Featured Speaker(s)
Sussannah Kelly serves as Executive Vice President in DHR's Toronto office. Prior to joining DHR International, Ms. Kelly was Managing Director at Boyden global executive search and a co‐owner of the Toronto, Central and Eastern Canada practice.
With over 20 years as a senior leader, Ms. Kelly brings an executive perspective to every assignment she handles. Most recently, Ms. Kelly was Senior Vice President of Human Resources with MDS Proteomics. She has held similar roles with Merisel (U.S. and Canada), NCR Canada, Rogers Communications, Amdahl, Bank of Montreal, Lloyd's Bank, Transamerica, Johnson & Johnson (Ortho Pharmaceutical), etc. As Senior Vice President, Corporate Human Resources at Rogers Telecommunications, she led and managed the integration of 6,000 employees for three companies into an existing base of 8,000. For an 18‐month period, Ms. Kelly worked with a well‐known Toronto‐based search practitioner and developed a multi‐faceted practice reflecting her deep experience in talent management and acquisition. She also worked with Price Waterhouse conducting operational audits and senior executive search assignments.
Ms. Kelly developed a Human Resources function for a high technology company that received Toronto Life's "Top 10 Employers in Toronto" Award and The Vision Award from the Federal Government for Employment Equity. She presently sponsors the Toronto Senior Human Resources Forum and the Toronto CEO Forum with 25 members.
Ms. Kelly is a popular keynote speaker at conferences in Canada and the United States, speaking on topics such as Cultural Alignment, Employee Empowerment, Employee Diversity, and Effective Cultural Transformation. She is a founding member of the Human Resources Software Council of Canada, and sits on the Board of The Toronto Human Resources Professional Association and Nightwood Theatre (devoted exclusively for Women in the Arts). She is a current member of INNET and IWF (International Women's Forum); a past member of the Conference Board of Canada and Information Technology Association of Canada; and a past board member of the Ontario Breast Cancer foundation, West Park Board of Governors, and The Royal Ontario Museum Foundation.
Her qualifications include an Executive Management Diploma from Stanford University, California; a Bachelor of Arts and Secondary Teachers Certificate, Rollins College and Crosby Quality College; and she is a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP).
Brenda Rideout, Chief Marketing Officer, ING Direct Canada
Brenda Rideout is the Chief Marketing, Service/Sales, and Innovation Officer at ING DIRECT Canada. In this role, Brenda is responsible for the creation and delivery of the strategic, tactical, and operational plans for marketing, service and sales, and innovation.
Brenda has over 25 years of professional experience in Information Technology, Facilities, Operations and Corporate Real Estate demonstrating increasing responsibilities at each stage of her development. She began her Information Technology career immediately after graduating from a computer sciences program as a programmer, and progressed to team leader and subsequently management and executive positions. During her tenure she has held permanent management positions in the financial and retail sectors, as well as having worked as a Director for a prestigious IT Consulting firm. Brenda joined ING DIRECT in 1999 as Director of Software Development and quickly progressed to the role of CIO, before being named to her current role.
Brenda is also a member of the Executive team for the bank and as such plays a key role in the overall business planning and strategies deployed by ING DIRECT. She is a leader in the deployment of emerging technologies, workflow, and Marketing processes. Brenda's leadership, innovativeness and ability to build strong teams have played a key role in the Canadian success.
Brenda received her Executive MBA from Queens University and holds a Masters Certificate in Innovation from the Schulich School of Business (York University). In 2007 Brenda was awarded the Most Innovative CIO award from Bank Systems and Technology magazine and received the CIO of the Year award from the Canadian Alliance Technology Association in 2008.
Jennifer St. Hill, Vice President Americas Marketing, EMC Corporation
Jennifer is responsible for the development and execution of the complete set of marketing activities & programs aligned to EMC's Americas' priorities across all market segments, business units and routes to market, both direct and indirect through an extensive partner ecosystem.
Jennifer has held a number of roles within EMC's Marketing organization since joining in 2006. Most recently she led the Marketing Planning & Operations team encompassing Market Intelligence, Worldwide Operations and the Marketing Development Program. Prior to that, Jennifer was head of the Strategic Planning & Advisory Group (SPAG) which provides business planning, analytical and research support across EMC business units. Before joining EMC, Jennifer worked as a Vice President at the Cambridge Strategic Management Group in Boston - a strategy consulting firm specializing in the telecommunications and high technology industries.
Jennifer holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Richmond and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Jennifer is a member of the Marketing Operations Cross Company Alliance (MOCCA) and other professional interest groups.
Cheryl Brunato, Vice President Customer Systems, Rogers Communications Inc.
Cheryl Brunato is the VP, Customer Systems at Rogers Communications Partnership. Based in Canada, Cheryl's current role is a Senior IT Executive responsible for application design and the delivery and support of several systems including all ecommerce/website systems.
Cheryl joined Rogers in 1999 as a Sr Manager, and has been a key member of the Rogers IT leadership team over the past 11 years with continually increasing responsibility throughout this time. Two of Cheryl's major accomplishments include the implementation of Wireless Number Portability systems for Rogers/Fido and the overall leadership for the IT work in the Fido acquisition.
Prior to joining Rogers, Cheryl worked at Convergys, a telecommunications software development company, for 10 years. During that time she was responsible for variety of system design and development activities as well as the last 5 years as an onsite client representative at Rogers.
Outside of Rogers, most of Cheryl's personal time is spent with her family. Cheryl supports her son's hockey team activities, and has participated in the mentoring of women re-entering/new to the workforce in Canada. Cheryl also enjoys travel and golf.
Cheryl holds a Bachelors of Business Administration from Bowling Green State University and majors in IS and in Accounting.
