Meet Our Speakers

Anil Anora

Anil Arora has dedicated his professional career to partnering with the business sector, academia, internationally and with all three levels of government, building a culture of innovation, successfully delivering complex and transformational digital solutions, strengthened consumer and citizen trust, and increased organizational relevance and impact. Anil was appointed as the Chief Statistician of Canada in September 2016, overseeing the country’s preeminent data agency, where he led modernizing its digital governance, technical and data infrastructure. He coauthored and helped steer the Government of Canada’s data strategy.

With significant experience in the private and public sectors, as well as leading influential international forums in the OECD and the United Nations, Anil has helped shape the data and digital landscape domestically and globally. He has provided consultative services globally with the World Bank, helping countries build robust data and digital strategies. Anil has advised CEO’s, Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, Premiers, Deputy Ministers, and led Business Missions internationally. Anil has authored several papers, is a regular keynote speaker and lecturer, and a sought-after thought leader. He is an adjunct lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School, teaching digital governance and leadership in the public sector and a board member of CIGI as well as CHEO. Anil has led large and complex organizations with multi-billion-dollar budgets and tens of thousands of employees. Anil’s leadership spans senior strategic, science, policy, program delivery and regulatory roles in the oil and gas sector, mining and critical minerals, forestry, nuclear, public health, drug safety, food, medical devices, and natural health products. Anil has earned numerous accolades, including being named Outstanding Innovator (2023), One of the Top 25 Immigrants in Canada (2022), Policy Maker (2022), as well as receiving several Leadership Awards by the Business Community, the Public Policy Forum, and the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada (2009-2025).

Vanessa Ribreau

Vanessa Ribreau is a leadership and performance coach who works with senior leaders and organizations navigating growth, complexity, and change. With over 15 years in executive HR roles across the tech and healthcare sectors, she brings a rare combination of business acumen and psychological insight to the human side of transformation.

Before founding V&Co, Vanessa served as Chief People and Culture Officer at BenchSci, where she led global teams through rapid scale, organizational change, and the realities of high-performance environments. Her experience also includes leadership roles at AlayaCare and Shopify, supporting expansion, restructuring, and international growth.

Holding both an MBA and a Master’s degree in Psychology, Vanessa is known for helping leaders translate vision into behaviour, culture into execution, and pressure into clarity. Her work focuses on leadership resilience, performance culture, and the mindsets required to lead effectively through change.

Grounded, candid, and deeply human in her approach, Vanessa creates spaces where leaders can think clearly, challenge themselves, and leave with practical insights they can apply immediately both in their organizations and in how they show up as leaders.

Craig Dowden

Craig Dowden, PhD is a highly respected executive coach with the Forbes Coaches Council as well as an award-winning speaker who delivers interactive, evidence-based workshops that translate the science of leadership, team, and organizational excellence into everyday practice. He is a Charter Member of ForbesSpeakers, a highly select group of 20 individuals from around the world who are “best-in-class” in their respective areas of practice. Craig has a PhD in Psychology with a specialization in Business and is a Certified Positive Psychology Coach.

His latest book, A Time to Lead: Mastering Your Self… So You Can Master Your World, was written with Alan Mulally, the legendary former CEO of Ford Motor Company and Boeing and Sarah McArthur (co-Editor in Chief of Leader to Leader). Internationally renowned executive coach, Marshall Goldsmith, wrote the Foreword. It made the bestseller lists for both the Wall Street Journal and USA Today while also hitting #1 in 8 different categories on Amazon.

 His podcast, Do Good to Lead Well, which is based on the title of his first bestseller published by Forbes, has been rated in the top 0.5% of podcasts in the world. Each week, Craig speaks with top CEOs, fellow bestselling authors and global thought leaders to share their experience and expertise with a global audience. He routinely draws on these insights during his keynotes. Craig also facilitates several CEO Mastermind Forums where members meet on a biweekly basis to share questions, challenges and support with one another. In addition to the regular meetings, Craig organizes VIP Speaker sessions, where global CEOs and bestselling authors share their expertise with a live, interactive audience. The expanded forum has a total of over 100 Chief Executives, which provides Craig with extraordinary access and insight into the current and future business landscape.

Craig has been a regular contributor to, and featured expert in, top-tier leadership and business publications including Forbes, Fast Company, the Financial Post, the Huffington Post, Financial Times, the Globe and Mail, and Psychology Today.

David Siekanowicz

David is always trying to better understand people. Equal parts creative and strategic, he wants to make things that are beautiful and significant in order to remove barriers and solve problems.
 
If creativity is magic and strategy is logic, then David’s sweet spot is helping brands succeed by bridging the gap between the two. At the core, he’s a writer whose favourite part of writing is rewriting. He somehow sneaks Design Thinking into nearly every project and seems to have a never-ending supply of frameworks and templates to map ideas.
 
He joined 7 Communications with more than a decade of experience working and leading teams in startup, agency, and non-profit environments. His portfolio includes public relations, social media, digital marketing, video production, livestreaming, copywriting, content development, creative direction, design, brand, UX, and strategy. A super focused (and fun) guy who continues to refine his niche.
 
David holds an MA in Communication and New Media from McMaster University.

Mark Collet

Mark Collett is Chief Executive Officer of Crosbie Group, a fourth-generation, family-owned company based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Crosbie is a diversified enterprise with interests in real estate development, residential construction, and industrial services, serving markets across Atlantic Canada, Quebec, and Ontario. Internationally, Mark also oversees Crosbie’s joint-venture operations in Guyana, within the CARICOM region of South America.

Before joining Crosbie in 2016, Mark spent more than 20 years in progressively senior leadership roles with major Canadian organizations, including engineering services firm AGRA Inc. (now Wood) and energy producer Husky Energy (now Cenovus Energy). He also served as President and Managing Director of Atlantic Canadian industrial distribution and services company K&D Pratt.

Deeply engaged in his community, Mark has served on the Board of Directors of the Newfoundland and Labrador Oil & Gas Industries Association (now Energy NL), including a term as Chair. He spent a decade on Memorial University’s Faculty of Business Administration Board of Advisors, five years on the Board of the Canadian Cancer Society (Newfoundland and Labrador Division), and currently serves on the Manning School of
Business Advisory Board at Acadia University. He is also a member of the Business Council of Canada.

In 2021, Mark founded the Energy Shave, an industry-led fundraiser in support of Young Adult Cancer Canada, which has raised more than $1.2 million to date for young Canadians living with, through, and beyond cancer.

Mark holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Acadia University, an MBA (Distinction) from Durham University Business School in the UK, and completed the Global Executive Leadership Program at Yale University in 2022. He lives in St. John’s with his wife, Kimberly, and their dogs, Sammie and Gracie.

Elizabeth Wimbush

Elizabeth Wimbush is the Director, Sustainability & Responsibility, Promotional Products Association International (PPAI). She champions environmental and social responsibility. Previously, she served as vice president of supply chain at PPAI 100 distributor Genumark and founded an eco-conscious, fair-trade café.

In her current role at PPAI, she continues to spearhead impactful change.