18th Edition
WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
Leading the way
The Women in Leadership Conference brings together professional women to talk about the challenges that they face, exchange views, and learn from peers and leaders.
The event provides an invaluable opportunity to listen to industry leaders as they share best practices and insights to help women in leadership roles become more effective leaders and be on top of their game.
Join us at this in-person event. Learn, connect & reconnect, and have fun!
JESSICA VERHAGEN (Keynote Speaker)
CEO
Hydra Energy
Overcoming the Imposter Syndrome
What kind of economic and productivity gains (not to mention mental health) are lost out on when women don’t share their ideas and are afraid to take entrepreneurial risks? Sadly, 60% of women who have considered starting a business did not because of a lack of confidence, not feeling like the type of person who could start a business or feeling they did not deserve to succeed despite their skills. How can women support one another?
- • Stop downplaying ourselves
- • Celebrate our successes
- • Recognize the value we can bring to the table
DEVINDER GILL
Regional Vice President, Business Financial Services BC
RBC Royal Bank of Canada
Are you an authentic leader?
Authentic leadership is about being human. Authentic leadership materializes from your personal and professional career and does not come from imitating others. Discovering your authentic leadership and developing and knowing yourself personally and as a leader is fundamental to success. Also key is how you continually motivate yourself as a leader and how you empower others and not simply have them follow you as a leader.
- • Discovering yourself
- • Knowing yourself
- • Motivating yourself
- • Empowering others
INES PICCININO
Executive Vice President, Legal & Regulatory Affairs and Strategic Services
BC Oil and Gas Commission
Fostering leadership at all levels
Regardless of where you are in the formal structure of your organization, innovating and fostering change requires courage, relationships and dedication. When you reach the top, you face the challenge of steering a ship with established processes, assumptions and culture. When you are in the middle, getting buy-in from top and bottom demands skill and what feels like endless compromise.
- • Formal structures are still alive and well, but there are other forces at play that we need to embrace in our quest to foster leadership throughout the organization. Are we ready for them?
- • Delegation is scary – particularly when you have been ‘the expert’ for a long time – but it’s at the core of fostering leadership. Are we brave enough to let people solve problems ‘their way’?
- • There’s no leadership without trust and trust can only be built through time. How do we build an organization based on trust?
KATHY PARSLOW
Chief Corporate Services Officer
Central 1 Credit Union
Clearing roadblocks to senior leadership
Senior leadership seems elusive. Why? The journey to senior leadership is a windy trail with ups and down, twists and turns. The journey requires preparation, adaptation, mindfulness and possibly some luck. Kathy Parslow will share her retrospective on the journey to senior leadership:
- • Digging into why senior leadership
- • Building the foundations
- • Putting up your hand
MELANIE SAMUELS
Partner
Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP
Creating a culture of giving back
In today’s ever increasing stressful world, having meaning and giving back is never more important than right now. Learning how to find time and find balance is a learned practice.
- • Learn how to balance
- • Learn how to give
- • Learn how to thrive
STEPHANIE VAN EYK
General Manager, Vancouver
Slalom
Leading organizational transformation
Is your organization’s culture ready for organizational transformation? Beyond the right culture, transformations require you to set clear expectations and actively engage your organization to help drive success. Your team needs you to create a cohesive program, break down complexities, define measurable milestones, and move with speed and agility to execute, learn, and iterate. Stephanie Van Eyk will speak about:
- • Culture and critical role it plays in successful transformations
- • Actively engaging all levels of the organization to help drive change
- • Making transformational change stick
LINDA LEMKE
Vice President, Engagement & Quality Improvement
Doctors of BC
Being a goal setter that gets results
We are all familiar with the adage “what gets measured gets done”. There is truth to this statement and yet despite adding measures the results of one’s work may not produce the intended outcomes. Measurement is in fact a key component of success but it does account for all factors that should be in play to get results. Join Linda Lemke, a leader in BC healthcare, as she shares her personal experience in being a goal setter and getting results. In this session, Linda will cover:
- • Setting the case for change. Getting teams on board to obtain the desired outcome(s).
- • Starting with the end in mind. Mapping out a plan with SMART goals, working backwards from the outcomes is a key element to ensuring deliverables can be met.
