SOLD OUT -- Transportation Symposium, Day 1: The Economic Benefits of World-Class Transit

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Speakers:

• Jan De Silva, President and CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade

Bio:

Jan De Silva, President and CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade

Jan De Silva is President and CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade, one of the largest and most influential business organizations in North America. She is spearheading efforts to make Toronto one of the most competitive and sought-after business regions in the world.   

Jan brings to the role more than 14 years of international CEO experience building ambitious, high-growth organizations. Anchored in her leadership is her belief in the power of economic development to lift communities. 

Prior to joining the Board, she served as CEO of Sun Life Financial’s Hong Kong and Mainland China businesses and co-founded and later sold Retail China Limited. Jan also served as Dean of Ivey Asia for Ivey Business School of Western University.

Highly respected for her business advocacy and government engagement, Jan has been Chair of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, Chair of the Canada China Business Council in Beijing and served on the Board of the Asian Corporate Governance Association. In 2019, she was appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to represent Canada on the APEC Business Advisory Council. Jan also sits on the board of Intact Financial Corporation, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

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This fireside chat will highlight the Ontario government’s various plans to address congestion in the Toronto region, including the implementation and impact of the GO Expansion Program.

Introductory Remarks:

• Olivier Marcil, Vice-President, Public Affairs Canada, Alstom Canada 

Speaker:

• The Hon. Caroline Mulroney, Ontario Minister of Transportation

Moderator:

• Jan De Silva, President & CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade

Bios:

Olivier Marcil, Vice-President, Public Affairs Canada, Alstom Canada

Olivier Marcil recently joined Alstom, a world leader in the rail industry and one of the largest manufacturing companies in the country. As Vice-President, Public Affairs for Canada, Mr. Marcil develops and supports relations with the various partners of the company, paying particular attention to relations with governments, to sustainability initiatives and the company's social commitment to communities where it operates.

Mr. Marcil was previously Vice-President, External Relations at Bombardier from 2016 to 2021, as well as Vice-Principal, Communications and External Relations at McGill University from 2011 and 2016.

He also held senior positions in the Government of Quebec from 2003 to 2011. He acted as advisor to Premier Jean Charest; as Chief of Staff to the minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export, and as Chief of Staff to the minister of Canadian Intergovernmental Affairs, Aboriginal Affairs and the Reform of Democratic Institutions.

Mr. Marcil holds a bachelor's degree in History from the University of Sherbrooke and a master's degree in History from the University of Montreal. He is the author of a variety of articles on Claude Ryan, former leader of the Quebec Liberal Party and director for the daily paper Le Devoir, including the book entitled Reason and Balance: Liberalism, Nationalism and Catholicism in Claude Ryan’s thought (1962- 1978).

Olivier Marcil has always been active in his community. He is currently a member of the boards of directors of the University of Sherbrooke; the Pointe-à-Callière Museum, the Serge-Marcil Foundation and Youth Fusion.

He was previously a director of the Association francophone pour le savoir (ACFAS), Savoir Média, CORIM, the AéroMontréal cluster and the J-Armand Bombardier Foundation.

He received ICD.D certification from the Institute of Corporate Directors (McGill/UofToronto) in February 2017.

The Hon. Caroline Mulroney, Ontario Minister of Transportation

Caroline was first elected as the Member of Provincial Parliament for York-Simcoe in 2018.

Before entering politics, Caroline had a successful career in the private sector spanning business and law while effectively running a charity benefitting homeless and at-risk women.

She previously served as Vice President of BloombergSen Investment Partners, a Toronto-based investment firm, where she managed client services, marketing and business development. Prior to that, Caroline spearheaded corporate and regulatory matters related to growth opportunities in Canada and the United States for Wellington Financial LP.

As a lawyer, she was an associate at Shearman & Sterling and then Associate Director of the NYU Center for Law & Business. Caroline began her career as a financial analyst in the investment banking department of Bear Stearns & Co. Inc.

Caroline is a graduate of Harvard College and the NYU School of Law.

