Interested in speaking at our 2019 conference? View 2019 Sponsored Speaking Opportunities. For more information, contact: Mary Markou at: sponsorship@retailcouncil.org
Stephen O’Keefe
President
Bottom Line Matters
Stephen O’Keefe is an independent consultant and President of Bottom Line Matters. Stephen spent the better part of a 30 year corporate career with such brands as Sears, HBC and Walmart where he was Vice President of Loss Prevention and Risk Management. In this role Stephen has oversight responsibilities for the Ethics and Regulatory Compliance management systems. He introduced the Shrink Incentive program to Walmart Canada which jump started a decade long downward trend in losses by engaging the input from each and every associate in the company, resulting in more than 1.5 Billion dollars layered onto the Bottom Line.
Racheal Awe
AVP, In-Store Technology
Canadian Tire Coproration
Racheal Awe is an executive Business and IT leader with extensive experience in delivering large scale enterprise initiatives in order to achieve long term strategic vision and growth. Racheal has held management roles in major global corporations such as ExxonMobil, TD Bank, Sears Canada and Saks Fifth Avenue; and she is currently an Associate Vice President of In-store Technology at Canadian Tire Corporation - one of Canada's largest retailers.
Racheal is PMP certified, holds an undergraduate degree in Information Technology from York University and, an Executive MBA degree from the prestigious Kellogg -Schulich school of business at Northwestern & York University.
Steve Banton
Sergeant
Toronto Police Service
Member of TPS for just shy of 28 years.
Worked in the following areas -
- Primary Response
- Community Response
- Gun Task Force – precursor to Gun & Gang unit
- TPS Firearms Enforcement Unit – Provincial Weapons Enforcement Unit (multi-agency unit to investigate trafficking and smuggling of firearms)
- Special Events Unit – Oversee the deployment of TPS resources at majors events in Toronto
- Current role Public Safety Unit – Oversee:
- Active Attack Awareness program
- Critical Infrastructure Protection
- Enhance Security / Soft Target & Mass Gathering Protection
Sonny Brar
VP Member Relations & Education
Retail Council of Canada
Sonny Brar comes with over 15 years of Corporate Retail, Human Resources, Health, Safety, Energy and Environmental experience. He is currently the Vice President, Member Programs & Services at Retail Council of Canada and is an honors graduate of Criminology, Justice and Public Safety from Manitoba. Along with other functions, Sonny leads and supports RCC’s Membership, Benefit Partner Programs, Human Resources, Heath, Safety, Energy initiatives and RCC’s Advisory Councils. Sonny has also had great successes in his tenure and has been a recipient of 3 Presidential Excellence awards with Maple Leaf Foods and Toys“R”Us along with several successes and recognitions with his tenure at Sobeys and Ikea.
Zack Breault
D/ Cst.
Peel Regional Police
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Tony Caccioppoli
Vice President, Corporate Asset Protection
Hudson’s Bay Company
Tony Caccioppoli is the Vice President of Corporate Asset Protection for Hudson’s Bay Company. In this role he is responsible for directing all risk mitigation initiatives for asset protection, shortage reduction, and crisis management for Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks Off 5th, Lord and Taylor and Hudson’s Bay stores, distribution centers and corporate facilities throughout North America.
Tony began his retail career with the original R.H. Macy’s company. After 17 years Tony transitioned over to the luxury sector joining Saks Fifth Avenue as regional director of loss prevention. Over the next 24 years Tony has held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility until appointment to his current role.
Tony holds a Bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University, Queens, New York.
Ong Chau
Security & Investigation Services
Canada Post
Ong joined Canada Post Security & Investigation Services in February 2015; in his current capacity, he is responsible for working with internal stakeholders and external security partners to mitigate fraud risks impacting Canada Post’s digital channels and ensuring customer security. Ong has over 17 years of fraud experience having previously worked with Moneris Solutions and Bank of Montreal Financial Group where he held various progressive positions within the fraud and risk departments.
Ong holds an International Business Diploma from Seneca College and is an active member of various industry associations including International Association of Financial Crime Investigators, the Canadian Bankers Association Payment Card Partners and is a participant within the Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario.
Ong is currently pursuing his Cyber Security certification from York University.
Rita Estwick
Director, Enterprise Security Development
Canada Post
In her capacity as Director, Security Fusion Centre at Canada Post, Rita is continuing to develop new security capabilities to respond to emerging threats impacting corporate and customer security interests and ensuring the required security imperatives are provided in order to drive the company’s future security program.
