The uniqueness of each international market demands that today’s global organizations demonstrate tremendous agility and skill. Successful market entry requires balancing adherence to core operational standards and procedures with the flexibility to adapt to local conditions. Join Elyse Allan as she shares insights GE has gained through its global operations.

Session discovery topics:

• Establishing global presence and identity
• Localizing operations and decision making to drive country and global growth
• Driving success: leadership and talent management

Finance leaders operating out of Canada’s major cities and frontier outposts alike are challenged to build teams that provide insight to businesses which are increasingly global and dynamic. Finding and maintaining the right pedigree of finance talent has never been as critical as it is in today’s business environment. Please join this executive discussion of the talent management issues most important to today’s finance organizations.

Session discovery topics:

• The CFO’s role as a leader of corporate culture
• Guiding human resources through organizational change
• Planning for generational shifts in the workforce

Despite the wealth of data available today, many business leaders are starved for the right information to make critical decisions. Analytics organizations are outperforming their competitors by connecting people with trusted information, enabling them to make timely decisions and act with confidence to deliver better business outcomes. IBM presents insights and recommendations around implementing the correct technologies to enhance decision support.

Session discovery topics:

• Leveraging analytics to enhance performance management and decision making
• Case studies illustrating the transformation of data-driven insights into action
• Understanding your decision-making environment and identifying opportunities for investment

What we now call “the new normal” is characterized by slower economic growth; divergent economic performance between countries; and growing credit stresses for individuals, companies and governments. This volatile combination increases the likelihood of ‘black swans’ -- unpredictable events with a high potential for further disruption. So how should Canadian companies cope in this volatile environment? By becoming more resilient. Join Stephen Poloz, President and CEO of Export Development Canada as he shares his perspective on the new global realities and how Canadian companies are investing in resiliency by growing their global presence.

The world economy has not yet weathered the worst crisis in decades. What is the outlook? How has the national and international environment changed? Can we escape a double-dip recession? The talk will review the challenges and opportunities for the national and international economy in the current turbulent financial and political environment.

Much has been said about the economic damage resulting from the global economic turmoil that’s still gripping much of the world. Not enough is being said about what it will take for companies to turn towards profitable growth in this post-crisis economy. By digging deeper into what successful companies are doing, we an draw insight and offer guidance on how they are achieving their success, and examine what separates high-performing companies from the pack in this highly competitive business environment.

Session discovery topics:

• The drivers of competitive growth
• Incremental innovation as a competitive tool
• The importance of speed to market and the flexibility to exit

Everyone’s always talking about leadership. There are books, courses, expensive getaways and an army of consultants. And where has it gotten us? The effect has been to commoditize an important element of business into just another skill to mark on a CV.

This is dangerous, especially for CFOs. No one is better suited to assume greater leadership in Canadian business than the CFO. No one in an organization outside the CEO themselves can have as great an impact on its future, to do so CFOs must be prepared to lead the way they can and should.

Join Bill Linton as he shares his analysis of the state of leadership in Canada, both at large and within the CFO community, offering a clear prescription for the profession to raise both its own influence and the future success of Canadian industry.