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2014 Speakers

Face photo of Bob Young Bob Young Founder and Chairman: Lulu.com, Vice Chairman: Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Bob Young is the founder and chairman of Lulu.com, a premiere international marketplace for new digital content on the Internet, with more than 300,000 recently published titles and more than 15,000 new creators from 80 different countries joining each week.

Lulu.com, founded in 2002, is Young’s most recent endeavour. The success of this company has earned Young notable recognition; he was named one of the “Top 50 Agenda-Setters in the Technology Industry in 2006” and was ranked as the fourth “Top Entrepreneur for 2006,” both by Silicon.com.

In 1993, Young co-founded Red Hat (NYSE: RHT), the open-source software company that gives hardware and software vendors a standard platform on which to certify their technology. Red Hat is a Fortune 500 company and chief rival to Microsoft. His success at Red Hat won him industry accolades, including nomination as one of Business Week’s “Top Entrepreneurs” in 1999.

Before founding Red Hat, Young spent 20 years at the helm of two computer-leasing companies that he founded. His experiences as a high tech entrepreneur combined with his innate marketing savvy led to Red Hat’s success. His book, “Under the Radar”, chronicles how Red Hat’s open source strategy successfully won wide industry acceptance in a market previously dominated by proprietary binary-only systems. Young has also imparted the lessons learned from his entrepreneurial experiences through his contributions to the books to “You’ve GOT to Read This Book!” and “Chicken Soup for the Entrepreneur’s Soul.”

In 2000, Young co-founded the Center for Public Domain, a non-profit foundation created to bolster healthy conversation of intellectual property, patent and copyright law, and the management of the public domain for the common good. Grant recipients included the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Creative Commons, the Free Software Foundation, and the Future of Music Coalition.

Young graduated from the University of Toronto in 1976 prior to beginning his career in the computer finance arena.

In 2003, Young purchased the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League and currently serves as the league’s vice chairman.

In addition to enjoying fly fishing, Young collects calculators and antique typewriters, a nod to his beginnings as a typewriter salesman and can usually be found sporting a pair of red socks. However, instead of red on his head, Young now tips his orange hat.

Face photo of BJ Hardman BJ Hardman CEO Sanarus Technologies

Chairman and CEO BJ Hardman founded Sanarus Technologies in 2009, successfully bringing advanced cryoablation technology to market. The company’s flagship product, the Visica®2 Treatment System, is a low-pressure liquid nitrogen cryotherapy device currently used for the treatment of benign and early stage breast cancer tumors, as well as in cryoablation-assisted surgery.

A top executive who has made significant contributions to industry, Hardman is a frequent speaker and author of numerous articles including, Improving Market Share and Profitability and Customer Delight: The Key to Success.

She was chief coach and CEO of PointStar Consulting Group, a company focused on rapid implementation of enterprise-wide solutions for clients, aligning customer needs, strategy, processes, technology and people. In addition, Hardman has held executive positions with Johnson & Johnson, Argonaut Group, KPMG Consulting and GE Capital.

An ardent proponent of research and innovation, Hardman’s Industry experience includes biomedical devices, financial management, manufacturing and distribution. She holds a Master of Science degree in Business Management from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, where she was a Sloan Fellow, and a bachelor’s degree in finance from California State University, San Jose.

Face photo of Laura Fortino Laura Fortino Gold medal Olympian Canadian Women’s Hockey Team

Laura Michele Fortino is a 2014 Gold Medal winner. She competed in the Winter Olympics in Sochi representing Canada on the National stage in Women’s Hockey. Laura was instrumental in designing the play that would result in the overtime winning goal.

Laura’s journey to becoming an Olympian is a result of 20 years of dedication both on and off the ice. In her early years she led the Hamilton boy’s rep teams into city and provincial championships. As she transitioned into the PWHL she quickly earned the confidence of her coaches and teammates. When Laura wore the “C” on her jersey she was able to create an environment in which the team approach was nurtured leading to great success.

Not only did Laura play high level sports in the community, she represented her high school Bishop Tonnos Catholic Secondary school in ice-hockey, soccer and field hockey. She was part of many city championships and medaled at OFSAA. She was acknowledge as a student-athlete and received academic honours and was athlete of the year in her junior and senior years.

At Cornell University, Laura was acknowledged as rookie of the year, MVP of the team, First Team All-American her first three years, Ivy League Player of the Year, NCAA All-Tournament. She was nominated for the Patty Kazmaier award and received the Charles Moore Outstanding Senior Varsity Athlete Award and the Cornell University Female Athlete of the Year.

