Toronto Agenda
Tuesday October 20 2026
Venue to be announced shortly
08:00 – 08:55
Registration, Networking, Meeting and Connections
08:55 – 09:00
Welcome and Setting the Scene
Chris Cummings
Founder, Sonas Group, (Wellbeing at Work)
09:00 – 09:30
AI as the Driver of the Future of Talent, Wellness and Performance
How will AI impact holistic well-being strategies to drive productivity, lower healthcare costs, and increased profitability? How will AI & personalization elevate engagement through data-driven wellness solutions? What impact will AI-powered coaching and health analytics have on customized well-being plans that improve employee retention and performance? How can organizations prioritize emotional intelligence, trust, and mental health support experience in order to achieve stronger engagement, lower turnover, and higher innovation?
Speakers to be announced shortly
09:30 – 10:15
Panel – Driving Performance in a Changing World: From Wellbeing to Workforce Advantage
What leadership behaviours and cultural signals sustain wellbeing and performance in hybrid, AI-enabled workplaces? How can wellbeing be embedded as a seamless, data-informed experience across the entire employee lifecycle? How do organisations shift from wellbeing provision to building workforce capability, adaptability, and growth? How can wellbeing be leveraged as a strategic driver of resilience, retention, and innovation in times of rapid change?
Helen Ashton
VP, People, Culture and Customer Experience, Grand & Toy
Nancy Tavares
Vice President, People & Culture, Paladin Security
Additional speakers to be announced shortly
10:15 – 10:45
Morning Networking Break
10:45 - 11:00
Energizer
Alicia Archer
Master Trainer, STRETCHIT
11:00 – 12:00
Leadership Workshop Discussions
Attendees will take their pick from our expert led sessions which will be announced shortly
12:00 – 13:15
Networking Lunch
13:15 – 13:30
Energiser
13.30 - 14.00
The Joy Gap
Why employees lose sight of the value in their benefits over time and what organizations can do to sustain that value, The gap between a wellbeing offering and what employees experience, How strategic communication design turns a strong benefits investment into a continuous driver of employee satisfaction and retention, Moving beyond benefit announcements and keeping employees engaged.
Noha Abbas
Associate Director, Wellbeing, Concentrix
14:00 – 14:45
Panel: Designing Wellbeing With Equity in Mind
How do you deliver wellbeing that truly works across hybrid, multi-generational and neurodiverse workforces? Why are some wellbeing strategies failing to land with today’s workforce? Where are the biggest gaps in equitable wellbeing outcomes—and what will it take to close them? How must wellbeing evolve to respond to the uneven impact of AI, automation, and shifting workloads?
Manuelita Cherizard
Chief Human Resources Officer, Royal Ontario Museum
Michelle Jobbitt
Manager Talent, OD & Effectiveness, Northumberland Hills Hospital
Caroline Riley
Vice President, Human Resources, Seneca Polytechnic
14:45 - 15:15
Networking Break
15:15 - 15:40
The Role of Learning in Boosting Wellbeing in an Ever-Changing Environment
How do organizations provide employees with the skills needed to meet the ever-changing needs of their companies? Developing a culture of learning and development to enable employees to manage rapidly changing working conditions, Ensuring learning and development provides resilience to employees, What can organizations do now to ensure remote workers have the same access to learning opportunities?
Erin Donahue
Director, OPS Learning & Talent Development Branch, Ontario Government
15:40 – 16:05
Work-Life Balance: From Employee Benefit to Business Imperative
Why are rising burnout levels and work-life conflict becoming critical retention risks for Canadian employers? How can HR leaders create healthier workplace cultures without compromising performance and productivity? What role do flexible working, workload management, and leadership behaviours play in improving employee wellbeing? How can organizations reduce presenteeism, support caregivers, and build sustainable long-term workforce engagement?
Speaker to be announced shortly
16:05 – 16:30
Panel: How the Future of Well-being Can Drive Culture
Wellbeing as a profit driver: do companies investing in holistic well-being see higher productivity, lower healthcare costs, and increased profitability? How can data-driven wellbeing solutions, like AI-powered coaching and health analytics, create customized plans that improve employee retention and performance? Do cultures that prioritize emotional intelligence, trust, and mental health support experience have stronger engagement, lower turnover, and higher innovation? What is the impact for organizations that embed well-being into the employee experience have on attraction and retention of top talent?
Speakers to be announced shortly
16:25 – 16:30
Closing Remarks
Chris Cummings
Founder, Sonas Group, Wellbeing at Work
16:30 – 17:30
