Effective Leadership + Effective HR = A True Business Partnership
February 28, 2023
Effective leadership requires being in tune with company culture and being able to strategize well at every level of the organization. Hear from trusted organizational executive teams as they delve into the vital role that HR plays in strengthening leadership and building trust. Targeting HR professionals and business leaders, this session explores how HR leaders can set up leadership teams for optimal success. Come prepared to participate actively, share ideas and discuss best practices with your peers.
Location
Virtual
CPD
3.75 CPD Hours
Price
Members: $120
Non-Members: $145
Developed in partnership with
Continuing Professional Development
The “Effective Leadership + Effective HR” conference is eligible for 3.75 CPD hours.
CPD codes are only issued for sessions you attended live. No CPD code is provided for sessions viewed on-demand. Sessions you view on-demand do qualify for CPD Hours and will accumulate toward the total eligible CPD hours, however you will need to log those hours manually. Details can be found on the CPD FAQs page.
Not sure of your schedule?
Whether you attend the sessions live or not, register anyway to gain access to the conference recordings post-event. On-demand viewings still qualify for CPD Hours and recordings are made available for one year post-event date.
Event Pricing
All registration fees include access to the live, virtual streamed sessions as well as access to the conference recordings post-event.
| INDIVIDUAL REGISTRATION | Pricing |
| Member | 120 |
| Non-Member | 145 |
| Student | 80 |
| Group Registration (3+ More Registrants) | Pricing |
| Member | 110 |
| Non-Member | 130 |
| Student | 80 |
Agenda
8:45 AM – 9:00 AM
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Speaker: Diane Biesinger (she/her), CHRP, Lead, HR and Learning, HRPA
9:00 AM – 9:45 AM
Session #100: Effective Leadership and Key Elements of Canada’s Most Trusted Executive Teams
Effective leadership teams have an emotional connection with their company’s culture and can create a coherent and effective strategy at every level of business, unlocking their organization’s full potential. In this session, we will introduce the science behind Canada’s most trusted leadership teams and explore the strategic role of HR in supporting them.
Speakers: Nancy Fonseca, SVP Client Services, Great Place to Work® Canada; Dr. Jarik Conrad, Vice President, Human Insights, UKG
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Session #101: Moving Beyond Culture Fit
Effective leadership teams reflect the demographics of the organization and wider community. When people see people like them in leadership roles, it convinces them that they can advance and inspires them to give their all. This session reinforces the strategic role HR plays in talent acquisition. It will explore the many ways HR can enable leaders to attract the best talent from inside and outside your organization while delivering an exceptional experience to all job candidates.
Speakers: Anne Cesak, Senior Consultant, Great Place to Work® Canada; Jen Richard (she/her), Senior HR Manager, Admiral Insurance Canada
11:15 AM – 12:15 PM
Session #102: Prioritizing Performance
Effective leadership teams can create a coherent strategy that cascades throughout the organization so everyone knows what they should focus on and why. In a constantly changing world, prioritization is key to reaching objectives, but most organizations suffer from having too many competing priorities. As organizations push decision making down, having a clear strategy and sense of purpose will help ensure leaders can stay focussed on what’s most important. In this session we will discuss tactics and strategies to help leaders focus on the right things to drive performance.
Speakers: Melanie Drouin, Senior Consultant, Great Place to Work® Canada; Juno Ramacha, MBA, CHRL, Director, Human Resources, CGI Canada
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
Session #103: Recognizing What Matters
The most important characteristic of effective leadership teams is authenticity. Regardless of the stated mission, vision or strategy, what gets recognized signals the true priorities of an organization. In this session we will explore why many corporate recognition programs don’t have the desired effect and how HR can design and support formal and informal recognition practices that work.