At the National level, Laura was on the inaugural under 18 National championship team, winning gold and progressed onto the under 22 achieving silver and gold medals followed by participation in the IHFF Worlds Championship in Vermont and Ottawa winning Gold and Silver respectively. In Vermont, Laura was named First Team Tournament All Star.

Laura graduated from Cornell University and is furthering her studies in the area of health sciences. Laura has recently been named as an ambassador to McMaster Children’s Hospital Foundation. This summer, Laura will be sharing her skill through the establishment of a hockey camp. Laura understands the importance of giving back, to this end, she volunteers at several community events. Upon her return from Sochi, Laura has shared her experience at several speaking engagements.

Laura is grateful for these experiences and all those who provided her the opportunities. She values the coaches, sponsors, teammates and the community that make sport accessible.

 

Face photo of David L. Sackett David L. Sackett Director: Trout Research and Education Center at Irish Lake Professor Emeritus: McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

After training in internal medicine, nephrology and epidemiology, Dave Sackett coined the term "clinical epidemiology" and began his first career (age 32) as the founding Chair of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics at McMaster University's new medical school. In his second career he began to design, execute, interpret, monitor, write and teach about randomized clinical trials, an activity that continues to the present, some 200 trials later. His third career was dedicated to developing and disseminating "critical appraisal" strategies for busy clinicians, and ended when he decided he was out of date clinically and returned (at age 49) to a two-year "retreading" residency in Hospitalist Internal Medicine. His fifth and sixth careers were largely clinical, as Physician-in-Chief at Chedoke-McMaster Hospitals, and as Head of the Division of General Internal Medicine for the Hamilton region. In 1994 a chair was created for him at the University of Oxford, where he took up his seventh career as foundation Director of the NHS R&D Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, Consultant on the Medical Service at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Foundation Chair of the Cochrane Collaboration Steering Group, and Foundation Co-Editor of Evidence-Based Medicine. Retired from clinical practice in 1999, he began his eighth career by returning to Canada and setting up the Trout Research & Education Centre, where he reads, researches, writes and teaches about randomized clinical trials. Along the way, he has published 12 books, chapters for 60-some others, and about 300 papers in medical and scientific journals.

McMaster researcher to receive 2009 Gairdner Wightman Award By Laura Thompson

Published: April 1, 2009

Dr. David Sackett, Professor Emeritus, Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics

The 2009 Canada Gairdner Wightman Award

Evidence-based medicine: McMaster University's Dr. David Sackett and the pioneering work that won him the prestigious Gairdner Award Video

A McMaster University professor emeritus who is one of the world's leading authorities on evidence-based medicine has been awarded Canada's top prize for outstanding leadership in medicine.

Dr. David Sackett, a founder of McMaster's medical school, has been named the winner of the 2009 Gairdner Wightman Award.

Sackett was 32 and a physician with training in internal medicine, nephrology and epidemiology when he became chair of Canada's first Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics. From 1967 to 1994, he developed and mentored a new breed of applied clinician-scientists and worked with them to create and disseminate evidence-based medicine throughout the world.

McMaster University's development of evidence-based medicine has been ranked by the British Medical Journal as one of the most important medical breakthroughs of the past 150 years, alongside development of vaccines and antibiotics and the introduction of the importance of sanitation.

The Gairdner Wightman Award is given to a Canadian who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in medicine and medical science. The award comes with a $100,000 prize. The Gairdner awards are known as the "baby Nobels" because many winners have later been awarded Nobel prizes.

"Our medical advisory committees have chosen to honour Dr. Sackett with a Gairdner Wightman Award for his outstanding leadership in clinical epidemiology, his rigorous methods in conducting clinical trials and his proper insistence that doctors' decisions should always be based on the best scientific evidence available," said Dr. John Dirks, president of the Gairdner Foundation.

The Gairdner Wightman Award will be given to Dr. Sackett at the Gairdners' 50th anniversary banquet in Toronto on October 29, 2009.

Dr. David Sackett is one of seven 2009 Gairdner awardees from Canada, U.S., Colombia and Japan. He will join the other recipients for the Gairdner National Program this fall, lecturing at universities across Canada as well as at the Gairdner Minds That Matter conference at the University of Toronto on Thursday, Oct. 29.

