Ashley Lawrence
Paris Saint-Germain Athlete & Olympian
Ashley Lawrence was a key contributor to Canada’s gold medal at Tokyo 2020. She started all six of Canada’s matches and played fulltime in four of them. She assisted on Adriana Leon’s goal against Great Britain in the preliminary round and scored in the penalty shootout against Brazil in the quarterfinal. Lawrence captained Canada’s under-17 teams at the CONCACAF Championship and FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2012 after representing Canada at the 2010 FIFA U-17 World Cup as a 15 year old. She was twice named the under-17 Canadian Player of the Year (2011-12).
With the senior team, she has a pair of silver medals from the Cyprus Cup in 2013 and 2015. She scored one goal during Canada’s quarterfinal run at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup on home soil and was then part of Canada’s fourth place finish at the Pan Am Games in Toronto. Lawrence notched a hat trick against Guyana during the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifier where Canada finished second to earn a spot in Rio. She was named to the Best XI at the tournament and then helped the squad win the 2016 Algarve Cup. In her Olympic debut at Rio 2016, Lawrence started five of Canada’s six games, earning an assist on Deanne Rose’s goal that opened the scoring in the bronze medal match against Brazil.
In 2018, Lawrence was part of Canada’s runner-up finish at the CONCACAF Championship which qualified the team for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. At France 2019, she played every minute of Canada’s four games. During the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament in early 2020, Lawrence scored two goals in Canada’s opening 11-0 win over St Kitts and Nevis as they went on to finish second and secure their ticket to Tokyo 2020.
Lawrence played collegiately for the University of West Virginia. After turning pro in 2017, she signed with Paris Saint-Germain FC where she won the Coupe de France in 2018. In 2019, she was named Canada Soccer’s Female Player of the Year.
Stephen Liptrap
President & CEO of LifeWorks
Stephen Liptrap is president and chief executive officer of LifeWorks. Mr. Liptrap joined the company’s senior executive team in 2008, bringing with him more than 25 years of senior executive experience in the high tech, consumer packaged goods and retail sectors. In 2010, he was appointed executive vice president and general manager of LifeWorks’ largest business unit, Employee Support Solutions.
In 2016, Mr. Liptrap was appointed chief operating officer, responsible for leading the company’s business operations and functions. He is a member of the business council of Canada and the Human Capital Policy Council of the C.D. Howe Institute. He has been a member of the national committee for CAMH’s 150 leading Canadians for mental health, and served on the HR committee of the 2015 PanAm games, the Canadian board of directors for NCR and the pension board for Europe of a large technology company. Mr. Liptrap led the acquisition of LifeWorks in 2018 and the company now provides its award-winning platform to clients across the globe, providing a wealth of resources and support for mental, physical, social and financial wellbeing. Mr. Liptrap holds an honours business administration degree from the Ivey business school, Western University, is a graduate of the Harvard advanced management program and is a Certified Human Resources Executive (“CHRE”).
Calvin McDonald
Chief Executive Officer of lululemon
Calvin McDonald is the Chief Executive Officer of lululemon, an athletic apparel company with more than 500 company-operated stores in 17 countries.
Prior to joining lululemon in August 2018, Mr. McDonald served for five years as president and CEO of Sephora America’s, a division of the LVMH group of luxury brands, during a period of double-digit growth. Earlier in his career, Calvin spent two years as President and CEO of Sears Canada and 17 years at Loblaw Companies Limited, the largest retailer in Canada.
He earned his MBA from the University of Toronto, and Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Western Ontario. Born and raised in Canada, Mr. McDonald is an endurance athlete who frequently competes in ironman distance triathlons and marathons. He and his wife enjoy spending time with their four children.
Hayley Wickenheiser
Senior Director of Player Development for Maple Leafs & Physician
The longest serving member of Canada’s National Women’s Team, Hayley Wickenheiser competed in the first five Olympic Games in which women’s hockey was included, winning four gold and one silver medals to make her one of Canada’s most decorated Olympians.
Wickenheiser first played for Canada’s National Women’s Team in 1993-94, making her world championship debut when she was just 15 years and four months old, the youngest player to ever represent Canada at the IIHF Women’s World Championship. During her lengthy career she has competed at 12 world championships, winning seven gold medals.
Wickenheiser’s Olympic experience is not limited to hockey. She competed in softball at Sydney 2000, making her the second Canadian female athlete to compete at both the summer and winter Games. Wickenheiser was Canada’s flag bearer for the Sochi 2014 Games.
In 2017, Wickenheiser retired as Canada’s all-time leading scorer in women’s hockey, notching 379 points – 168 goals and 211 assists – in 276 international games. She was inducted to the IIHF Hall of Fame and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019.
Hayley Graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Kinesiology with distinction in June 2013.She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in June 2011 and in July 2006 the sportsplex in her hometown of Shaunavon, Saskatchewan was renamed Wickenheiser Place in her honour. She is also active with such charities as Spread the Net, Clean Air Champions and Right to Play.
Kathy Woods
Partner & National Lead, Workforce Transformation, Deloitte
As a partner in Deloitte’s Canadian Human Capital Consulting practice, Kathy is the National Workforce Transformation Lead. She is a subject matter expert in talent, leadership and organizational development and has over 26 years of experience in the field. With the rapidly changing world of work and the demands of our digital world, Kathy believes there has never been a more chaotic and exciting time to be in the people business. She is focused on working with leaders, their organizations and their people to build the agile organizations with the people and talent they need to thrive in this new digital environment – quickly and successfully.
Kathy draws on her extensive experience working with clients across industries and around the world. She has designed and led projects covering all aspects of leadership and team effectiveness, talent strategy and organizational effectiveness, all in the context of creating a practical and integrated talent agenda that is tightly connected to business outcomes. Kathy has worked extensively with Board and C-suite clients in executive team alignment, executive development, succession planning and strategy facilitation.
An engineer by training, Kathy brings an analytical approach to addressing leadership and people issues. Her experience as a global HR executive and line business leader means she also approaches her work from a pragmatic perspective with a strong results focus.
Prior to joining Deloitte, Kathy held various leadership positions at Korn Ferry and was previously with MICA Management Resources and Accenture. Kathy served on the ALS Society of Ontario Board of Directors, was a committee member for the Canadian Women’s Society Women Moving Women campaign and is an active mentor of women in the workplace. She lives in Toronto with her husband and 16 year old daughter. They enjoy outdoor activities, are avid skiers and have recently become serious climbers.
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