Speakers: Alison Grenier, Head of Culture and Research, Great Place to Work® Canada; Kerrie Shakespeare, Chief Purpose Officer, O2E Brands
1:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Closing Remarks and Event Wrap-up
Speaker: Diane Biesinger (she/her), CHRP, Lead, HR and Learning, HRPA
Diane Biesinger (she/her), CHRP
Lead, HR and Learning, HRPA
Diane Biesinger has more than 20 years of experience in HR and has enjoyed working in a wide range of industries from startups to Fortune 100 companies. Diane holds the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation as awarded by the HRPA. She currently brings her passion for HR to the role of HR & Learning Specialist at the HRPA, where her focus runs the range of the workplace experience for all HRPA employees, “keeping the lights on in HR” and delivering on the association’s strategic initiatives.
Diane is proud that HRPA has been certified as a Great Place to Work by GPTW Canada for the last four years and is looking forward to having that continue and improve. Prior to joining HRPA, she spent six years in the telecommunications space working with companies such as Bell and Rogers, as Director of HR. She is passionate about IDEA (inclusivity, diversity, equity, accessibility) and supporting leaders and staff to promote organizational objectives. Diane likes to bring her whole self to work and is enthusiastic about relationships as she brings a genuine love of people, especially our differences, to her daily interactions.
Anne Cesak
Senior Consultant and Organization Connection Strategist, Great Place to Work® Canada
Anne Cesak is a Senior Consultant at Great Place to Work® Canada and an Organization Connection Strategist. Over the past 20 years, she has worked as an HR professional in a variety of industries in operational/transactional functions as well as in transformational projects to address changes in how and where work gets done. She is a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) and Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Qualified Administrator, committed to helping senior leaders discover, define and deliver on their commitment to the health of their organization’s connections.
Dr. Jarik Conrad, EdD, SPHR, SHRM-CSP, NACD.DC
Vice President, Human Insights, UKG
Dr. Jarik Conrad, EdD, SPHR, SHRM-CSP, NACD.DC, is Vice President of the Human Insights team at UKG, which consists of former HR practitioners, business leaders and consultants who are distinguished experts in HCM and are uniquely qualified to help leadership teams reach their organizational goals. With an acute pulse on industry trends, best practices and technological innovations, Jarik and his team serve as trusted advisors and thought leaders who help shape HR industry conversations and direction. He also serves as the Executive Director of the Workforce Institute at UKG.
Prior to UKG, Dr. Conrad spent more than 20 years in HR leadership roles in the private, public and nonprofit sectors. He is a sought-after speaker on employee health and wellness, the future of work, emotional intelligence and workplace diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging. He has also been recognized as one of the world’s top “people practitioners” as well as a “Top HR Influencer.”
Dr. Conrad is the author of the bestselling books, “The Fragile Mind: How it Has Produced and Unwittingly Perpetrates America’s Tragic Disparities,” and, “In Search of Humanity: Why We Fight, How to Stop, and the Role Business Must Play.”
Dr. Conrad, who grew up in public housing in East St. Louis, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, two master’s degrees from Cornell University, and a Doctor of Education from the University of North Florida.
Melanie Drouin
Senior Consultant, Great Place to Work® Canada
Melanie Drouin is a Senior Consultant at Great Place to Work® Canada. She joined GPTW following a very successful 20-year career in marketing research. Having managed and coached people in fast-paced, high-stress, multicultural environments while working with clients from all industries, Melanie learned first-hand the value of people-centered leadership. She has facilitated leadership workshops and supported leaders in North America, EMEA & APAC. Melanie attended McGill University where she studied human resources management with a focus on organizational behaviour, training and development. She is also an active member of the International Association of Facilitators.
Nancy Fonseca
Senior Vice President, Great Place to Work® Canada
Nancy Fonseca is a Senior Vice President at Great Place to Work® Canada. Nancy helps build executive relationships based on trust and collaboration, partnering with key stakeholders in business and the broader community to do so. She has a strong track record in strategic planning and execution, enabling organizations to obtain great results. In several leadership capacities, Nancy has supported leading Canadian organizations as they build out great practices that enable execution of their strategic goals. Nancy speaks four languages, is based in Toronto and has broad international experiences and perspectives.