Click here to view more information about the conference

Face photo of David Saint-Jacques David Saint-Jacques Canadian Astronaut Canadian Space Agency (via teleconference)

Personal Data: Born on January 6, 1970, in Quebec City, Canada, and raised in Saint-Lambert near Montreal, Canada. He is married and has two children. He is a lifelong mountaineer, cyclist, skier and passionate sailor. He also holds a commercial pilot license. Saint-Jacques is fluent in English and French and has basic knowledge of Russian, Spanish and Japanese.

Education: Saint-Jacques earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Engineering Physics from École polytechnique de Montréal, Canada (1993). He earned a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Cambridge University, UK (1998), where his studies included theoretical work on astronomical observation and design, fabrication and commissioning of instruments for the Cambridge Optical Aperture Synthesis Telescope and for the William Herschel Telescope in the Canary Islands. He earned his M.D. from Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada (2005), and completed his family medicine residency at McGill University in Montreal, Canada (2007), where his training focused on first-line, isolated medical practice.

Organizations: Collège des médecins du Québec, College of Family Physicians of Canada, Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, International Society for Optical Engineering, Life Fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Special Honours: Canada Millennium Scholarship (2001 to 2005), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Post-doctoral Fellowship (1999 to 2001), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada “1967” Science and Engineering Scholarship (1994 to1998), Canadian Space Agency Supplement Scholarship (1994 to 1998), Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Honorary Scholar (1994 to 1998), United Kingdom Overseas Research Student Award (1994 to 1998), Canada Scholarship (1989 to 1993).

Experience: Prior to joining the Canadian Space Program, Saint-Jacques was a medical doctor and the Co-chief of Medicine at Inuulitsivik Health Centre in Puvirnituq, Canada, an Arctic village on Hudson Bay. He also worked as a Clinical Faculty Lecturer for McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine, supervising medical trainees in Nunavik. Saint-Jacques began his career as a biomedical engineer, working on the design of radiological equipment for angiography. His broad scientific background also includes astrophysics and medical training. His postdoctoral research included the development and application of the Mitaka Infrared Interferometer in Japan and the Subaru Telescope Adaptive Optics System in Hawaii (1999 to 2001), after which he joined the Astrophysics group at Université de Montréal. His international experience also includes engineering study and work in France and Hungary and medical training in Leb anon and Guatemala.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Experience: Saint-Jacques was selected in May 2009 by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and has moved to Houston to be one of 14 members of the 20th NASA astronaut class. In 2011, he graduated from Astronaut Candidate Training that included scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in International Space Station (ISS) systems, Extravehicular Activity, robotics, physiological training, T-38 flight training, Russian language and water and wilderness survival training. Since graduation, he has been assigned to the Robotics Branch of the Astronaut Office. In October 2011, he participated in the underwater mission, NEEMO 15.

 
Face photo of Ian Heynen Ian Heynen Vice President and General Manager Hologic Specialty Imaging Products Division

Ian Heynen is the former Vice President and General Manager of the Hologic Specialty Imaging Products Division, having global responsibility for the Skeletal Imaging & MRI businesses within Hologic. Mr. Heynen has been on the management team for Sentinelle since 2008, and assumed the General Manager role for the MRI business shortly following the Sentinelle acquisition by Hologic in August 2010. Mr. Heynen brings 10 years of medical imaging industry experience from both Hologic and GE Healthcare & has been active in technology & product development across industries for his entire career. Mr. Heynen holds a B.A.Sc. from University of Waterloo, an M.A.Sc. from UBC, and an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University. Mr. Heynen is a Licenses Professional Engineer and a Certified Management Accountant.

Face photo of Paul Ferley Paul Ferley Assistant Chief Economist RBC

As Assistant Chief Economist, Paul is responsible for the analysis and forecasting of macroeconomic and financial market developments in Canada, the United States and key overseas economies and is a regular contributor to a number of RBC publications.

A graduate of Queen’s University and the University of Manitoba, Paul joined the Economics Department of RBC in 2007 after working for twenty years at another major financial institution where he was responsible for generating the macroeconomic outlook for the United States, Canada and Canadian regional economies. Paul started his professional career as an economist in the Research Department at the Bank of Canada.

Paul is a member of the Economic Policy Committee of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and former member on the Editorial Board of Canadian Public Policy/Analyse de politiques. Paul is also Past President and Director of the Toronto Association of Business and Economics (TABE).

