Chapter Meeting - Project Managers driving innovation in Hospitality, Social Good and Leading-Edge Technology

Power Skills

Online registration is closed, but walk-ins are welcome!

PMI Toronto Chapter Meetings = Excellent networking opportunities!

The Chapter Meetings provide plenty of time for networking, before and after the main presentation, so come with business cards and network with your peers!

Synopsis:

PMI Toronto Chapter and APICS Toronto Chapter are pleased to invite you to our October Chapter Meeting, where we will be discussing execution of projects in the exciting world of food, beverages and blockchain. Our panelists will talk about the unique cases ranging from social good to innovation and renovation and will share the success stories on how they have guided themselves through the industry.

Biography:

Samantha Yarwood, Chief Innovation and Inspiration Officer, Shift Toronto

Notable marketing rockstar, coach and brand-builder Samantha inspires creativity to reimagine the possible and create a culture of goodness.

For the past 15+ years Samantha has been working in marketing and communications, with a focus on building the brand, creating community, and inspiring through innovation with Starbucks and Nestle. Samantha has a breadth of international experience in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), including team leadership across multiple markets, strategic planning, development of customer centric solutions, brand management, 360 marketing, communication, organizational development, product and portfolio development, budget management, quantitative and financial analysis, contract negotiation, as well as vendor and agency management.

Samantha is currently doing a Masters of Change at INSEAD in France and recently left the corporate world to start consulting. She believes that every individual and organization already have what they need to live their best lives, do their best work, and be creative innovators, and Samantha's mission is to give people and organizations what they need to unleash their inner master.

Cynthia Lee, Director, Commercialization at Nestlé Canada Inc.

Cynthia is recognized as a results-driven and action-oriented commercialization professional dedicated to managing and developing strong innovative teams and cultivating solid relationships.

Cynthia has 10+ years of experience in new product development, project and portfolio management, and business process optimization leading to operational efficiency and enhanced performance. She currently leads a team of Project and Portfolio Managers responsible for delivering innovation excellence from idea to launch across the consumer value chain, and is responsible for aligning NCI’s Innovation and Renovation (I&R) portfolio to the business strategy, while managing the implementation of PMO processes, standards, and tools in order to bring strong, consumer centric value propositions to market with speed and agility.

Jon Trask, CEO of Blockchain Guru and Digital SCM

Jon leads the blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) consulting, software development and training company. He is also a CEO of the supply chain consulting and advisory firm, focusing on strategy development, process design, personnel development, system integration, project management and change management.

Jon’s experience includes design or implementation of over 100 system and process transformation projects in manufacturing, distribution, retail and services. He led multi-billion dollar supply chains as Chief Procurement Officer or VP Supply Chain, and currently is an alliance partner to PwC Consulting and CGI.

Jon has a Master of Science degree in Procurement, Logistics and Supply, and has been recognized with a Chartered Fellowship in Procurement and Supply by the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS).

Jon has designations in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM), Logistics, Transportation and Distribution (CLTD) and Supply Chain (CSCP) from APICS. He is currently pursuing a PhD with a research focus on blockchain, IoT and AI applications in supply chain. Capabilities enabled by blockchain, AI and IoT provide better information for decision making and improve efficiency, and as an industry and thought leader Jon is regularly called upon to present on these technologies.