Thriller

LOUISE-ANN MAZIAK
Thriller event Honorary Chair
Louise Ann Maziak holds a Master’s degree in business administration from the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University, as well as a Master’s degree in bioorganic chemistry from the Faculty of Science at McGill University. For over 25 years, she has developed a strong background in financial services at the Royal Bank of Canada, the National Bank, the Société générale de financement du Québec and the TD Bank. In addition, she gained knowledge in the field of biomedical research while working as a research associate at the IRCM in the 1980s. She is chair of the Blue Metropolis board of directors and a member of the board and chair of the audit committee of the Montreal Clinical Research Institute Foundation. 

MÉLANIE BERNIER
Mélanie Bernier is Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments).  She leads the Legal Affairs, Tax and Compliance functions supporting PSP Investments’ activities worldwide with a global team located in Montréal, New York and London. Mélanie’s experience and responsibilities include overseeing and advising on regulatory, legal, transactional, risk, compliance, corporate governance and operational matters. She has extensive experience in negotiating and providing strategic advice regarding corporate transactions across jurisdictions and industries, having practiced as a corporate lawyer for over 20 years. Mélanie joined PSP Investments in 2008 – working from PSP’s London office from 2017-2019 to set up local activities. Prior to joining PSP Investments, Melanie held senior level positions at National Bank of Canada and McCarthy Tétrault in Montréal. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Laval University and is a member of the Québec Bar. 

JULIE GIRARD
Julie est associée au sein du groupe de pratique Règlement de différends. Forte de l’expérience qu’elle a accumulée au fil des ans devant des tribunaux de tous les échelons, Julie offre des conseils à des clients de tous les horizons relativement à un large éventail de litiges commerciaux, plus particulièrement en assurant leur défense dans le cadre d’actions collectives. Julie adopte une approche créative et efficace pour la résolution de litiges complexes. Les clients font également appel à Julie pour la réflexion stratégique dont elle sait faire preuve et ses solides aptitudes en plaidoirie. Julie est membre des comités de la gestion du talent, du développement professionnel et de la prévention du harcèlement en milieu de travail, et du conseil de la diversité et de l’inclusion.

KATHERINE NIKIDIS
Recognized as one of Montreal’s educational mavericks, Katherine Nikidis’s current role as Head of School at Trafalgar follows many years in both teaching and leadership roles at other independent schools in the city. Ms. Nikidis has given back to her community in many different capacities: she recently completed a mandate as Chair of the Advisory Board for the Faculty of Education at McGill University; she has also served on the Board of the Girl Guides of Canada. Both inside and outside of schools, her focus is on empowering individuals and teams by understanding their passions and values.

WILLIAM ST-HILAIRE
Claveciniste de formation, William St-Hilaire détient un diplôme professionnel en gestion des relations publiques aux HEC. Elle a d’abord été imprésario, s’occupant notamment de Bob Walsh et du Quatuor Arthur-Leblanc, avant de se voir confier la direction générale d’I Musici de Montréal. Puis, durant 10 ans, elle a poursuivi sa carrière à la Société Radio-Canada au sein de l’équipe des communications. Mme St-Hilaire a été membre des conseils d’administration du Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ), de la salle Pierre-Mercure et de l’Association pour la création et la recherche en électroacoustique du Québec (ACREQ). De plus, elle a aussi signé huit livres. Les femmes planètes est son premier roman (VLB, 2010). Au printemps 2015, elle reçoit l’Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec. Elle est présidente-directrice générale et directrice artistique de la Fondation Metropolis bleu depuis bientôt 12 ans. 

DOMINIQUE BÉLISLE
Dominique est une associée au sein du groupe immobilier de KRB. Elle bénéficie de plus de trente-cinq ans d’expérience dans la conduite de transactions nationales et internationales combinant plusieurs domaines de pratique, y compris l’immobilier, le financement, le développement et le financement de projets, les fonds de capital-risque, le droit corporatif et commercial et les fusions et acquisitions. Les compétences de Dominique en matière de négociation et de gestion d’équipes, alliées à un esprit très pratique et axé sur les affaires, lui permettent de synthétiser et de gérer efficacement des questions juridiques et transactionnelles complexes, tout en exploitant habilement les ressources internes. Elle a été reconnue par Best Lawyers Canada comme un leader dans le secteur de l’énergie en 2020, 2021 et 2022 et a été reconnue comme l’une des huit avocates « incontournables » du Québec dans l’édition spéciale juridique du magazine Premières en Affaires.

CATHERINE MARTEL
Catherine Martel is a partner in the litigation group at the Montréal office of Langlois Lawyers. She advises and represents a variety of clients in matters involving product liability, consumer law and energy law, including class actions.Catherine also drafts appeal factums and written submissions in all areas of the law. She has extensive experience with Quebec civil law issues (including the law of obligations, contract law and civil liability law), corporate law, administrative law, constitutional law and civil liberties, as well as energy law.

SILVANA TRAVAGLINI
Ms Travaglini has been Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer at Stella-Jones since 2020. Ms. Travaglini served as Treasurer and Vice-president, Investor Relations of Resolute Forest Products from 2017 to 2019 and served as its Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer between 2011 and 2017. Her earlier experience included roles as Vice-President and Corporate Controller at Société Générale de Financement du Québec, Manager of Group Accounting at Canadian Pacific Limited and Senior Auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers. A Chartered Professional Accountant, Ms. Travaglini holds both a graduate diploma in Public Accountancy and a Bachelor of Commerce (Accountancy and Finance) from McGill University.

ANNE WHITELAW
Anne Whitelaw is Provost and Vice-President, Academic at Concordia University. She joined the Department of Art History in January 2011 following 11 years as a faculty member in the Department of Art and Design at the University of Alberta. Her areas of teaching expertise include the history of visual culture in Canada, theories of museums and exhibitions, historiography and archives, and the history of advertising. Whitelaw’s research examines the intersections of art historiography and cultural institutions in Canada, with a particular focus on practices of exhibition and collecting as a means of understanding the formation of nationhood She has published extensively on the display of Canadian art at the National Gallery of Canada, on the integration of Aboriginal art into the permanent displays of national museums, and on the work of settler collectors in Canada. She is the author of Spaces and Places for Art: Making Art Institutions in Western Canada 1912-1990 (MQUP 2017) and is co-editor with Brian Foss and Sandra Paikowsky of The Visual Arts in Canada: The Twentieth Century (Oxford University Press, 2010).  Whitelaw is the co-leader of a SSHRC-funded partnership development grant examining the global circulation of objects from northern North America, with Beverly Lemire (University of Alberta) and Laura Peers (Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford) – see objectlives.com; she is also writing a book on the work of volunteer women in North American art museums.