Credit Strategy, RBC

Gursheen Kaur, Credit Strategy, RBC – Gursheen is a financial services leader whose career reflects a rapid learning curve, cross-functional agility, and a deep commitment to people-first leadership. After starting her career in management consulting, she has spent the last nine years leading various financial services functions, including marketing analytics, collections strategy, portfolio management, and credit strategy. Gursheen’s journey is defined by her ability to build high-performing teams from the ground up, stabilize high-turnover environments, and drive results through direct leadership and indirect influence. She is currently the Director of Credit Strategy for Auto Finance at RBC, where she leads the team balancing a bias for action with investments in long-term strategy. Gursheen lives in Toronto with her husband and 2-year-old son and is an avid reader of fiction in her spare time.

Director of Commercialization Operations, CAN Health Network

Joëlle Lavoie is a healthcare innovation leader whose career has taken from research and business development at leading institutions including the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital to the intersection of healthcare, technology and entrepreneurship. Over the past five years with the CAN Health Network, she has built national partnerships and established the organization’s presence in Quebec, connecting healthcare systems with innovative companies to accelerate change. Originally from Eastern Quebec and now based in Toronto, Joëlle’s journey reflects a career built by embracing new opportunities, moving across disciplines and geographies, and creating her own path as a woman in healthcare leadership.

Director of Training, Security Compass

Lauren began her career in science, installing water testing equipment across global markets, before pivoting to business through an MBA at the Smith School of Business. She subsequently moved into operations consulting, partnering with organizations across a range of industries to improve efficiencies, before transitioning into the technology sector, building expertise in training products and corporate operations en route to her current role leading Product Operations. Having navigated multiple career transitions firsthand, Lauren brings a first-person perspective to conversations about navigating uncertainty and change.

Global Director – Inclusion & Social Impact, Pegasystems Inc.

Prachi Soni is Global Director of Inclusion & Social Impact at Pegasystems, where she shapes the company’s approach to building a more inclusive and accessible organization and driving meaningful social impact. Her work focuses on integrating inclusion into culture, leadership, and business practices, while strengthening accountability across Pega’s global communities. With broad HR leadership experience across the technology sector, Prachi brings an enterprise-wide perspective across the full employee lifecycle, spanning people strategy, organizational transformation, talent, culture, engagement, and business partnership. This experience informs her approach to building practical, scalable strategies that connect people, inclusion, and business priorities. Prachi also serves on the Forté Advisory Council, supporting its mission to advance women in business and leadership.

Associate Partner, McKinsey & Company

Alex Walker Turner is an Associate Partner with McKinsey & Company’s Toronto Practice, which she joined nearly 10 years ago. Alex is a leader in McKinsey Canada’s Digital and Public Sector practices and spearheads the Firm’s research on Customer Experience with Government. She also serves some of Canada’s largest private sector institutions with a focus on digital strategy and distribution. Outside of her client work, Alex leads McKinsey’s Quantum Black AI hub in Toronto. Alex is a committee member of the board of the United Way of Greater Toronto and leads specialized fundraising initiatives for Michael Garron Hospital. She lives in Midtown with her husband (who she met at Rotman, where she earned her MBA in 2017) and their three children: Charlie (5), Margot, and Isobel (both 5 months).