DARRELL KEEZER
CEO
Candybox marketing

How Social Media is Changing Your Business in the Next 5 Years

Keynote Speaker: Wednesday May 6, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Darrell Keezer, CEO of Candybox Marketing, is known for helping businesses generate revenues using Social Media Marketing. Darrell regularly speaks at conferences about and conducts monthly social media workshops in Toronto.  Working with Fox Entertainment, Spin Master Toys, Toronto Police and Walk at Home, Darrell is able to use his experience to help businesses attract, engage, and convert online visitors into customers. Darrell is also Millennial and proud of it. 

Corey Atkinson
Senior Facilitator/Trainer
Cutting Edjj Consulting

Performance Coaching

Session Speaker: Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Corey Atkinson is a sharp and seasoned training specialist who exemplifies leadership in all walks of life.  As a senior consultant and facilitator with Cutting Edjj Consulting, Corey works with clients to enhance their clients’ customer experience and strengthen their service skills.  With extensive experience in leadership, customer service and business development, he focuses on supporting others to become great at what they do.

He is energetic, entertaining, but most of all educating - a respected instructor, bringing the business of life to the business of work.  He has a natural ability to connect with all levels of a business - from the CEO to Customer Service Representatives.  Corey is currently working on a new book based on his business experiences and the impact time tested leadership principles play in the changing world of business and the new array of performers in the workplace.

With over 10 years of experience in numerous organizations - both for profit and non-profit, has allowed Corey to become a recognized professional in customer service and leadership. Participants of workshops facilitated by him provide exceptional feedback with comments such as "fun and interactive" and "knowledgeable with meaningful examples". 

Luisa Armstrong
Business Architect
Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA)

Take an Enterprise View of your Customer Service Strategy

Session Speaker: Wednesday May 6, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Luisa Armstrong is the Business Architect for the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) – an independent, not-for-profit organization responsible for the delivery of various safety programs and services including the administration of Ontario's Techical Standards & Safety Act, 2000.

Luisa has more than 20 years experience in customer service, designing, implementing and assessing progressive customer service standards in both the public and private sectors. Luisa’s career has included project management of a number of strategic initiatives , system architecture and implementations, managing a full range of customer-centric activities such as operational support services, call centre environments, issues management, customer communications, and overall strategic direction for customer service excellence. Luisa was previously TSSA's Director of Customer Services responsible for the strategic direction of TSSA's Customer Contact Centre, Licensing, Registration and Certification, Examinations, Facilities and Business Services, including internal support services for the operational areas of TSSA . Luisa has recently been appointed to a brand new position, Business Architect, to drive an enterprise wide business process development initiative.

Fred de Haan
Director, Respondent Contact Centre

Numeris

Building a Culture of Continuous Process Improvement

Session Co-Speaker: Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Fred oversees the contact centre operations at BBM Canada. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role, having held increasingly senior roles across the banking, call centre, and market research industries. Fred began his career at TD-Canada Trust, gaining extensive insights and skills around driving sales and delivering client experiences in line with brand. Subsequently, he spent 10 years with ING Direct helping to build effective and vibrant Back Office and Call Centre departments. Fred branched out into the Market Research industry joining BBM Canada as Director, Contact Centres in 2009. As part of his role, Fred ensures that robust standards are maintained in order to meet and exceed productivity and quality targets. Fred is excited to be leading a management team that is actively engaged in bringing the internal call centre culture to a new level and as a result, realizing a memorable and effective respondent experience.  

Tibor Shanto
Principal
Renbor Sales Solutions Inc.