 
Face photo of Dr. Mark B. Knudson Dr. Mark B. Knudson Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Venturi Group

Mark B. Knudson, Ph.D., FAHA has served as our President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the board since December 2002. Dr. Knudson also served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Venturi Group. Dr. Knudson served as Chairman of the board of several publicly traded companies, for example, Diametrics Medical, a point of care blood gas measurement diagnostic company and Restore Medical, Inc., a publicly-held medical device company focused on the treatment of sleep disordered breathing. He is the holder of over 100 United States patents and numerous international patents. He has been actively involved in founding over 30 medical companies during his career, many of which were acquired by companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Guidant, Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson. Dr. Knudson received a Bachelor of Science in biology from Pacific Lutheran University and a Ph.D. in physiology from Washington State University. He was awarded an NIH Individual Post-doctoral Fellowship. He was elected to the Society of Sigma XI, the scientific research honor society in 1975. Dr. Knudson is a Fellow of the American Heart Association.

Face photo of Edward Fan Edward Fan IP Partner Torys LLP

Edward Fan’s practice focuses on the acquisition, enforcement and exploitation of intellectual property, and issues relating to technology transfers. In addition to advising on issues relating to portfolio management, Edward is also involved in negotiating and crafting intellectual property and other technology-related licenses and agreements. He regularly advises clients on the acquisition and exploitation of intellectual property portfolios in different industries.

Edward is a registered patent agent in Canada and the United States, and a trademark agent in Canada.

Recognitions: 

Best Lawyers in Canada, 2014—Leading lawyer in intellectual property Professional Involvement

Before joining Torys, Edward practiced technology, communications and intellectual property law at another major Toronto firm. Prior to his legal career, Edward was a certified DB2 database administrator and application developer.

Selected Publications and Presentations

IT Maintenance and Support Agreements

Speaker, Federated Press: Mastering IP & IT Transactions, Toronto | October 17, 2013

Patent Prosecution – Procedures and Rules at the CIPO Lecturer, York University, Osgoode Hall Law School | September 4, 2013 & August 30, 2011

Patents as a Competitive Strategy

Co-lecturer, Federated Press: Toronto | June 19, 2012

Taking a Business Online: IP Issues in Online Businesses and Transactions Westlaw Journal: Intellectual Property, vol. 19, issue 4 | June 13, 2012

United States Converts to First-to-File Patent System Westlaw Journal: Intellectual Property, vol. 18, issue 21 | February 8, 2012

Roundtable Discussion on the United States Patent Office Moderator, Intellectual Property Institute of Canada: Annual General Meeting, Chicago | September 16, 2011

Introduction to Intellectual Property and Regulatory Issues for Drug Products in Canada Lecturer, University of Waterloo, School of Pharmacy (Health Sciences) | March 28, 2011

Topics in Intellectual Property For The Computer Scientist Lecturer, University of Toronto, Department of Computer Science | December 7, 2010

Canada Now Permits Business Method Patents Co-author, PatentCafe’s ipFrontline.com | October 19, 2010

Bilski, Amazon and Patentable Subject Matter Speaker, Intellectual Property Institute of Canada: Annual General Meeting, Quebec City | October 15, 2010

Drafting Complex Licensing Agreements

Speaker, Federated Press: Mastering IP & IT Transactions, Toronto | October 12, 2010

Bilski: U.S. Supreme Court Provides Little Guidance to Patent Applicants Intellectual Property Bulletin | July 30, 2010

Patents and Patent Litigation

Lecturer, University of Waterloo, School of Pharmacy | June 14, 2010

Avoiding Complications When Utilizing Trademarks and Copyright Protected Materials in Advertising Advertising & Marketing Law & Compliance for Financial Institutions, The Canadian Institute, Toronto | April 30, 2010

Intellectual Property Issues in Computer Science Lecturer, University of Toronto, Department of Computer Science | March 31, 2010

Introduction to Intellectual Property and Regulatory Issues for Drug Products in Canada Lecturer, University of Waterloo, School of Pharmacy (Health Sciences) | March 22, 2010

Patentees May Request Recalculation of U.S. Patent Terms Intellectual Property Bulletin | February 3, 2010

Amendments to Canada’s Patent Rules Will Simplify Declarations of Entitlement for Applicants Intellectual Property Bulletin | January 28, 2010

CIPO’s New Draft Guidelines Could Result in Higher Disclosure Standards for Canadian Patents Intellectual Property Bulletin | November 25, 2009

Canadian Patent Appeal Board Rejects Amazon’s “One-Click” Business Method Patent Torys Intellectual Property Bulletin | May 11, 2009 Also republished in Internet and E-Commerce Law in Canada, vol. 10, no. 2, June 2009

Understanding Patents

Lecturer, University of Waterloo, School of Pharmacy (Health Sciences) | March 9, 2009

Patentability of Business Methods: U.S. Court Decides Bilski Intellectual Property Bulletin | October 31, 2008

Protection of Trade Secrets and Confidential Information Author, PatentCafe’s ipFrontline.com | June 21, 2008

Protection of Trade Secrets and Confidential Information 8th Annual IT Law Spring Training Program of IT.Can and the Law Society of

Upper Canada, Toronto | May 1, 2008

Is Canada’s Climate Improving for Patentability of Business Methods?