Alison Grenier
Senior Consultant and Head of Culture & Research, Great Place to Work® Canada
Alison Grenier is a Senior Consultant and Head of Culture & Research for Great Place to Work® Canada. With over 15 years’ experience in the field, Alison leverages GPTW’s unparalleled data library to uncover emerging workplace trends and insights. She is skilled in high-level analysis of qualitative and quantitative data and supports some of Canada’s leading organizations with specific and actionable feedback to improve their workplace culture. Prior to joining the Institute, Alison worked in a variety of human resource roles in the manufacturing, not-for-profit and service sectors. She holds a Master’s degree in Workplace Learning and Change.
Juno Ramacha, MBA, CHRL
Director, Human Resources, CGI Canada
Juno is a business leader with 16 years of HR experience in varied industries within the public sector as well as at contact centres and in transportation and IT consulting industries. She has proven effective at developing strategic initiatives that impact organizational change and employee engagement. She also builds and maintains solid business partnerships with internal and external stakeholders. In addition to this, Juno creates and manages high potential teams through coaching and mentoring and demonstrates a ‘can-do’ attitude.
She is a member of the HRPA and holds the CHRP & CHRL designations.
Jen Richard (she/her)
People Service Manager, Admiral Canada
A senior HR professional, Jen Richard is adept at ensuring people strategy plays a vital role in an organization’s big picture success. Her years of experience in managing effective employee-centered programs, and steering policy direction, have been instrumental in cultivating a robust reward program for Admiral Insurance’s Canadian team.
After graduating from Acadia University (Business Administration with Human Resources major) Jen worked in banking and professional services before joining Admiral in 2013. She later continued her education with Royal Roads University and completed the Strategic Human Resources Management certificate. Her strong leadership and community-mindedness transcend her role at Admiral as she is also a board member at Strongest Families Institute, an organization that assists families with overcoming mental health and behavioural difficulties in children and youth.
Kerrie Shakespeare
Chief Purpose Officer, O2E Brands
Kerrie is a highly-regarded, results driven executive who is passionate about people. Her career background is diverse and includes a broad range of senior leadership roles from corporate communication and professional development to strategic purpose, and HR. Kerrie’s focus as a leader is on fostering exceptional culture and engaging people with long-term vision, while helping them understand their impact and finding meaning in their work.
Diane Biesinger (she/her), CHRP
Lead, HR and Learning, HRPA
Diane Biesinger has more than 20 years of experience in HR and has enjoyed working in a wide range of industries from startups to Fortune 100 companies. Diane holds the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation as awarded by the HRPA. She currently brings her passion for HR to the role of HR & Learning Specialist at the HRPA, where her focus runs the range of the workplace experience for all HRPA employees, “keeping the lights on in HR” and delivering on the association’s strategic initiatives.
Diane is proud that HRPA has been certified as a Great Place to Work by GPTW Canada for the last four years and is looking forward to having that continue and improve. Prior to joining HRPA, she spent six years in the telecommunications space working with companies such as Bell and Rogers, as Director of HR. She is passionate about IDEA (inclusivity, diversity, equity, accessibility) and supporting leaders and staff to promote organizational objectives. Diane likes to bring her whole self to work and is enthusiastic about relationships as she brings a genuine love of people, especially our differences, to her daily interactions.
Anne Cesak
Senior Consultant and Organization Connection Strategist, Great Place to Work® Canada
Anne Cesak is a Senior Consultant at Great Place to Work® Canada and an Organization Connection Strategist. Over the past 20 years, she has worked as an HR professional in a variety of industries in operational/transactional functions as well as in transformational projects to address changes in how and where work gets done. She is a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) and Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Qualified Administrator, committed to helping senior leaders discover, define and deliver on their commitment to the health of their organization’s connections.
Dr. Jarik Conrad, EdD, SPHR, SHRM-CSP, NACD.DC
Vice President, Human Insights, UKG
Dr. Jarik Conrad, EdD, SPHR, SHRM-CSP, NACD.DC, is Vice President of the Human Insights team at UKG, which consists of former HR practitioners, business leaders and consultants who are distinguished experts in HCM and are uniquely qualified to help leadership teams reach their organizational goals. With an acute pulse on industry trends, best practices and technological innovations, Jarik and his team serve as trusted advisors and thought leaders who help shape HR industry conversations and direction. He also serves as the Executive Director of the Workforce Institute at UKG.
