago and has worked with several of the largest carriers in the U.S., building and managing their wireless networks, as well as strategically growing Ericsson’s Enterprise business. Prior to
joining the North American team, Irekvist worked with all major service providers in Europe and Nordic region, as well as in the enterprise and device ecosystem heading Global Marketing at ST-Ericsson and leading the Global Partner Sales in Ericsson Enterprise.

Irekvist is passionate about building diverse, inclusive, and successful teams and driving meaningful relationships with focus on value creation to ensure growth and positive business outcome for all stakeholders. She is a dedicated, strategically minded customer-first executive, with a proven track record leading business and people in a highly competitive and dynamic environment.

In 2024, Irekvist expanded her leadership role by joining the Board of Directors of the Canadian Telecom Association for a two-year term, bringing her extensive industry experience to contribute towards advancing Canada's digital policy and telecom sector.

Irekvist has a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Law, both from Lund University in Sweden. She also studied business and law at the University of Singapore.

Jeanette was part of the founding Ericsson Diversity Council and is the Executive Sponsor of Ericsson’s North America Sustainability Council.

Clark Barr is the Head of the ESG Methodology Team at Morningstar Sustainalytics, where he leads efforts in developing and enhancing ESG products and overseeing high-level research outcomes. Joining the company in 2015, Clark has played a pivotal role in the development of various products, including the ESG Risk Ratings, Low Carbon Transition Ratings, Impact Framework, and Morningstar Globe Ratings.

Prior to his current role, Clark has held positions as an ESG research analyst, financial analyst, project manager and auditor. He holds a Bachelor degree in Finance & Accounting from the University of Alberta and a Masters in Sustainable Development from HEC Paris.

Apoorv Sinha is the Co-founder and CEO of Carbon Upcycling, a leading carbon capture and utilization company building a world where CO2 is a resource for a sustainable future.

Under his tenure, Carbon Upcycling has partnered with three of the ten largest cement producers globally and expanded its carbon capture and utilization technology across North America and Europe. The company is a Carbon XPrize X-Factor award winner, a recognized Global Cleantech 100, and a Reuters top 100 Innovator leading the global energy transition.

Apoorv is a Forbes 30 Under 30 Energy awardee and a Clean 50 Honoree.

Michael Torrance is Chief Sustainability Officer at BMO Financial Group. He leads sustainability strategy and founded and oversees the BMO Climate Institute, which seeks to bridge the complexities of climate science and policy with business strategy and economics. Michael leads (with partners throughout BMO) sustainability related disclosure, ESG focused investor relations, environmental and social risk management, operational sustainability and climate and sustainable finance initiatives. Prior to joining BMO Michael was a Partner at a major international law firm where he founded the firm’s environmental and social risk advisory practice. He has served on the Steering Committees of the Principles for Responsible Banking, Equator Principles Association, Cross-Sector Biodiversity Initiative. Michael is a published author on sustainability topics and is regularly quoted in media, and is the founder and host of the BMO Sustainability Leaders podcast.

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.

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.

Gabriela Silva is a senior leader with 20 years of experience in the energy sector. She’s Manager, Sustainability at TransAlta, where she leads the company’s global sustainability and climate strategy and reporting. Under her leadership, in 2023 and 2024 TransAlta was the winner for Best ESG Reporting Award by the Investor Relations Magazine - Canada. She’s a public member of the City of Calgary’s Climate Advisory Committee, advising City Council on climate strategies. In previous roles, she has managed environmental work with PETRONAS Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, United Nations Environment Programme, Worley and PETROBRAS in Brazil. She holds a Ph.D. in environmental management and planning with the University of Quebec’s National Institute of Scientific Research and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She also holds a Sustainable Investment Professional Certification from Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business.

Ryan MacDonald is the Senior Editor of Climate, Environment and Resources for the Report on Business section at The Globe and Mail.

Colin Guldimann is Director, Sustainable Finance in RBC’s Commercial Banking Group. He leads sustainable finance advisory and transaction structuring discussions across RBC’s business banking client base, with particular focus on commercial real estate development and retrofit.

Prior, he was Senior Economist at RBC’s Climate Action Institute where he authored flagship reports including The $2 Trillion Transition and High Rise, Low Carbon. Colin’s research has helped inform understanding of the climate challenge, its economic impacts and opportunities, and the transition businesses need to undertake to reach net zero goals.

Before joining RBC, Colin worked at the federal Department of Finance on mortgage and macro-financial policy. He holds an MA in economics from UBC and a certificate in Financing and Deploying Clean Energy from Yale University.

Jean Paul (JP) Gladu is currently Principal of Mokwateh and dedicated to creating innovative partnerships and solutions to reveal equitable opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous business communities.
JP previously served as the President and CEO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) from September 2012 until April 2020. Being Anishinaabe from Thunder Bay, he is a member of Sand Pont First Nation located on the eastern shores of Lake Nipigon, Ontario. In 1993, JP completed a forestry technician diploma and then pursued an undergraduate degree in forestry from Northern Arizona University in 2000. He currently holds an Executive MBA designation from Queens University as well as an ICD.D designation from the Rotman School of Management University of Toronto. With 30+ years of experience in the natural resource sector JP’s career path encompasses working with Indigenous communities, organizations, environmental non-governmental organizations, industry, and governments from across Canada.

Presently, JP serves on the board of Suncor, Institute for Corporate Directors, Broden Mining, First Nations Major Projects Coalition Advisory Centre and is Chair of Canada’s Forest Trust and Boreal Leadership Champions. He’s a senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and past Chancellor of St. Paul’s University College Waterloo from 2017 to 2020. Earlier JP served on the Board of Ontario Power Generation, Noront Resources, as Chair of Mikisew Group of Companies. Several previous appointments include Canadian Electricity Association Public Advisory Panel, Colleges and Institutes Canada (previously ACCC), Northern Policy Institute, Canadian Foundation for Economic Education, Advisory member to Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Committee member to Ontario Provincial Forest Policy.

Recognized as a distinguished public speaker with numerous engagements in Canada and abroad, JP shares the challenges and achievements of Indigenous businesses and the growing Indigenous economy in Canada today.
As a father to his daughter Chloe, and dedicated to his community, his culture, and traditions; JP brings the past, present, and future to the table, moving non-Indigenous and Indigenous business toward sustainable partnerships and shared economic prosperity.

Specialties: Leadership; Knowledge of Intricate Personal and Cultural Values; Strategizing Long Term; Negotiation; Financial Sourcing, Proposal Development, Building Confidence; Strong Work Ethic; Communication.

Xavier Biot serves as the Vice President of Power Distribution & Digital Energy at Schneider Electric Canada, leading a team of experts dedicated to empowering customers with innovative solutions to enhance their digital journeys and streamline operational efficiencies.

During his 25-year tenure at Schneider Electric, Xavier has held leadership positions across Latin America, Belgium, and the Pacific. Notably, he served as Vice President of Secure Power for Belgium and Luxembourg, where he led significant business expansion and championed the EcoStruxure IT initiative in Europe, resulting in notable software growth and client-driven outcomes.

Xavier holds a Master's degree in Science Engineering from the Faculté Polytechnique de Mons in Belgium. He currently sits on the boards of the Building Energy Innovators Council (BEIC) and the Belgian Canadian Business Chamber (BCBC), actively contributing to industry advancement and collaboration.

Bio coming soon

Bio coming soon

Bio coming soon