How to Increase Revenue Through Customer Satisfaction

Session Speaker: Wednesday May 6, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Tibor Shanto, a sales leader for over 25 years, helping companies achieve and improve their revenue goals. Initially as a sales rep, then progressing to leadership roles with companies including Globe and Mail, Dow Jones, Factiva and Reuters. Tibor has been called a brilliant sales tactician, helping sales teams and organizations to better execute their sales process. As a principal with Renbor Sales Solutions, working with leading B2B sales organizations improving critical aspects of their sales cycle, including shorten sales cycles, increase close ratios, and create double digit growth through the execution of their strategy by using the right combination of strategic and tactical execution supported by metrics and our Follow-Through Action Plan. Tibor has worked with leading companies, helping them achieve sustained behavioral change and success.   Tibor co-authored the award winning book Shift!: Harness The Trigger Events That Turn Prospects Into Customers, and contributor to Globe and Mail Report on Small Business, Salesforce.com, Office Technology magazine, The Huffington Post, Today’s Trucking, has appeared on Business News Network and CHCH-TV.  Tibor ranked 8th on the Top 30 Social Salespeople In The World – Forbes.com 2014, and his blog The Pipeline won the gold medal in Top Sales World Awards for 2013. 

Karen Webb
Owner
KWebb Solutions

Discussion Panelist: Wednesday May 6, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Karen Webb has over 25 years of experience in customer service and operations from executive roles with world–class organizations such as Imperial Oil, Manulife, and Rogers Communication. Over her career, she led many enterprise-wide projects that transformed the customer experience, and improved retention and profitability.

Karen is currently Principal of KWebb Solutions Inc, Board Chair of MicroSkills, Vice-Chair at Seneca College, Treasurer of The Wardens of Camp1, and Advisory Council member of the Customer Service Professionals Network. She has a Systems Design engineering degree from the University of Waterloo, an M.B.A. from York University’s Schulich School of Business, and an ICD.D from University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.

David Forget
Manager, Quality Service and Special projects
Town of Ajax

Discussion Panelist: Wednesday May 6, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Manager of Quality Service and Special Projects for the Town of Ajax.  His 25 year career with the Town began in the Planning and Development Services Department.  In 1999, David was appointed to his current position where he is involved in the ongoing maintenance of the Town’s ISO 9001 registration.  Ajax is the first municipality to be ISO registered in Ontario and is the first fully-registered municipality in North America to have this distinction.  

David was instrumental in the development of the Town’s first Customer Service Strategy as well as the development of customer service / accessibility standards and related training for all full-time and part-time staff.  David is also involved in special corporate projects including the Town’s Diversity and Community Engagement Plan, and will be involved in the establishment of a call centre specifically for the Pan Am Games in July.

David is a certified Lead Auditor for ISO 9001 and oversees the Internal Review, Document Liaison and Corporate Steering Committees.  He holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts Degree in Urban and Regional Planning and a Minors Degree in Social Policy from Ryerson University.

Jacqueline Spencer
Director, Retail Customer Care, Central Region
ServiceOntario

Discussion Panelist: Wednesday May 6, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Jacqueline has been a valued OPS contributor for over 20 years, earning progressively senior leadership roles through her demonstrated character and competence. She has built an impressive reputation for customer service excellence, political acuity and effective team building. Earning trust is foundational to Jacqueline’s many career successes.

Jacqueline was instrumental in leading Service Ontario’s Wait Time Task Force that resulted in exceeding customer’s expectation by improving the service levels. She is a champion of excellence in the Inclusion and French Language Service which are just a few of the strategic assignments Jacqueline has contributed to.  

Debbie Buzzell
Director, Call Centre
Industrial Alliance

Increasing the Customer Experience using the "Lean Philosophy" and NPS Indicator

Session Co-Speaker: Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Debbie Buzzell has been in the insurance industry  for over 25 years and is currently the Director of Industrial Alliance's National Call Centre.  Debbie previously worked for another large Insurance company and held leadership roles in a number of different areas including sales, administration, underwriting, billing, and customer service. 

Debbie is well known for turning any team into a high performing entity and is very motivated when working in this type of environment.  The main reason for Debbie’s move to Industrial Alliance was their overwhelming focus on continuous improvement and their employees. 