- • Feeding the machine and keeping and eye on the prize. Keeping the team informed, motivated and focused through the process. The timing of measuring the outcomes and taking action on these.
- • Giving credit to team and celebrating success.
KATE PARKER
Vice President, People
Technical Safety BC
Courageous Leadership in Times of Uncertainty
In challenging and uncertain times, it is critical that leaders rise up and steer their people into a future of possibility. Leaders must constantly balance the realities of situational ambiguity and employee anxiety, with a future-forward vision of hope, recovery and innovation. Striking the right balance will impact profit, culture, and employee sustainability.
- • Lead with the right balance of strategy and humanity
- • Capture opportunities in times of ambiguity or struggle
- • Foster a culture and create relationships that will thrive in challenging times
- • Support your own resilience with the never-ending needs of the organization
LILAC BOSMA
Senior Vice-President and General Counsel
HSBC Bank Canada
Moving Past “Office Politics”
Many women express trepidation when considering a move into leadership; while they are confident in their own skills and expertise, they are hesitant to rise up the ranks of an organization and expose themselves up to the world of office politics. But mastering office politics need not be an exercise in back stabbing and gossip. In any human organization, politics are inevitable. In this presentation, Lilac Bosma will share her experience of:
- • Strategically moving past politics
- • Intentionally focusing on authentic human connection at work
LAURIE DESAUTELS
Managing Director, Experience Consulting
PwC
Morning Chair
Laurie Desautels is a Managing Director in PwC’s Experience Consulting. She leads the PwC Experience Centres in Western Canada where clients and PwC come together to co-create solutions to problems worth solving. She’s passionate about the human experience in the digital world and is a sought after mentor and coach.
CAMILLE REID
Vice President, Operations
Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia
Afternoon Chair
Camille Reid is the Vice President, Operations for the Land Title and Survey Authority of BC (LTSA), a publicly accountable, statutory corporation formed in 2005 responsible for operating the land title and survey systems of BC. Camille is accountable for driving a culture of customer centricity and operational excellence, and for the development of a consistent customer experience with LTSA products and services across all channels. Prior to joining the LTSA in January 2019, Camille was the Vice President, Financial and Employee Services with the Provincial Health Services Authority/BC Clinical and Support Services since 2012. She managed a team of 250 employees to deliver Employee Records and Benefits, Payroll and Revenue Services to three health organizations in BC, supporting approximately 51,000 healthcare employees. Camille started in healthcare in 2009 as the Executive Director, Human Resources where she was instrumental in setting up BC healthcare’s shared services organization. Camille’s career also includes 13 years’ experience with Accenture where she held numerous human resources positions including the Director of Human Resources for Accenture Canada. She also played a key role in setting up a 3,000-person shared services organization for the resources sector. Camille holds a Chartered Professional in Human Resources designation, a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta.
EVENT DATE, TIME & VENUE
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
8:55 AM – 4:30 PM
The Vancouver Club
915 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
LOCATION
Register today!
SAVE 20% Early Bird Rate: Until October 12, 2021
Regular Rate: Starting October 13, 2021
Special Group Rate:
Register 4 people at applicable rate at the same time and get a free registration for a 5th person.
Consult the conference brochure for full details.
What attendees are saying!
“I appreciated the opportunity to participate is such a well-executed program; the speakers were outstanding.”
– SANDRA L. CASE, Case Consulting; former Vice President, People & Business Performance, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority
“Great lessons, tips and contacts.”
– SHEILA DODDS, Assistant Auditor General, Office of the Auditor General of British Columbia
“It is rare that a one-day conference covers the relevant topics with such practical tools. Thanks to the inspiring female leaders and speakers, it is clear this event is not to be missed!”
– JOANNE KLEIN, Vice President Corporate Services, PETRONAS Canada
“Lots of tips on many key topics that are so important to leadership and on how we can all become better, stronger and resilient leaders.”
– LEZA MUIR, Senior Vice-President & Chief Operating Officer, Pacific Blue Cross
“Lots of great professional advise to action right away.”
– SHERRY ZAH, Director, eCommerce, Best Buy Canada