Prior to UKG, Dr. Conrad spent more than 20 years in HR leadership roles in the private, public and nonprofit sectors. He is a sought-after speaker on employee health and wellness, the future of work, emotional intelligence and workplace diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging. He has also been recognized as one of the world’s top “people practitioners” as well as a “Top HR Influencer.”
Dr. Conrad is the author of the bestselling books, “The Fragile Mind: How it Has Produced and Unwittingly Perpetrates America’s Tragic Disparities,” and, “In Search of Humanity: Why We Fight, How to Stop, and the Role Business Must Play.”
Dr. Conrad, who grew up in public housing in East St. Louis, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, two master’s degrees from Cornell University, and a Doctor of Education from the University of North Florida.
Melanie Drouin
Senior Consultant, Great Place to Work® Canada
Melanie Drouin is a Senior Consultant at Great Place to Work® Canada. She joined GPTW following a very successful 20-year career in marketing research. Having managed and coached people in fast-paced, high-stress, multicultural environments while working with clients from all industries, Melanie learned first-hand the value of people-centered leadership. She has facilitated leadership workshops and supported leaders in North America, EMEA & APAC. Melanie attended McGill University where she studied human resources management with a focus on organizational behaviour, training and development. She is also an active member of the International Association of Facilitators.
Nancy Fonseca
Senior Vice President, Great Place to Work® Canada
Nancy Fonseca is a Senior Vice President at Great Place to Work® Canada. Nancy helps build executive relationships based on trust and collaboration, partnering with key stakeholders in business and the broader community to do so. She has a strong track record in strategic planning and execution, enabling organizations to obtain great results. In several leadership capacities, Nancy has supported leading Canadian organizations as they build out great practices that enable execution of their strategic goals. Nancy speaks four languages, is based in Toronto and has broad international experiences and perspectives.
Alison Grenier
Senior Consultant and Head of Culture & Research, Great Place to Work® Canada
Alison Grenier is a Senior Consultant and Head of Culture & Research for Great Place to Work® Canada. With over 15 years’ experience in the field, Alison leverages GPTW’s unparalleled data library to uncover emerging workplace trends and insights. She is skilled in high-level analysis of qualitative and quantitative data and supports some of Canada’s leading organizations with specific and actionable feedback to improve their workplace culture. Prior to joining the Institute, Alison worked in a variety of human resource roles in the manufacturing, not-for-profit and service sectors. She holds a Master’s degree in Workplace Learning and Change.
Juno Ramacha, MBA, CHRL
Director, Human Resources, CGI Canada
Juno is a business leader with 16 years of HR experience in varied industries within the public sector as well as at contact centres and in transportation and IT consulting industries. She has proven effective at developing strategic initiatives that impact organizational change and employee engagement. She also builds and maintains solid business partnerships with internal and external stakeholders. In addition to this, Juno creates and manages high potential teams through coaching and mentoring and demonstrates a ‘can-do’ attitude.
She is a member of the HRPA and holds the CHRP & CHRL designations.
Jen Richard (she/her)
People Service Manager, Admiral Canada
A senior HR professional, Jen Richard is adept at ensuring people strategy plays a vital role in an organization’s big picture success. Her years of experience in managing effective employee-centered programs, and steering policy direction, have been instrumental in cultivating a robust reward program for Admiral Insurance’s Canadian team.
After graduating from Acadia University (Business Administration with Human Resources major) Jen worked in banking and professional services before joining Admiral in 2013. She later continued her education with Royal Roads University and completed the Strategic Human Resources Management certificate. Her strong leadership and community-mindedness transcend her role at Admiral as she is also a board member at Strongest Families Institute, an organization that assists families with overcoming mental health and behavioural difficulties in children and youth.
Kerrie Shakespeare
Chief Purpose Officer, O2E Brands
Kerrie is a highly-regarded, results driven executive who is passionate about people. Her career background is diverse and includes a broad range of senior leadership roles from corporate communication and professional development to strategic purpose, and HR. Kerrie’s focus as a leader is on fostering exceptional culture and engaging people with long-term vision, while helping them understand their impact and finding meaning in their work.
