Future of Transportation and Mobility Series

Intelligent Infrastructure & Connected / Autonomous Vehicles

February 12, 2020 | Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

Speakers

Please check back regularly as more speakers are added.

Saiedeh Razavi - Associate Professor; Chair in Heavy Construction; Department of Civil Engineering; Director, McMaster Institute for Transportation and Logistics McMaster University (Moderator)

Dr. Saiedeh Razavi is the Director of the McMaster Institute for Transportation and Logistics (MITL), Associate Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering, and the Chair in Heavy Construction at McMaster University. Dr. Razavi has a multidisciplinary background and considerable experience in collaborating and leading national and international multidisciplinary projects on smarter mobility, smart infrastructure, construction and logistics. Her formal education includes degrees in Computer Engineering (B.Sc.), Artificial Intelligence (M.Sc.) and Civil Engineering (Ph.D.). She combines several years of industrial experience with academic teaching and research. In her role as Director of MITL, she brings together the private and public sectors with academia for the development of high-quality evidence-based research in mobility, transportation infrastructure, and logistics. She is a member of the provincial “Hamilton Transportation Task Force” to support the Government off Ontario for $1 billion capital investment in transportation and transit projects in Hamilton. In April 2017, she was invited to the Parliament of Canada to present her transportation research at McMaster at the “Research Matters” event to the Members of the Parliament. She is currently a member of the Discovery Grants Evaluation Groups in Civil, Industrial, and System Engineering.

Jeff Cowan - Vice President & CTO, HCE Telecom (Panelist)

For over 20 years, Jeff has enjoyed challenging the status quo and developing disruptive strategies in delivering municipal broadband. Jeff has held leadership positions at Blink Communications, a subsidiary of Oakville Hydro as well as Rogers Communications. In 2015, Jeff joined Hamilton Utilities Corporation as VP & CTO and began executing a technology and services vision that launched HCE Telecom as a facilities-based Internet Service Provider within the GTHA. Jeff sits on the Mayor of Hamilton’s Intelligent Community Committee, and frequently speaks to municipalities on the rapidly changing world of technology, focusing on how cities can leverage their assets and unique capabilities to foster innovative outcomes.

Alex Chouinard - Director, Sales (Ontario), Nokia (Panelist)

Alex Chouinard leads the Enterprise and Public Sector business for Ontario Region at NOKIA. He brings over 15 years of experience in IT/Cloud, Telecom, and Security from serving in various Architect, Consulting, and Business Development roles. Alex has a strong track record of developing and launching disruptive offerings across multiple market sectors leveraging next generation information & communication technologies. His mission is to apply technology, commercial, and financial strategies to unlock value for partners and customers. NOKIA CANADA INC employs over 2,500 employees in Ontario focused on advanced Information & Communication Technologies. Our partnership with INNOVATION FACTORY, AVIN/OCE and local Ontario-based SME partners enables R&D innovation with a mission to make Ontario the global leader in Autonomous & Connected Vehicle technology.

Cyrus Tehrani - Chief Digital Officer, City of Hamilton (Panelist)

Cyrus is the City of Hamilton’s Chief Digital Officer and his portfolio includes Smart City / Intelligent Communities Initiative, Open Data, Digital Transformation and CityLAB programs. Cyrus has over 20 years experience in senior leadership roles in IT, digital solutions and transformation, quality assurance, process improvement and project management in the health care, manufacturing and education sectors. Cyrus has a degree in Engineering and Management from McMaster University, is a Professional Engineer and Certified Project Management Professional with keen interest digital social equity and all things technology related.

Edona Vila - Senior Associate, Borden Ladner Gervais (Presenter)

Edona Vila is a lawyer at Borden Ladner Gervais’s Toronto office where she practices litigation and advises on compliance and risk management. In her litigation practice, she acts for municipalities, manufacturers, distributors, and financial institutions in a variety of disputes and in this capacity, she advocates on behalf of her clients at all levels of Court in Ontario. Much of her risk practice is focused on the liability associated with smart assets, Internet of Things, additive and advanced manufacturing products. In this capacity, she assists her clients to identity and mitigate against commercial, regulatory, insurance, and litigation risks to inform internal enterprise risk management.

Mike Branch - Vice President, Data & Analytics, Geotab (Panelist)

Mike is the Vice President of Data & Analytics at Geotab and leads the charge for developing solutions that enable insight from over 2 million connected vehicles and 30 billion telematics records that Geotab processes on a daily basis. Mike joined the Geotab team in 2016, and prior to that was the CEO of Innovex Inc. which in 2013, spun off a brand new entity Maps BI -- a platform for geo-spatial data visualization. Maps BI was integrated within Geotab's telematics platform as a key partner and was later acquired by Geotab in 2016. Mike has received numerous honors including the University of Toronto Arbor Award and Early Career Award, Engineers Canada Young Engineer Award, Professional Engineers of Ontario Engineering Medal, and the Cloud Innovation World Cup.

Nadim Jamal - Director, Telus Insights, Telus (Panelist)

Nadim is the Director of the TELUS Insights & Smart Cities team within the IoT & Insights division. He holds a B.Eng in System Engineering from the University of Waterloo. Nadim is a recognized practice expert in telecom services, extracting value from data, and solving complex business problems. With over 15 years of experience in Telecommunications and Consulting roles, Nadim uses his knowledge to create cutting-edge solutions for TELUS’ business and public sector customers. He is the founder of TELUS Insights, a team focussed on turning data into valuable insights that empowers businesses and government organizations to make smarter, more informed decisions with confidence.

