International Human Resource Summit

 Jodi is an experienced, visionary CEO leader and a transformative global brand builder. She is a growth strategist and a passionate connector of people.  

Jodi is passionate about the intersection of equity, innovation, and the future of work. Featured in Forbes Women, she was recognized as an Adweek Brandstar in Toronto in 2018, One of Canada’s 25 Women of Influence in 2018, and one of WXN’s Canada’s 100 most powerful women in 2017 and 2019.

Jodi holds an HBA from Ivey Business School at Western University and an LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University.

Michelle is a Regional Director with Robert Half, the world’s first and largest specialized talent solutions firm. In her role, she is responsible for all practice groups in downtown Toronto, working in collaboration with the leadership and branch teams. 

Michelle is passionate about supporting her ever-growing dynamic team and building strong relationships with clients. Prior to her current role, she was Branch Director, Toronto, overseeing contract and permanent placement teams within the marketing and creative, technology, legal and management resources practice groups. 

 Rich has published extensively and frequently presents at conferences on matters relating to employment and labour law and legal ethics. He also provides media commentary on pressing legal developments, including as a featured guest for all major Canadian news networks. With a lifelong commitment to volunteerism, Rich serves on the Board of Governors of the University of Guelph and is chair of the Board’s Human Resources and Governance and Membership Committees. He serves on the Board of Directors of STEPS Public Art (as a former chair and current interim chair); and has been an elected member of the Ontario Bar Association’s Employment and Labour Section Executive. He is also the former president of Delisle Youth Services.  

Mrs. Areti Georgopali is an experienced medical affairs leader with over 10 years in the pharmaceutical industry. She currently works as Senior Medical Affairs Manager for a pharmaceutical company in the UK. Her research focuses on women’s career advancement, gender equality in leadership and promotion of gender diversity in Pharma. Areti graduated from the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece and recently completed her MBA at the Hellenic Open University, Greece. 

 Michele Bailey is the Founder of The Blazing Group, a brand and culture agency born of her strategy-first approach to business, flair for sharing stories, and desire to enhance employee wellness while pursuing business goals. Michele is the daughter of a Haitian-born physician who, along with his French-Canadian wife, moved his family many times from Haiti to various U.S. states during Michele’s formative teen years. Michele credits her unique perspective on valuing relationships to those experiences and to the importance her parents placed on ensuring their family felt anchored and supported. 

Tebogo Samuel Kgarimetsa, is a business leader with 20 years working experience. He has worked across multiple industries at various leadership roles, i.e., Petrochemical at Sasol (Supply Chain Management), Steel at Macsteel (General Manager Procurement and Logistics), and Mining at Anglo American (Head of Department Supply Chain; and General Manager Corporate Affairs and Sustainable Impact). During his career journey, Mr Kgarimetsa has delivered commercial, strategy, and stakeholder relations value that distinguished businesses from competition.

Jay Barach, Vice President of IT Operations and Recruitment, holds a Master of Technology in IT and is certified in DEI, PMP, and Sales Engineering. A member of IEEE, ACM, SHRM, and PMI, he excels at bridging the gap between IT and HR. With a strong engineering foundation, Jay has led transformative projects for Fortune 500 companies, driving innovation and aligning recruitment strategies with business objectives. His expertise ensures operational excellence and talent acquisition success in the rapidly evolving IT consulting landscape. 

 Kyle Woolington has worked in project and program management for 19 years at Caterpillar. Kyle has led projects as a Six Sigma Black Belt, as well as leading and guiding teams through the project life cycle in multiple areas of Caterpillar including New Project Introduction, facility start-up projects, quality/continuous improvement, legal and multiple other areas. Kyle teaches several internal courses at Caterpillar, from basic project management to meeting facilitation training. Kyle currently manages a global team across 5 locations worldwide, ranging from Illinois to Arizona to Australia.

Anh Tuan Nguyen, Ph.D., is a lecturer at the Hanoi School of Business Management, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. He earned his Ph.D. in HRM and Organizational Behavior from the University of Goettingen, Germany, with scholarship support. His research focuses on organizational culture, organizational behavior and the impact of digital transformation on organizational behavior and culture in Vietnamese businesses, a critical area for Vietnam’s continued economic growth. His work has been recognized through prestigious awards, including the DAAD, and K.I.T.F.E.M Research Grant. 

 Arian’s expertise has been recognized by leading publications in the country, including the Financial Post and Globe and Mail. He has also appeared on various television programs, sharing his financial wellness strategies with audiences across the nation. Arian’s passion for financial wellness has driven him to help organizations create a culture of financial wellness. Through his work at Enriched Academy, he has helped countless companies improve their employees’ financial literacy, leading to increased productivity, improved morale and greater overall success. 

Ioanna Dimitrakaki studied in the Department of Commerce and Quality Control of Agricultural Products (School of Technology and Agronomy), in the Technical Educational Institute of Western Macedonia, Florina, Greece. She is professor of International Hellenic University in Thessaloniki in department accounting and informational systems. She was a member of the Editorial Board in Economics in the USA Journal Management Science and Engineering. She has been a speaker in several International Conferences regarding management, whereas she has written articles on management and marketing issues in several scientific journals. Her primary areas of scientific interest are management and marketing. 

 Dr. Rumeet Billan is an award-winning, internationally recognized entrepreneur, learning architect, author and humanitarian. Her mission is to transform workplace cultures through research, training and experiences that enable trust, foster belonging and build resilience. She is the  is the CEO and owner of Women of Influence, and President and CEO of Viewpoint Leadership. She completed her PhD at the University of Toronto and has designed and facilitated programs, courses and training sessions across industries and sectors. She twice led the ground-breaking research study on Tall Poppy Syndrome which reveals the impact of the silent systemic syndrome on women in the workplace. In 2020, she co-led the Canadian Happiness at Work study, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association.