Throughout her career at Canada Post, Rita has established strategic partnerships with both the business and law enforcement communities where she has placed an important focus on information-sharing and preventative strategies to support risk reduction strategies. Highly regarded for her ground-breaking efforts in the security community, Rita is a frequent speaker at educational conferences.
Rita has been recognized twice on the cover of Canadian Security Magazine and was awarded the inaugural Loss Prevention Lifetime Achievement Award from Retail Council of Canada.
Bob Gordon
Executive Director
Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange (CCTX)
Bob is the Executive Director of the Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange (CCTX). The CCTX is Canada’s private sector organization for the sharing and analysis of cyber threat information, and enabling collaboration across all sectors. Most recently, Bob was a Director, Global Cyber Security at CGI. Prior to this, he enjoyed a long and successful career in the Federal Government, which included being the architect of Canada’s first Cyber Security Strategy for which he received the Deputy Minister’s Achievement Award.
Bob has had a unique career in a number of Canada’s security, intelligence and law enforcement organizations: Public Safety Canada, Communications Security Establishment, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He held senior executive positions, including at the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister level. He was responsible for science and technology, information management/information technology, and internal security programs (personnel, physical and information technology). Bob has also provided operational leadership in investigating and analyzing the full range of threats to the security of Canada, which included leading the CSIS Counter Terrorism program.
Bob is also a member of the Board of Directors for Quantum Safe Canada, a member of the Advisory Council on the Modernization of Microdata Access with Statistics Canada, and the Advisory Board for the Master of Cybersecurity and Threat Intelligence program with the University of Guelph.
Tony Hunt
General Manager of Loss Prevention
London Drugs Limited
Tony Hunt is the General Manager of Loss Prevention for London Drugs Limited. He has spent 34 years in retail loss prevention and corporate security.
Tony leads the teams at London Drugs who are responsible for physical security, asset protection, internal investigations, distribution and supply chain security, online fraud prevention, and he is Chair of the Business Continuity Committee. In recent years Tony has worked on the London Drugs community response for those who have been evacuated due to wildfires.
In addition to his role at London Drugs, he is also responsible for the security programs within some affiliated companies. Tony is the Director of Security for London Air Services and London Aviation Centre, and the Director of Security for Sonora Resort and Conference Centre.
Patrick Jandard
Country Security Manager
H&M, Hennes &Mauritz Inc.
To be posted.
Jay Jass
Divisional Loss Prevention & Risk Manager
Talize Canada
In 2018, Jay Jass became the Divisional Loss Prevention & Risk Manager for Talize Thrift Inc, bringing to the role more than 30 years of experience in Loss Prevention, Risk Management and Business Continuity.
During his various career paths, Jay has worked with leaders, owners and executives in national roles to name a few with companies such as Rexall Pharmacies, Loblaw Distribution and Walmart Canada.
His career started in the late 80’s and early 90’s where he made the change from Sears Retail to Peel Regional Police, only to then return back a few years later to retail to follow his passion. In the years to follow Jay developed to grow and dedicate his Loss Prevention experience in roles with Sears Canada, Home Depot, Best Buy, Walmart, Loblaw, Rexall and Talize.
Over the vast 30 years and after a mass amount of learnings Jay’s experience transported him through the intricacies surrounding retail inventory, logistics and supply chain management, Rx Drugs and Thrift that all came with their own complexities.
Vivek Khindria
Vice President Cyber Security and Technology Risk
Loblaw Companies Limited
To be posted.
Michael LeBlanc
Senior Advisor
Retail Council of Canada
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Michael has 20+ years of brand/retail/marketing leadership experience.
He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career with brands such as Black & Decker, Levi Strauss, Hudson’s Bay, The Shopping Channel. After spending three years advocating for the Canadian retail industry at Retail Council of Canada (RCC), Michael formed<br></br>
As an award-winning insight driven strategic marketer with a passion for holistic retail brand/customer experience, Michael has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career with brands such as Black & Decker, Levi Strauss & Co, Hudson’s Bay, CanWest Media, The Shopping Channel and Herbal Magic.<br></br>
After spending almost three years advocating and lobbying for the Canadian retail industry at Retail Council of Canada (RCC), Michael formed M. E. LeBlanc & Company to leverage this knowledge and experience back onto the front lines and regularly is invited to share his insights on the current and future retail industry in Canada and around the world.