In addition to her work in the private sector, Caroline is passionate about the charitable organization she co-founded and chairs called the Shoebox Project for Shelters. With local chapters across Canada and the United States, they coordinate and deliver gifts to thousands of women and girls in shelters or facing homelessness.

She is also a former member of the Board of Directors of the Hospital for SickKids Foundation, the Fraser Institute and the Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority, a Crown corporation and a former Governor of the National Theatre School of Canada.

Born in Montreal, Caroline grew up in Ottawa and is bilingual.

Caroline and her husband Andrew Lapham have four children and a dog, Peanut. They have a home in Georgina.

London's $24 billion Crossrail project opened to passengers in May 2022 and is expected to carry 200 million people a year, offering faster travel journeys across the city. In this address, John Williams will share insights, challenges, and learnings from London’s Crossrail experience that are relevant in light of the plans for GO Transit expansion that are now getting underway.

Introductory Remarks:

• Emma Wade-Smith OBE, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for North America and British Consul General New York

Speaker:

• John Williams, President, Bechtel Infrastructure Northeast US & Canada, Bechtel Corporation

Bios:

Emma Wade-Smith OBE,
His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for North America and British Consul General New York

Emma Wade-Smith OBE is His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for North America and HM Consul General New York. She was appointed in November 2021. 

Prior to this appointment, she spent nearly 6 years leading the UK government’s pan-African regional trade and investment team, as Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Africa. 

Before moving into the world of trade and investment, Emma worked at the British Embassy in Washington D.C. as the UK’s Counsellor for Foreign and Security Policy. 

This came on the back of a 2 year stint (2009 to 2011) heading up the UK government’s International Crisis Response Team. She was awarded an OBE by Her Majesty The Queen for her work helping British Nationals to safety from hot spots all around the world. 

Emma has had a distinguished career as a British Diplomat spanning more than 2 decades, with postings to Mexico and Chile as well as secondments to the United Nations in New York; the European Commission in Brussels; and the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills where she worked on international trade. 

Emma is married to John; speaks reasonably fluent Spanish; is a Seahawks fan; and attempts to play golf every once in a while. 

John Williams, President, Bechtel Infrastructure Northeast US & Canada, Bechtel Corporation

John Williams is Bechtel’s President for Infrastructure in Northeast US & Canada. He lives in New York and is responsible for the operational performance and strategic development of the business in the transportation and digital sectors.

John was previously (2019-2022) Bechtel’s General Manager for Infrastructure, UK & Ireland, where he successfully expanded the business in the transport, digital, defence and renewables sectors. Between 2016-2019, John was deputy project director of Bechtel’s Crossrail project delivery partner team, leading the staged integration and upgrade of the legacy network into the new central operating section.

Prior to that role, John was manager of Bechtel’s Nuclear, Security & Environmental global business unit’s international portfolio. He developed and delivered a strategy to expand Bechtel’s defense, nuclear decommissioning, and nuclear new-build capabilities into nonUS markets, and to provide operational oversight to those contracts.

Before joining Bechtel in 2012 John held senior positions within the UK Government and the private sector. From 2005-2009, John served as special advisor to UK Cabinet Minister, the Rt Hon John Hutton MP, providing senior policy advice in four UK government departments – Cabinet Office, Department of Work and Pensions, Department for Business, and Ministry of Defence.

John started his career in local government as founding director of the New Local Government Network, creating one of the most successful and influential public policy think tanks in the UK.

John graduated from Lancaster University with a BA (with honors) in politics and international relations.

This discussion will examine the challenges and opportunities of the GO Expansion Program, the largest transit project in North America and one of the largest in the world that is underway to ensure the region has a transit system that can keep pace with future demand.