Continuing Professional Development
The “Effective Leadership + Effective HR” conference is eligible for 3.75 CPD hours.
CPD codes are only issued for sessions you attended live. No CPD code is provided for sessions viewed on-demand. Sessions you view on-demand do qualify for CPD Hours and will accumulate toward the total eligible CPD hours, however you will need to log those hours manually. Details can be found on the CPD FAQs page.
Not sure of your schedule?
Whether you attend the sessions live or not, register anyway to gain access to the conference recordings post-event. On-demand viewings still qualify for CPD Hours and recordings are made available for one year post-event date.
Event Pricing
All registration fees include access to the live, virtual streamed sessions as well as access to the conference recordings post-event.
| INDIVIDUAL REGISTRATION | Pricing |
| Member | 120 |
| Non-Member | 145 |
| Student | 80 |
| Group Registration (3+ More Registrants) | Pricing |
| Member | 110 |
| Non-Member | 130 |
| Student | 80 |
Agenda
8:45 AM – 9:00 AM
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Speaker: Diane Biesinger (she/her), CHRP, Lead, HR and Learning, HRPA
9:00 AM – 9:45 AM
Session #100: Effective Leadership and Key Elements of Canada’s Most Trusted Executive Teams
Effective leadership teams have an emotional connection with their company’s culture and can create a coherent and effective strategy at every level of business, unlocking their organization’s full potential. In this session, we will introduce the science behind Canada’s most trusted leadership teams and explore the strategic role of HR in supporting them.
Speakers: Nancy Fonseca, SVP Client Services, Great Place to Work® Canada; Dr. Jarik Conrad, Vice President, Human Insights, UKG
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Session #101: Moving Beyond Culture Fit
Effective leadership teams reflect the demographics of the organization and wider community. When people see people like them in leadership roles, it convinces them that they can advance and inspires them to give their all. This session reinforces the strategic role HR plays in talent acquisition. It will explore the many ways HR can enable leaders to attract the best talent from inside and outside your organization while delivering an exceptional experience to all job candidates.
Speakers: Anne Cesak, Senior Consultant, Great Place to Work® Canada; Jen Richard (she/her), Senior HR Manager, Admiral Insurance Canada
11:15 AM – 12:15 PM
Session #102: Prioritizing Performance
Effective leadership teams can create a coherent strategy that cascades throughout the organization so everyone knows what they should focus on and why. In a constantly changing world, prioritization is key to reaching objectives, but most organizations suffer from having too many competing priorities. As organizations push decision making down, having a clear strategy and sense of purpose will help ensure leaders can stay focussed on what’s most important. In this session we will discuss tactics and strategies to help leaders focus on the right things to drive performance.
Speakers: Melanie Drouin, Senior Consultant, Great Place to Work® Canada; Juno Ramacha, MBA, CHRL, Director, Human Resources, CGI Canada
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
Session #103: Recognizing What Matters
The most important characteristic of effective leadership teams is authenticity. Regardless of the stated mission, vision or strategy, what gets recognized signals the true priorities of an organization. In this session we will explore why many corporate recognition programs don’t have the desired effect and how HR can design and support formal and informal recognition practices that work.
Speakers: Alison Grenier, Head of Culture and Research, Great Place to Work® Canada; Kerrie Shakespeare, Chief Purpose Officer, O2E Brands
1:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Closing Remarks and Event Wrap-up
Speaker: Diane Biesinger (she/her), CHRP, Lead, HR and Learning, HRPA
Diane Biesinger (she/her), CHRP
Lead, HR and Learning, HRPA
Diane Biesinger has more than 20 years of experience in HR and has enjoyed working in a wide range of industries from startups to Fortune 100 companies. Diane holds the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation as awarded by the HRPA. She currently brings her passion for HR to the role of HR & Learning Specialist at the HRPA, where her focus runs the range of the workplace experience for all HRPA employees, “keeping the lights on in HR” and delivering on the association’s strategic initiatives.
