For nearly a decade, The Right Honourable Stephen J. Harper led Canada through the world’s most complex geopolitical, economic and security challenges as the country’s 22nd Prime Minister. He created the modern Conservative Party of Canada, won three successive national elections, and was the longest serving Conservative Prime Minister since Canada’s founding Prime Minister in 1891.

Since leaving office in 2016, Mr. Harper founded and is Chairman and CEO of Harper & Associates, a global consulting and strategic advisory business, and is Chairman and a founding partner of Vision One, a fundamental value-oriented investment fund based in Miami, Florida.

He serves as Board Chair of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), Director of Colliers International Group Inc. and Alimentation CoucheTard Inc., and is President of the Advisory Committee of Awz Ventures, a technology focused Canadian-Israeli venture capital firm. Mr. Harper is also the author of Right Here, Right Now: Politics and Leadership in the Age of Disruption and a frequent speaker on geopolitical trends, populism, and business. His latest book, Flags of Canada, was published in February 2025 in association with the Royal Canadian Geographical Society commemorating the 60th anniversary of Canada’s national flag.

Mr. Harper serves as Chairman of the International Democracy Union and is a member of the Global Advisory Board of India’s Observer Research Foundation. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from the University of Calgary, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Philosophy from Tel Aviv University and received an honorary degree from the Jerusalem College of Technology. He is a Companion of the Order of Canada, a member of the King’s Privy Council for Canada, and is the recipient of the Alberta Order of Excellence plus numerous international recognitions including the Order of Liberty, Ukraine’s highest civilian honour.

Mr. Harper resides in Alberta, Canada with his wife Laureen; they have two adult children, Benjamin and Rachel.

Chris Turchansky became ATB Financial’s President and CEO on January 1, 2026. He knows the important role ATB plays in supporting its clients by fostering a culture of client obsession. He also sees ATB’s more than 5,000 team members as its greatest strength and is committed to creating an environment where they can thrive and make an impact through the deep expertise and exceptional experiences they provide.

Prior to becoming President and CEO, Chris oversaw the organization’s largest revenue-generating lines of business, including capital markets, commercial banking, and wealth management. Under his leadership, these areas achieved record growth and record-high assets under administration. He has also held several other senior leadership roles at ATB, including Chief Experience Officer and President of ATB Wealth.

Growing up in rural Alberta, and spending all of his nearly 30 year financial services career working across the province, Chris holds a strong connection and appreciation for the people and key sectors that drive Alberta’s economy forward. More recently, Chris discovered his own Métis heritage and along with continued learning he is working to find ways to promote and support public and private sector partnerships that will improve the economic circumstances and quality of life for all Indigenous people.

Chris holds a Commerce degree from the University of Alberta, an MBA from Athabasca University, and carries the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He also serves on the board of the Hockey Alberta Foundation.

Brian Carney is a fixed income portfolio manager focused on global credit strategies at Mawer Investment Management Ltd., which he joined in 2023. Mr. Carney has over 30 years of experience in the investment industry. Most recently, he spent a decade as a portfolio manager at Canso Investment Counsel Ltd. From 2009-2012, he ran high-yield focused Big Rock Capital Management Inc.

Prior to founding Big Rock, Mr. Carney worked at Merrill Lynch from 1997-2008. Brian started his career at Goldman Sachs in 1990. At Merrill and Goldman his responsibilities included corporate research, counterparty risk management, rating agency advisory, syndication, and trading. Mr. Carney has worked in New York, London, and Toronto.

Mr. Carney received his Bachelor of Arts in Government and International Studies from the University of Notre Dame. He holds the Chartered Investment Manager designation from the Canadian Securities Institute.

David has 25 years in asset management industry from technology to business, data to insight, and back office to front office. David was head of Artificial Intelligence and Financial Engineering team at State Street Corporation. Besides State Street, he worked at Copula Capital, Western Asset Management, and Fidelity Investments. 

David received PhD in Computing Engineering, MS in Computer Science, MBA in Entrepreneurship, and BS in Industrial Automation. Additionally, he holds Charted Financial Analyst certification. David is author of numerous publications, contributor to books, and holds several granted and pending AI patents. David won the Best New Product award from Markets Choice Award for his AI innovation and impact in 2024. In 2023, he received the Global CIO 100 Award for AI innovation. 

Jonathan Curtis is executive vice president and chief investment officer of Franklin Equity Group (FEG). Mr. Curtis has oversight of San Mateo
and New York-based investment teams who manage equity and convertibles strategies, along with Franklin Equity Group’s research and venture
capital teams and other supporting functions. Franklin Equity Group offers in-depth expertise in managing global, U.S. and sector specific equity
strategies across the style and market-capitalization spectrum. With its center of gravity residing in the innovation capital of the world, the team’s
strategies can offer unique insights into growth and innovation, in all its forms, across all sectors. Mr. Curtis is also the lead portfolio manager of
Franklin Technology Fund.
Mr. Curtis has been active in the tech sector for more than 30 years, first as a software development and integration test engineer and now as
an investor. Mr. Curtis joined the Franklin Equity Group in 2008 as an equity analyst covering the IT hardware and communications equipment
sectors. He served as FEG’s Director of Portfolio Management in 2022. Prior to joining Franklin Templeton, Mr. Curtis spent four years on the
sell side researching the communications equipment sector. Before transitioning to the financial services industry, he was a software and
systems engineer in the communications equipment sector.
Mr. Curtis holds an M.B.A. from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute in Troy, NY.

Richard is a member of BlackRock’s Systematic Active Equity Investment Group. He is a Portfolio Manager responsible for global equity strategies. Prior to this he led the Investment Strategy team in EMEA for Systematic Active Equity. Mr. Mathieson’s service with the firm dates back to 2002, including his years with Barclays Global Investors (BGI), which merged with BlackRock in 2009. Prior to rejoining BGI in 2008, Mr. Mathieson was an equity analyst for a specialist investment company focused on European financial stocks. Previously he was with BGI as a senior portfolio manager, where he was responsible for managing both long only and market neutral strategies. Mr. Mathieson qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2000, and holds a Bachelor of Accountancy from the University of Glasgow.