Over the past several years, society has taken great steps to address some of our historic inequities in business and beyond. Efforts to expand the diversity of boards of directors, executive teams, and senior leadership across industries have been imperative. How has this challenge been met? What are the obstacles to success, and how do we overcome them? How do we ensure diverse boards are, in fact, inclusive?
Join Canadian Club Toronto on January 26 for a virtual discussion on what practices are working now and where do we still need to lean in to take DEI forward? Our expert panel will be moderated by Scott Belton, Senior Vice President, Canadian Personal Banking Strategy & Acquisition at TD Canada Trust, and will feature:
*The link for the livestream will be provided closer to the event date*
Krystal Abotossaway
Senior Manager, HR Leadership Development Program, TD
Krystal Abotossaway is from Aundeck Omni-Kaning First Nations and Chippewas of Rama First Nations. She is an urban Ojibwe Anishinaabe Kwe. Krystal is a well sought after expert, speaker and leader on Indigenous engagement. As Senior Manager at TD Bank, she is currently rotating through the various centre of excellences within the HR function. Providing strategic counsel, execution support, and collaborating across internal teams and external partners. Krystal has successfully completed her Masters degree at York University in Human Resource Management. She is also actively pursuing her Masters of Business Administration at Ivey, Western University.
Michael Bach
Author and IDEA Thought Leader
Michael Bach is a nationally and internationally recognized thought leader and subject matter expert in the fields of inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility. He is the founder of the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI), CCDI Consulting and Pride at Work Canada.
Michael has worked professionally in the areas of inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility for nearly 20 years, most recently as the founding CEO of CCDI and CCDI Consulting. Before that he was the national leader of diversity, equity and inclusion for KPMG Canada, and the deputy Chief Diversity Officer for KPMG International.
His 2020 book Birds of All Feathers: Doing Diversity and Inclusion Right is a Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, and Amazon best-seller, and recipient of the silver 2020 Nautilus Book Award in the category of Rising to the Moment. His new book Alphabet Soup: The Essential Guide to LGBTQ2+ Inclusion at Work was released in March of 2022 and is a Toronto Star best-seller.
Dr. Julie Cafley
Executive Director, Catalyst Canada
Dr. Julie Cafley is a creative, strategic leader and an accomplished academic with expertise in equity and inclusion, public policy and higher-education leadership. She is the Executive Director of Catalyst Canada. Julie holds a PhD from the University of Ottawa with sought-after expertise in university presidential mandates. Her thesis focused on higher education leadership and governance through the lens of unfinished terms of Canadian university presidents. She is a frequent writer and speaker on gender equity, inclusive workplaces and leadership. Julie is a committed advocate for women and leadership, a constant ally for First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples and an indefatigable champion for diversity initiatives.
Kike Ojo-Thompson
Founder & CEO, KOJO Insitute
Kike Ojo-Thompson is renowned for her work and expertise as an anti-racism and anti-Black racism educator, speaker, and organizational change facilitator. As founder and principal consultant of equity consultancy, KOJO Institute, Ojo-Thompson has spent 20 years guiding private and public organizations towards more equitable outcomes. Notable corporate clients include retail giants like H&M and Loblaw Companies Limited, Interac, TD Canada Trust, and Toronto Star. Ojo-Thompson has also shared her expertise as an equity and anti-Black racism thought leader with audiences of platforms and organizations like Maclean’s, The Globe & Mail, Oxford University, and revolutionary organizations like Giants of Africa. Her meaningful contributions to equity in Canada and beyond have been recognized by Women’s Health in Women’s Hands (2019); 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women (2018); Robert Small’s 25th Anniversary Legacy Poster (2019), and Women’s Executive Network (2022, Inclusion Vanguard).
Scott Belton
Senior Vice President, Strategy & Enablement TD Bank Group
Scott Belton is the Senior Vice President, CPB Strategy & Enablement of TD Bank Group responsible for the development and execution of the overall Canadian Personal Banking (CPB) business strategy, colleague and customer experience, delivery enablement CoE, Next Evolution of Work, ESG, and distribution strategy that enable market growth, profitability, financial and operational objectives. Prior to this role, Scott led over 3,500 colleagues as the Regional SVP for Branch Banking in Metro East Region from 2019 until 2021.
Scott joined TD from Boston Consulting Group in 2010. Since joining the bank, he has held a number of increasingly senior roles including Senior Vice President of Branch Banking for Atlantic Region, Vice President Channel Integration, District Vice President for Central Ontario Region, Vice President Sales Effectiveness, and Vice President Branch Effectiveness, where he was responsible for ensuring Branch Banking met TD’s risk, control and compliance objectives and launched Branch Banking’s process simplification team.
Scott is Co-Chair of TD Enterprise’s Black Experience Steering Committee focused on supporting Black colleagues, customers and communities and addressing anti-Black racism. In addition, Scott is the Chair of TD’s Retirement Governance Committee and a Director of the Canadian Club of Toronto. In the past, he has served as Director, Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, Trustee, IWK Children’s Hospital Foundation, and Chair of the Board of The Musical Stage Company in Toronto.
On a personal note, Scott is a self-proclaimed politics nerd who loves golf, skiing and fiction. He and his wife Jessica, daughter Isla (11) and son Finn (8) happily reside in Oakville, ON.
Scott holds an HBA (2003) from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University.
