The Impact of the Pandemic on Gender Equity: Can We Regain the Lost Ground?

Virtual Event hosted by the HBS Club of Toronto offered free to members of the HBS Club of Pittsburgh.  

Executive Coach Heather Stark will moderate a discussion with thought leaders Penny Collenette, Jen Lee Koss and Michelle Banik focusing on the disproportionate impact Covid 19 has had on women at home, at work and in society. The panel will look at the gaps exposed over this last year and what we can do to move forward.

Panelists:

Penny Collenette - Adjunct Prof. University of Ottawa, Founding Visionary the Prosperity Project, Former Director of Appointments for the Prime Minister

Jen Lee Koss - Founding Partner of Springbank Collective and CEO of BRIKA

Michelle Banik - Corporate Director and Former Chief People Officer at OMERS

Moderated by: Heather Stark, Executive Coach and Organizational Development Consultant

Event sponsored by Thorek/Scott Partners.

Detailed Bios:

Penny Collenette

Penny Collenette has had a unique career which has taken her from boardrooms to class rooms; from a Prime Minister’s Office to a top executive position at one of Canadas’ best-known corporations, and from Harvard as a Senior Fellow at the Kennedy School to Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Common Law, University of Ottawa.

In the not-for-profit world, Penny’s is well known for her leadership as a fundraiser and champion for women, for those who live with disabilities, and for the preservation of heritage. She is one of 62 founding visionaries of the newly created Prosperity Project, a not for profit which serves to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 on women. She acts as one of their working chairs.

She has been named one of the 50 most influential Canadians by Maclean’s Magazine and one of the Top 100 Women by the Women’s Executive Network. She has been inducted into the Honour Roll for the University of Ottawa’s law faculty.

She holds a Queen’s Jubilee Medal and received the Order of Ontario in 2015 for “excellence and achievement in public service, education, human rights, ethics and professional responsibility”.

Jen Lee Koss

Jen is a Juilliard-trained cellist, a mother of four young children between the ages of 9 and 2, and a graduate of Harvard University, Oxford University, and Harvard Business School. She has spent nearly her entire career focused on the consumer and retail sectors having worked over a decade in management, consulting, investment banking, and private equity before starting BRIKA in 2012.

Jen is an active angel investor in the consumer space and loves connecting with, mentoring and learning from fellow entrepreneurs. After years of working with thousands of small business owners - the majority of them being women - she has been privy to understanding many of the logistical and real-world obstacles to women's economic attainment. She is a Founding Partner of Springbank Collective - a coalition of values-aligned investors, corporations and non-profits directing capital and resources into building the infrastructure that supports all women and working families to eliminate the gender gap.

Michelle Banik

Michelle Banik is an accomplished global C-Suite executive with a distinguished career in the Human Resources profession spanning a diverse portfolio of companies. With a deep commitment to making people and culture a competitive advantage, Michelle likes to build, and throughout her career she has established people strategies that propelled organizations forward during periods of growth, or cultural and business transformation.

Most recently, Michelle was the Chief People Officer at OMERS, one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans. During her 9-year tenure with the organization, Michelle played a key role in driving the People & Culture agenda forward during a significant period of global growth - in assets under management ($65B to $100B), and through international expansion with offices in Singapore, Sydney, Paris, Berlin, Boston, and San Francisco, complementing existing Toronto, New York and London, UK footprints.

Michelle is currently on the Board of Directors for Empire Company Limited (TSX: EMP.A), the Board of Governors at Western University, and the National Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. As well, Michelle sits as a member of the Advisory Council at the School for Advanced Studies in the Arts and Humanities (SASAH) at Western University. She is also a regular Executive Speaker and Mentor with the Growth through People and ScaleUp programs at the Lazaridis Institute (Wilfrid Laurier University). In conjunction with her Bachelor of Arts from Western University and her Certified Human Resources Executive designation, Michelle also holds a Chartered Director (C. Dir.) designation.

Moderator:

Heather Stark

Heather is the Founder and President of Stark Coaching. She is an experienced executive coach and organizational development consultant with a focus on communication and culture. She works with executives and entrepreneurs to help them navigate transitions and pressure to move themselves and their organizations forward. She helps clients set a clear vision, develop strategies to deal with competing demands on time and energy, and prioritize what's really important, so they successfully achieve their individual and organizational goals.

Prior to establishing her coaching practice, she was a member of the senior leadership team of a change management firm working with companies to enhance decision making, leadership and build culture to maximize success. She is an experienced facilitator of innovation and strategy workshops and helping leaders improve communication and lead change. She also speaks on ways that individuals can identify and face pressure head on to maximize their effectiveness. Heather has significant experience building strong teams and achieving exceptional results in sales and marketing management for Fortune 500 companies in a variety of sectors.

Heather received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and is a Certified Professional Coach and a member of the International Coaches Federation.