Speakers: 

• Anthony Simmons, Major Stations Planning Lead, Caltrain  

• Stephanie Davies, Chief Capital Officer (GO & UP), Metrolinx

• Jennifer Verellen, Senior Vice President, Transportation Systems, Canada, WSP

• Souheil Abihanna, President, Alstom Canada

Moderator:

• Josh Colle, Senior Vice-President, EY

Bios:

Anthony Simmons, Major Stations Planning Lead, Caltrain

Anthony is Principal of Simmons Consulting and Advisory, and is currently supporting Caltrain in the San Francisco Bay area as its Major Stations Planning Lead. He is a senior transportation executive with over 21 years’ of international experience in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. He has performed in highly-dynamic and high-visibility settings with a broad range of elected officials, key stakeholders and the public in developing and delivering passenger rail transportation infrastructure and service improvements. He has supported development of strategic multi-billion dollar regional transportation plans, and policy changes ranging from land use changes around rail stations to new strategies aimed at boosting connections between active and public transportation. He has also led the development and implementation of several politically-sensitive initiatives, including mega-projects, high-priority project business cases and paradigm-shifting strategic and integrated transportation plans and initiatives.

Stephanie Davies, Chief Capital Officer (GO & UP), Metrolinx

As Chief Capital Officer (GO & UP), Stephanie leads the portion of the Metrolinx Capital Projects Group responsible for transforming the regional passenger railway network. This integrated team brings together hundreds of skilled Metrolinx employees with partners from Infrastructure Ontario and the private sector with a shared focus on delivering complex projects safely, on time, on budget, and on benefit. Its responsibilities include GO Expansion, the internationally recognized program to bring faster, more frequent electrified rail service to the Greater Golden Horseshoe, along with complementary investments in new stations and line extensions that will bring GO rail service to new communities in the region. 

After spending five years in telecommunications infrastructure, Stephanie has held progressively senior positions at Metrolinx (previously GO Transit) since 2003, most recently as Executive Vice President of GO Expansion. There, she led teams of project delivery, commercial, technical, and program management staff delivering hundreds of track, signals, structures, stations, and customer amenities projects. Stephanie is proud to be part of this significant investment in transforming the passenger rail network for the region’s residents. 

Stephanie has an honours degree in Civil Engineering from Queen’s University and is registered as a Professional Engineer in Ontario. She lives in the east end of Toronto with her husband and two sons, happily within walking distance of a GO station. 

Jennifer Verellen, Senior Vice President, Transportation Systems, Canada, WSP

Jennifer has 20-years of leadership experience in the transportation sector. She is currently WSP’s global leader for Rail & Transit and also the Senior Vice President of Transportation Systems at WSP Canada, where she oversees a national team of over 450 engineers and specialists in Rail & Transit, Aviation and Ports, Marine and Coastal. Jennifer is a Licensed Professional Engineer with the Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO), the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA), and the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (EGBC). She is listed on the Engineers Canada’s Mobility Register in accordance with the International Professional Engineers Agreement (IPEA) and the Asia-Pacific Engineering Agreement (APEC) as an International Professional Engineer (IntPE). Jennifer was the sole-Canadian recipient of the 2017 North American Mass Transit (USA, Canada and Mexico) Top 40 Under 40 for her ability to show capacity in innovation, demonstrating leadership and a commitment to making an impact in transit. She is a leader and mentor for women in the engineering sector, speaking regularly at events across Canada to discuss the importance of growing the number of women working in the industry, and working to remove any and all barriers that prevent women from progressing in their engineering careers. 

Souheil Abihanna, President, Alstom Canada

Souheil ABIHANNA is President of Alstom Canada since July 2020. He was previously Vice-President and Customer Director for East-Canada and led in this position many commercial activities in Canada, mainly the consortium that won the Montreal’s REM (Réseau électrique métropolitain) System & Infra project in 2018.

Souheil ABIHANNA started his career in 1996 in the telecommunications industry before joining Alstom in 2005. Appointed Montreal Signalling Site Managing Director in 2014, he led the restructuring operation of the Canada Signalling business after the sale of Alstom’s Power and Grid businesses to General Electric in 2015. He currently oversees the strategic activities of Alstom Green Mobility in Canada and North America.

Born in Lebanon in 1970, Mr. ABIHANNA is a graduate of Sherbrooke University (Quebec, Canada), B. Elec. Eng, and M. Eng. 