American Lawyer Media’s Law.com | April 11, 2007 Selected Media Highlights

November 21, 2011: Torys participates in the launch of the OCE/IP Osgoode Innovation Clinic

January 31, 2011: Doors are now wide open [for business method patents], says Edward Fan in Law Times.

January 12, 2010: Patent Appeal Board ruling can mean that inventions must have a physical form to be patented, says Edward Fan in Lexpert

September 21, 2009: Patent Appeal Board rules that inventions must have a physical form, says Edward Fan in Law Times

November 3, 2008: Business [processes]…are being turned into patent applications, says Edward Fan in Lexpert Memberships

Intellectual Property Institute of Canada Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Face photo of Rod Jones Rod Jones Executive Director Ontario Aerospace Council

Rod Jones is Executive Director of the Ontario Aerospace Council (OAC). He is an experienced executive whose expertise is focused in strategic management, business development, marketing and government relations.

In the aerospace industry, he has broad knowledge and strategic insight developed through general management of aerospace SMEs and active leadership in industry associations and related organizations at the national and provincial levels. He was instrumental in the creation and development of the OAC, Ontario’s aerospace sector organization. Rod is a Director of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, and serves on the Advisory Board for the Ryerson Institute for Aerospace Design and Innovation (RIADI).

Face photo of Dr. Kevin P.D. Smith Dr. Kevin P.D. Smith President and CEO St. Joseph’s Health System

Kevin P. D. Smith is President and CEO of St. Joseph’s Health System, and the Niagara Health System. Kevin holds an appointment Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Mc Master University.

Educated in Canada, the United States and Great Britain, Dr. Smith began his career in medical education, followed by leadership roles in university administration and academic hospitals and health systems.

Kevin’s continuing education has focused on governance in the public and private sectors and is professionally certified by the Institute of Corporate Directors and has completed the Harvard Program in Effective Governance.

Kevin is fortunate to be a frequent advisor to Governments at home and abroad. Dr. Smith is privileged to Chair the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Home Capital Group.

Face photo of Antoine Cantin Antoine Cantin World Record Holder for solving the Rubik’s Cube one-handed

Antoine Cantin, World Record Holder for solving the Rubik’s Cube one-handed.

Antoine is a perfectly bilingual, modest teenager from the École secondaire catholique L’Escale in Rockland (near Ottawa), Ontario. On April 26, 2014, with an average time of 12.56 seconds, he became the first Canadian ever to hold the World Record in solving the Rubik’s Cube one-handed. In fact, he is the only Canadian record-holder ever to obtain a World record average time for any of the current World Cube Association records.

To the insistance of his older brother, Antoine learned how to solve a Rubik’s cube in 2009. They started speedcubing together in 2010 the same year his brother and a friend founded Le Club de Cube L’Escale at their High School; Antoine was the rep at the middle school of the same name. With the help of the internet, fellow cubers, practice and perseverance, Antoine quickly became of the top Canadian cubers.

Since November 2010, he has participated in more than 17 official World Cube Association official competitions. In his last three competitions, he finished top-3 in each of 8 events offered at each of the competitions. On August 1-3, he will take part in all of the 18 WCA official events in the US Nationals Rubik’s Cube Competition. He currently has held or improved on 11 different Canadian Records 23 times; three times on North Americal records, and on one World record. He can solve the Rubik’s cube behind his back while skating, with his feet, and even one-handed while blindfolded.

His achievements do not stop at speedcubing. In 2011 and 2012, he was part of his school’s soccer team. He is the webmaster for his cubing club; learned native HTML, CSS and javascript on his own, on his linux-based desktop. His team finished first in the 2012 Ottawa IEEE Robotics Competition. He finished second in the 2012 Eastern Ontario Optimist Mathematics Competition; from 2012 to 2014 received multiple Certificates of Disctinction from University of Waterloo Mathematics Contests. Last Fall, he and his team won first place in the “Place à la Jeunesse” 2013-14 University of Ottawa Marketing Competition, open to all levels of all French High Schools in Ontario.

To top it all, his friends and family always enjoy Antoine’s cooking!

Click here to view a news article about Antoine Cantin