Alain Bouchard launched his first convenience store in Québec in 1980. That venture evolved into Alimentation Couche-Tard, a network that comprises over 12,000 stores and employs approximately 125,000 people. Mr. Bouchard was President and Chief Executive Officer of the company from its inception to 2014. He remains active as Executive Chairman of the Board. In that role, he mentors the next generation of leaders, and focuses on strategic initiatives. Mr. Bouchard has also served on the board of CGI Group Inc. since 2013. Through growth and acquisitions, Mr. Bouchard made Couche-Tard the leader in the Canadian convenience store industry. In the U.S., it is the largest independent convenience store operator in terms of number of company-operated stores. Couche-Tard also has a strong presence in Europe, in both convenience store and transportation fuel retail. That includes operations in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Denmark), the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Ireland and Poland. Under licensing agreements, more than 1,500 stores are operated under the Circle K banner in another 13 countries and territories worldwide. Mr. Bouchard is an Officier de l’Ordre national du Québec, the province’s highest honour. With his wife, he created the Sandra and Alain Bouchard Foundation, devoted to people living with an intellectual disability, as well as to strengthening the arts and culture.

Clayton H. Riddell is the Executive Chairman of Paramount Resources Ltd. The independent energy company explores for and develops natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids in Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Riddell began his career with Chevron. Through exploration and development in northeastern Alberta, financed by joint venture partners, he established Paramount Resources in 1978. Its model was conducting operations beyond the ends of pipelines. That remains, with activities including the Athabasca Oil Sands and the Cameron Hills, Liard and Colville Lake areas of the NWT.

Paramount has spun off Paramount Energy Trust (now Perpetual Energy Inc.), Trilogy Energy Trust (now Trilogy Energy Corp.), and MGM Energy Corp. (focused on hydrocarbon resources in the Mackenzie Valley and Mackenzie Delta).

Mr. Riddell was President of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists and Chair of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. He created an endowment for the Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources at University of Manitoba. He also funded the creation of Carleton University’s Clayton H. Riddell Graduate Program in Political Management.

He is a member of the Calgary Business Hall of Fame and the Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame, and the Order of Canada (Officer).

Nancy Southern is Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer of ATCO Ltd., and Chair & Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Utilities Limited, an ATCO company. ATCO is a diversified global corporation, delivering business services and solutions in structures and logistics, electricity, pipelines and liquids, and retail energy.

Ms. Southern serves as Executive Vice President of Spruce Meadows, and is a founding director of AKITA Drilling Ltd., a director of Sentgraf Enterprises Limited, and an honourary director of the BMO Financial Group. Ms. Southern is also on the Rideau Hall Foundation Board of Directors.

She is a member of the Business Council of Canada, U.S. Business Council, American Society of Corporate Executives, C.D. Howe Institute, and Trilateral Commission. As part of the Premier’s Advisory Committee on the Economy, she supports Alberta’s business growth and diversification.

Previously, she served on the federal government’s Economic Advisory Council and Global Markets Action Plan Advisory Council. By request of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Ms. Southern joined 100 global leaders for the G7 Forum for Dialogue with Women.

Ms. Southern earned the Fraser Institute’s T. Patrick Boyle Founder’s Award for her entrepreneurial achievements, and the Peter Lougheed Award for Leadership in Public Policy from Canada’s Public Policy Forum. Alberta Venture named her Business Person of the Year, and Fortune named her as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business.

Thomas (Tom) Jenkins is Chair of the Board of OpenText Corporation of Waterloo, Canada’s largest software company. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer of OpenText from 1994 to 2005, and as Executive Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer from 2005 to 2013.

Mr. Jenkins is Chair of the National Research Council and 10th Chancellor of the University of Waterloo. He is Co-Chair of the Business Higher Education Roundtable (BHER) as well as the Advisory Council for the Governor General of Canada Innovation Awards Program.

Mr. Jenkins serves on the boards of Manulife Financial Corporation, Thomson Reuters Inc., and TransAlta Corporation. He is a director of the Business Council of Canada and the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.

Mr. Jenkins has been recognized many times for his contributions to education and innovation in Canada, recently receiving the Next Canada Spotlight Award for lifetime achievement for innovation. Mr. Jenkins is an officer of the Order of Canada (OC).

Mr. Jenkins is the author or co-author of ten widely read books on the Internet, publishing most recently Digital Financial Services: The Greatest Revolution Since Minted Money and e-Government or out of Government.

Frank J. Hasenfratz is founder and Chairman of the Board of Linamar Corporation, based in Guelph, Ontario.

He was born in Hungary in 1935, and attended trade and engineering technical schools, while working as a toolmaker and machinist. Mr. Hasenfratz immigrated to Canada in 1957 and was a supervisor at a metal parts company until he formed Linamar in 1966.

With his vision, Linamar became a world leader in designing, developing and producing highly-engineered products. Today, Linamar is a diversified global manufacturing company. The company has operating segments serving the vehicle market (powertrain/driveline) and industrial market (machining and assembly, forging, light metal casting, skyjack).

Linamar has more than 19,500 employees in 48 manufacturing locations, five R&D centers and 15 sales offices in 14 countries, and generates annual sales of $4.2 billion.

