Theme: Act now / Agis maintenant

How to face the diversity of future challenges and act conveniently ? Twelve extraordinary speakers from different disciplines are expected at the next edition of TEDxHECMontréal to share their ideas and reflect together with enthusiasm, resilience, optimism and pragmatism.

HEC Montréal
3000 chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine
Montréal, Quebec, H3T 2A7
Canada

Alfonso Troisi

President of Nespresso Canada

Alfonso Troisi, an Italian citizen, is the President of Nespresso Canada, based in Montreal, since September 2020. Prior to Nespresso Canada, Alfonso was the Business Executive Officer of Nespresso Greater China Region for 7 years, based in Shanghai. Alfonso was also the President of SwissCham Shanghai. Alfonso’s previous roles include Head of Marketing for Metro Cash & Carry Asia, based in Singapore, as well as Managing Director for Marie Brizard Group Greater China and Commercial director Diageo China/Hong Kong. Alfonso early career was in Europe, where he held several local and international commercial leadership and project management roles. Alfonso speaks fluently 5 languages and holds a BA Degree from Bocconi University in Milan and an MBA from IMD in Lausanne.

Damien Lefebvre

Executive Vice-President, North-America, at Valtech

Entrepreneur, investor, and member of various boards of directors, Damien leads the Valtech Innovation LAB in North America. The LAB's mission is to provide research, points-of-view, and proofs of concept that can enable better customer experiences. The LAB’s key streams include sustainable design, WEB3/Metaverse, and low-code/no-code approaches. Damien is fully committed to a more sustainable world in the context of his leadership role at Valtech but also through his work as a board member for BIXI (Montreal City Bikes), which supports active forms of transportation. Damien is known for always being on his bike.

Erik Giasson

Business Coach, Author & Entrepreneur

Erik's background is atypical. From finance to yoga, from New York to India, he balances head and heart as a businessman active in his community and a valued manager. With more than 20 years of experience in the world of finance and more than 10 years as an entrepreneur, he is now dedicated to developing decision makers so that they can achieve themselves personally and professionally while achieving their business goals. His many years of experience in finance and business have taught him an important lesson: success is first and foremost a matter of personal recognition. When we seek this recognition in the eyes of others, we rarely, if ever, manage to be truly satisfied with ourselves. We will always miss something to feel that we have succeeded.

Jean-Michel Champagne

Entrepreneur, Columnist, Teacher and Logger

Jean-Michel Champagne has been working in the field of environmental management and corporate social responsibility for the past fifteen years. After completing his Bachelor's degree in political science and his Master's degree in environmental sciences, he worked for many years in real estate management at SNC-Lavalin. He completed his MBA at HEC Montréal in 2017 and then remained there as the head of sustainable development for the infrastructure department and the sustainable transition department, in addition to teaching corporate social responsibility courses. At the same time, he founded a business importing and selling traditional Japanese kimonos, as well as a management company to develop and protect a vast forest estate in the suburbs of Montreal that he acquired with his family.

Julie Latour

Lawyer, Author & Former President of the Bar of Montreal

Julie Latour is a lawyer who has been driven by the ideal of justice since her prime youth. She studied law in a bijural environment at McGill University and has been a member of the Quebec and New York State Bars since 1988. Julie is committed to building a more just society through the law. She was president of the Bar of Montreal in 2006-2007, involved with the Canadian Bar Association - Quebec Division from 2004 to 2013 and helped define the content of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. At the societal level, she has distinguished herself by her tangible contribution to the advancement of equality rights through her interventions on several landmark bills. A lover of words and ideas, Julie is an author, columnist and sought-after speaker. On a personal level, she is passionate about yoga, to better ground herself in life.

Karla Etienne

Artist & Executive Director of the Canadian Dance Assembly

Karla is an artist and cultural manager, and the Executive Director of the Canadian Dance Assembly. She previously worked with Zab Maboungou/Compagnie Danse Nyata Nyata for over twenty years. Karla has a degree in environment and cultural management and continues to contribute as a performer, mentor, advisor and new philanthropist to artists and arts organizations. She is a guest curator at Mandoline Hybride. Interested in community philanthropy, she is co-founder and co-chair of Conversations philanthropiques en culture. Her commitment is recognized today, notably for the renewal of cultural policies concerning equity in the field of art. In 2021 she received the Prix Stellaire de Nyata Nyata for service to the greater dance community.