Josh Colle, Senior Vice-President, EY

Josh Colle is a leader in EY’s Government and Public Sector practice and advises clients and supports them in finding public transit, infrastructure, and service delivery solutions. This work has seen Josh working with public sector clients across North America with their efforts to review and improve services, find efficiencies and save costs, enhance operating and governance models, and navigate complex issues and stakeholder environments. Much of this work has been focused on supporting municipalities and transit agencies. Josh sits on the Board of the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) and previously served as Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and as a Toronto City Councillor. 
 
Josh works with senior leaders at municipalities and transit providers in Canada and the US to address their most pressing challenges and opportunities. Over the course of his career in the transportation and infrastructure industry he has spoken regularly to public audiences and the media. Josh has spoken on public transit issues across North America at American Association of Public Transit (APTA), Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA), Urban Transit Infrastructure, Railway Age, and many other events and sessions. 
 
Josh received a B.A. from McGill University in Montreal and is a holder of the Institute of Corporate Directors Director designation and currently serves as the Vice Chair of Integrated Mobility on the Board of CUTA. 

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‎ The Toronto Region Board of Trade’s new home is on Toronto’s beautiful eastern waterfront, which is also primed to be one of the region’s premier tourist destinations and sites for new housing construction. Its biggest challenge, however, is the absence of high-quality transportation infrastructure. The Waterfront East LRT remains unfunded, the Ontario Line will not stop when it passes near the waterfront, and we lack east-west marine transportation. This discussion will show us how to maximize the potential of this unique neighbourhood.

Introductory Remarks:

• Tim Kocur, Executive Director, Waterfront BIA

Speakers:

• Pina Mallozzi, Senior Vice President, Design, Waterfront Toronto

• Ana Bailão, Head of Affordable Housing and Public Affairs, Dream REIT

• Jennifer Quinn, Chief Strategy & Development Officer, Nieuport Aviation

Moderator:

• Dr. Jonathan English, Director of Policy for Transportation, Infrastructure, and Trade, Toronto Region Board of Trade

Bios:

Tim Kocur, Executive Director, Waterfront BIA

Tim Kocur joined the Waterfront BIA in 2018 as Executive Director and initiated a successful boundary expansion to include the fastest growing neighbourhood in North America – the waterfront east of Yonge Street. The BIA has developed economic impact studies and joint advocacy statements in support of the Waterfront East LRT. The ‘Waterfront ReConnect’ vision for safer, improved north-south connections to the water has resulted in pilots and new public realm planning for the Gardiner Corridor. They are also a leader in supporting events and activations including the Waterfront Festival, an artist-in-residence program, and the Smorgasburg food market.

Pina Mallozzi, Senior Vice President, Design, Waterfront Toronto

Pina Mallozzi is the Senior Vice President, Design at Waterfront Toronto. She is responsible for the design of a large portfolio of projects which has included the revitalization of Queens Quay West, the Port Lands Flood Protection Park System, the Gardiner East Public Realm Plan, the Waterfront East LRT and other parks and public spaces emerging on the waterfront.  She has worked closely with consultant teams and community stakeholders for over fifteen years in order to ensure that Waterfront Toronto’s vision for vibrant, well-designed communities and public spaces is realized.  She is a Landscape Architect with a Master of Landscape Architecture from Harvard University. 

Ana Bailão, Head of Affordable Housing and Public Affairs, Dream REIT

Ana Bailão is the Head of Affordable Housing and Public Affairs at Dream Unlimited Corp. Dream is an impact driven real estate development and asset management company, with CAD$17 bn of assets under management in Canada, USA and Europe. 

Ana is a recognized housing expert and passionate city builder with over 20 years of private and public-sector leadership experience in building more equitable, vibrant, and livable cities.  

Prior to joining Dream in 2023, Bailao was Toronto’s Deputy Mayor and Housing Advocate. She was the first politician ever appointed to oversee all aspects of Toronto’s housing portfolio. Under her leadership, the affordable housing capital budget grew from $96M to $4B, delivered the 2020-30 Toronto Housing Plan, a $24B housing strategy and her national advocacy raised hundreds of millions of dollars in government housing investment, including a fully funded $2.6B capital repair plan for Toronto’s social housing portfolio. Ana also represented Toronto nationally at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), including as Chair of FCM’s Social Economic Development Committee. 