Since moving to  Industrial Alliance Debbie has embraced the  benefits of working in a process improvement environment and throughout her presentation will show you the power of "Lean"

Ketan Bedi
Manager, Call Centre
Industrial Alliance

Increasing the Customer Experience using the "Lean Philosophy" and NPS Indicator

Session Co-Speaker: Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Ketan Bedi has been in a contact centre role for over 12 years and has held various progressive management positions in multiple departments including training, quality assurance and business process off shoring.  Ketan’s strengths are his  knowledge related to business process management and the extensive on the job experience he gained while working in the UK, US and India. He strongly believes that customer service excellence has always been and will always be one of the critical competitive advantages for any business. His working style is collaborative and based on mutual respect. He promotes a culture where  “all ideas matter”.

Currently Manager of Industrial Alliance's Contact Centre and Investigative services division, Ketan has worked very closely with Debbie in implementing all of the philosophy's around continuous improvement in a Lean environment.

Eric Esguerra
Director, Customer Service & Operations
Miele LTd.

ForeverCare - Increase Loyalty and Profitability through Red Carpet Customer Service

Session Speaker: Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Eric Esguerra graduated from York University with a double major in Sociology and Social Science and has been in the Customer Service industry for over 24 years. He has held numerous progressive management roles amongst companies such as Sprint Canada, Rogers Telecommunications, Staples International, and is currently the National Director of Customer Service and Operations at Miele Canada Limited. Eric has had extensive experience in contact centre, 3rd party, and onshore vendor management. Alongside call centre operations, Eric has also been accountable for the creation and management of numerous internal departments. Alongside his Canadian responsibilities, Eric is a part of Miele’s Customer Service International Organization located in Germany and is accountable for the company’s global best practices.   Combined with his current role at Miele, Eric also sits on the board of Directors for the CSPN. He has been with the CSPN for over 7 years and has worked very closely with them to create, develop, and launch a world class customer experience program specific to his consumer base via his service teams. Eric’s passion for being a customer advocate is evident in his loyalty to the industry over the past two decades.  His favourite motto being “The Customer Experience is Paramount and must be the driving force to any organization” has been a key focus for his success thus far.  

Domenic Meffe
President & CEO
Monte Carlo inns

Fireside Chat:  Thursday, May 7, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Domenic Meffe is the owner and founder of Monte Carlo Inns & Suites, Named Mississauga's Business Person of the Year in 2011, Domenic has spent a lifetime building businesses and hotels and relationships within his community. He has run a successful pizza business until switching over to hotels in 1985. Since then, he has grown Monte Carlo into a chain of eight hotels in the Greater Toronto Area (and Barrie). That portfolio includes a new hotel in Markham, a 134-room beauty, with 49 suites, six meeting rooms, and a 250-seat banquet hall. Domenic understands that to be successful in the hotel industry, customer service is #1. Learn how he changes the customer experience from "good" 2 "great"!

David Lush
President & CEO
Prime Car Care Group

Fireside Chat:  Thursday, May 7, 2015
Speaker Bio:
David Lush is the President of Prime CarCare Group which carries the banners, Speedy Auto, Minute Muffler and Novus Auto Glass. David brings a great wealth of auto service and franchise experience with him to his current role of President and CEO of Prime CarCare. Prior to Prime CarCare he was the COO of Carstar Automotive Canada for more than 3 years where he was responsible for greatly improving operations, expanding the business and improving the bottom line for both franchisees and Carstar head office. With over 20 years in the after car care industry, David understands that making the customer experience is a top priority for every franchise operator in the Prime Car Care Group. 

CAROL HYAMS
DIRECTOR, CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
SUNWING VACATIONS

End-to-End Customer Experience

Session Speaker: Thursday, May 7, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Carol started her career in the shopping centre world, and managed a number of different malls primarily in the GTA including the Toronto Eaton Centre and the opening of Vaughan Mills.  In 2010 she joined the Greater Toronto Airports Authority in a new role as the Senior Manager of Retail Programs and created and launched a variety of programs to drive sales and improve the customer experience with the airport retail community.  After working on a special project to build a service framework for the end-to-end passenger journey, the GTAA created the role of Senior Manager, Customer Design, that enabled the development and integration of many of the recommendations stated in the report.  One of these recommendations was to introduce an airport wide volunteer program at Toronto Pearson, and this was realized in December 2013.  In December 2014, Carol moved over to the Sunwing Travel Group as the Director of Customer Experience, a new role introduced by Sunwing to build a company-wide customer service strategy in order to drive a consistent, measured and elevated experience throughout the company and its’ affiliates.  

