Connected Intelligence with Sonia Sennik

In this episode, we chat with Cameron Bailey, CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival.  Cameron shapes the vision and strategy of one of Canada’s premier cultural brands, responsible for presenting the world’s largest public film festival every September.  A champion of diverse voices and bold storytelling, he’s been the guiding force in transforming TIFF into a global hub known for groundb...

In this episode, we get Professor Janice Stein's view on key events from 2024 - from global unrest to the reshaping of politics, the intersection of emerging technology and policy, Taylor Swift (of course) and Janice’s beloved Toronto blue jays (keep listening for why!). Janice is a legendary Canadian political scientist and international relations expert. She is the Belzberg Professor of Conflict...

What is the impact of ambiguity in the workplace? Professors Laura and Jan Doering from University of Toronto help answer this question from their recently published research, co-authored with Professor András Tilcsik.  Laura Doering is an Associate Professor of Strategic Management and is cross-appointed in the Department of Sociology. Jan Doering is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Uni...

How do you future proof yourself in a world of technology that is rapidly changing? Iliana Oris Valiente is an accomplished corporate executive, innovation and emerging tech pioneer, startup investor, respected board member, published author, and sought-after global public speaker. With a clear vision and unwavering determination, she is a thought leader on a mission to build a future humans want...

What opportunities lie on the other side of taking risks and embracing changes in your career? Ava Yaskiel is a Senior Strategic Advisor to the public and private sectors focusing on business planning, strategy and structure. She was the G7/G20 Deputy Minister of Finance & Associate Deputy Minister of Finance for Canada until 2021. Ava has held various roles over her 30-year career as a lawyer at...

How do you revitalize a company as it bounces back from a low point? Yousry Bissada is President and Chief Executive Officer of Home Capital Group. Yousry has more than 30 years of financial services experience focused on the mortgage industry. He is a CPA, GCA and Accredited Mortgage Professional. Prior to joining Home Capital, Yousry served as President and CEO of Kanetix Ltd., an insurance and...

This episode features two thought leaders – Professors Maja Djikic & Tiziana Casciaro. Maja is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Self-Development Laboratory at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Tiziana is a Professor of Organizational Behavior and the Marcel Desautels Chair in Integrative Thinking at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toro...

How do you overcome the feeling of "being stuck" to become your possible self? Maja Djikic is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Self-Development Laboratory at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. She is a psychologist specializing in the field of personality development. Her work focuses on how self changes, and means of developing a congruent and flexible self. Her...

How do you transform doubt into focus and determination? Janet speaks to us about her career journey from Procter and Gamble to Staircase Ventures, being a competitive long distance runner, and maintaining focus and determination when people say “it cannot be done!” Janet Bannister is the Founder and Managing Partner of Staircase Ventures. In 2004, Janet launched Kijiji.ca and grew it to become on...

How can AI enable transformation in addressing population and public health challenges? This video episode brings back our recurring segment Going Viral with Dr. Rosella because the list of things we bring to work sometimes includes viruses(!) The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how and where we work, and made us all aware of the importance of public health. So, we invite epidemiologist Laura Ro...

Is our future with generative AI terrifying, exciting, or fascinating? In this episode, we talk about the adoption of artificial intelligence in the workplace, the opportunities to implement AI in healthcare delivery, and privacy in a world enabled by generative AI. Avi Goldfarb is the Rotman Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare and a professor of marketing at the Rotman School of Manag...

This is our annual Year in Review with Professor Janice Stein where she helps us understand key global events and news stories of 2023 – from global unrest to climate change, from technological advances in artificial intelligence to the Toronto Blue Jays. Janice is a legendary Canadian political scientist and international relations expert. She is the Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management in t...

How can we reimagine everyday conversation for more connective personal and professional dialogue? Caitlin (Caity) Begg is the founder of Authentic Social and sociological researcher researching technology’s effect on conversation. She founded Authentic Social in 2016 after writing her undergraduate Harvard sociology honors thesis on how digital communication affects relationships and social inter...

