Tuesday General Panel Session

TUESDAY GENERAL PANEL SESSION

Tuesday, May 2 | 8:30 | Room 710

KEYNOTE: Luc Sirois

Chief Innovation Officer, Conseil de l’innovation du Québec

PANELIST

Luc Sirois

Luc Sirois is Quebec’s Chief Innovator, Director General of the Quebec Innovation Council and founding Chairman of the Board of Axelys, Quebec’s public research development company.

Luc Sirois holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from McGill University and an MBA from Harvard University. He is also a technology and social entrepreneur recognized in Quebec and around the world for his creative approach to innovation and his involvement in digital technology in Quebec. Involved with numerous startups and non-profit organizations focused on youth, health, science and education, he co-founded the health innovation movement Hacking Health as well as a digital health gas pedal and spin-off fund. He is also a co-founder of Resonant Medical, now Elekta Canada, a pioneering radiation oncology company.

He has worked as Vice President at TELUS Health, Telesystem and Nightingale in connected health, and as a manager in strategic consulting at McKinsey & Company in their Montreal, Toronto, Zurich and Paris offices. Most recently, he served as Executive Director of Prompt, a non-profit organization that facilitates partnerships between companies and the public research community to improve Quebec’s competitiveness in the information and communications technology (ICT) market.

From August to December 2020, he was a strategic advisor to the Quebec Minister of Economy and Innovation to lead the redesign and creation of a new model for the valorization of public research. He was then named Quebec’s Chief Innovator, becoming the first to hold this position in Quebec.

An associate professor at HEC Montréal, Mr. Sirois is an excellent ambassador for science and innovation. A fan of sharing and mobilizing knowledge, he knows how to captivate young talent in a creative and daring way in order to instill in them his passion for science.

On a daily basis, he pursues his mission of mobilizing existing ecosystems, while paying special attention to youth, whom he hopes will be dynamic and visionary. His objective is to bring each of the actors of innovation to surpass themselves and to become an agent of change, so that Quebec can innovate more and better.

KEYNOTE: Luc Sirois

Chief Innovation Officer, Conseil de l’innovation du Québec

PANELIST

Luc Sirois

Luc Sirois is Quebec’s Chief Innovator, Director General of the Quebec Innovation Council and founding Chairman of the Board of Axelys, Quebec’s public research development company.

PLENARY: DECARBONIZATION VIA TECHNOLOGY AND COLLABORATION

Ambitious targets, innovation and investment required. How to be open to creative partnerships, building on trust.

PLENARY: DECARBONIZATION VIA TECHNOLOGY AND COLLABORATION

Ambitious targets, innovation and investment required. How to be open to creative partnerships, building on trust.

Panelists:

Carl Weatherell

Executive Director and CEO, CMIC

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Louise Grondin

Retired, Agnico Eagle Mine

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Louis-Olivier Roy

Director of Business Development, Optel Group

Luc Sirois

Chief Innovation Officer, Conseil de l’innovation du Québec

Denise Johnson

Group President, Resource Industries

Caterpillar Inc.

PANELIST

Carl Weatherell

Carl is a natural connector bringing together disparate and seemingly unrelated
people, groups, and organizations to transform possibilities into plans and plans into action. The hallmark of Carl’s experience is collaboration and building
innovation ecosystems to solve complex problems.

His experience includes over 40 consortia comprised of more than 500
organizations from businesses, government, and academia, spanning industries
from software, microelectronics, cybersecurity, photonics, aerospace and defence,
and of course mining.

Carl has won awards for breakthrough leadership and technology transfer and
holds an M.Sc. from Carleton University and a B.Sc. from the University of
Waterloo.

PANELIST

Louise Grondin

Louise Grondin is on the board of Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. and Champion Iron Ltd. and Member of Professional Engineers Ontario and Member of Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec.

In her past career she occupied the position of Senior Vice President-People & Culture at Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., Environmental Superintendent at Ontario Hydro Energy and Director-Human Resources, Environment & Safety at BHP Canada, Inc.

Ms. Grondin received an undergraduate degree from the University of Ottawa and a graduate degree from McGill University.