Asim Hussain
DIRECTOR, Strategy and Policy
ServiceOntario MGCS

ServiceOntario's 'Digital First' Strategy

Session Speaker: Thursday, May 7, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Asim started his career in consulting, but has worked in the Ontario Public Service for over 10 years.  He has designed and implemented modernized government services , such as the 4 in 1 Newborn Registration Bundle and the Online Driver's Licence Renewal and developed the strategy for integrating ServiceOntario’s in-person network.  He is currently the director of  ServiceOntario's Strategy and Policy branches with accountability for finalizing the organization’s refreshed strategic plan for the next 5 years and bringing a strategic policy focus to transformation of government services.

Alex Jannetta
Senior Business Consultant of Strategy Branch
ServiceOntario MGCS

ServiceOntario's 'Digital First' Strategy

Session Speaker: Thursday, May 7, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Alex graduated from Ryerson University with a Degree in Computer Science with a focus on system designs and data management. He has worked for the Ontario Public Service for 13 years improving government services through the in-person, telephone and online channels, such as implementing the first online vehicle registration system in Ontario, and digitalizing the production of the Ontario Blue Pages. Alex is currently leading a transformation within ServiceOntario which focuses on creating a more Customer-centric approach to developing services. 

John Cockerill
President
The Taylor Reach Group inc.

Better Budgets

Session Speaker: Thursday, May 7, 2015
Speaker Bio:
John Cockerill as President of The Taylor Reach Group Inc. (TRG) consults on sales, marketing and customer service operations management. TRG’s clients include firms in the environmental, automotive, financial and high tech fields. He brings years of experience focused on improving the customer experience, centers operational and performance excellence.

John believes that all organizations can deliver outstanding results by understanding what the customer wants, listening to the voice of the customer, and a well-focused internal quality assurance and aligning the two views. The key is understanding the synthesis of the opinions from customers and management.

John joined TRG from The Bank of Canada where he was in charge of the strategic planning and day to day operations of the Client Service Centre and at EDS.  John spearheaded the changes required to meet and maintain the service levels while dealing the explosive growth of key programs.

John joined the Bank from Watts Communications Ltd. where he was responsible for sales and marketing and helped Watts become one of Canada’s leading supplier of outsourced call centre services.

Johns managed a leading charity’s 20 telefundraising centres across Canada; had his own consulting practice; and worked with Ogilvy and Mather, and Compusearch Market and Social Research.

John was educated at Ryerson Polytechnic Institute in Toronto. He is Chair on the Board of Better Living Health and Community Services.

Dr. Gail LEvitt
Senior Facilitator/Trainer
Cutting Edjj Consulting

"Leading Up" Influentially

Session Speaker: Thursday, May 7, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Gail Levitt is an experienced instructor in the field of leadership and coaching.  In addition to having delivered numerous leadership programs in many organizations Gail has also taught leadership programs to colleges and universities, Gail has over fifteen years of practical experience in customer service positions at Nestle, Nabisco, and Hewlett-Packard.  Gail has put her training and leadership experience to good use by developing high-impact workshops for busy business professionals at leading organizations.

Gail’s strengths are her on-the-job training combined with her degrees and knowledge related to leadership training and coaching in facilitating self-assessment inventories such as What’s My Style series, Myers-Briggs, FIRO-B, DISC, SDI, BEST, Herman Brain, Parker Team Player Survey, and Birds of Different Feathers, among others.  Her knowledge and enthusiasm enable her to inform and inspire her course participants at the same time.

Some of Gail’s clients include:  Colliers International, CIBC, inergi/Capgemini, Sauder School of Business, Schulich School of Business, Shell Canada, Abbot Laboratories, Heritage Funds, Transport Canada, Canada Post, National Research Council (NRC), SNC-Lavalin, Hydro One, Province of Ontario, Transport Canada, Sheraton Hotels, Bell Canada, CGI, ACETECH, Terasen Gas, CAA, TD Bank, Toyota Canada.