Lara Emond

Founder of Iris + Arlo and Nordet & Co

As a young graduate, Lara set up the first edition of the Startup Weekend in Quebec City and launched the Nota Bene organization in 2012, before co-founding the Sub Rosa Group. Convinced that entrepreneurship is the best way to have a positive impact on society, Lara went on to create Nordet & Co, an agency focused on strategy, design and marketing, as well as Iris + Arlo, which aims to offer healthy and sustainable menstrual products. Lara has carried out numerous international mandates and commercial missions, and has sought-after expertise in governance through her experience on several boards. Her leadership has been rewarded with numerous awards and she is listed as one of the 25 leaders who will move Quebec by Les Affaires.

Marie-Josée Vaillancourt

Assistant General Manager at Entremise & Social Entrepreneur

With an atypical background, Marie-Josée has worked for multiple organizations, both in the private sector and for NPOs. Her exploratory career has led her to work as a facilitator for public consultations with Convercité and the Institut du Nouveau Monde, as a project manager for the Darlington Ecological Corridor, as a research analyst for the firm Art Expert, and as a consultant in urban planning and heritage for EVOQ Architecture. Marie-Josée defines herself as a social entrepreneur and uses her diverse profile to serve the mission of Entremise, an urban planning startup that develops real estate projects in vacant spaces for the benefit of the community.

Marie-Pier Desharnais

High Altitude Mountaineer

Marie-Pier Desharnais is an adventurer, a high-altitude mountaineer who climbs the highest peaks on the planet. She has reached the summit of Mount Everest, was the first woman to raise the Canadian flag at the top of K2, and became the first woman in the Americas to climb the highest volcano on each of the 7 continents (the "Volcanic Seven Summits"). Throughout her life, much of Marie-Pier’s journey has been about developing resilience, whether her own, or in her line of work. Marie-Pier is a tsunami survivor, a world traveler and a Québécoise woman who arrived in Qatar at a time when women empowerment was gaining a much-needed importance. Today, Marie-Pier wants to contribute to the footprint of pioneering women, by increasing the ratio of women to men on the highest peaks of the World.

Nina Nesdoly

Founder of Workplace Clarity

Nina Nesdoly is a work stress and burnout prevention speaker, researcher, and founder of Workplace Clarity. She draws on her interdisciplinary background in Organizational Behaviour (MSc Management) and Neuroscience (BSc) to teach people and organizations how to mitigate work-related stress, prevent burnout, and build resilience, and is currently doing a PhD studying work-related stress. Since founding her training business, Workplace Clarity, Nina has worked with organizations across North America. Her insights have been featured in Buzzfeed, MarketWatch, the Financial Times, and other major media publications. Outside of work, Nina loves to skate, bike, travel, and read fantasy novels.

Prévost Jantchou

Specialist Physician and President of the Inspire Foundation

Researcher, teacher, medical specialist and founder of several initiatives including the INSPIRE foundation and the Café Santé club, Dr. Prévost Jantchou has an impressive background. After completing his secondary education in Douala (Cameroon), a doctorate in medicine, a master's degree in public health and a Ph.D. in Epidemiology in France, he was recruited as a specialist at the CHU Sainte-Justine and at the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Montreal, where he currently holds the title of Clinical Associate Professor. He has supervised the training of more than 80 students, published numerous works and given nearly 30 lectures. Very active with the general public and health professionals, he popularises health prevention and knowledge transfer with a remarkable activity on social media, and is also a very creative mentor for young people.

Théo Corboliou

Ultra-endurance Athlete & Entrepreneur coach

Théo is passionate about entrepreneurship and ultra-endurance events. After launching two technology companies with a positive social impact, he works at the HEC Montreal accelerator where he coaches entrepreneurs who want to build the world of tomorrow. When he's not at the HEC coworking space, Théo explores the mountains of Quebec by running. Last summer, he participated in one of the most difficult ultra-trails in the world: a 150-kilometre run with a 12,000 meters positive altitude change in the Alps. During his training, he realized this: launching a startup is like running an ultra-trail!