Diane is proud that HRPA has been certified as a Great Place to Work by GPTW Canada for the last four years and is looking forward to having that continue and improve. Prior to joining HRPA, she spent six years in the telecommunications space working with companies such as Bell and Rogers, as Director of HR. She is passionate about IDEA (inclusivity, diversity, equity, accessibility) and supporting leaders and staff to promote organizational objectives. Diane likes to bring her whole self to work and is enthusiastic about relationships as she brings a genuine love of people, especially our differences, to her daily interactions.
Anne Cesak
Senior Consultant and Organization Connection Strategist, Great Place to Work® Canada
Anne Cesak is a Senior Consultant at Great Place to Work® Canada and an Organization Connection Strategist. Over the past 20 years, she has worked as an HR professional in a variety of industries in operational/transactional functions as well as in transformational projects to address changes in how and where work gets done. She is a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) and Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Qualified Administrator, committed to helping senior leaders discover, define and deliver on their commitment to the health of their organization’s connections.
Dr. Jarik Conrad, EdD, SPHR, SHRM-CSP, NACD.DC
Vice President, Human Insights, UKG
Dr. Jarik Conrad, EdD, SPHR, SHRM-CSP, NACD.DC, is Vice President of the Human Insights team at UKG, which consists of former HR practitioners, business leaders and consultants who are distinguished experts in HCM and are uniquely qualified to help leadership teams reach their organizational goals. With an acute pulse on industry trends, best practices and technological innovations, Jarik and his team serve as trusted advisors and thought leaders who help shape HR industry conversations and direction. He also serves as the Executive Director of the Workforce Institute at UKG.
Prior to UKG, Dr. Conrad spent more than 20 years in HR leadership roles in the private, public and nonprofit sectors. He is a sought-after speaker on employee health and wellness, the future of work, emotional intelligence and workplace diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging. He has also been recognized as one of the world’s top “people practitioners” as well as a “Top HR Influencer.”
Dr. Conrad is the author of the bestselling books, “The Fragile Mind: How it Has Produced and Unwittingly Perpetrates America’s Tragic Disparities,” and, “In Search of Humanity: Why We Fight, How to Stop, and the Role Business Must Play.”
Dr. Conrad, who grew up in public housing in East St. Louis, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, two master’s degrees from Cornell University, and a Doctor of Education from the University of North Florida.
Melanie Drouin
Senior Consultant, Great Place to Work® Canada
Melanie Drouin is a Senior Consultant at Great Place to Work® Canada. She joined GPTW following a very successful 20-year career in marketing research. Having managed and coached people in fast-paced, high-stress, multicultural environments while working with clients from all industries, Melanie learned first-hand the value of people-centered leadership. She has facilitated leadership workshops and supported leaders in North America, EMEA & APAC. Melanie attended McGill University where she studied human resources management with a focus on organizational behaviour, training and development. She is also an active member of the International Association of Facilitators.
Nancy Fonseca
Senior Vice President, Great Place to Work® Canada
Nancy Fonseca is a Senior Vice President at Great Place to Work® Canada. Nancy helps build executive relationships based on trust and collaboration, partnering with key stakeholders in business and the broader community to do so. She has a strong track record in strategic planning and execution, enabling organizations to obtain great results. In several leadership capacities, Nancy has supported leading Canadian organizations as they build out great practices that enable execution of their strategic goals. Nancy speaks four languages, is based in Toronto and has broad international experiences and perspectives.
Alison Grenier
Senior Consultant and Head of Culture & Research, Great Place to Work® Canada
Alison Grenier is a Senior Consultant and Head of Culture & Research for Great Place to Work® Canada. With over 15 years’ experience in the field, Alison leverages GPTW’s unparalleled data library to uncover emerging workplace trends and insights. She is skilled in high-level analysis of qualitative and quantitative data and supports some of Canada’s leading organizations with specific and actionable feedback to improve their workplace culture. Prior to joining the Institute, Alison worked in a variety of human resource roles in the manufacturing, not-for-profit and service sectors. She holds a Master’s degree in Workplace Learning and Change.