To learn more and keep up on Michael’s latest activities and insights, media appearances, speaking gigs and podcast episodes visit www.meleblanc.co
Kevin Lia
Industry Marketing Manager - Manufacturing, Retail and Financial Services
Microsoft
A mixing pot of former health science researcher, social media guru and Microsoft Technology Advisor would be the simplest way to describe myself. With over 140 different Retailers and Manufacturers already under my guidance today, I kind of know a thing or two about helping your businesses make the transition to the Cloud.
Rory Macleod
Global Head of Professional Services
BlackBerry
Rory leads BlackBerry’s global professional services business, covering cybersecurity and enterprise consulting. He is responsible for the evolution of the services organization as part of the transformation BlackBerry has taken to a Software and Services company. He has focused on enhanced offerings in cybersecurity around IoT and Secure Engineering and driving successful project execution for customers using BlackBerry’s secure software solutions.
Rory brings over 25 years of experience and proven capabilities in people development and strategy, combined with implementation experience and a strong, successful business development history. He has an extensive background in Financial Services and Government.
Prior to joining BlackBerry, Rory held various positions with SAP including Vice President of North American Services and Strategic Engagements, Vice President of Services and Strategic Industries Canada, and Vice President of HCM Cloud Services.
Neil Mathews
Manager, Emergency Management
Oxford Properties Group
Neil is the National Manager of Emergency Management for Oxford Properties, one of Canada’s largest Property Management companies and is responsible for overseeing the protection of retail, residential, industrial and commercial property assets.
Neil has been involved in the Security industry for over 25 years and holds the “Triple Crown” through American Society of Industrial Security as a Certified Protection Professional, Physical Security Professional and Professional Certified Investigator.
Neil is a member of the Commercial Real Estate Security Group, an active member of BOMA Toronto’s Security and Risk Management Advisory Committee.
Patrick McEvoy
Senior Director of Asset Protection Administration
Hudson’s Bay Company
To be posted.
Allan Measor
Vice President, Business Transformation Office and Customer Enablement
Moneris
Allan Measor, Vice President of Business Transformation and Customer Enablement for Moneris, is responsible for leading the organization’s business transformation, operations, process engineering, change management and technology optimization teams. In this role, Allan oversees both customer-facing and internal business optimization programs including merchant dispute systems and processes, technology roadmaps, customer enablement and more.
Allan joined Moneris in 2015 and has over 20 years of experience leading business operations, previously working with organizations including ADP, Sprint and Rogers. He is a graduate of Ryerson University’s Business Management program and is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
When not working on Operations, he can be found on liquid or solid water, sailing in the summer, curling in the winter.
Doug Montgomery
Manager of Customer ROI
March Networks
Doug Montgomery is Manager of Customer ROI with March Networks. He has more than 35 years of experience working with a variety of clients, including international corporations and franchise units spanning the restaurant, c-store and retail banking sectors. Prior to joining March Networks, he ran a successful consulting company specializing in improving business operations and loss prevention through the use of remote access cameras.
Rob Philpotts
Senior Lead at Cyber Risk Advisory
Deloitte Canada
Cyber operations planner and leader with over 15 years of combined Signals Intelligence and Cyber-security
experience within military, government, retail, health and financial settings across both traditional
datacenter and cloud environments. Working with multiple large cyber security organizations like the National Security Agency, US Cyber Command, Canadian Forces Network Operations Centre and NATO where collaboration and sharing are vital to winning the cyber knife fight.
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Rahul Raina
Senior Data Scientist
Microsoft Canada
Rahul Raina is a Senior Data Scientist at Microsoft Canada specializing in AI / Computer Vision and Blockchain for Power & Utilities, Retail and Financial Services verticals. Previously, Rahul has implemented AI, Blockchain, Big Data & Analytics technology solutions for firms such as Bank of America, Bell Canada, Deloitte and EY. Rahul holds MSc and BSc in Computer Science from the University of Oxford, and the University of Toronto, respectively. He also holds MBA from York University.
Bob Riddell
Director, Security & Life Safety
Ivanhoé Cambridge
Bob assumed the role of Director, Security and Life Safety for Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. With assets of over $55 billion (as at December 31, 2015), Ivanhoé Cambridge is one of Canada’s largest global property management companies. In his role, Bob oversees the company’s Security & Life Safety programs across Canada.
Formerly a Director of Security & Life Safety with The Cadillac Fairview Corporation and a Security Manager within various financial institutions including HSBC and RBC; Bob brings a depth of over 28 years experience across a broad range of security risk management issues. Bob is Board Certified through ASIS International as a Certified Protection Professional (CPP) and is the Canadian representative to the ASIS International Commercial Real Estate Council.
