Speakers 2019
Keynote Speaker
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Few people exemplify the qualities of personal excellence, teamwork, community leadership, and overcoming the odds better than Michael "Pinball" Clemons. Pinball joined the National Football League in 1987, and the Toronto Argonauts (and the CFL) in 1989. In 1990, he was honoured with the CFL’s "most outstanding player" award, after setting the single-season record for all-purpose yards. He played his last game as an Argonaut in 2000, before becoming Head Coach of the team. In 2007, Pinball stepped down as head coach to become the Chief Executive Officer; in 2009, he was appointed to Vice-Chair of the team. That same year, he founded the Michael "Pinball" Clemons Foundation, which is dedicated to helping disadvantaged youth. Pinball is a member of The Order of Ontario and a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal recipient. |
Industry Seminar on Economy and Markets
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Robert Dietz, Ph.D., is Chief Economist for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), where his responsibilities include housing market analysis, forecasting, industry surveys, and housing policy research. Prior to joining NAHB in 2005, Mr. Dietz worked as an economist for the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. He has testified before Congress on housing, economic and tax issues. He is a leading expert on home construction analysis and trends and has been cited and appeared on CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, and other news media. Mr. Dietz is a native of Dayton, Ohio and earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the Ohio State University in 2003. |
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Hugues Simon is President of BarretteWood Inc., a secondary wood processing company specializing in the manufacture of fencing panels, components for the mattress/box spring industry and industrial packaging. BarretteWood Inc. is part of the Barrette Group. Mr. Simon holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the Université de Sherbrooke and is a member of the Ordre des CPA du Québec. He has over 25 years of experience in the pulp and paper, sawmill and secondary processing industries. Hugues Simon is a member of the Softwood Lumber Board and has been representing Eastern Canada since 2017. |
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Gerry McCaughey, CEO and Chairman of Entekra, is an internationally respected business leader in offsite construction. Named Industry Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young, McCaughey was an influential force in Europe’s continuing transition to homebuilding with a Fully Integrated Off-Site Solution™ (FIOSS™). Mr. McCaughey was co-founder and Chief Executive of Century Homes in Ireland, and later named Chief Executive of Kingspan Century following the $100 million acquisition of Century by building materials giant Kingspan Group Plc. By focusing on fully automating the construction process, he propelled Century from a small start-up operation of four employees into Europe’s largest provider of FIOSS. |
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Industry Seminars' Moderator |
Karina Lehoux is a professional animator, founder, and president of Eklosion – Animation professionnelle. Since her first stage and television appearances in the early 2000s, more than 600 mandates have been entrusted to her as master of ceremonies, mainly in the context of business events: conventions, symposiums, and conferences, recognition galas, annual general assemblies and more. A bilingual experienced leader and trusted accomplice, Ms. Lehoux is recognized for her professionalism, authenticity, and interest in optimizing communication in order to serve the business objectives of her clients. |
Panel with Industry CEOs
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Yves Laflamme is president and chief executive officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Resolute Forest Products. He is a 37-year veteran of the industry, as well as of Resolute and its predecessor companies. He previously served as the company’s senior vice president, Wood Products, Global Procurement and Information Technology. Mr. Laflamme is a member of the boards of the American Forest & Paper Association, the Forest Products Association of Canada and Toundra Greenhouse. Mr. Laflamme pursued his university education in administration and finance and is a chartered professional accountant |
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Ken Shields is the chairman, president and chief executive officer of Conifex Timber Inc., a public Canadian company operating in the forestry, sawmilling and green energy sectors. Mr. Shields currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Forest Products Association of Canada, the Council of Forest Industries of British Columbia and Bioindustrial Innovation Canada. He has served as a member of the board of directors of Raymond James Financial, Inc., and retired as Chief Executive Officer of its Canadian subsidiary, Raymond James Ltd., in February 2006. Mr. Shields has served as a past chairman of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada and the Canadian Bioenergy Association. He is a former director of Slocan Forest Products Ltd., Mercer International Inc., and TimberWest Forest Corp. |
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Stephen J. Sallah is currently president and chief executive officer of LBM Advantage. He joined ENAP in 2008 as chief financial officer and has been serving in his current role since January, 2011. Prior to ENAP, Sallah worked at IBM for sixteen years. He began at IBM as an engineer and worked in various operational roles. After spending five years in semiconductor pricing and program management, he spent ten years as division controller for the Software Group. His last assignment was as program manager for the IBM Software Group. Mr. Sallah served seven years in the United States Navy as a Nuclear Submarine Officer. He is a retired commander in the United States Naval Reserves. Mr. Sallah received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts and his M.B.A. from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. |
