
Keynote Speakers
Our conference theme, “Innovate, Empower, Thrive: Pioneering Solutions for Business, Health, and Climate Resilience,” embodies our commitment to forging ahead with groundbreaking ideas and empowering solutions to tackle the complex challenges facing our global community.
Prepare to be inspired and informed by an esteemed lineup of keynote speakers who are thought leaders, innovators, and change-makers in their respective fields. These visionaries will share their expertise, insights, and strategies for navigating the intersections of business, health, and climate, offering valuable perspectives on how we can collectively build a more resilient and sustainable future.
Imagine engaging with renowned thought leaders who not only inspire but also empower attendees with actionable strategies to navigate the complexities of our rapidly evolving world. Whether it’s harnessing the power of technology to drive sustainable business practices, advocating for equitable healthcare access, or mobilizing communities to combat climate change, our speakers are at the forefront of driving meaningful change.

Nobel Peace Prize nominee Sheila Watt-Cloutier is in the business of transforming public opinion into public policy. Experienced in working with global decision-makers for more than a decade, Watt-Cloutier offers a new model for 21st century leadership. She speaks with passion and urgency on the issues of today — the environment, the economy, foreign policy, global health, and sustainability — not as separate concerns, but as a deeply interconnected whole. At a time when people are seeking solutions, direction, and a sense of hope, this global leader provides a big picture of where we are and where we’re headed.
In 2007, Watt-Cloutier was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy work in showing the impact of global climate change on human rights — especially in the Arctic, where it is felt more immediately, and more dramatically, than anywhere else in the world. Watt-Cloutier is an Officer of the Order of Canada, and the recipient of the Aboriginal Achievement Award, the UN Champion of the Earth Award, the Norwegian Sophie Prize, the Jack P. Blaney award for Dialogue, and the Right Livelihood Award, which is widely considered the “Nobel Alternative”.
From 1995-2002, Watt-Cloutier was elected the Canadian President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC). She was later elected in 2002 to become the International Chair of the ICC, representing the 155,000 Inuit from Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and Russia — she held this post until 2006.
Widely recognized for her influential work, Watt-Cloutier gave a TEDx Talk in 2016 titled “Human Trauma and Climate Trauma as One”. She is also the author of the memoir, The Right to Be Cold: One Woman’s Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic and the Whole Planet, which was nominated for the 2016 BC National Award for Canadian Non- Fiction and the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. In 2017, the book was shortlisted for CBC Canada Reads, defended by Chantal Kreviazuk. Watt-Cloutier was also shortlisted for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize.

Chris Turner is one of Canada’s leading voices on climate change solutions and the global energy transition. He draws on his reporting of the state of the art in renewable change, cleantech, and urban design to paint a vivid portrait of a new, sustainable world order that will allow individuals and businesses alike not only to survive but thrive in the twenty-first century economy.
An award-winning author, Turner has published several bestselling books. The Patch: The People, Pipelines, and Politics of the Oil Sands won the National Business Book Award, and his previous books on climate solutions, The Leap and The Geography of Hope, were both National Business Book Award finalists. His latest book, How to Be a Climate Optimist: Blueprints for a Better World, won the 2023 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for political writing. Turner also published a collection of his award-winning essays and feature writing in 2014, How to Breathe Underwater, which won the City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize.
In addition, Turner’s writing on energy, climate, and technology have appeared in The New Yorker, The Guardian, the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, and many other notable publications. He has won 10 National Magazine Awards, among other distinctions. Turner was a 2019 media fellow at the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue; a 2013 writer-in-residence at the Berton House in Dawson City, Yukon; and a 2010 Paul D. Fleck Fellow at the Banff Centre.
As a speaker and communications strategist, Turner’s recent clients have included the Canadian Climate Institute, Natural Resources Canada, TD Bank, Compugen, Shaw Industries, the Canadian Institute of Planners, and Siemens Energy.

Stephan is a professional leadership and communication coach, trainer, and sought-after speaker. He facilitates courses for diverse educational training schools on subjects like “ Innovation ”, “ Communication and Connection ”, “ Leadership Skills ”, “ Ethics and Integrity in the Workplace ” amongst other topics. His 2 signature courses, “ The Communication Catalyst ” and “ Leadership Evolved ” have helped thousands of leaders enhance their leadership presence and communication skills, empowering them to inspire and lead with authenticity.
He has trained community and business people, professional communicators, government officials, educators, health care leaders and pastors from various backgrounds in different areas of the world like the United States, Canada, French Polynesia, Trinidad and Tobago, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Australia, New Zealand, France and Spain.
As a result of Stephan’s motivating DISC behavioral analysis training, teams, organizations, local and provincial government bodies and schools have grown in their ability to better communicate, resolve challenges, and achieve their desired goals as well as produce exceptional results.
His outgoing and engaging personality has helped him connect with his clients to better build healthy teams and successful emerging leaders for over 3 decades. Stephan thrives when he coaches, trains, and equips inspiring leaders to boldly pursue their purpose and mission.

Bhuva Shakti (she/her) is the visionary founder and CEO driving sustainable innovation at Wallet Max, a global community of executive women and venture capital investors with a mission to expand fundraising access for high-growth sustainable startups. With an MBA from Columbia University in New York and as a senior executive director on Wall Street for three decades, Bhuva has managed diverse financial portfolios and launched several digital transformation products for investment banks, capital markets, and payment networks. Bhuva’s leadership and risk governance oversight, during the global financial crisis and the pandemic, was pivotal for the success of regulatory compliance and mergers acquisitions at the world’s top banks and credit rating institutions. Bhuva is a board director and fractional C-Suite advisor for social impact businesses, and a keynote speaker advancing economic inclusion and climate-fintech partnerships. Bhuva is the USA country director for World Business Angels Investment Forum and the Chief Ethics & Culture Officer for Women in AI worldwide. She leads the fundraising strategy and product operations for market expansion and manages investor relations throughout the diligence and investment. Bhuva is the founder of Bhuva’s Impact Global that provides board advisory services and enterprise risk management for public and private corporations.

Laurie McGinley is super f’n magic and fearlessly guides world changing geniuses focused on climate to success. She trains world-changers on how to find their rocket fuel and use it effectively so that they can hit escape velocity with their Big Dreams.
She illuminates hidden paths of opportunity and leads world changers through transformational change, so we can all keep thriving on this beautiful planet for generations to come. McGinley is a keynote speaker and transformational guide who helps her clients create results the climate sector has never seen before.
In the last four years, she has supported…
- $51+M in fundraising for climate technologies
- 138 executives in all sectors who broke through to new impact and results
- 37 climate technologies to advance toward commercialization
- 1,133 professionals moved toward climate careers
- 7 first-of-their-kind technologies to launch