Closing Keynote: Jeff York
Jeff York, co-CEO, Farm Boy
Born and raised in Ottawa, Jeff received an honours degree in Economics from Princeton University and achieved his Chartered Accountant Designation, while holding a position with Ward Mallette Chartered Accountants. Making the leap to retail, Jeff joined Giant Tiger Stores, where after a number of years in operational and management roles, assumed the presidency. In this capacity, Jeff helped grow the business from a regional discount chain with 250 million in sales, to 1.4 billion in sales nationally as the third largest discount chain in Canada. In 2009, Jeff joined Farm Boy with a mandate to expand the business. Under his leadership, the company has grown from a nine store chain in the Ottawa region to now 26 stores in Ottawa, Kingston, the GTA and Southwestern Ontario with further expansion plans underway.
Opening Keynote: Liane Davey
Expert on Building Effective Teams, Business Strategy Development & Building Leadership Effectiveness
Liane Davey creates powerful changes in top teams. The bestselling author of You First: Inspire Your Team to Grow Up, Get Along, and Get Stuff Done, Liane’s mission is to radically transform the way people communicate, connect, and contribute, so they can achieve amazing things together. Her approach combines a keen expertise in strategy with her deep insight into group dynamics to increase the value organizations get from teamwork and collaboration.
Liane spent 17 years working in large consulting firms, and most recently was vice-president of Knightsbridge Leadership Solutions, where she was sought out by executives at some of North America’s leading financial services, consumer goods, high tech, and healthcare organizations. She is a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review online and the host of the popular Change Your Team blog. She is also the co-author of Leadership Solutions, released in 2007.
Liane has served on the executive of the Canadian Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology and as an evaluator for the Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards. She holds a Ph.D. in Industrial/ Organizational Psychology from the University of Waterloo.