It’s been one year since the launch of chatGPT - how has regulation and policy evolved since then? And where does it need to go? Recently appointed a Schmidt Futures AI2050 Senior Fellow, Professor Gillian Hadfield is a scholar of law and economics with a focus on the intersection of legal system design and the governance of AI. She is currently spending her time in an area of urgent importance fo...

How does the CEO of a skunkworks operation built in a garage in Alberta – become a globally recognized leader in agriculture, technology and innovation? Alison Sunstrum is the CEO of Conserve X, a Canadian company developing and investing in emerging technology in agriculture, and a General Partner of The51 Food and AgTech Fund, investing in outliers transforming the business of food and agricultu...

What did it take to become the youngest woman ever to hold the role of Chief Economist at a major Canadian financial institution? Patti Croft is regarded as one of the country's most influential business leaders and financial commentators. She has 30 years of experience on Bay Street, working at Burns Fry and Wood Gundy. In 1996, Patti was named Chief Economist of TD Canada Trust. Patti has worked...

Why can’t large language models make us a cup of tea? Suzanne walks us through the answer to this question to illustrate the importance of developing embodied artificial intelligence. We chat about Geordie and Suzanne’s working dynamic, how both robots and AI are essential to the factory of the future, how we might manufacture in outer space, and why it is critical to maintain hope and purpose in...

How do you find signals for greatness in a noisy world with thousands of ideas? James Cham is a Partner at Bloomberg Beta. At the firm, he focuses on investments in data-centric and machine learning-related companies. Previously, he was a Principal at Trinity Ventures where he focused on investments in consumer services specifically ecommerce, social media, and digital media. James was a Vice Pres...

How does one “get it done”? Brendan Calder is the former CEO, chair and president of CIBC Mortgages (1995-2000) and former chair of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation and the Toronto International Film Festival. Brendan created the award-winning MBA course, GettingltDone. Brendan is chair of Desautels Centre for Integrative Thinking and the founding chair of the Rotman International Centre for Pensio...

We welcome singer-songwriter legend, Chantal Kreviazuk (sitting at her piano!) to the podcast. Chantal is a one-of-a-kind talent - she has recorded 9 studio albums including her debut album “Under these Rocks and Stones” in 1996 and her latest “Get To You”, released in 2020. Chantal is a prolific songwriter, collaborating with global superstars like: Drake, Pitbull, Christina Aguilera, Carrie Unde...

How do you build a Canadian organization into a globally recognizable brand? Piers Handling was CEO of TIFF from 1992 - 2018. Piers is an Officer of the Order of Canada and has been awarded the Order of Ontario. He was named to France’s highest cultural insignia. We talk to Piers about his vision for bringing Canadian cinema to a global audience, the similarities and differences between TIFF, Cann...

How do we embrace failure in a fast-changing world? Harvard Business School Professor, Amy Edmondson, is ranked #1 on the latest Thinkers50 ranking of the world’s most influential management thinkers. Amy is the winner of Thinkers50 Breakthrough Idea Award for being a “pioneer of psychological safety and author of The Fearless Organization, a ground-breaking blueprint on creating a fear-free cultu...

Are there common elements that make a great leader or CEO? Adam Bryant is an expert on executive leadership who has interviewed more than 1,000 leaders for the “Corner Office” series he created at The New York Times and for his four current leadership series on LinkedIn—with CEOs, CHROs, board directors, and prominent Black leaders. Adam is the author of four books on leadership, published by the...

In a world that’s changing every day, what is most important to young entrepreneurs? Karen Greve Young is the Chief Executive Officer of Futurpreneur Canada, a national organization dedicated to supporting young entrepreneurs aged 18 to 39. A graduate from both Stanford and Harvard, Karen previously held finance, management and strategy roles in San Francisco, New York and London, UK, at organizat...

How did a class clown turned award-winning comedian light up the artificial intelligence research community at the intersection of theatre and machine learning? Kory is a Senior Research Scientist with Alphabet’s DeepMind and an Associate Industry Member at Mila – the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute in Montreal, Canada. He is a Lab Scientist with Creative Destruction Lab at the University...