Andrew Pryse
Director, Toronto Customer Contact Centre
CIBC

Building an Engaging Culture in the Workplace

Session Speaker: Thursday, May 7, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Andrew Pryse is the director of the CIBC Toronto Customer contact center and has been a member of the CSPN advisory council since 2013. He has over 30 years’ experience in customers service and 15 years in the contact center business currently leading a team of 450 employees responsible for helping CIBC’s clients with their banking needs. His background includes inbound and outbound contact center experience, running CIBC’s mutual contact centers in Toronto and Montreal and over 10 years’ experience in the CIBC branch banking network.  On a personal note Andrew is active in the community having been involved in minor for over 8 years as a coach or trainer, held a leadership role for CIBC telephone banking in JDRF and participated in many different charities through CIBC such as the Run for the Cure, United Way and Movember. 

Dave Gussin
Solutions Engineer

Interactive Intelligence

A New Perspective on Customer Experience – Give Your Customers Control 

Session Speaker: Thursday, May 7, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Dave is a Solutions Engineer at Interactive Intelligence where he provides expertise to the Sales team and their customers in creating optimal business solutions for each customers’ unique needs. He takes a creative approach to bridging the Technology and Business gap. Dave is an experienced Business Development Manager, Software Developer and Product Manager. He regularly engages in photography, graphic design, and music production. This unique combination of technical, business, social, and creative skills gives him the tools to tackle complex and multi-disciplinary challenges, whether that be clearly presenting the business value of complex technology solutions, or architecting and developing innovative software and web apps using leading-edge technologies.  

Julie Sullivan
Manager, Learning & Performance
Assurant Solutions

Optimizing Workplace Performance

Session Speaker: Thursday, May 7, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Julie Sullivan manages the Learning and Performance Team at Assurant Solutions Canada. Julie has over 20 years experience in the financial services sector in various talent management roles. She is   a Certified Training & Development Professional through the CSTD - Canadian Society of Training & Development. Her team was a finalist for the Best Learning & Development Strategy at HRD's 2014 HR Awards. Julie is an Achieve Global certified facilitator and has facilitated their  Stellar Service and Healing Customer Relationships modules. Julie is certified in MBTI - Myers Briggs  Type Indicator and  an experienced corporate coach trained through CTI - Coaches Training Institute.  In November 2014, her blog post: How To Use Your Wireless Devices to Enrich Your Mind was published by ConsumerView.

Michael Geraghty
Executive ADVISER
Verity International Ltd.

The First 90 Days in a New Role

Session Speaker: Thursday, May 7, 2015
Speaker Bio:
Michael is a recognized innovator, experienced in leading strategic change and delivering sustainable business growth in both startup ventures and Fortune 100 companies.

As a seasoned senior executive Michael utilizes his sales, business and technology leadership experience to assist Verity’s executive level clients successfully navigate through personal and organizational change.

Michael’s executive coaching practice includes C-Suite business leaders in the Healthcare, Financial Services, Pharmaceutical, Food Services, Training, Regulatory and Manufacturing sectors.

Michael comes to the Verity team after a successful sales, business development and technology leadership career – having held executive level positions in information intensive companies including CLARICA and MDS Health Group. As CEO of USCI, he led the successful turnaround of this troubled Financial Services business, resolving significant compliance issues, doubling sales force productivity, closing customer service gaps and growing profits by 35%. He was a driving force on several major business transformation initiatives across several industries – from the conception and launch of start-up ventures to the successful transformation of companies facing business or growth challenges.

With extensive experience leading strategic organizational change and delivering sustainable business growth, Michael has demonstrated his understanding of the impact of leveraging the power of human capital to secure sustainable business advantage in information intensive businesses.

Michael is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University. He is an ICSA Accredited Director of the Board and is a Certified Coach Practitioner through the Certified Coaches Federation. Michael has served on the Board for Junior Achievement of Kitchener Waterloo.