Juno Ramacha, MBA, CHRL
Director, Human Resources, CGI Canada
Juno is a business leader with 16 years of HR experience in varied industries within the public sector as well as at contact centres and in transportation and IT consulting industries. She has proven effective at developing strategic initiatives that impact organizational change and employee engagement. She also builds and maintains solid business partnerships with internal and external stakeholders. In addition to this, Juno creates and manages high potential teams through coaching and mentoring and demonstrates a ‘can-do’ attitude.
She is a member of the HRPA and holds the CHRP & CHRL designations.
Jen Richard (she/her)
People Service Manager, Admiral Canada
A senior HR professional, Jen Richard is adept at ensuring people strategy plays a vital role in an organization’s big picture success. Her years of experience in managing effective employee-centered programs, and steering policy direction, have been instrumental in cultivating a robust reward program for Admiral Insurance’s Canadian team.
After graduating from Acadia University (Business Administration with Human Resources major) Jen worked in banking and professional services before joining Admiral in 2013. She later continued her education with Royal Roads University and completed the Strategic Human Resources Management certificate. Her strong leadership and community-mindedness transcend her role at Admiral as she is also a board member at Strongest Families Institute, an organization that assists families with overcoming mental health and behavioural difficulties in children and youth.
Kerrie Shakespeare
Chief Purpose Officer, O2E Brands
Kerrie is a highly-regarded, results driven executive who is passionate about people. Her career background is diverse and includes a broad range of senior leadership roles from corporate communication and professional development to strategic purpose, and HR. Kerrie’s focus as a leader is on fostering exceptional culture and engaging people with long-term vision, while helping them understand their impact and finding meaning in their work.
Diane Biesinger (she/her), CHRP
Lead, HR and Learning, HRPA
Diane Biesinger has more than 20 years of experience in HR and has enjoyed working in a wide range of industries from startups to Fortune 100 companies. Diane holds the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation as awarded by the HRPA. She currently brings her passion for HR to the role of HR & Learning Specialist at the HRPA, where her focus runs the range of the workplace experience for all HRPA employees, “keeping the lights on in HR” and delivering on the association’s strategic initiatives.
Diane is proud that HRPA has been certified as a Great Place to Work by GPTW Canada for the last four years and is looking forward to having that continue and improve. Prior to joining HRPA, she spent six years in the telecommunications space working with companies such as Bell and Rogers, as Director of HR. She is passionate about IDEA (inclusivity, diversity, equity, accessibility) and supporting leaders and staff to promote organizational objectives. Diane likes to bring her whole self to work and is enthusiastic about relationships as she brings a genuine love of people, especially our differences, to her daily interactions.
Anne Cesak
Senior Consultant and Organization Connection Strategist, Great Place to Work® Canada
Anne Cesak is a Senior Consultant at Great Place to Work® Canada and an Organization Connection Strategist. Over the past 20 years, she has worked as an HR professional in a variety of industries in operational/transactional functions as well as in transformational projects to address changes in how and where work gets done. She is a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) and Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Qualified Administrator, committed to helping senior leaders discover, define and deliver on their commitment to the health of their organization’s connections.
Dr. Jarik Conrad, EdD, SPHR, SHRM-CSP, NACD.DC
Vice President, Human Insights, UKG
Dr. Jarik Conrad, EdD, SPHR, SHRM-CSP, NACD.DC, is Vice President of the Human Insights team at UKG, which consists of former HR practitioners, business leaders and consultants who are distinguished experts in HCM and are uniquely qualified to help leadership teams reach their organizational goals. With an acute pulse on industry trends, best practices and technological innovations, Jarik and his team serve as trusted advisors and thought leaders who help shape HR industry conversations and direction. He also serves as the Executive Director of the Workforce Institute at UKG.
Prior to UKG, Dr. Conrad spent more than 20 years in HR leadership roles in the private, public and nonprofit sectors. He is a sought-after speaker on employee health and wellness, the future of work, emotional intelligence and workplace diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging. He has also been recognized as one of the world’s top “people practitioners” as well as a “Top HR Influencer.”
