Marie-Chantal Côté is Senior Vice-President, Sun Life Health. She is responsible for ensuring Sun Life delivers innovative health solutions to Clients and Canadians, helping them to navigate, access, and afford care. Sun Life Health is focused on empowering people to live their healthiest lives. This ambitious mandate is brought to life by leveraging the capabilities of Sun Life’s Group Benefits and Health Solutions businesses, which include Lumino Health.  

Marie-Chantal joined Sun Life in 1998 and has held progressively senior roles across the business. Most recently as Senior Vice-President, Group Benefits. Marie-Chantal has a relentless focus on driving Sun Life’s business and the industry forward. Under her leadership, Sun Life has brought many innovations to market including Sun Life’s Mental Health Coach and Lumino Health Virtual Care. She also oversees Sun Life’s administration of the Canadian Dental Care Plan, a Government of Canada program providing dental care for up to 9 million Canadians. 

Marie-Chantal is also a vocal advocate for inclusion and mental health in the workplace. She was the co-chair for the Sun Life Empowered XChanges network, empowering women to reach their professional ambitions. She is also an executive leader for the Sun Life pride network. In addition, she serves on several industry and community Boards of Directors.  

Marie-Chantal holds a dual MBA from the Université du Québec à Montréal and Université Dauphine in Paris and a Bachelor of Arts, with a major in journalism, from Concordia University. 

Michelle is the Vice President, Human Resources, Facilities and Communications for MCAN Financial Group, a publicly traded, OSFI regulated financial institution. Michelle joined the MCAN team in October 2022. She leads all aspects of People and Culture and plays a leading role in the development and execution of the organization’s strategy. As winner of Innovative HR teams by the Canadian HR Report, Best Places to Work, Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employer and Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures, Michelle is passionate and committed to a people-first and values-driven culture, that leads with investing in its people. Prior to joining MCAN, Michelle worked at BMO Financial Group in various senior HR roles, and in investment & business advisory roles at several banks. She has an MBA from Richard Ivey School of Business (University of Western Ontario) and a BBA from the Schulich School of Business (York University).

Dr. Shawna O’Hearn is the Co-Founder and Director of the Menopause Society of Nova Scotia and the Director of Global Health in the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University. She holds a PhD in Health Geography from the University of Waterloo where she focused on the experience of perimenopause for Canadian health professionals. Shawna is an Occupational Therapist with additional graduate training in International Development and Corporate Social Responsibility. Shawna has held leadership positions in government, university, and non-government organizations in Canada and abroad. She has worked and lived in the West Indies, India, West and East Africa as well as Nunavut. Her research focuses include women’s health, gender equity, social accountability, community engagement and diversity with an emphasis on qualitative research methodologies.

Déjà Leonard is a freelance writer based in Calgary. She writes The Globe and Mail’s Work Life newsletter weekly, and contributes to the Women’s Collective newsletter.

Bio to come

Bio to come