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Matthew J. Missad is chief executive officer of Universal Forest Products, a position to which he was appointed on July 13, 2011. From 1996 to 2011, he was executive vice president, general counsel, and secretary, in addition to serving on the boards of subsidiary entities, including international partnerships. Mr. Missad has been on the board of Independent Bank Corporation since October 2014, and serves on its Compensation Committee. Mr. Missad's experience and exposure to nearly all facets of our business is integral to the growth of the company. Having led, at various times, the human resources, insurance, marketing, wood preservation, engineering, transportation, and compliance teams, and serving on the executive leadership team, he has an ability to understand and motivate people and teams, a capacity to simplify complex issues for sound decision-making, and a well-rounded and deep understanding of the Company's business, people, markets, and opportunities. |
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Bruce St.John joined Canada Wood in Vancouver as President in June of 2018. Prior to Canada Wood his roles included Vice President International Marketing for Forestry Innovation Investment, Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Western Forest Products and other industry roles in eastern and western Canada. His experience also includes a six-month term managing the Canada Wood offices based in Shanghai and several forest industry board positions. |
| Industry Seminar on Hardwoods |
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Tom De Ruyck is an expert in understanding and collaborating with consumers, creating consumer-centric-thinking organisations and preparing organisations and their employees for a future full of technological change, societal challenges and tremendous business opportunities. Mr. De Ruyck is a Managing Partner at InSites Consulting, one of the world's most innovative marketing consultancy and consumer research firms, where he is responsible for innovation and advising global brands like IKEA and Heineken. He is also teaching as a Professor at different business schools in Europe and on the board of several industry organisations. He is co-author of The Consumer Consulting Board and published over 70 white papers, articles in academic journals, business books and trade magazines. Besides that, he is an influential blogger and tweeter (@tomderuyck). |
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Delton Alderman holds a B.S. in Forestry and Wildlife Management and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Wood Science and Forest Products, with an emphasis in Forest Products Marketing from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. He spent 5-years as procurement forester and then 8-years as a forestry consultant in North Carolina and Virginia before continuing his education. After completing his Ph.D., he joined the U.S. Forest Service in 2001. He is a research scientist assigned to the Forest Products Marketing Unit, at the Forest Products Laboratory, in Madison, WI and the Northern Research Station in Princeton, WV. Mr. Alderman is the U.S. Forest Service’s expert on U.S. and international housing markets. Other areas of work include cross-laminated timber structures; nanocellulose markets; urban timber merchandising and marketing; consumer perceptions of hardwoods and softwoods; marketing strategies and tactics; and personalized technology transfer. |
Japan and Mexico Market Opportunities,
in collaboration with Natural Resource Canada
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After graduating from Carleton University in 2001, Sean McLean joined Global Affairs Canada as a Trade Commissioner serving in various roles in the agri-food, ICT and aerospace sectors. Presently a Trade Commissioner at the Embassy of Canada to Japan with responsibility for clean technology, energy, natural resources, forestry and infrastructure. | |
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Nora Gonzalez is founding partner of G&G Gestoria en Comercio Exterior, a consulting firm specialized in helping Mexican companies to export its products and services and in assisting international companies to enter or expand into the Mexican market. Over the past 15 years, Ms. Gonzalez has been dealing with international companies in Mexico and with different markets around the world. Prior to becoming partner of the firm, she worked as a market specialist in CIDUE (Center for the European Union at Jalisco’s Secretariat of Economic Promotion). Ms. Gonzalez has coordinated and completed diverse market studies and developed trade missions for several companies and governments from Canada, United States, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Spain, United Kingdom , Brazil, Japan and France. She has an International Trade degree from the University ITESO (Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Occidente). Ms. Gonzalez has different diplomas in International Trade (ITESM), Mexican Customs Legislation (Universidad Panamericana), and Logistics (COMCE).
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 Moderator |
John Kozij joined Natural Resources Canada January 2015 as the Director General of the Trade, Economics and Industry Branch of the Canadian Forest Service. Prior to NRCan, he was the Director General of Land and Environmental Management and the Director General of the Northern Policy and Science Integration Branch at Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. |