Dr. Conrad is the author of the bestselling books, “The Fragile Mind: How it Has Produced and Unwittingly Perpetrates America’s Tragic Disparities,” and, “In Search of Humanity: Why We Fight, How to Stop, and the Role Business Must Play.”
Dr. Conrad, who grew up in public housing in East St. Louis, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, two master’s degrees from Cornell University, and a Doctor of Education from the University of North Florida.
Melanie Drouin
Senior Consultant, Great Place to Work® Canada
Melanie Drouin is a Senior Consultant at Great Place to Work® Canada. She joined GPTW following a very successful 20-year career in marketing research. Having managed and coached people in fast-paced, high-stress, multicultural environments while working with clients from all industries, Melanie learned first-hand the value of people-centered leadership. She has facilitated leadership workshops and supported leaders in North America, EMEA & APAC. Melanie attended McGill University where she studied human resources management with a focus on organizational behaviour, training and development. She is also an active member of the International Association of Facilitators.
Nancy Fonseca
Senior Vice President, Great Place to Work® Canada
Nancy Fonseca is a Senior Vice President at Great Place to Work® Canada. Nancy helps build executive relationships based on trust and collaboration, partnering with key stakeholders in business and the broader community to do so. She has a strong track record in strategic planning and execution, enabling organizations to obtain great results. In several leadership capacities, Nancy has supported leading Canadian organizations as they build out great practices that enable execution of their strategic goals. Nancy speaks four languages, is based in Toronto and has broad international experiences and perspectives.
Alison Grenier
Senior Consultant and Head of Culture & Research, Great Place to Work® Canada
Alison Grenier is a Senior Consultant and Head of Culture & Research for Great Place to Work® Canada. With over 15 years’ experience in the field, Alison leverages GPTW’s unparalleled data library to uncover emerging workplace trends and insights. She is skilled in high-level analysis of qualitative and quantitative data and supports some of Canada’s leading organizations with specific and actionable feedback to improve their workplace culture. Prior to joining the Institute, Alison worked in a variety of human resource roles in the manufacturing, not-for-profit and service sectors. She holds a Master’s degree in Workplace Learning and Change.
Juno Ramacha, MBA, CHRL
Director, Human Resources, CGI Canada
Juno is a business leader with 16 years of HR experience in varied industries within the public sector as well as at contact centres and in transportation and IT consulting industries. She has proven effective at developing strategic initiatives that impact organizational change and employee engagement. She also builds and maintains solid business partnerships with internal and external stakeholders. In addition to this, Juno creates and manages high potential teams through coaching and mentoring and demonstrates a ‘can-do’ attitude.
She is a member of the HRPA and holds the CHRP & CHRL designations.
Jen Richard (she/her)
People Service Manager, Admiral Canada
A senior HR professional, Jen Richard is adept at ensuring people strategy plays a vital role in an organization’s big picture success. Her years of experience in managing effective employee-centered programs, and steering policy direction, have been instrumental in cultivating a robust reward program for Admiral Insurance’s Canadian team.
After graduating from Acadia University (Business Administration with Human Resources major) Jen worked in banking and professional services before joining Admiral in 2013. She later continued her education with Royal Roads University and completed the Strategic Human Resources Management certificate. Her strong leadership and community-mindedness transcend her role at Admiral as she is also a board member at Strongest Families Institute, an organization that assists families with overcoming mental health and behavioural difficulties in children and youth.
Kerrie Shakespeare
Chief Purpose Officer, O2E Brands
Kerrie is a highly-regarded, results driven executive who is passionate about people. Her career background is diverse and includes a broad range of senior leadership roles from corporate communication and professional development to strategic purpose, and HR. Kerrie’s focus as a leader is on fostering exceptional culture and engaging people with long-term vision, while helping them understand their impact and finding meaning in their work.
Thank you to our Supporting Sponsors
Contact Amber Pilon, Specialist, Sales and Sponsorship Support, to learn more about partnership or sponsorship opportunities.
Tel: 416.923.2324 ext. 309
Email: apilon@hrpa.ca