Mr. Hasenfratz is member of the Order of Canada, and of the Canadian Manufacturers Hall of Fame. He has also been honoured with the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit by the Republic of Hungary

He served as President of Linamar until 1999 and CEO until 2002, succeeded in both posts by his daughter Linda. As Chairman, Mr. Hasenfratz continues to focus on productivity improvements and strategic decisions within the company.

Gordon Nixon was chief executive officer of Royal Bank of Canada from 2001-2014. Mr. Nixon is a director of George Weston Limited, Bell Canada Enterprises, BlackRock Inc. and he sits on the advisory board of KingSett Capital. Mr. Nixon is chairman of MaRS, the Queen’s University Capital Campaign, a director of the Art Gallery of Ontario and has served as a director of a number of organizations in health care and education and is a past chair of the United Way of Greater Toronto.

Throughout his career he has been recognized with many honours including twice being included on Barron’s list of the World’s Best CEO’s, and was on Bloomberg’s list of the World’s 50 Most Influential People.

Mr. Nixon has been awarded the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario and has Honorary Doctorates of Law from Queen’s University and Dalhousie University.

Linda Hasenfratz is the Chief Executive Officer of Linamar Corporation. The global manufacturing company, based in Guelph, Ontario, produces highly-engineered products for the vehicle and industrial markets.

Ms. Hasenfratz joined Linamar, the company her father Frank founded, in 1990. She worked her way up from the ground floor, experiencing everything from running a machine to operations management.

Since becoming CEO in 2002, Ms. Hasenfratz has grown the company from $800 million in sales to a $4.3 billion enterprise.

She has served on several industry and corporate boards, including CIBC, the North American Competitiveness Council, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, and the Original Equipment Suppliers Association. In addition, she has been a strong advocate for women’s progress in business, through her work with Catalyst Canada and the Women on Boards Advisory Council.

Ms. Hasenfratz supports the community through her role on the board of the Royal Ontario Museum, and as the inaugural chair of Guelph General Hospital’s Philanthropy Leadership Cabinet.

For her contributions to Canadian business, Ms. Hasenfratz has received honourary degrees from Ryerson University and Wilfrid Laurier University, the International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award from the Asper School of Business at the University of Winnipeg, and the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from Ernst & Young.

Over two decades, Rick George lead Suncor Energy from a small privately held oil sands company worth $1 billion, to being Canada’s largest integrated public energy company valued at $50 billion.

Named “Outstanding CEO of the Year” in 1999, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2007 for his leadership in Canada’s natural resources sector, his efforts to provide economic opportunities to Aboriginal communities, and his commitment to sustainable development.

Ed Clark retired as Group President and CEO of TD Bank Group on November 1, 2014 after 12 years as CEO. Twice during his tenure, Ed was recognized as one of the world’s 30 Best CEOs by Barron’s Magazine.

He now serves Premier Kathleen Wynne in the dual capacity of Chair of the Premier’s Advisory Council on Government and Business Advisor. Additionally, Ed sits on a housing task force set up by Toronto Mayor John Tory.

Ed is a member of the Board of Trustees of US public policy organization, the Brookings Institute. He is also a Director of Thomson Reuters Board.

André Bérard, Former Chairman of the Board of National Bank of Canada, is a career banker. He held various positions within the Bank’s branch network from 1958 to 1972, including accountant, assistant manager and branch manager.

He is very actively involved in the Canada/France Business Relations Club. He sits on the Advisory Committee to the Prime Minister on the Business/Government Executive Exchange Program. Moreover, he is a member of the Policy Committee of the Business Council on National Issues, the Conseil des gouverneurs associes of the Universite de Montreal, the Jeune Chambre de commerce de Montreal and the Chambre de commerce du Quebec. Mr. Bérard was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1995, an Officer of the Ordre national du Quebec in 2000 and in 1996 he received the Ordre de Saint-Jean. Mr. Bérard was honoured as a Great Montrealer in 1997.

He also received honorific doctorates from the University of Ottawa and from the University of Montreal. Mr. Bérard, who is committed to serving the community, has chaired many fundraising campaigns over the years, including the campaign for the Montreal Heart Institute Research Fund.

Heather Reisman is the founder, Chair and CEO of Indigo, Canada’s largest book, lifestyle and specialty toy retailer, and co-founder of Kobo, a leading global eReading company. Ms. Reisman was born in Montreal and educated at McGill University.

Ms. Reisman began her career as a Managing Director of Paradigm Consulting, the strategy and change management firm she co-founded in 1979. Paradigm was the world’s first strategic change consultancy and pioneered many organizational change strategies still in use today.

Ms. Reisman is the recipient of Honorary Doctorates from Ryerson University (2006), Wilfred Laurier University (2009), Mount Allison University (2010), and St. Francis Xavier University (2013), as well as several awards including The Order of Canada, The WXN Top 100 Most Powerful Women, Financial Times of London Top 50 Women in World Business, Waterloo Entrepreneur Hall of Fame, University of Waterloo; International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award, University of Manitoba; and the John Molson School of Business Award of Distinction, Concordia University.

Ms. Reisman is married to Gerald Schwartz, Chair and CEO of Onex Corporation. She has four children and nine grandchildren.