Steve McKeown - CEO & Founder, Team Eagle (Panelist)

With Team Eagle since its inception in 2000. Previously Steve was the founding and then managing partner of the Airfield Equipment Division of G.C. Duke Equipment Ltd. beginning in 1977 (the predecessor to Team Eagle). Steve is responsible for new product development, executive management and strategic planning.

Ravi Puvan - Head of Product and Partnership, Preteckt (Panelist)

Ravi Puvan is the Head of Product and Partnership at Preteckt where he works closely with customers and partners to ensure maximum value and insight. He has held senior product management roles at other technology companies like Halogen Software, Intouch Insight, and LexisNexis. Preteckt utilizes advanced machine learning algorithms to analyze raw sensor data and detect issues early. This generates cost savings in excess of over US$2500 per vehicle per year. The savings come from catching issues early, preventing progressive damage and improving diagnostic times. Other benefits include improving employee (technician) and customer experience.

Bern Grush - Co-founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Harmonize Mobility (Panelist)

Bern Grush, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer for Harmonize Mobility, Inc., is a Canadian transportation innovator trained in Human Factors Psychology and Systems Design Engineering from the Universities of Toronto and Waterloo (Ontario), respectively. He brings a unique urban-sensitivity to vehicle automation from both a human-social perspective and a complex-systems perspective. Bern is the principal author of the 2018 textbook “The End of Driving: Transportation Systems and Public Policy Planning for Autonomous Vehicles”. His company has developed a platform for collaboration between Public Transportation and Transportation Service Providers. His most recent work is as the project leader of the ISO project for technical standard 4448: “Sidewalk and kerb operations for automated vehicles”. ISO4448 is intended for the regulation of real-time robotic vehicle operations.

Richard Steiner - Senior Manager for Policy and Programs, Gatik (Panelist)

Richard is a policy professional and people leader with over 10 years of experience in the public and private sectors, focusing on advanced technologies. Rich leads the policy, regulatory and communications portfolios for Gatik, the leader in autonomous middle mile delivery. Prior to working in the autonomous delivery sector, Richard spent 7 years with Ontario Health, applying emerging technologies in healthcare to meet Indigenous community needs. Rich also worked on behalf of a number of major energy-from-waste technology companies in the UK, leading community consultations. Rich holds a Master of Public Policy from King’s College London.

Hamish Campbell - Country Lead, Canada, Via On-Demand Transit (Panelist)

Hamish is Country Manager for Canada at Via. He oversees partnership development with cities, transit agencies and private operators for every province and territory. Prior to joining Via, Hamish spent 15 years in the Canadian public sector where he planned and implemented infrastructure and services for every transportation mode. Hamish thrives on bringing stakeholders together to solve complex mobility challenges. He is a previous recipient of awards from Mass Transit Magazine (Top 40 Under 40) as well as the best paper award from the Transportation Research Board (TRB). He is a graduate of the University of Waterloo, a Registered Professional Planner (RPP) in the province of Ontario and is fluent in French.

Chris Gillis, P. Eng. - Manager, Applied Research Business Development, Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Durham College (Moderator)

Chris has been focused on operational performance improvement, innovation and customer satisfaction for over 25 years in a wide variety of industries and sectors in Canada, the United States, Mexico and the United Kingdom. In his current role as Manager, Applied Research Business Development, he is the college lead for connected and autonomous vehicles. As well, Chris works to connect companies in the advanced manufacturing and craft brewing sectors with funding and expertise needed to realize their innovations.

Chris Omiecinski - Director, Centre for Integrated Transportation and Mobility, Innovation Factory (Presenter)

Chris brings to the CITM initiative a strong technical background honed by involvement in multiple product launches in the area of mobile computing, wireless data and sensors, embedded systems and network connectivity combined with practical business experience ranging from his own start-up, extensive global sales and service/support experience with Canada based companies, and most recently, general management of a Canadian multi-national with global markets and operations in the USA and China. From a career of growing Canadian companies on the world stage, he is passionate about “made in Canada’ entrepreneurs and companies, and having a role in keeping Canada both relevant and competitive in the global economy.

David Carter - Executive Director, Innovation Factory (EMCEE)

Prior to joining iF, David was CTO and Co-founder of Awareness Inc. His company raised 20 million in venture capital and worked with brands like New York Times, Major League Baseball, Sony Pictures and McDonalds. David will tell you his sweet spot is where technology, sales, and marketing intersect. He is quick to warn that technology alone does not ever solve the problem. During the 90s David worked for Microsoft and saw the arrival of graphical computing, smartphones, tablets and the Internet. He left Microsoft in 2001 to begin his first start-up.

Raed Kadri - Head of Ontario's Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network Senior Director, Automotive Technology and Mobility Innovation, Ontario Centre of Innovation (Remarks)

Raed Kadri is Head of the Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network (AVIN) and Senior Director of Automotive Technology and Mobility Innovation at Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE). In his role, he is responsible for leading AVIN, an initiative by the Government of Ontario which drives economic growth, creates high-quality jobs and strengthens Ontario’s competitive advantage in the automotive, transportation and mobility sector. Raed received his Bachelor of Applied Science (Industrial Engineering) from the University of Windsor, his Master of Science (Industrial Engineering) from Wayne State University in Detroit and his Master of Science (Business and Management Research) from Henley Business School in Henley-on-Thames, U.K. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Business Administration from Henley Business School in partnership with Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.