As a dynamic social innovator, Ana successfully championed leading-edge housing initiatives, including new incentives for affordable housing construction, precedent-setting zoning and policy amendments, non-profit land trusts, fast-tracked approval processes for affordable housing, updated planning policies to support building innovations and the capacity to leverage city lands in achieving housing objectives.

She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts with a focus in Sociology from the University of Toronto and is a graduate of the ICD-Rotman Directors Program. 

Jennifer Quinn, Chief Strategy & Development Officer, Nieuport Aviation

Jennifer Quinn is the Chief Strategy & Development Officer at Nieuport Aviation.  She brings public and private sector Executive experience in strategy, commercial structuring and negotiations, infrastructure and real estate development, and risk advisory.  Most recently, Jennifer was a Partner and Government & Public Services Industry leader with Deloitte. 

She is passionate about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and in 2017 was the recipient of Start Proud’s Leaders to be Proud of – Professional Leadership award, recognizing excellence in the LGBTQ community. 

Jennifer has an Honours Bachelor of Accounting from Brock University, a Master’s Certificate in Public Management from York University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

Dr. Jonathan English, Director of Policy for Transportation, Infrastructure, and Trade, Toronto Region Board of Trade

Jonathan English is the Director of Policy for Transportation, Infrastructure, and Trade at the Toronto Region Board of Trade. He has a doctorate in urban planning from Columbia University, with research examining suburban transit policy and the relationship between transit service levels and transit demand from a historical perspective. His research has been featured in outlets including The New York Times, Vox, Wired, CBC, and NPR.  He has written on transportation and other issues for publications including the Globe and Mail and Bloomberg CityLab. He is a Fellow at the Marron Institute for Urban Management at New York University.

Rick Leary has led the TTC since 2017, guiding it through the tumultuous years of the pandemic. This conversation will reveal his plans for addressing the city’s current and future transit challenges, including getting riders back, revitalizing our downtown core, and connecting our waterfront.

Speaker:

• Rick Leary, CEO, TTC

Moderator:

• Giles Gherson, EVP and Chair, Economic Blueprint Institute, Toronto Region Board of Trade

Bio:

Rick Leary, CEO, TTC

Richard J. Leary is the CEO of the Toronto Transit Commission – North America’s third largest system – delivering subway, streetcar, bus, and paratransit service to Canada’s largest city. As CEO, he oversees an annual operating budget of $1.9 billion, where more than 70 per cent of that is recovered from the farebox.  

As the Toronto region expands and grows, public transit is expanding and growing with it. Richard’s rich experience in public transit has him well-placed to oversee and lead this growth, having advanced through the ranks throughout his career, beginning as a Subway Train Attendant and eventually becoming the Chief Operating Officer at the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, the fifth largest and most multi-modal transit system in North America. Prior to joining the TTC in 2014 as Chief Service Officer of the Service Delivery Group, Richard served as General Manager of York Region Transit/VIVA, just north of Toronto. 

Richard holds a BA with a concentration in Transportation/Logistics as well as a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Northeastern University in Boston. Richard is also a graduate of Harvard University’s Administration and Management graduate program. 

‎Speaker:

• Roselle Martino, SVP, Policy and Economic Blueprint Institute, Toronto Region Board of Trade

Bio:

Roselle Martino, SVP, Policy and Economic Blueprint Institute, Toronto Region Board of Trade

Roselle is the Senior Vice President, Public Policy and Economic Blueprint Institute at the Toronto Region Board of Trade. Roselle brings well over twenty years of experience across diverse sectors – including as an Executive Management Consultant, and as Assistant Deputy Minister with Ontario Government, providing executive leadership for policies, programs, and legislation for politically contentious and complex issues. Roselle has a comprehensive understanding of local government and municipal operations because of her tenure with the City of Toronto; and has worked internationally in the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit - Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, where she provided leadership for the development and delivery of national policies and programs.