PANELIST

Louis-Olivier Roy

Louis-Olivier is a leading expert in supply chain traceability with a passion for enabling more sustainable and high-performing supply chains. Fervent advocate of supply chain transparency, championing the use of cutting-edge technologies like cloud computing and artificial intelligence to give consumers and brands unprecedented visibility into their purchases. His vision is to empower everyone in the supply chain with the tools they need to make informed, responsible choices that drive sustainability and efficiency.

With a wealth of experience working with brands of all sizes, he has helped companies harness the power of traceability to drive responsible procurement, and operational gains.

Louis-Olivier has brought his expertise to bear on global supply chains spanning diverse industries, from food and beverage to pharmaceuticals, agro-chemicals and mining. From one industry to another, he has extensive experience implementing traceability and transparency strategies.

Notably, Louis-Olivier has cultivated a deep understanding of international trade and global supply chains with many years of on-the-ground experience both in North America and in Asia.

PANELIST

Luc Sirois

Luc Sirois is Quebec’s Chief Innovator, Director General of the Quebec Innovation Council and founding Chairman of the Board of Axelys, Quebec’s public research development company.

PANELIST

Denise C.Johnson

Denise C. Johnson is a group president of Caterpillar Inc. She has responsibility for Resource Industries (RI), which includes Integrated Components and Solutions Division, RI Operations and Products Division, RI Sales, Services and Technology Division, and Strategic Procurement and Planning Division.

Johnson joined Caterpillar in 2011 and previously had a career with General Motors, where she built deep expertise in operations and product management. In 2012, the Caterpillar Board of Directors named Johnson vice president and she was named group president of Resource Industries in April of 2016.

Johnson, a native of Portland, Michigan, graduated from Michigan State University in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. She earned dual master’s degrees in mechanical engineering and business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1997 as a Fellow of the MIT Leaders for Global Operations program.

Johnson is a member of numerous outside boards, including National Mining Association Board of Directors, National Association of Manufacturers, The Mosaic Company, MIT Leaders for Global Operations Governing Board, and the US Chamber of Commerce. She is also a board member of the Caterpillar Foundation and a board member for the company’s Women’s Initiative Network employee resource group.

MODERATOR: Angelina Mehta

General Manager, Joint Ventures at Rio Tinto Aluminium

Moderator

Angelina Mehta

Ms. Angelina Mehta is a registered professional engineer in Quebec and a founding member of Women in Mining (WIM) Montreal. She is the General Manager of Joint Ventures at Rio Tinto Aluminum and has served on the Board of Directors of Azimut since 2018.

Ms. Mehtah has over 20 years of experience in finance and engineering and currently works as General Manager of Joint Ventures at Rio Tinto Aluminium.  Previously, she was a Director of Mining Investment Banking at Laurentian Bank Securities Inc. and a Senior Mining Advisor at Paradigm Capital Inc. in the investment banking sector, as well as Vice President of Operations for North American Nickel. Over the years, she has been an investment manager for Sentient Asset Management Canada and has held various operational positions with several mining companies, including Rio Tinto’s subsidiary, Iron Ore Company of Canada.

Ms. Mehta holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering and an MBA from McGill University, as well as a Master of Laws degree from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. Ms. Mehta has served on the Board of Directors of several publicly traded junior mining companies including Pershimco, Meridian Mining, Stornoway Diamond and Falco Resources. She also served for five years on the Board of Directors of Women in Mining Canada and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation of Greater Montreal.

MODERATOR: Angelina Mehta

General Manager, Joint Ventures at Rio Tinto Aluminium

Moderator

Xavier Chagnon

Xavier is the President of YMP Montréal and Business Analyst, Corporate Development and Capital Markets at Quebec Iron Ore.

He is an Analyst in Corporate Development and Capital Markets at Quebec Iron Ore, a subsidiary of Champion Iron. He holds an engineer permit from Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec and he completed the CFA program exams.

Following his mining engineering degree at McGill, he joined the Montreal branch of Young Mining Professionals, a not-for-profit organization aimed at promoting the involvement of young people in the mining industry. He now serves as President of YMP Montreal, Treasurer of YMP Global and Executive Committee Member of an affiliated charity which provides over $200,000 a year in scholarships to students across Canada.