Bob is the Founding Chair of the BOMA – Toronto, Security Risk Management Advisory Council (SRMAC); a Board Member of the Toronto Association of Police and Private Security (TAPPS); member of the Toronto Commercial Real Estate Financial District Security Group (CRE-FDSG); and Vice-Chair of the oversight committee for the Overseas Advisory Council – Toronto (OSAC) in conjunction with the United States Consulate in Toronto.
Mike Shannon
Loss Prevention Officer
Michael Hill
Mike Shannon is the Loss Prevention Officer for Michael Hill. He has more than 40 years of retail experience in a variety of areas including loss prevention, risk, compliance, operations, buying, training, supervision and executive management. His expansive retail career has included work in sporting goods, ladies and men’s clothing and jewelry.
Rich Stuppy
Chief Customer Experience Officer
Kount
For more than a decade Rich has been involved in developing fraud mitigation, compliance, and big data strategies. Rich came to Kount after 14 years with a fortune 50 retailer. His background in enterprise-class systems, machine learning, and analytics has shaped Kount’s technology into an industry leading platform helping clients scale their business while at the same time reducing fraud, risk, and loss.
In his role as Chief Customer Experience Officer, Rich is responsible for client success, data analytics, and ensuring Kount’s users have the best customer experience. Collaborating directly with customers, he works to inform Kount’s product roadmap, identify new and emerging threats, and drive innovation for ultimate customer satisfaction.
Rich regularly works with executives from all areas of the commerce, payments, and fraud-prevention ecosystems to discover trends and develop strategies that create value. Rich is a highly sought-after speaker for industry events and has addressed audiences around the world on several topics surrounding payments and fraud.
Shannon Walker
Founder & President
WhistleBlower Security Inc
Shannon is the founder and president of WhistleBlower Security Inc. WBS provides ethics, compliance and loss prevention hotlines along with IntegrityCounts, a proprietary case management platform to organizations globally. WBS is WBE (Women Business Enterprise) Canada certified, and is the only woman owned and managed ethics reporting business in North America.
Shannon is a frequent speaker at conferences on ethics, corporate culture and diversity. Shannon has a B.A from Simon Fraser University in BC, and a M.A. Pepperdine University in California. Shannon also volunteers in her community and is Chair of the Ambleside Dundarave Business Improvement Association.
Keith Ward
Intelligence Researcher / Profiler
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC)
Keith Ward is an Intelligence Researcher/Analyst with the RCMP. He's been with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre since 2009 and joined the Operational Support unit in 2015. Keith is currently involved in multiple aspects of the CAFC disruption program. Along with providing tactical support to law enforcement, Keith is currently assigned to telephone disruption, project chameleon and money mules.
Learn more about fraud at http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
Stephen Weston
VP IT Governance & CISO
Canadian Tire Corporation
Stephen is currently the Vice President, IT Governance and CISO at Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC). Stephen has over 20 years of experience in the Information Technology field with 10 of those years in a Cyber/Information Security related role. Stephen has held a variety of senior leadership roles in technology and is known for driving strategic change and innovation. Stephen is an active member in the cyber security community. Stephen began his career at Electronic Data Systems(EDS), where he led technology initiatives for clients in the automotive and financial sectors.
Keith White
Division EVP, Loss Prevention & Global Sustainability
Gap Inc.
Keith White, Division Executive Vice President of Loss Prevention & Global Sustainability at Gap Inc. oversees loss prevention, corporate security and global sustainability for the company.
Under Keith's leadership, loss prevention has implemented best-in-class strategies to address loss. Keith has also led the transformation of business continuity planning, establishing a company-wide plan and structure for emergency preparedness and response.
With a professional career that spans more than 30 years, Keith has also held positions at Target, from 1989 to 2000.
Keith chair’s the Gap Inc. Diversity Council, serves on the Gap Foundation Board of Directors, the Year Up Bay Area Board, East Bay Regional Parks Foundation Board, is the former chairman of the Board of Directors for the Bay Area American Red Cross Chapter, and is also an advisor and past President to the International Organization of Black Security Executives Board of Directors. Keith and his wife Rose are also recipients of the NAACP’s Outstanding Community Service Award.
Keith holds a Bachelor of Arts in Law Enforcement Administration from Western Illinois University and a Master of Science in Criminology from Chicago State University.