Mike Shekhtman

Regional Vice President, Robert Half Canada, Western Canada and Manitoba

As a regional vice-president with Robert Half Canada, Mike oversees several offices and business units in British Columbia and Manitoba. This includes Robert Half Finance & Accounting, Accountemps, OfficeTeam, Management Resources, and Technology. Mike brings over 12 years of recruitment industry expertise and an in-depth understanding of the national hiring and recruitment landscape. In addition to his role at Robert Half, he is a board member for the Canadian Mental Health Association Vancouver-Fraser and previously served as a board member, chair and vice-president at D.A.R.E. BC Society.

Jason Billard

Senior Vice President, West Region Leader | Morneau Shepell

Jason is a Senior Vice President at Morneau Shepell and is the firm’s Region Leader for Western Canada. He is responsible for leading client management and business development activities across the region and for ensuring our clients have access to the full suite of services available at Morneau Shepell.
For over 20 years, Jason has provided strategic consulting services to clients that span the HR continuum from benefits, pension and total compensation to administration, engagement and absence management. Jason’s particular areas of expertise include communication, employee research and total rewards strategy. Jason is a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) and holds a Master of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business (York University), a Bachelor of Public Relations from Mount Saint Vincent University and a Bachelor of Arts from Acadia University.

Jerry Gratton

Founder & Chief People Officer | Trailblaze Partners

Jerry is an entrepreneur, advisor, former People & Culture executive, and self- professed people- aholic. He believes organizations excel when they put culture before performance. Recognized four times as a top HR leader of the year, Jerry has 25 + years of experience building high-performing teams across a variety of industries.

Prior to founding Trailblaze Partners, Jerry has worked with several hyper-growth companies including Crystal Decisions, 1 – 800 – GOT- JUNK?, Aritzia, Mindfield, and O 2 E Brands. He has owned four businesses and helped start-up over 300 franchises in the O 2 E family of home services brands.

Kevin Liang

Director, People Analytics | Telus

Kevin Liang is the People Analytics leader at TELUS where he partners with Executive leadership to improve organizational performance through data driven talent strategies. He is leading an accelerated transformation of the People Analytics function that includes overhauling the existing data infrastructure, designing the future employee experience measurement system, and identifying opportunities to leverage predictive analytic capabilities to uncover insights.

Kimberly Whyman

Workplace Experience Manager | Clio

Kimberly has worked in Facility Management for the past 19 years; with a focus on the design, construction, maintenance and operational management of corporate offices. As the Workplace Experience Manager at Clio, she manages over 100,000 SF of office space in 4 cities: Burnaby, Calgary, Toronto, and Dublin; as well as a team of FM professionals.

She is committed to the education and professional development of FM professionals and has mentored and formally trained many team members over the years. Always eager to share knowledge, she hosts thought exchange sessions for industry professionals to expand their knowledge and expertise.

Kimberly also sits on the Board of Directors for the IFMA BC Chapter. IFMA is a professional organization for facility professionals across the globe. IFMA’s mandate is to provide educational opportunities for facility professionals in the form of accredited courses, webinars, lectures, and conferences. As part of her work with IFMA Kimberly will be launching Facility Chat, a podcast for facility professionals to learn the latest in FM processes, best practices, and technologies.

ROCKY OZAKI

Founder, NoW of Work

Experienced in tech, HR and leadership operations, Rocky is one of Canada’s most passionate
advocates on the NoW of Work. He supports the notion that technology, a sharing economy and
the connected generation has dramatically changed the way companies attract, engage and retain
their people.
Rocky brings 10-years of executive HR and operations leadership in large enterprise organizations,
including 5-years of startup tech experience. He held the role of Vice-President and Head of
Corporate Innovation for the BC Tech Association before co-founding the NoW of Work Inc.

AURA

Aura Office Environments is an innovative design-build company focused on creating experiential office environments that celebrate and enhance your distinct company culture. Our efforts are guided by an integrated approach unique to Aura. It is founded on holistic thinking and empathy because we understand that people are at the heart of every company’s success. It is a philosophy that imbues everything we do; ensuring we consistently deliver office designs that positively impact your community from within as well as beyond.